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Key development milestones at 24-36 months

What’s happening at 25-26 months?

• At this stage your child will be walking well with even steps, using the heel-to-toe motion of adults.
• She’ll be getting better at physical activities such as jumping, throwing, and brushing teeth.
• By now she’s getting better at speaking, and may be able to use up to 50 single words and construct two-word sentences.
• She can follow simple instructions, and about half the time you’ll be able to understand what she’s talking about.
• Her body shape is changing. She’s slimming down and her head is growing more slowly as her limbs and the torso will begin to lengthen. In this way her body proportions are becoming more like an adult’s.
• At this age she’s got lots and lots of energy, so provide at least one opportunity each day for her to run around outside.
• She needs far less sleep at this time – between nine and thirteen hours.
• She may have already given up daytime naps.

What’s happening at 27-28 months?

• Your child can handle small objects with ease, and enjoy stacking and knocking over blocks.
• Her motor skills are precise enough to turn the pages of a book and hold a cup with one hand.
• Some toddlers can balance on one foot, or take big leaps forward from a standing start.
• She’s developed the ability to control her actions, but she’s still prone to quite a lot of pushing, shoving, yelling, and tantrums.
• Her concentration span has improved, and she can now focus for much longer on a single task.

What’s happening at 29-30 months?

• Your child can now name six body parts and identify the name of at least one colour.
• She has much more curiosity about other people and she’ll be more interested in playing with other children.
• She’ll be involved with a lot of artistic play, so expect a fair amount of disorder and mess involving glue and paint pots.
• Allow the cleaning up to be a part of the game and she’ll develop the confidence to go on expressing herself.

What’s happening at 31-32 months?

• She’ll start to understand adult rules and standards more clearly, and she’ll notice differences between different days – such as when she doesn’t get given a bath on a certain night.
• She may start to understand that you need to use different language with different people, and will use simpler language with children.
• She may sometimes tell very obvious lies about what she has and hasn’t done. The lines between reality and fantasy are still blurred for her.
• Make sure you create a feeling of safety, to ensure she doesn’t feel scared about telling the truth.
• It’s at about this age you may start to hear some questions about how babies are made. The best way to answer is always a straight response like "Most babies are born through a mother's vagina." There’s no need to go into great detail.

What’s happening at 33-34 months?

• At this age children are more aware of other people’s emotions, and may ask why other people seem sad or happy.
• Your child is becoming more sociable, and learning more about how the exchanges of friendship work.
• Some of your child’s friends may even be imaginary. Don’t be worried by this – it’s perfectly normal. Imaginary friends provide solace and reassurance for children when they find the world confusing or scary.

What’s happening at 35-36 months?

• By this age your child probably has the skills to prepare her own bowl of cereal, and balance on each foot for a second or more.
• She can now run, jump, walk and stand with ease.
• She can focus for longer periods on a single activity.
• She may have developed a fascination with her genitals and those of other children. If you find her in the midst of an anatomy check with another child, don’t be alarmed – this is totally normal behaviour.
• Gently let her know that penises and vaginas are meant to be kept private, and steer her towards other activities!.