Saturday, May 17, 2008

Your Baby's Development Between Two and Three Years

It's thrilling to watch your baby grow and develop, as they learn about you and the world around them.

The information below shows some things your baby may be doing at two years of age and up. Keep in mind that every baby develops differently. Your baby may reach any of these milestones significantly before or after this age. Chances are, her development is proceeding perfectly normally.


SPEECH
Between two and three years:

Vocabulary grows rapidly and child starts combining nouns with verbs to form three to four-word sentences
Begins to use pronouns, such as "I" and "me," and other parts of speech
May begin to ask "why" questions
Pays attention to what others say, whether to him or to someone else


MOTOR SKILLS
Your baby's motor skills encompass all sorts of movement, from supporting her head, to crawling, to holding a crayon.

Gross motor skills involve control of the large muscle groups active in kicking, crawling and walking, among other movements. Fine motor skills typically cover movement and manipulation of objects with the hands -- skills such as reaching, grasping, picking things up and pointing.

Between two and three years:

Gross

Constantly on the move
Loves to be chased
Enjoys going down slides, swinging and running around playgrounds
May pedal small tricycle
Learns to walk on tiptoe and may be able to stand on one foot
May count stairs and jump off the final step
Jumping in place still takes great effort and coordination

Fine

Child learns to coordinate movements of his wrist, fingers and palm
May unscrew lids, turn knobs, unwrap paper


AWARENESS
Babies are highly aware of their surroundings from the beginning. Given time, stimulation, love and interaction with the people in their lives, their understanding of the world grows surprisingly quickly.

Between two and three years:

Starts to solve problems in his head
May understand number concepts like ordination (one dog, two dogs) and the process of classification (a cat is an animal)

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