My Child is 2 1/2 Years (30 Months) Old: What should he/she be able to do?
Your little human is blossoming before your eyes and it has you full of bittersweet emotions! Here are the things you should expect your child to do by 2 1/2 years of age.
By 2 1/2 years of age, your child should be able to:
Gross Motor/Physical Movement
Can walk up and down stairs while holding on to the rails (not yet completely independently)
Fine Motor/Hand-Eye Coordination
Can draw straight lines or (imperfect) circles
Can remove some of his/her own clothing
Can build a tower of 4 or more blocks
Social/Emotional
Excited to be around other children and may begin to play with familiar children
Continue to shows defiant behaviors and test boundaries
Want to do things independently ("I can do it")
Language/Communication
Say several words (more than you can count)
You can understand more and more of what they say and can understand a little more than half of what he/she says
Speak in 2-3 word sentences
Repeat words overheard
Cognitive/ Learning & Problem-solving)
Sing songs and rhymes
Can name several pictures and objects
Know names of familiar people and several body parts
Show interest in potty training
If your child is 2 1/2 years old and is doing all of these things, great!
Tips to Help Your Child Reach Their 2 1/2 Year Milestones
Play time: Continue to let your child to play with toys and explore indoors and outdoors as regularly as possible. Engage with your child by explaining things around them and showing them how things work. Encourage them to try things on their own more and more and let them explore on their own (while still supervising).
New activities: Children are still mostly learning through play at this age. Try new activities with your child, such as painting, water play, or tactile play (can be as simple as playing with clay, sand, or letting them play with and mix flour in a bowl with a spoon). Get creative and choose things that you and your child will enjoy. Don't be afraid to let them get a little messy (or take the activity outdoors or in a contained area with a dropcloth or inside of a box/play area), this only adds to their fun.
Talk and respond: Talk to your child as much as possible in plain language. The more language your child hears, the more he/she will pick up as they begin to learn to talk. Respond when your child talks to continue to encourage social and conversational skills. Help to expand your child's vocabulary by pointing to things and stating what the object is and by explaining the world around them, in general.
Read: Continue to read books to your child. Your child will be more engaged in the story now and may have some favorites. Indulge your child a little in reading the same book a couple or times or daily to encourage their delight in reading, storytime, and learning.
When to Be Worried
If your child is already 2 1/2 years of age and is not meeting these milestones, talk to your child’s pediatrician. You know your child better than anyone else. If you are concerned your child may have a delay in his/her development, it is better to intervene sooner rather than later. This gives your child the best chance of catching up to his/her peers by the time he or she reaches school age.
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