Your child is no longer a baby as he enters his third year of life…
Growing up is always a challenge both for him and you to deal with, but you should cherish all the progress that he has made. Encouraging and supporting him is the best way for him to keep evolving and reaching milestones.
Physical development at 25 months old
Walking is no longer a challenge for your child. He will walk naturally with heel-to-toe motions and steady steps. He can also jump and throw objects over his head without falling. His body fat will keep reducing and his growth is slowing down. The head starts to grow slower and the limbs and torso strengthen which makes him look more like the proportions of an adult’s body. He will be very energetic during the day and you should let him vent his energies at playtime. Take him outside so he can run freely every day, he will get stronger and better coordinated. His nutritional needs will also change. He will need less dietary fat and plenty of fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
Cognitive development
Your toddler is now more independent; he can wash his hands and brush his teeth, or even dress himself. These advances are accompanied by accidents that are inevitable like spilling and falling. You should not worry too much about this, remember that his motor skills are still not fully developed and these things are bound to happen. He might also be doing these things on purpose. He can topple a glass of water and wait for your reaction. This will most likely be motivated by curiosity and not malice.
You have to teach him that he should not do this again. Be firm but do not yell and tell him that spilling is wrong. His independence will also create problems when getting ready. He is likely to be eager to put his socks on by himself but it will surely take longer than if it was you doing it. Just keep calm and encourage him instead of trying to hurry things, let him learn at his own pace.
By now it is easier to keep a conversation with your toddler since he will be interested in keeping things goings. Even if you do most of the talking he will pay attention and answer your questions. He will also be found of asking a lot of questions, even if he cannot express fully what he tries to say. This way he will satisfy his curiosities and keep the conversation going. He is now able to ask more elaborate questions instead of just why or what. I might put together full questions like “What is making that sound?”.
You have to make sure that you do not discard his questions, even if you cannot understand them at first. Just try your best to satisfy his curiosity or else he will start to become frustrated and might stop asking questions. Answer him in the simplest way you can think of but in complete sentences. Toddlers learn language skills based on imitation and therefore simplifying things too much will not help him. It is good to encourage his questions so he keeps learning not only language but also about the world.
To encourage his learning process, besides simply talking with him and answering questions, you can also do some other things. Playtime is also a great opportunity to develop, get him puzzles, make pretend toys, blocks, musical toys, art supplies and push or ride toys. It is also important for you to keep him interested in only one at a time and not to let him limit himself to only one activity. Let him explore, around the house, at the park and whenever he feels curious.
Exploring is the best way for him to learn special cues and to better navigate in the world. Just make sure that he is safe at all times and keep an eye on him. Exposing him to new places will be both fun and educational, the more he sees of the world, the better prepared he will be for future challenges. Books are great for you to bond over and for him to keep learning new words. Buy new ones when you feel that he already knows everything about the ones that you have.
Social development
Temper tantrums are hard to deal with, especially in public. You have to keep you cool and identify what is causing the tantrum. Being in a public place full of people will likely spark this kind of behaviour. He will get overwhelmed and then pressured by all the attention directed at him. If you get anxious yourself your child will feed his tantrum off of it and take advantage of the attention he attracts. The best way to proceed is to take him to a quiet place and calm him down. After he get calm you can get back to what you were doing and try not to make a big deal out of it.
Check on your next months toddler / child development, milestones & stages
12 Months Old – 13 Months Old – 14 Months Old – 15 Months Old –
16 Months Old – 17 Months Old – 18 Months Old – 19 Months Old
20 Months Old – 21 Months Old – 22 Months Old – 23 Months Old
24 Months Old – 26 Months Old – 27 Months Old
28 Months Old – 29 Months Old – 30 Months Old – 31 Months Old
32 Months Old – 33 Months Old – 34 Months Old – 35 Months Old
