How To Foster Overall Development For Your Toddler ?

The overall development of a child depends on many factors. However, keeping a vigil eye on certain mental and physical growth parameters helps you monitor the overall development of your child. A toddler grows to his/her developmental milestones in a matter of few years, s/he goes from crawling and babbling to running, jumping and excitedly telling stories (also referred to as pretend and play). I have explained these key aspects for the overall development of your child and some monitoring techniques below.

Mental & Physical Developmental Milestones for 2 Year Old

Developmental milestones are the physical and behavioral signs of growth in your toddler. You child's pediatrician will highlight these milestones during your visits to him/her. In case you come across any developmental concerns at any point, you should highlight it to the pediatrician to discuss them. Here is the list of some important mental and physical milestones for a two-year old.

• Stands on tiptoes
• Kicks a ball
• Climbs onto and down from furniture without help
• Starts speaking; completes sentences
• Starts singing rhymes
• Plays simple make-believe games
• Makes or copies straight lines and circles
• Points to things or pictures when they are named
• Knows names of familiar people and few body parts

4 Other Key Developmental Areas for Your Child

Apart from the above, you need to keep a tab on the following 4 key developmental areas for your toddler.

#1. Weight and Height Gain

Height and weight are two parameters that are linked to your child’s overall health and development. Determine if your child’s weight is in line with their height. Your pediatrician will take these measurements on a periodic basis during regular checkups. A child's physical growth pattern is largely determined by genetics; however, monitoring helps you in doing positive interventions in guidance from your pediatrician if there is a lag in the physical growth of the child.

#2. Immunization Schedule

Immunization schedule protects infants and children in their early years – the period when they are vulnerable to potentially threatening diseases. It’s equally important for a parent to know that infusion of medicines at an appropriate age leaves maximum impact. Ask for your child’s vaccination schedule from your pediatrician and make sure to get your child vaccinated as per the schedule.

Please note that intermittent illness in a toddler could delay the overall growth and development. This could be because the body’s immunity is not able to cope up. Immunization controls illnesses and helps in steady growth and development of the child. Hence, as a diligent parent the vaccination schedule should be not missed. In case there is any delay, get in touch with your pediatrician for a follow-on date.

#3. Nutrition

Post the baby has weaned off the breast milk, their food and nutrition is to be planned well. You need to ensure that your toddler is able to get all the necessary nutrients such as Protein, Carbs, essential fatty acids, and vitamin A, D, E, and K. Ghee needs to be added in mild quantities as it is rich in fats. The cholesterol in ghee is a precursor to many hormones produced in the body which help in the physical and mental development of the baby.

Rather than increasing the portions of food per meal, increase the number of meals per day. You can give three main meals like breakfast, lunch and dinner along with three snacks in regular intervals in between. Fortified foods are good source of ensuring such balanced nutrition, as it offers a wholesome nutrition important for the overall development of your child.

#4. Language and Speech Development

• Toddlers start speaking 8-10 words which is mainly out of their listening skills. A toddler is able to comprehend what they hear from the surroundings. Sometimes speech may get delayed depending on the macro and micro factors like delay in recognition, hearing disability, and lack of appropriate environment. It is advisable to talk to the child at home with smaller and easy to understand sentences so that your toddler starts speaking closer to their speech milestone. A 2-year-old would be able to make small sentences of 4-5 words to 8-10 words.
• In case of delayed speech, visit your pediatrician and based on their consultation, you may see an ENT specialist, or a speech therapist and/or get tests done to diagnose the root cause to the issue. In case the paediatrician has recommended for a speech therapist, ensure to give ample amount of time practicing the therapy at home, since only a couple of hours of attention during the day are not enough for the child to cope up with the delayed speech. Just in case of such a scenario, remember that your child needs all your support, understanding and love, so be patient and calm.

I hope this information will help you keep a tab on your toddler’s developmental milestones.

Disclaimer: This Blog is supported by Nestle Ceregrow. A child needs more nutrition than an adult. Each bowl of Ceregrow contains the goodness of grains, milk & fruits and makes up for the lack of sufficient nutrition. Follow Early Childhood Nutrition to learn more.
Calculated basis per kg body weight; ICMR 2010