“Terrible twos”… a good thing?
Date :
Thursday, September 17 2009
Source:
Autourina Mains
Sometimes parents and providers complain about the “terrible twos”. However recognizing terrible twos as a normal developmental stage can help the adults appreciate the toddler’s ability to express self through words and actions. Knowledge of developmental milestones is pertinent to offering quality care. Age appropriate activities and practices are an important aspect of offering quality child care. For instance realizing that a by the age of 24 months a child should be able to:
- Demonstrates increasing independence (Social/emotional)
- Begins to show defiant behavior (Social/emotional)
- Separation anxiety increases toward midyear then fades (Social/emotional)
- More aware of herself as separate from others (Social/emotional)
- Use two-to-three-word sentences (Language)
- Say about 50 words (Language)
- Recognize familiar pictures
- Kick a ball forward (Motor)
- Feed themselves with a spoon (Self help, independence, and motor)
- Demand a lot of your attention (Social/emotional)
- Turn two or three pages together (Cognitive)
- Identify hair, eyes, ears, and nose by pointing (Language)
- Show affection (social/emotional)
can help the parents and the child care providers to offer appropriate hands on activities so the child can grow and move up to the next developmental stage. Should the parents or the provider see a lack of these milestones, they should be alerted to possible delays. Never diagnose a delay without consulting professionals. Wyoming is mandated by law to provide free developmental screenings for children. Wyoming Child Development Centers conduct the free screenings for children birth-5 years of age. Many of you have heard the advertisement of “one before two” campaign that promotes early developmental screenings. Every community in Wyoming has a Developmental Center.
Keeping in mind that each child develops at his/her own pace, it is essential to have your toddler screened to detect any delays early on so that intervention can begin as soon as possible. Studies have shown that early intervention is the key to long term educational success. Screenings include all domains of development; language, vision, hearing, cognitive, social/emotional, motor (small and large). Should the screening raise any red flags, a further evaluation is needed to pinpoint the delay. Developmental domains are interrelated and delay in one domain affects growth and development in other domains. For instance if your toddler has had ear infections for the first two years of his life, chances are he may have speech delay. If he has speech delay, chances are he may have motor delay and you may see more behavior issues. A child, who is not able to communicate his /her needs, is more apt to get frustrated and throw tantrums. Never screen a child in your care without informing and receiving the parent’s consent.
Toddlers that are being independent by feeding themselves and wanting to do for themselves are learning a great deal. It is an opportune time to let your toddlers help around the house, feed themselves, and clean up after themselves. These are self-help skills they need to develop and maintain their independence. So learn the developmental milestones for your toddler, and enjoy the terrible twos as you see your child exhibiting all the developmentally appropriate skillsJ. Make plans to have your child screened annually.