Famously known as the "terrible twos," toddlers have gotten a reputation for being whiney, incomprehensible and full of temper tantrums. The other side of a 2-year-old, however, shows unending curiosity and shares the sweetest, most loving and adoring devotion to his parents. While tracking your toddler's development, "What to Expect" series author Arlene Eisenberg recommends celebrating his individuality "without comparing him with his peers."
Vocabulary
When your toddler begins to understand the value of conversation, she will rapidly increase her vocabulary to more than 1,000 words by the time she's 3, according to Eisenberg. She's learning to use words in phrases and respond to questions, follow directions and share her emotions. To help toddlers, parents can repeat specific words for specific actions each time they take place, like, "Mommy's going to change your diaper." Soon, she'll be repeating the sentence as best as she can and parents will recognize her specific attempts.
Emotions
Your toddler is learning how to express his emotions. The "terrible twos" nickname describes the temper tantrums thrown "as his abilities often lag behind his goals," says Eisenberg. They are also developing defiant behavior when their needs aren't immediately met. Parents should learn how to mentally cope with the frustrations caused by temper tantrums and decide on a disciplinary style to help children learn to control themselves.
Remember to be supportive and patient with your toddler and look for other cues when they can't seem to find the right words to describe their emotions (or you can't understand their chosen words). Dr. William Sears recommends watching their eyes, since you can sense the type of emotion they are feeling even when their garbled words are confusing.
Peers
A 2-year-old will begin to notice his peers. Instead of ignoring and playing next to each other, children in this age group begin to interact, and BabyCenter states they enjoy "watching each other play and may even imitate one another." Along with playing with each other, toddlers become eager for playgroups, trips to the park and school settings like mother's day out or parent and child gymnastics classes.
Learning
Toddlers are constantly on the hunt for new things to touch, see and do and can catch on quickly to learning new songs. Many children's songs have hand motions to go along with the words that they can imitate. They also begin to show interest in numbers and letters. Toddlers can recognize pictures and objects while identifying who they are or what they do. For example, she may point to a bus and say "vroom" or point to a picture and exclaim, "Grandma!"
Independence
Along with a toddler's growing sense of independence, he is also still extremely close to his parents. Separation anxiety, although usually started before his first birthday, can still continue into toddlerhood, and parents should be supportive and understanding of his fears. Leaving toddlers with other caregivers is important and teaches them the safe idea of mommy always returning. Remember that 2 year olds are only 24 months old--don't expect too much from them and keep tending to their delicate need for attention and nurturing.
