Tuesday, January 11, 2011

How to Raise a Two-Year Old Child

Eieo at Two
Our little Eieo is growing so smart, healthy, active and so lovable. He makes us realize the fun and wonders of being a mom and a dad. Sometimes he even teaches us things that we could only learn from him and from parenthood. He makes appreciate life more - motivating us to live a healthier and a much happier life.


Spending family bonding moments and quality time together, with him, of course, hubby and I see to it that we always make the best and the most out of it as we believe that his early childhood years would ONLY be once. Yes, indeed. Same reason why we chose and decided to work at home and grab online opportunities. Through this kind of work, we handle our own time; we are our own boss; and we tend to live the kind of life we think we deserve and desire (Thanks be to GOD).

With so many blessings, we couldn't ask for more as what we have right now is the SIMPLE life hubby and I have always wanted and have prayed for. Anyway, I just want to repost something about child development - toddler (a two-year old kid) and hope many mothers out there would learn and benefit from this. Happy reading!

Our Child is UNIQUE.
Every child's development is unique and complex. Although children develop through a generally predictable sequence of steps and milestones, they may not proceed through these steps in the same way or at the same time. A child's development is also greatly influenced by factors in his or her environment and the experiences he or she has.

The information in this guide explains what child development experts consider to be "widely-held expectations" for what an average child might achieve within a given year.

MILESTONES

By the age of two, children's different personalities and skills definitely shine through. The following milestones are meant to give you an idea of the average age that children master various milestones, but be aware that most children will not be completely average. They often excel in certain areas while paying little attention to others at any given time. If, however, you are concerned about your child's development, be sure to address your concerns with your child's doctor.

How your child may develop this year?
  • Two-year-olds enjoy using their senses and motor skills to explore the world and are highly curious about unfamiliar objects, events and phenomena. They can solve simple problems with the "trial and error" method and will practice an activity many times to master it. Children this age also pretend more during play, using familiar objects and situations to process their daily experiences.

  • New discoveries are also facilitated by a two-year-old's blossoming language skills that prompt many "why," "what" and "how" questions. During the year, children this age pick up most parts of speech to form more complete sentences. They can understand and say hundreds of words, but familiar adults may need to "translate" for others due to immature pronunciation skills. They also understand simple directions and many common phrases used in routine situations.

  • Children this age are laying the groundwork for reading and writing. They enjoy having books read to them and may pretend to "read" as they independently look through familiar books. Two-year-olds can sing the A-B-C song, but they don't yet understand that the letter names correspond to specific graphic designs. They also make a variety of scribble marks anywhere and everywhere and may even attempt to write the first letter of their name.

  • As they play and complete their daily routines, two-year-olds learn important math skills. They can use a toy to represent another object, recognize patterns with daily activities and understand concepts of time like, "tomorrow" and "yesterday." Two-year-olds are just beginning to use logical reasoning to solve everyday problems. They can sort shapes, complete puzzles with eight pieces or less and stack a set of rings on a peg by size. They also understand addition and subtraction with the numbers "one" and "two."

  • Physically, two-year-olds explore all the ways to travel from here to there, including rolling, crawling, creeping, walking, running, jumping and climbing. They can also kick a small ball forward, catch a rolled ball and throw a ball overhand (but with little accuracy). Two-year-olds love finger play activities (e.g., "The Itsy, Bitsy, Spider"), pounding and squeezing clay, shaking rhythm instruments and scribbling. They can turn doorknobs and unscrew lids and have improved their skills using eating utensils.

  • Two-year-olds also use their motor skills to explore the creative arts. They make sounds by banging and shaking instruments and household items. They enjoy dancing upon request, doing finger plays and acting out chants and songs. Children this age are also gaining control over their voices and will join in singing the refrains of their favorite songs. With art, they enjoy the sensory pleasures of the art materials and focus on the process of creating art, rather than the final product.

  • Two-year-olds enjoy playing alongside other children, but usually keep to themselves. When conflicts arise, adults need to step in to prevent aggression and teach appropriate behaviors. Children this age are beginning to label feelings that they recognize in themselves and others. Controlling emotions is still difficult, however, so frustration may trigger emotional meltdowns. Comfort objects like blankets or teddy bears help two-year-olds cope with new situations or strong emotions.

Read more details here. This post has been a great guide in our parenthood ventures. Enjoy!

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