TWO YEARS OLD

Physical Development

• Gross motor skills: As your child’s muscles develop, so will their climbing skills. Most 2-year-olds can climb over furniture, kick a ball, and run short distances.
• Fine motor skills: Most 2-year-olds can scribble, paint, stack at least four blocks, and put round or square pegs into holes.
• Major highlights: Your child will begin to walk more like an adult. At this age, they’ll be able to walk next to you without falling down and should be able to navigate stairs with little assistance.

Emotional Development

• Shows a broad range of emotions, from sadness to anger
• Feels good when they're able to help dress themselves or do things independently.
• Has frequent mood changes that signal your child is trying to take control of their impulses, feelings, and actions.

Social Development

• Copies other people’s words and actions, and tries to comfort a friend in the same way you’ve comforted them
• Engages in pretend play
• Behaves defiantly sometimes to see what will happen

Cognitive Development

• Follows simple two-step commands like, “Please pick up the toy and give it to me”
• Combines words to create simple sentences
• Completes lines in familiar books

When to Be Concerned

• Doesn’t walk steadily
• Doesn’t copy actions and words
• Doesn’t follow simple instructions
• Loses skills they once had
• Doesn’t know what to do with common objects, like a phone, fork, spoon, or brush
• Doesn’t say two-word phrases like, “more milk”