728x90
my iParenting
From Our Sponsors
e-newsletters
Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters

new terms of use
new privacy policy
award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
Home › Articles › Development › How Toddlers Grow

How Toddlers Grow

A Look at Development During Your Child's Second Year of Life

By Renee Roberson

Pages:  1  2  3  

However, if your child seems to have some delays in speech/language development, Murphy recommends talking to your pediatrician, who can schedule a hearing and speech language assessment.

2 Years

While your child may not have been saying much at his first birthday, don't expect that by age 2. Your loveable little person may soon become an unexpected chatterbox. "There's typically an enormous explosion before the second birthday," Murphy says.

By age 2, your toddler will begin imitating the actions of adults and their fine motor skills will continue to develop. "By age 2, about 90 percent of children can put four cubes in a tower and use a fork and spoon," Dr. Allen says.

And finally, Dr. Allen reminds parents that play is detrimental to helping toddlers develop and learn new skills. It should not be viewed as "wasted time" and it can teach valuable lessons in cause and effect. There are only a handful of well visits required during a child's second year, so be sure to keep track of your child's milestones and language development so you can address any questions and concerns with your pediatrician when the time comes.

The Importance of Growth Charts

Toddlers are notorious for their picky eating habits. One of the reasons your pediatrician plots your child's height and weight at each well visit is to make sure your child is growing normally over time. What may seem like several months of picky eating on your child's part may even out once you look at the growth chart from birth, says Dr. Hans Kersten, a pediatrician who works with the Grow Clinic (www.growproject.org) at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, Pa.

"Don't fixate on a specific percentile," says Dr. Kersten, who works with infants and toddlers less than 3 years who are experiencing "failure to thrive," a condition where a child does not grow or maintain a normal weight. "The struggles we all have with our children can sometimes be put at ease when we look at the growth chart."

According to Dr. Kersten, while children with this syndrome can be found across all economic strata, a higher prevalence tends to be found in the lower economic strata. "Part of our comprehensive evaluation is a medical workup, which may include laboratory studies or treatment of some kind," Dr. Kersten says. "This is an important part of management, and helps put parents (and us) at ease, so we can focus on trying to increase the child's weight gain."


Pages:  1  2  3  


Want to see more?