Development Milestones for Toddlers 2 to 3 Years!

It is important to recognise the usual development milestones for Toddlers 2 to 3 years old. At Hope Island Sanctuary our degree qualified staff and management are fully aware on how your toddlers should be behaving.With your toddler now much more physically able, he’ll want to explore the outer limits of his abilities.

At this age, toddlers feel a new confidence which can mean an increase in accidents as they don’t know when to stop.

So, below I have listed what they should be doing and of course you can follow this at home.

At 2 ½ years:

• They can get undressed unaided and attempt to get dressed themselves.
• They can run quite well
• They can walk upstairs with confidence
• They can kick a large ball even if it is a soft one. (not necessarily in a chosen direction)
• They can throw a large ball in a chosen direction
• They can climb onto toddlers playroom equipment and also get down unaided
• They can use a spoon, feed themselves a drink from a cup

At 3 years:

• They can now kick a large ball hard
• They can throw a ball in a chosen direction and try to catch one using both hands.
• They can ride a toy bicycle
• They can walk confidently up and down stairs
• They can walk on tip toes
• They should by now have started toilet training
• They can eat on their own using a fork and a spoon

What do we do to encourage a toddler’s physical development and what can you do?

• We give them plenty of time outside in our privileged area to kick and play with balls, digging and gardening and of course using outdoor equipment like swings and slides, supervised by our expert team.
• We give them toys like stacking blocks that stick and pull apart, jigsaws, farm animals and buildings to create their own farm and various task games like shapes so they have to use their brains to create something.
• Most of all we let them explore our outdoor space and encourage them to tell us what they find. Our staff are always with them every hour of their stay.

Very important to notice any signs that suggest development problems in our 2 to 3 year olds.

• Keep and eye on their running ability. If it isn’t smooth then this could mean a problem
• Their activity is much less or much more than others.
• They cannot use a spoon to feed themselves.
• They can’t climb onto low level play toys or furniture and they can’t walk up stairs.

Remember all children develop at different speeds and in different areas so don’t panic. You can be assured that our staff and management at Hope Island develop very close relationships with all parents.

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