Two-year-old children – developmental peculiarities (well, it’s written about us!!!). Crisis of two years What children's tantrums look like

Before you know it, your baby is already two years old. During this time he learned a lot, grew up and became stronger. Now this is no longer a helpless toddler, but a little helper and an independent (well, almost independent) personality. Subsequent stages of children's development from 2 to 11 years are aimed at studying specific situations and actions.

The time of endless questions begins. It is necessary to try to respond to all situations of interest to the maximum. Don't forget that babies still learn most of their skills through imitation. At two years old, children love to copy the actions and behavior of a close adult. Most often these are ordinary everyday situations. If parents are cleaning, give him a rag and let him help. He is already smart enough to understand the need for work. Or you can feed the doll with him. After two years, the baby has his favorite toys and activities (drawing, music, cars, dolls); with the right approach to the child, you can develop certain abilities in him. But in no case should you force your child to do the same activity for a long time, because... You can push him away from this hobby forever.

Remember, raising children under 3 years of age is a rather painstaking process, since parents will need to learn how to respond correctly to children's tantrums (they happen even to calm toddlers). Due to a narrow range of thinking and self-centered disposition, the baby is fickle in actions and deeds; he quickly gets bored with toys and the same type of activities - young parents need to take this aspect into account. The early stages of child development are a kind of preparation for adult life.

What does a child look like at 2 years old?

What's new

What a 2 year old child can usually do:

• He walks well and can run, but he still falls often.


• Goes up and down stairs, stepping on each step with one foot.


• Many children at 2 years old go to the potty on their own or ask their parents to sit them down.


• He speaks actively and can construct simple sentences consisting of 2–3 words. Uses adjectives and pronouns.


• You can notice that a child at 2 years old begins to give preference to his dominant hand: right-handed - right, left-handed - left.


• A two-year-old child quite consciously strives to achieve parental approval, for which he is ready to fulfill a feasible request. He is very upset if he does not receive deserved praise. For example, he understands and remembers two-step requests: “Go to the kitchen and bring an apple to mom.”

From 2 to 3 years old, the child begins to distinguish living animals from toys that represent them. For example, he understands that a toy in the shape of a cat is an object, and the cat itself is a living creature. Likes to listen to stories that happened in the past, is aware of what it is. Perhaps the child previously loved to listen to children’s stories read aloud by his mother, but now he has become old enough to understand their content and, carried away by the story, will wait to hear the continuation.

The so-called fine motor skills become more developed, the baby can make pyramids, build “castles” from cubes, pick up a pencil and draw lines on paper. A child’s gross motor skills at 2 years old manifest themselves in the form of improved coordination when running, the ability to step over obstacles, and climb onto large objects. The coordination of movements has become much better, which can be seen in stepping over small obstacles while walking.

Two-year-old children help an adult dress themselves: they raise their legs to put on their shoes, put their arms up, or even try to put them into the sleeves. They can put on a hat or socks on their own. Able to partially undress without assistance. They control the physiological needs of the body, know what the potty is for, ask to sit them on it, or even sit down themselves.

What you need to know about nervous system development

The nervous system unites and regulates the vital functions of the entire organism. Its highest department, the brain, is the organ of consciousness and thinking.

A bit of encyclopedic knowledge. Mental activity takes place in the cerebral cortex. In the cerebral cortex, new neural connections are established, acquired throughout life, new reflex arcs are closed, and conditioned reflexes are formed (the arcs of congenital, i.e., unconditioned reflexes, take place in the lower parts of the brain and in the spinal cord). In the cerebral cortex, concepts are formed and thinking occurs. This is where the activity of consciousness takes place. The human psyche depends on the degree of development, condition and characteristics of the nervous system, and primarily the cerebral cortex. The development of speech and human labor activity is closely related to the complication and improvement of the activity of the cerebral cortex, and at the same time mental activity.

In functional terms, of all parts of the brain, the cerebral cortex of a newborn is the least developed, as a result of which all life processes in young children are regulated mainly by subcortical centers. As the child's cerebral cortex develops, both perceptions and movements improve, which gradually become more differentiated and complex. At the same time, the cortical connections between perceptions and movements become more and more refined and become more complex, and the life experience acquired during development (knowledge, abilities, motor skills, etc.) begins to have an increasingly impact.

The most intensive maturation of the cerebral cortex occurs in children during toddlerhood, i.e. during the first 3 years of life. A 2-year-old child already has all the main features of the development of intracortical systems, and the general picture of the structure of the brain differs relatively little from the adult brain. Its further development is expressed in the improvement of individual cortical fields and various layers of the cerebral cortex and an increase in the total number of myelin and intracortical fibers.

In the second half of the first year of life, the development of conditioned connections in children occurs from all perceptive organs (eyes, ears, skin, etc.) more and more intensively, but still slower than in subsequent years. With the development of the cerebral cortex at this age, the duration of periods of wakefulness increases, which favors the formation of new conditioned connections. During this same period, the foundation of future speech sounds is laid, which are associated with certain stimulations and are their external expression. All speech formation in children occurs according to the laws of the formation of conditioned reflex connections.

During the 2nd year, in children, simultaneously with the development of the cerebral cortex and the intensification of their activity, more and more new conditioned reflex systems and partly different forms of inhibition are formed. The cerebral cortex develops especially intensively in functional terms during the 3rd year of life. During this period, children’s speech develops significantly, and by the end of this year, the child’s vocabulary on average reaches 500.

Physical development of a child at 2 years old

Some children can jump in place with both feet without falling. At 1 year and 10 months he should be able to, without support, suddenly kick a ball so that it rolls. Hit the ball quite deftly without falling or tripping over it.

By the age of two, he can play the ball well with his hands. Holds the ball with one or two hands. Throws the ball at a horizontal target. Rolls the ball down the hill. Knows how to throw it up.

When eating, holds the spoon as expected - between the thumb and forefinger, eats independently from the plate, carefully, without spilling. If you haven’t trusted a fork before, you can quickly learn to eat with a fork. During meals, he freely takes a cup, drinks from it without spilling, and puts it back in its place.

Household skills of a child at 2 years old

When washing, he rubs his palms and part of his face. He wipes himself with a towel. With your help, he brushes his teeth: you help guide the brush and squeeze a little toothpaste onto it. Uses a handkerchief when reminding. Knows where the place is for clothes, shoes, dishes, toys.

The quantity and quality of everyday skills is growing. Easily turns door handles. Can insert a key into a door hole.

However, there is a dangerous discrepancy between the child's new capabilities and his lack of a sense of danger.

Controls physiological needs. Stays dry all night if effectively pottyed before bed. At night, you can use the potty if you notice that the child is spinning, sobbing, etc. while sleeping. These are signs of the urge to urinate, so you can help your baby wake up and put him on the potty.

However, you should not put a sleeping child on the potty - this way he will get used to peeing in his sleep.

Child's play at 2 years old

Assembles a pyramid of two rings in descending size according to your instructions. Some children have three, even less often four (five) rings of different sizes (after the demonstration). If the child does not already do this, then teach the child to arrange the removed rings to the right of the rod in order, taking into account the size, and then take these rings one by one and put them on the rod.

When playing with inserts using a familiar board, a two-year-old child can already cope with the entire task, correctly placing all three geometric shapes (circle, triangle, square) on the board. If the child himself does not succeed, help him: in front of the baby, accompanying your actions with verbal comments, put the figures back into the corresponding cells. Then remove all three geometric shapes from the cells and have your child find a place on the board for each shape. If a child fails at something, help him. After you put in all the figures with him, take them out of the holes again and invite the child to complete the task independently. At the age of two years, the result may not be achieved immediately; the child may make about four erroneous trials.

If you and your child played folding nesting dolls, now he already knows how to put one nesting doll into another. Since the baby has already learned to act with two nesting dolls, offer him a more complex option, with three or more nesting dolls. First, you take out and collect all three nesting dolls, line them up in a row, and emphasize the difference in size. Ask your child to show where the big matryoshka is, where the middle one is, where the small one is. Then you collect the nesting dolls together with the child: the smallest one hides in the middle one, now there are two matryoshka dolls left (large and smaller), open the large doll and hide the middle one in it. Constantly prompt your child: “Open this nesting doll, and now this one,” “How to close the nesting dolls?”, “Let’s make them beautiful, match the pictures,” “Take a large nesting doll, put a medium one in it,” etc.

A two-year-old child likes dolls that can make sounds. The new doll should also have hair. A child of three years of age will be happy to comb them. A doll with closing eyes will allow the baby to fill the game with new content. After all, it is in the third year of life that the child begins to take on a role, which means that he portrays a mother, a doctor, a driver. Now, to play with the doll, the baby needs a toy crib, table, chairs, dishes and other items.

Story game.
By the age of two, children’s play should already include the reproduction of a sequence of logically related actions, that is, a plot game. The child most often performs two consecutive plot actions with a toy. For example, first he bathes a doll or a bear, then wipes it; first loads the car and then drives it; first feeds the doll, and then washes and wipes the dishes.

If you do not notice such actions in your child, play with him.

Exercise game
Place a doll, baby bath or other large enough container, towel or napkin next to the child. Tell your child: “The doll is dirty.” The child puts the doll in the bath, can use a cube instead of soap, rubs the doll, then wipes it with a towel.

The child himself plans the play situation after presenting a limited amount of play material: feeds the doll if there is a plate or bowl nearby; builds a garage if there are blocks and a car nearby.

In the game he uses substitute objects: instead of a plate - a flat box, instead of a car - an oblong object from a construction set, etc. In games he continues to imitate the everyday actions of an adult.

Prefers to play close to other children, but most of the time not yet in general play. A parallel game appears - the baby watches others play and plays the same game himself. Although sometimes he enjoys playing catch-up with his peers. Periodically makes emotional contact with peers: attracts attention with facial expressions, gestures, exclamations, and looking into the eyes.

Starting kindergarten at this age does nothing for the child's development. Constant communication with other children in a kindergarten becomes useful from the age of 3 for girls, from 3.5 years for boys.

Draws.
If he already has the skill of holding a pencil, then by the age of two he can repeat the horizontal or vertical line you drew, as well as a rounded line. Teach your child to name what he draws. He likes to look at books with pictures himself - he carefully turns one page at a time.

Communication, understanding of speech and emotions of a child at 2 years old

Half of children aged 2 years understand the meaning of the word “heavy”: of two objects of the same size but different weights, he will show you or give you, at your request, the heavier one.

Ask to show the doll's nose, eyes, ears, mouth, arms, legs, belly, hair. By the age of two, the baby should correctly show six of the eight body parts asked.

At this age, the child is well versed in three colors. Selects them at the request of an adult according to a sample. You need to put 6 cubes in front of the child (two cubes each in blue, red, green). Then show a red cube and say: “Give me a cube of the same color. Red cube." The kid will give you a red cube. Then change the arrangement of the cubes and ask for a cube of a different color.

Begins to name some colors in response to the question: “What color is this cube?”

Emotions and communication become richer: he empathizes, sympathizes with a crying child, an elderly person, treats animals and plants with care. However, most often he does this following the example of an adult, and rarely on his own initiative. Smiles, gestures, looks into the eyes to keep the attention of an adult or another child, and expects praise. May be emotionally reserved, able to wait a little (after an explanation from an adult). He is calm about instructions: “collect the toys”, “this is possible”, “this is not possible”. Understands the words: “good”, “bad”. At the same time, disobedience remains, and he becomes angry when his actions are limited, in response to the rude tone of an adult. He can be stubborn, shout, be capricious, demanding what is prohibited and insisting on his own. To prevent hysterics, it is necessary to comply with the educational requirements set out in the previous sections on the keyword “prohibition”. She cries for a long time when her mother leaves, when she is scared, when she is offended.

He watches cartoons and children's television programs with interest. The baby understands a simple story from an adult about events that the child has encountered before. For example, about what he did that day while walking or visiting.

Understands a short story based on a series of pictures with a simple plot. Can answer adult questions regarding this story. Take a book with a simple illustrated fairy tale or a simple children's comic. Accompany the story based on the picture by showing pictures and a detailed explanation of the plot of these pictures. Draw the child's attention to bright details (what the hero is wearing, what his name is, etc.). After the story, pointing to the details of the pictures, get the child to answer the questions: who is shown in the picture? What is he doing? Where does the action take place? At this age, the baby can express two or three actions in words.

If you put several pictures in front of a child with objects and animals known to him, then to the adult’s question “Where is the cat?”, and then to the question “Where is the dog?” etc. By the age of two, he will correctly show almost all objects known to him.

Active speech of a child at 2 years old

In the same way, when shown photographs in which parents or other loved ones are depicted in a group with other people, he not only recognizes and finds them among others, but also names them.

At two years old, the active vocabulary consists of at least 40 words (30 for boys, 50 for girls). In most cases, much more (can't count). In general, up to three years of age, healthy children show a wide variation in the rate of speech development: different vocabulary, the degree of distortion of words, different speeds of mastering phrasal speech and the correct construction of sentences. But by the age of two, every child should know the names and names of some animals, some household items, clothes, and dishes. Must know and name the names of parents, close adults, and familiar children.

Lightened words are replaced with correct ones. Gives an assessment of himself: “good”, “big”, “beautiful”. He says: “goodbye”, “bye”, “thank you”, “hello” in individual pronunciation, that is, not as clearly and correctly as an adult does.

Says his name. When talking, he still refers to himself in the third person: instead of “I went” - “Sasha went.”

When making a request, he increasingly pronounces two-word phrases. Begins to speak in phrases (sentences) and three words. For example, “I want to go for a walk.” Uses adjectives and pronouns in speech: I, me, you. Expresses his needs clearly enough for parents through speech.

Can tell in two or three sentences what he sees at the moment.

Begins to ask questions, including the first questions about the names of objects and people: “What is this?”, “Who is this?”

What is the child's routine at 2 years old?

Two- to three-year-old children need approximately 11 hours of sleep at night and one nap of 2–2.5 hours during the day.

Most children this age go to bed between 19:00 and 21:00 and get up between 6:30 and 8:00. Your baby's sleep may finally seem to resemble yours, but the difference is that a child under four spends more time in what's called "light" or "REM" sleep. Because he makes more transitions from one stage of sleep to another, he wakes up more often than you do. That is why it is so important that the child knows how to calm himself down and fall asleep on his own.

Continue to monitor your baby's hygiene at 2 years old. Wash your face in the morning, regularly brush your teeth with a special children's paste, wash your hands before each meal, and comb your hair. Teach him to take care of himself. Explain that dirty hands are bad, and if you don’t brush your teeth, they can deteriorate over time. If a child is kept clean, he subconsciously develops a need for it.

Don't forget to walk with your 2-year-old child - fresh air is very beneficial for his growing body, so don't miss a single day. Always dress it according to the weather, do not overcool and avoid overheating.

By the age of two, many children complete potty training. Children can ask both in words and with signs (gestures). If your child doesn't use the potty yet, don't worry. Leading pediatricians assure that it is a physiological norm that a child does not ask to use the potty until the age of two. This is explained by the fact that a person cannot control the processes of urination and defecation independently until this age. And if you have just started potty training your child, then you have one important advantage - there is a high probability that a child at 2 years old already understands the speech of his parents. Most children can already explain everything, tell them, and thus avoid unnecessary hysterics.

How to feed a 2 year old baby

The feeding regimen at this age can be four or five times a day (depending on personal preferences and family traditions). It is advisable to eat regularly at the same time and have approximately equal periods of time between meals.

Good to know

A two-year-old baby should already have 20 teeth, so try to teach him to chew food on his own. At two years old, a child is quite capable of handling small and not very hard pieces of food.

What to feed a 2 year old child

Liver is very useful for two-year-olds - it contains vitamins, minerals, and easily digestible proteins. It has a beneficial effect on digestion and hematopoiesis.

In addition, you can diversify the list of dishes for children 2 years old - now you can add meat casseroles, stews, and sauces to the usual meatballs and pureed soups.

The approximate norm of meat and meat dishes per day is 90 g.

Fish
Starting from the age of two, fish should be on the child’s table at least twice a week. After all, it contains protein and Omega 3 fatty acids, which are necessary for the development of children.

The daily intake of fish in the diet for a 2-year-old child is 30 g per day. It is best to divide the weekly 210 grams into 2-3 meals. This can be both river and sea fish (pieces of soaked herring can already be given little by little at this age).

Offer it to your child in the form of meatballs, cutlets, zraz, simply cooked (baked, boiled, steamed) and cut into small pieces with vegetables.

Be sure to check all fish for small bones with clean hands or two forks so that your child does not get them with the next piece. After all, he himself will not be able to choose them. Therefore, it is better to immediately buy varieties of fish with a small number of bones or fish fillets. You can feed a 2-year-old child fish soup or pureed soups using cooked broth.

Dairy products, eggs, fats
A 2-year-old child’s diet cannot be complete without porridge, dairy and fermented milk products. Since they are necessary for the formation and growth of the child’s bones.

At the age of 2 years, the baby should drink about 600 ml of milk per day, 200 of which should be in the form of kefir. You can give a boiled egg several times a week. Also, the child should eat raw cottage cheese; sometimes you can make a casserole or cheesecakes out of it. The daily norm of oil increases: vegetable oil - up to 6 g, butter - up to 12.

Cheese products should also be included in a 2-year-old child’s diet. Of course, they must be natural and additionally unprocessed, like processed cheese. The healthiest type of cheese is Cheddar. It contains the most protein and calcium.

At 1–2 years old, the daily portion of cheese should be only 3–5 g. By 3 years old, it can be increased to 10 g. It is optimal to give this product in the first half of the day. Since digestive enzymes are most active during this period.

Since cheese is a rather specific product in the eyes of children, you can first add it in grated form to soups, purees, and omelettes. A regular sandwich with cheese will be in demand by the age of three.

It is interesting that in European countries cheese is offered to children from the age of six months, but our domestic pediatricians recommend being careful and protecting the child from possible allergies and problems with the gastrointestinal tract.

Good to know

Different types of old cheeses, with mold - all this the child will be able to try when his digestive and enzymatic system is fully formed. If you use it, there is a high risk of allergic reactions. He can eat such foods after about 12 years.

Fruits and vegetables
It is a source of vitamins, minerals and fiber, so necessary for metabolism. A child should consume at least 250 g of vegetables per day. Include all possible seasonal vegetables in his diet; in winter, you can give small amounts of sauerkraut, pickles and tomatoes.

As for fruits and berries - at this age almost anything is possible, it is important to avoid overeating so as not to cause digestive disorders.

Cereals and bread
Porridge for a two-year-old child can be made thicker and more viscous than before. If the baby refuses the offered dish, add dried fruits, nuts, and honey.

Bread must be present in a child's diet - about 100 g per day, preferably made from wholemeal flour. As for the child’s diet at 2 years old, now you should switch to four meals a day with an interval of 4 hours. Dinner - at least 2 hours before bedtime.

Good to know

Sweets. Sugar and all products in which it is included: confectionery, ice cream, sweetened juices are not recommended at all for children under 3 years of age. This also applies to chocolate. In addition to the fact that chocolate contains a very large amount of sugar, it also contains too much cocoa and various additives, which very often cause allergies in children.

As an alternative, you can offer your baby marshmallows, fruit marmalade and marshmallows: they do not contain sugar, and fructose (fruit sugar found in fruits and vegetables) gives them a sweet taste, which is beneficial for the body.

What should not be given to children under 2 years old?

Canned food.
Canned meat and fish (if these are not specialized children's products, but ordinary "adult" canned food from the nearest store) are saturated with salt, pepper, vinegar and various preservatives. They should not be present in children's diets. The same applies to homemade preparations, which usually add a lot of spices, salt, vinegar or aspirin, which have an extremely negative effect on the functioning of the baby’s stomach and intestines.

Recipes:

Wash the liver, cut into small pieces. Fry with onions in a frying pan for 15 minutes. Add grated carrots, chicken broth and peeled, chopped potatoes. Add salt and simmer until cooked (20–25 minutes). Then grind the mass into puree using a blender.

Oatmeal pancakes with apple
Oatmeal (100 g), 1 fresh apple, wheat flour (30–40 g), 1 chicken egg, sugar (to taste), vegetable oil (1–2 tablespoons)

Grind oatmeal in a coffee grinder. Mix the resulting oatmeal with wheat flour and egg, add the grated apple. Form small cakes and bake in a frying pan. You can serve with sour cream or jam if your baby doesn’t have allergies.

Apple baked with cottage cheese
Apple (1 pc.), cottage cheese (30 g), sugar (1 teaspoon), raisins (1 teaspoon), powdered sugar (to taste)

Wash the apple, cut out the core with a knife (not all the way through). Mix cottage cheese with raisins and sugar, fill with apple. Place the apple on a baking sheet with a little water. Bake the apple in the oven at 180–200 degrees for 15–20 minutes. Sprinkle the finished apple with powdered sugar.

How to develop a child at 2 years old

• When planning a game, you need to remember that its duration should not exceed 10 minutes. The fact is that at this age the baby’s attention is still so unstable that he will quickly lose interest in the protracted process and will not wait for its logical end.


• You shouldn't start the game if it's almost lunch or it's time for bed. Why? You may not have time to finish the game, but you won’t be able to restore the process. And the baby will simply be in a bad mood due to drowsiness or hunger.


• Didactic materials should be ready before the game starts and be at hand. After all, such a small child will not wait patiently for an adult to finish gluing something, drawing it, etc.


• If you use ready-made educational games for children 2 years old, you need to put them away every time after class and not leave them in children’s hands. You can fold cards and other materials together with your baby, thereby teaching him order.


• Every game has guidelines, but that doesn't mean you have to follow them blindly. Parents should, first of all, focus on the level of development of their child and take into account his individual characteristics. The baby is still not able to learn more than his capabilities.

Traditional pedagogy refrains from such a strict recommendation, because at this age the child’s development proceeds very individually, and what benefits one person may harm another. But you can buy an alphabet poster and letter cubes. It is better to strengthen the alphabet at the baby’s eye level, and use the cubes, as usual, for construction games. You need to make sure that the child will look at them with interest, and to answer his question “what is this?”, name the sounds. First, you should introduce the baby to the vowels (a, o, y, i), and then to the consonants (m, b, p, v, etc.), he will remember them very soon. For now this is quite enough.

Let's continue finger games

Let's roll the ball.
We teach the child to roll the ball with his palm on the table without losing it.
Accompanying verse:
The bun rolled
ruddy side bun,
along the path, along the path,
Directly…(child's name) to the cart!
Where's the bun?(traffic stops)
Here he is!(the child takes the ball in his hand and shows it to his mother)
Repeat 2 times, for both hands.

We roll a pencil.
The child is given a faceted pencil. The pencil is clamped in a vertical position, and children roll it in their hands with the help of their mothers. The goal is not to drop and practice the “Forward-Back” movement with your hands.

Good to know

From birth, a child easily does things that require synchronized hand movements: throwing, lifting objects. But movements where the hands move autonomously are difficult. Therefore, we begin to stimulate the autonomous work of the arms and hands separately from the legs. This will not only help the child develop better and explore the world more actively, but also develops connections between the hemispheres, which contributes to the development of thinking.

Woodpecker.
Woodpecker sat on a branch(we wave our arms like wings),
Knock-knock-knock, knock-knock-knock(at the same time tap your thumbs on the table)
Woodpecker sat on a branch(we wave our arms like wings),
Knock-knock-knock, knock-knock-knock(index, then alternately with all other fingers)

Games for the development of a child 2–3 years old:

Familiarity with the environment.
When walking in the park or just on the street, always draw your child’s attention to something new and interesting, and discover new qualities to introduce new qualities to familiar concepts. For example, not just “Look what a Christmas tree”, but “Look what needles, they are prickly.”

What's in the bag?
Take a non-transparent bag and put toys familiar to the child into it. Ask him to put the chopper in the bag and take one toy. Let him try to guess what kind of toy he has in his hand.

Large, medium, small.
It is necessary to teach the child to distinguish not only the concepts of big and small, but medium. It is convenient to use a matryoshka doll for the game. Take 3 nesting dolls. Show the big one and the small one, hide the small one in the big one. Now take the middle matryoshka doll. Show that it fits in the large one, but does not fit in the small one. Say: “This is a medium-sized nesting doll.” Show that the small nesting doll can hide in both the large one and the middle one, but the middle one can only hide in the big one, but not in the small one.

It is necessary to constantly draw children's attention to the size of objects. For example, on the street, notice large and small cars, houses, trees, people. You can also compare clothes: the mother’s dress is large, and the daughter’s is small, or the dishes: the socket is small, and the plate is large, etc.

Show picture.
Take 3 pictures with any image (photos are possible), for example - a cat, a girl and a dog. Lay them out in front of your child, give him time to look at them and remember them. Turn over one picture and say: “I’ll hide the cat.” Ask the child to show where the cat is, where she hid. Now turn over 2 pictures: “I’ll hide the cat and the girl.” Now ask him to show where the cat is hiding and where the girl is. As soon as the child can easily cope with 2 pictures, add another one, and then increase the number of pictures. Be sure to praise him.

You will need pictures in which some action is being performed (someone is sleeping, someone is walking, someone is laughing, etc.). Lay out the pictures in front of your child and let them look at them. Now ask: “Who is laughing in the picture?” Try to ensure that the child does not just point his finger, but pronounces words.

You will need pictures in which one object performs different actions (the kitty eats, washes itself, sleeps). Lay out the pictures in front of the child so that he can examine them and tell in detail what the kitty gives in each picture. Try to switch roles and ask, holding the picture in your hand, to ask what the kitty is doing in the picture. Praise him for his answer. Gradually add clarifying questions: what does he sleep on, what kind of kitty, etc.

How to develop color perception in a child?
The perception of the color palette in the absence of visual impairments is approximately the same in all children up to 3–3.5 years of age. At 2 years old, a child should be able to clearly distinguish at least 4 primary colors: yellow, red, green, blue. Not yet being able to name these colors, the child must be able to separate the green chips from the red chips and put together a pyramid of cubes of the same color. By the age of 3, a child should be able to differentiate at least 10 colors, while clearly distinguishing between similar colors: orange and yellow, blue and indigo.

Initial exercises should begin with 4 primary colors with the addition of gradually others, including complex color shades. Colors are introduced according to the principle of adding the most frequently occurring colors. This is why black or white are added to active learning, usually later than, say, orange.

You try to subordinate the games to one color being studied, but to avoid getting bored, during the educational games you operate with 1-2 colors, clearly pronouncing the endings: “look, we take a yellow cube and put it on a yellow cube. We get a yellow tower. And next to it we are building the Red Tower. Here's a red cube. But there is a red cube in your hand, where should you put this red cube? That’s right, to this red tower”….

Color differentiation games:

Games with dice: build a yellow tower of cubes for the yellow chicken, and a green one for the green frog. And the reverse game - we built a green tower (green house), who will we put to live there? Of course, a green frog.

Mosaic games- stick carnations of a certain color into different corners of the playing field. At first they stick in haphazardly, in a bunch, but so that there are blue chips in one corner, yellow chips in the other, etc. A child will not play mosaics if you do not help him put the learning process into a playful form. Say that here are beds with red berries, but here you need to plant green ones. Or that here are soldiers of the blue army, and here are soldiers of the green army.

Games with plasticine- make a yellow worm sausage and a red worm. Make many, many berries - balls and feed the yellow worm with yellow berries, and the red worm with red ones.

Cut 8 circles from cardboard, four are yellow, 4 are green, mix and ask to find these yellow circles. Together with your child, glue yellow circles in a row on a sheet of paper and green circles separately in a row. Draw eyes and a mouth - two cheerful caterpillars crawled along the path. Or maybe these are mom's beads? Or a path in the country where you can walk with your fingers - stomp, stomp!

Cut out a butterfly from a sheet of colored cardboard and let the child decorate the wings with specks of colored paper and lumps of plasticine. Moreover, the upper wings will only have yellow spots, and the lower wings will only have blue spots.

Of course, there can be many more games, the main thing is that the learning process is fun.

How to play with a 2 year old child

Active outdoor games:

• Running (along straight, wavy, zigzag lines drawn with chalk on the asphalt).


• Various games with peers where you need to run or walk quickly (for example, competitions organized by parents “Who can run faster?”, “Who can get there faster?”).


• Games with the ball (rolling the ball, the child catches it with his hands, later, when this movement is mastered, with his feet, first attempts to catch the ball and throw it himself, dribbling the ball with his hand (later with his foot) in a given direction, running with the ball in his hands, then jumping with the ball in his hands).


• Games with pins (knocking out pins with a ball (first the ball is rolled, then thrown), running between the pins so as not to drop them).


• Playing hide and seek - at this age children love to play hide and seek. Explain to the child what needs to be done. Let the baby hide first and you look for him, then vice versa. You can hide a toy and look for it with your child.


• Games that require the ability to jump (it is still difficult for a child of this age to raise his body above the ground, so it is worth teaching the baby to jump while holding his hands, for this you can offer to jump to a funny counting rhyme or counting. When the jumps are a little successful, you can try to draw various simple drawings on the asphalt not far from each other: a mushroom, a house, a matryoshka doll, a Christmas tree - and ask the child to jump on the image that you name. Subsequently, instead of images, you can use geometric shapes, numbers and letters).

Toys for a 2 year old child

Sets of fruits, vegetables, and animals are well suited for teaching a child.

For the development of a child, cubes, pyramids, elementary construction sets, and manuals on the correct relationship of geometric shapes are still needed. At this age, you can purchase dynamic toys for your baby (rolling toys, spinning top, tumbler, rocking horse and others).

For outdoor games you may need a ball, hoop, skittles, etc.

Do I need to go to the clinic at 2 years old?

In the doctor's office, he puts the stethoscope to his chest with a serious look. At home, he follows his mother around, doing the same as she does: sweeping, wiping dust, brushing his teeth; and all this with the most serious look. He takes giant steps towards mastery and understanding through constant imitation.
At 2 years old he can be very dependent on his parents. He seems to understand who gives him a feeling of security. Mothers often complain: "My two-year-old child is turning into a mama's boy. He clings to my skirt when we go outside and hides behind me if strangers approach." At this age, children usually whine for any reason, which is tantamount to clinging to their skirt. The child may regularly crawl out of the crib at night and come to his parents or call them from his room. He may be afraid of being alone without his mother, upset when parents or family members leave for a few days, or when the family moves to a new place of residence. Try to take into account his sensitivity when planning various changes in the life of the family.

473. Two years is the age at which sociability should be encouraged.

At 2 years old, children still hardly play together. But they really enjoy watching each other's games and just doing their own thing nearby each other.
Take the time and effort to provide your two-year-old with other children at least a few times a week.
Before a child learns to share his toys and participate in children's games, he must spend several months in the children's society, just getting used to it.

*Fears of a two year old*

474. Fear of being separated from parents.

This is what sometimes happens when a sensitive, dependent 2-year-old child, especially the only one in the family, is unexpectedly separated from his mother. Maybe she needs to leave town for two weeks or she decides to go back to work and hires a nanny (a stranger) for her child. Usually the child behaves calmly while the mother is away. But when his mother returns, he sticks to her like a leech and refuses to even let another woman get close to him. He panics when it seems to him that his mother might leave again. He is especially afraid of being separated from his mother when it is time for him to go to bed. The child resists in horror. If his mother breaks away from him, he may cry in fear for several hours. If she sits by his crib, he lies quietly, but as soon as she moves, he immediately jumps up.
Sometimes the child worries that he might wet the bed. He asks to go to the potty, his mother sits him down, he squeezes out a few drops, but as soon as he is put to bed, he asks to go to the potty again. You will say that he is simply using this excuse to keep his mother. This is true. But it's not only that. Children are really afraid of getting their bed wet. Sometimes they wake up every 2 hours at night thinking about it. At this age, the mother already disapproves of such “incidents.” Perhaps the child imagines that if he wets the bed, his mother will love him less and then leave. Thus, he has two reasons for being afraid to fall asleep.

475. Avoid reasons for fear.

Children who, from infancy, have often been around strangers and thus had the opportunity to develop their independence and sociability, are less susceptible to these fears.
If your child is around 2 years old, try to avoid making drastic changes in his life. If you can postpone your trip or going to work for six months, it is better to postpone it, especially if this is your first child. But if you must go now, give your child the opportunity to get used to and love the person in whose care you are leaving him. If the child will live in someone else’s family, then it is all the more important to accustom him to a new home and new faces in advance. Allow at least two weeks for this. Let the new person only be present for the first few days, but do nothing for the child until the child feels trust and sympathy for him. Then gradually hand over your responsibilities. Do not leave your child for the whole day at once. Start with half an hour, gradually increasing the time of separation. Your quick return will accustom him to the idea that you will always come to him soon. Don't leave for a long period of time (such as a whole month) soon after you move to a new place or after a family member leaves. It takes a two-year-old child a long time to get used to every change in family life (see also sections 750-756).

476. How to help overcome fear.

If your baby is afraid to fall asleep, the safest, but also the most difficult, remedy is to sit quietly near his crib until he falls asleep. Don't rush to sneak away. If he has not yet fallen asleep, your departure will frighten the child and make his sleep even more sensitive. This situation may drag on for several weeks, but eventually you will achieve the point that he will no longer be afraid to fall asleep. If he is afraid that you will leave again, try not to leave in the next few weeks. If you have to leave for work every day, say goodbye gently but firmly and cheerfully. If you look like you are thinking to yourself, “Am I doing the right thing by leaving him,” then the child becomes even more uncomfortable.
Trying to get your child to sleep by canceling daytime naps or shifting bedtimes to later and later times usually does little or nothing, and neither does doctor-prescribed sedatives. A child may panic and force himself to stay awake for hours, although he is close to exhaustion. You will have to calm him down.
If your child is worried that he might wet the bed in his sleep, reassure him that it doesn't matter and that you will still love him the same.

477. Excessive care only increases fear.

A child who is afraid of parting with his mother is very jealous of whether his mother is also having a hard time parting with him. If the mother hesitates and behaves insecurely when she needs to leave, if she rushes to him at the first cry, her anxiety assures him even more that for some reason it is really dangerous to leave her.
This may seem contradictory after my advice to sit near the child’s crib until he falls asleep, and not to leave him if he is afraid of separation. The mother should pay extra attention to the child if he is frightened, just as she would do if he were sick. But she should act cheerfully and confidently, showing him that there is no reason to be afraid. She should also encourage the child to be independent when he is mentally ready for this, and praise him when he makes progress along this path. This behavior of the mother is the surest way to help the child overcome his fear.
Excessive care inevitably makes the child too dependent on his parents, which causes panic, difficulty falling asleep and being spoiled.
Excessive care is usually shown by very devoted, kind-hearted parents who easily succumb to feelings of guilt, even when there is no reason for this (see sections 14, 454). But the greatest harm comes in most cases from the inability to admit one’s irritation towards the child (see section 8). It will be easier for parents if they recognize the inevitability of moments when they are consumed by the most evil feelings towards their child, and try to treat them with humor.
Sometimes it helps to admit to your child how angry you are with him (especially if your irritation was not entirely fair). If you do this wisely, you will not undermine your authority with this admission. It is very useful to occasionally say to your child: “I know that you are very angry with me when I have to do this to you.”
When the question is raised about the need for a child to overcome fear, much depends on how quickly this needs to be achieved for practical reasons. There is no particular need to force a timid child to pet a strange dog or swim in a deep part of the river, or to ride the bus himself. He will want to do it himself when he plucks up the courage. But, on the other hand, if he has already started going to kindergarten, then it is better to insist that he go there, despite his fear. If the very thought of it makes him panic, meet him halfway. Do not allow the child to come to the parent's bed at night. He must stay in his crib. A school-age child suffering from anxiety neurosis must sooner or later return to school. The longer you put it off, the harder it is for him to do it. In each case of a child’s fear of parting with his parents, it is necessary to think about whether their excessive concern for the child plays a role here, and try to overcome it. Both of these steps are difficult to complete, so a psychiatrist or experienced teachers can be of great help (see section 547).

478. Some difficulties going to bed.

I don't want to give you the impression that every 2-year-old who has trouble falling asleep needs to be sat around until they fall asleep. Against! A strong fear of separation from parents is a very rare occurrence, but almost all children experience moderate reluctance to separate. This reluctance takes two forms. In the first case, the child tries to keep his mother in the room. The child asks to go to the potty, although he urinated just a few minutes ago. The mother knows that he is just looking for an excuse to keep her, but on the other hand, she wants to encourage his desire to use the potty and therefore agrees to put him on the potty again. But as soon as she puts him in bed and is about to leave, he asks for a drink and looks as if he is dying of thirst. If the mother gives in, he will alternate between these two requests all evening. I think the child is just a little afraid of leaving his mother. Usually the surest way to calm your child down is to tell him in a friendly but firm tone that he's already drunk and gone potty, then say goodnight and leave the room without hesitation. If a mother allows her child to detain her and looks worried and unsure, then she seems to be saying: “Maybe he’s so nervous for a reason.” Even if the child whines or cries for several minutes, it is wiser not to return to him. It is better for the child to immediately understand that he will not achieve anything by doing this, than to continue a useless struggle for many weeks.
In the second case, a two-year-old child, who does not want to part with his parents, simply crawls out of the crib and appears in front of them. He is smart enough to act very touchingly during this time. He seems happy to be hugged and talked to (which he doesn't have time to do during the day). It is very difficult for parents to be firm at such a moment, but this must be done and immediately. Otherwise, he will like to get out of the crib, which will eventually result in an unpleasant struggle that lasts an hour or two every evening.
When parents are unable to cope with a child who constantly climbs out of the crib, they ask whether it would be better to lock him in the room. I don't think it's good to leave a baby crying at a locked door until he falls asleep. Better to put a net over his bed.
I'm not sure that the grid is harmless from a psychological point of view, but this measure is certainly better than nightly bickering. However, don't make the net a punishment. You can tell your child that the net turns the crib into a house and ask him to help tie the net. Most two-year-olds like this idea and willingly allow themselves to be placed under the net, then, after tugging at the net a little and making sure there is no way out, they fall asleep. If a child is afraid of a net, it is better not to use it. I would not recommend using it on a 3 year old who is more likely to develop a fear of enclosed spaces. I think it makes more sense for a 2 year old to use cribs with side walls, even if you have to buy a new crib for the next child. Too often, children begin to wander around the apartment in the evening as soon as they are transferred from the nursery to the teenage bed. But when the child also learns to get out of a bed with side walls, then the type of bed will no longer matter.
Sometimes, if your child is afraid to sleep, put a sibling in his room.

*Stubbornness*

479. Stubbornness in the third year of life.

Stubbornness and “negativism” begin to develop as early as one year of age, so this won’t surprise you. But after 2 years it reaches new heights and takes on new forms. A one-year-old child contradicts his mother, a 2.5-year-old child even contradicts himself. He has difficulty making decisions, and then wants to change everything. The child behaves like a person who seeks to throw off someone else's yoke, although no one intends to suppress him except himself. He wants to do everything his own way, just the way he did it before. He becomes furious when anyone tries to interfere or put his property in any other way.
It seems that the main characteristic of a two-year-old child is the desire to solve everything on his own and resist any pressure from other people. Waging a war on these two fronts without sufficient experience, the child brings himself to internal nervous tension, especially if his parents like to command him. This age period has much in common with the period from 6 to 9 years, when the child strives to get rid of parental dependence, takes responsibility for his behavior, is offended when he is corrected, and manifests his nervous tension in the form of various habits.
It is often difficult to cope with a child between 2 and 3 years old. Parents must be sensitive. The main thing is to interfere as little as possible and rush it. Let him dress and undress at his leisure, whenever he pleases. For example, start bathing him early so that he has time to splash around and clean the bath. At meals, let him eat on his own, don’t try to persuade him. If he stops eating, let him leave the table. When it's time to go to bed, or go for a walk, or return home, guide him by talking about all sorts of pleasant things. Try not to argue with him. Don't despair, calmer sailing lies ahead.

480. Sometimes a child cannot stand the simultaneous absence of both parents.

Sometimes a child behaves well in the presence of one parent, but as soon as the other appears, he becomes furious. Part of it is jealousy. In addition, at this age the child does not tolerate being commanded and tries to command a little himself. I think he feels superfluous in the presence of two such important people. The father is usually especially unpopular. The poor father sometimes thinks that the child hates him. Of course, the father shouldn't take it so seriously. He should sometimes play alone with the child so that the child knows the father as a loving, interesting person. But the child must understand that the parents love each other, want to spend time together and will not allow themselves to be intimidated by him.

*Stuttering*

481. Stuttering is a common occurrence in the third year of life.

We don't fully understand the causes of stuttering, but much is already known about it. Frequent stuttering is a hereditary defect. It happens more often in boys than in girls. Sometimes it starts when you try to turn a left-hander into a right-hander. The part of the brain that controls movements of the dominant hand is closely connected to the part that controls speech. If you force your child to use the wrong hand, it will affect his speech.
We know that stuttering largely depends on the emotional state of the child. Nervous children are more likely to stutter. Some children only stutter when they are excited or talking to a certain person. Here are some examples. One little boy began to stutter when his newborn sister arrived in the family. He did not show his jealousy openly: he did not try to hit or pinch her. He just felt uneasy. One little girl (2.5 years old) began to stutter when her beloved uncle, who had lived with them for a long time, left. After 2 weeks, the stuttering stopped. But when the family moved to a new house, she began to stutter again, missing her old home. Two months later, the father was drafted into the army, the whole family was upset, and the girl began to stutter again. Mothers claim that the child stutters more when the mother is nervous. It seems to me that children who are not left alone for a minute during the day are especially susceptible to stuttering: they talk to them, tell them fairy tales, force them to speak and read poetry, show them to their friends, etc. Sometimes stuttering begins when the father suddenly decides to impose stricter discipline.
Why does stuttering begin in the third year of life? There are two possible explanations. At this age, the child works a lot on his speech. He used to speak in short sentences to express more complex thoughts. He starts a sentence 3-4 times and stops because he can't find the right words. The mother is tired of his constant chatter and is not interested, so she answers in monosyllables and in an absent-minded voice, continuing to go about her business. The child is in despair because he cannot hold the attention of his audience.
It is very possible that the stubbornness that is an integral part of this stressful period also affects the child's speech.

482. How to eliminate stuttering.

Perhaps you or someone close to you had a long and difficult time getting rid of stuttering. But don't be discouraged if your child stutters. In 9 out of 10 cases, stuttering goes away on its own after a few months. Only in exceptional cases does stuttering become chronic. Don't try to correct your child's speech or worry about it at all. Better track what causes his nervous tension. If he was upset that you left, try not to leave for the next two months. If you feel like you're talking to your child too much and forcing him to talk, try to get out of the habit. Play with him mostly through actions rather than words. Does your child have enough opportunities to play with other children in whose company he feels free? Does he have enough toys and equipment at home and in the yard so that he can make up his own games without your intervention? I don't advise you to ignore your child or isolate him from you, but when you are with him, try to be calm and let him take the initiative. If he tells you something, try to listen carefully so as not to make him angry. If your child is tormented by jealousy, think about whether there is anything you can do to prevent it. Typically, stuttering continues for several months, then intensifying and then subsiding. Don't expect it to stop right away. Be happy with the gradual progress. If you can't figure out what's causing your stuttering, talk to a child psychiatrist. Don't confuse stuttering with tongue-tiedness.
There are special schools for speech correction. They often, but not always, help correct speech defects. Such classes are especially valuable for school-age children who themselves want to correct their speech defects. But if the child is nervous, it is better to first consult with a child psychiatrist to try to establish and eliminate the cause of the nervousness.

*Nail biting*

483. Biting your nails is a sign of nervousness.

Typically, children who bite their nails tend to worry about anything. For example, they start biting their nails while waiting to be called on to answer in class, or while watching a scary movie. If a child is usually happy and happy, then nail biting is not necessarily a sign of nervous tension. But in any case, this phenomenon deserves attention.
Remarks and punishments usually stop the child only for a minute, since he simply does not notice that he is biting his nails. Punishments can only increase his nervous tension. Lubricating with bitter substances also rarely helps.
The best approach to this problem is to try to find out what is bothering the child, what is weighing on him. Maybe he is forced a lot, corrected, warned or scolded. Maybe his parents expect too much from him, for example, only excellent grades at school. Check with your child's school teachers. If movies, radio or TV shows excite him more than other children, it is best not to allow him to watch or listen, especially to programs that are not suitable for children.
A girl over 3 years old can be jokingly suggested to get a manicure so that she gets rid of the habit of biting her nails.

The development of a child at 2 years is no longer as rapid as immediately after birth. But by this age, children have acquired many new skills. They walk and run, have excellent control of their body, and have well-developed fine motor skills. The kids eat on their own, try to dress themselves, and many go to the potty on their own.

Speech becomes richer, children begin to speak in short sentences and understand adults perfectly. The difficulties of two-year-olds are associated with the next transitional age. The child is increasingly establishing himself as an independent person, but it is still difficult for children to cope with all the challenges.

Physical development of a two-year-old child

The average weight of a two-year-old boy reaches 11-14.5 kg, girls - 10.8-14 kg. Height – 83.5-93 cm and 84-90.4 cm, respectively. The head circumference in boys is 47.6 - 50.9 cm, and the chest - 48.4-54.7 cm. In girls, the head circumference is 46.6-50.0 cm, the chest - 48.5-54.0 cm These indicators should not be taken as an absolute norm, they are averaged. For example, the WHO physical development table offers large variations by year and month. Therefore, only a doctor can determine the lag by conducting special tests.

By the age of two, the baby is already moving well. He walks and runs, climbs stairs, goes up and down stairs. Can back up, spin, and make sharp turns. Children can easily jump over obstacles and can stand on one leg. They rise on tiptoes or tiptoes to get the thing they need. They rearrange the chairs, take the toys out of the box, and put them back. The child can maintain balance on the crossbar and dig a ball with his foot.

Fine motor skills are also actively developing. A 2-year-old child should be able to build towers from cubes, confidently draw vertical lines, hold scissors in his hands and cut paper. Some children can perform more complex tasks. Most people at this age begin to disassemble toys into parts. You can’t argue with your children about this, otherwise they may lose interest in the world around them. Without disassembling the toy, they will not be able to understand how it works and functions.

The child’s everyday skills also improve. He eats well with a spoon and doesn’t even spill soup; he drinks from a mug. Many children no longer like small tables; they want to sit at a large table. The baby washes his hands and face himself and tries to brush his teeth. Some children can dress themselves by the age of two. True, they still have problems with buttoning buttons and tying shoelaces. The fingers are not yet sufficiently developed, so parents should help them a little. If you haven't potty trained your baby yet, now is the time to start. Two-year-old children are already able to control their physiological needs; they can learn to go to the toilet quite consciously.

Child's mental development

In the second year of life, the child’s emotional and intellectual development continues. His sensory skills are improving. The baby can distinguish about eight shades. Can select several cards or cubes of the same color based on a sample. He is well versed in the sizes and shapes of objects and can put figures into a frame without errors. He already operates with such concepts as “big” and “small”, “high” and “low”, “warm” and “cold”. Can sort objects according to their characteristics. They begin to navigate time, understand what “now”, “later”, “in a few minutes” means. True, more distant time periods do not mean anything for children yet. They do not understand the concepts of “always”, “in a year”, etc.

The baby's games become more meaningful and complex. He can build a garage for the car and bring it there. Loads cubes into the truck and unloads them. The girls feed the doll from a spoon, rock it, and try to dress it. Children actively talk and comment on their actions. They love to chat on a child's phone, copying the behavior of adults. It is very important to support your baby’s desire to help you around the house at this age. If he wants to dust or wash dishes, give him a cloth and let him work with you. Collect toys only with children to teach them order.

The speech of two-year-old children becomes richer. By the end of the year, the child should know 200-300 words. He names many objects in his own way, but these are already conscious names, and not random sounds or syllables. Kids begin to speak in short sentences and try to use prepositions and adjectives. Children also refer to themselves in the third person. Speech development in girls occurs faster than in boys. Many at two years old can already repeat short poems and songs after their mother, and speak in rather large sentences of three or four words. While boys develop motor functions more intensively. If the baby is hyperactive, he begins to speak later than calm children. There is no need to be particularly scared, because children’s development is individual. It happens that by the age of three, children begin to speak clearly and in large sentences. But if the child has not started speaking after three years, you should go to a speech therapist.

A child’s passive vocabulary is even greater; he understands adults perfectly. Moreover, he knows what actions will follow after certain words. For example, when mom says “let’s go for a walk,” she looks for clothes, and when she says “let’s draw,” she starts pulling out an album and paints. Fulfills rather complex requests - “put the toy in the box”, “wash your hands and come to me”, “bring the blocks and build the turret”. The baby has a good sense of where his things are (clothes, toys, dishes) and can find hidden objects. If you look at pictures in a book with your children, they will unmistakably show them at the request of their parents.

At two years of age, memory develops rapidly. When you go for a walk with your children, they will lead you to an already familiar playground. They associate many objects in the house with other people. Kids know that the jacket is dad's and the purse is mom's. By the age of two, children remember new material well, short poems, pictures in books, and even letters. Of course, each child has his own age characteristics, some speak and learn faster, others more slowly. Therefore, the mother’s advisor should not be an Internet forum, but an experienced doctor or psychologist.

Emotional development of the child and the crisis of the second year

The emotional development of a child undergoes no less changes than its intellectual development. He becomes more and more aware of his individuality and asserts himself as a person. The child wants to do many things on his own. When he is not given it, he becomes angry. Temper tantrums are quite common for a two year old. Parents wonder why their sweet baby suddenly became capricious and often aggressive. They do not understand how to behave in such situations. They often believe that they treat children incorrectly, do not pay enough attention to them, and make mistakes in their upbringing.

You need to understand that a child’s fits of anger are not the parents’ fault or a lack of upbringing. He has not yet learned to control his emotions and understand them. The child tests the limits of what is permitted and his capabilities. At such moments, it is important for parents to do two things - understand why the child is angry, and not get annoyed yourself.

The reasons for anger may seem quite trivial to adults, but for a child they are very significant. But you shouldn’t always give in, although you shouldn’t be too strict with children either. It is necessary to clearly define for the child what is “possible” and what is “not allowed” and never deviate from this principle. A small child needs restrictions, this is how he feels safe. If his mother always follows his lead, he becomes unsure of himself, becomes even more capricious and uncontrollable. There should not be too many restrictions; children simply do not perceive an endless number of prohibitions.

You need to talk to your child like you would to an adult. If the baby fell to the floor, screams, throws toys, but has not yet become hysterical, try to talk to him. Sit down next to him, try to explain with completely adult phrases and arguments why you cannot fulfill his request. It becomes less and less common to distract a child with other things at this age; after a while he returns to his demands. By the age of four the problem goes away. If aggressive behavior persists, consultation with a psychologist who has experience working with such children is necessary.

A two-year-old's interaction with other people is more active. He clearly distinguishes what he can do with mom and dad, grandparents. The kid becomes cunning, he understands what he can demand from, who is affected by his whims, and who is not so affected. With strangers, the baby still behaves warily, remains silent, and hides behind his mother. There are also more sociable children who quickly make contact with strangers, it all depends on their character. The child is interested in other children, but their interaction is still weak. Most likely, the kids will play side by side, from time to time taking each other’s toys, and they may even fight. If a child is greedy and not too willing to play with others, there is no need to worry. Real interaction between children will begin only after a few months, closer to three years.

Child's regimen and nutrition

A two-year-old child already chews food well, he has almost all his milk teeth, so baby food can be varied. The meat is given not only in ground form or in the form of steamed cutlets, but also in pieces. It is best to stew it or bake it in the oven with different sauces. Children can already be given lean pork and lamb, but with duck and goose it’s worth waiting. The basis of the meat diet should be beef or veal, chicken, rabbit, turkey. The optimal daily amount of meat is 90 grams. Fish is also good for the baby; they give it twice a week, approximately 90-100 grams. Smoked meat is not recommended, but by the age of two, flour products, pancakes, and pancakes are introduced into the diet.

Vegetables should form the basis of the menu. They are used to make soups, purees, salads, and casseroles. Pumpkin, zucchini, carrots, potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce and spinach will be useful for the child; you can add eggplant. The baby should eat fruits and berries containing vitamins every day. Almost everything is allowed, only strawberries and citrus fruits are given with caution, as there may be an allergy to them. But with chocolates and sweets you should wait up to three years. Porridge has not lost its relevance either. They need to be made viscous; the liquid and cereal are mixed in a 3:1 ratio. If your baby doesn’t like to eat porridge, make them into cutlets half filled with meat, or casseroles with vegetables. A child should drink approximately 600 grams of milk and fermented milk products per day. You can give your baby diluted juices, compote, tea, or berry mousse to drink.

Here is an approximate daily menu for a child who is two years old:

• Morning meal. Rice porridge with dried apricots, cottage cheese, bread with butter, tea.
• Dinner. Vegetable salad from cucumber and greens, bean soup with carrots and potatoes, potato zrazy stuffed with meat, apple jelly.
• Afternoon snack. Banana, yogurt, dry biscuits.
• Evening meal. Turkey cutlet, stewed cauliflower, berry puree (strawberries, blueberries, wild strawberries), baby milk, bread and butter.

A two-year-old child sleeps for about 9-10 hours at night and 2-3 hours during the day. At this age, the baby is already switching to one-time sleep; the period of daytime activity lasts about 4-5 hours. Children may still wake up at night, especially if the day has been busy and the nervous system is overexcited. If this happens regularly, the baby is capricious for a long time, then lethargic all day, you need to consult a doctor. Walking is very important for a two-year-old child. In the warm season, he needs to be taken outside in the morning and evening for 2-3 hours. In winter, walks with children should last at least an hour. You need to bathe your baby every evening, be sure to put toys in the bathroom, and teach him little by little to wash himself.

Gymnastics with a two-year-old child

Physical exercises should continue to take place in the form of a game, but they can be more varied. Gymnastics will be useful for the child. Prepare a lesson plan, take a ball, cubes, a stick, a board, a ladder (it’s good if there is a wall bars in the room). The first exercise with children is walking on an inclined plane. Place the board with one end on the floor and the other on a raised surface. Help your baby get up and down it. Next, move on to exercises with a stick. The child lies down on the mat, you ask him to reach with his legs to the stick, which is placed horizontally at the level of his chest.

Place the cubes to the left of the baby, ask him to move them to the right side. Play with the ball, first throw them to each other, then invite the baby to hit the ball into a target, for example, into a box. Help your child climb up and down a stepladder or wall bars. All exercises should be repeated 4-6 times, practice with him while he perceives the lesson as a game.

If the child complains that he is tired, gymnastics should be stopped. Do gymnastics with musical accompaniment, this will make it more fun for children to do, and they will show interest in physical exercise longer. On the street, try running with him, playing catch. Carry your little one in a stroller less, let him walk on walks and push his “transport” himself. Encourage him to play with other children, then the kids move more and develop better physically.

Classes for the mental and sensory development of the child

At 2 years old, the child’s intellectual development allows him to study seriously. It is important to pay attention to the development of speech, sensory, and logic in a child. To do this, you can choose one of the early development methods, or just regularly work with your baby. To improve speech skills, it is very important to read books with children and memorize poems. To learn a poem, first read it several times, then ask your child to repeat the last word in the line. Read one line, and ask the child to recite the second line himself. Many children find it easier to sing than to recite a rhyme, so try learning songs with your child. Comment on your actions, name surrounding objects and pictures in the book, so that by the age of two, the child will better replenish his passive vocabulary.

Crisis of two years

Most babies go through the age of “no” around the age of two. Even those children who were considered real little angels begin to look more like stubborn donkeys. How to respond to such changes in a child’s behavior? In what cases should you be firm, and in what cases is it better to give in?

You ask him to put on a sweater, sit down at the table, stop exploring the electrical outlet, or return the rattle to his eight-month-old brother - with childish tenacity, your child rejects any requests and demands.

“At the next “no,” I broke down, my patience ran out,” says Larisa, mother of two-year-old Philip. I only dreamed of the moment when he would finally go to bed and I would get a little respite.”

What is the reason for a child’s need to be stubborn? At about two years of age, the child begins to realize his integrity, both psychological and physical, he learns to control his natural functions and enjoys owning his body. During this period, he feels that he is no longer one with his mother, that he is a completely separate person. With the help of “no,” the baby over and over again asserts his very fresh sense of “separateness.” In order to psychologically separate from the parents, the child must resist them, resisting parental control, instructions and requests. Only by opposing himself to his parents can he take the path of individualization. Of course, sometimes it can be difficult to get along with a baby, but you need to remember that this crisis period precedes a new milestone in development. Therefore, it is important to understand how to help a child (and sometimes yourself) get through a crisis without impeding personal development.

Avoid obstacles

Let's put on socks? No, no socks needed! You should not be stubborn after your child. You will certainly be able to overrule him, but in fact, by submitting to you this time, he will not change his position. True, if you constantly give in, the baby may “overflow its banks”, turning into a little tyrant. Of course, it is important for a small child to show his will and feel that he is the one in control of the situation, but it is equally important to set boundaries so that he learns to balance his desires with the requirements of reality. In order to honorably get out of another conflict situation into which your child’s irreconcilable stubbornness has led you, you need to become a master of red herrings and lyrical digressions. For example, offer his fingers a game of hide and seek: would they like to hide in their socks so that no one will find them? Draw his attention to something that makes him feel positive: “Will your teddy bear go for a walk with us? He probably needs help getting ready?” Sometimes it is enough to wait five minutes and repeat your request again. Your child's attention will be focused elsewhere. Apply the same strategy if your child refuses to leave the playground: “Who can run to the corner of that house over there the fastest?” This is a good way to redirect your child's attention to something more fun, interesting or unusual. When a stubborn baby begins to obey, praise him, because for him this is an obvious effort.

If your child does not heed your request to sit down at the table or start getting ready for bed, if at least a quarter of an hour passes between your persuasion and his consent to action, reassure yourself that this is normal at his age. It is quite difficult for a small child to immediately respond to your request, especially if he is busy with something more interesting than purees or a nap. Put yourself in his shoes. Do you have a desire to interrupt a conversation with your beloved friend in order to go wash the dishes? Hardly at the same time. Maybe in ten minutes. For the child, just like for you, switching from one activity to another is easier and does not cause resistance if he knows about it in advance. “Slowly finish the game, we’ll have lunch in fifteen minutes.” If you are going to visit, announce the program to him and add some pleasant details: “We will go to grandma. She really wants to see you and treat you to pancakes.” When dressing your baby, tell him how you will get there, remind him about pancakes, ask how much he can eat: let’s count, with honey or jam? He won’t even notice that he’s already fully dressed and ready to go out.

Of course, there are things about which you need to remain steadfast. The child should know that there are prohibitions and rules that should never be broken. They should primarily be about safety and be very clear. You can’t stick your fingers into a socket, climb onto a windowsill, or snatch a pen from your mother’s hand in the middle of the roadway. When you ask your baby to remove his fingers from the socket, he must remove them. And if he says “no,” calmly take his hands away from his cherished goal; there can be no compromises here. The kid will probably try to defend his rights with screams and tears; try not to oppose your position to his, but to calm him down and explain once again what the ban is connected with.

From time to time, give your child the opportunity to say “no,” to show his will and express his desires. The child must know that it is he who wants or does not want something, and by accepting his “no” you will show respect for his needs. Why not allow your child to exercise freedom of choice where it does not threaten his safety and health? In addition, some balance will be maintained between what you can allow him and what you cannot.

At the table:“Should I put some cauliflower in for you?”
When selecting a game:“Do you want to play with the blocks?”
Offering him an extra glass of drink:“Would you like some more juice?”
Presenting him with a choice:“Which sweater do you want to wear, red or blue?”
Provide a choice in the expression of feelings:“Do you want to kiss your sister?”

Expecting a child is always full of joyful dreams, plans and hopes. Parents imagine their future life with their baby in bright colors. The son or daughter will be beautiful, smart and definitely obedient. The reality turns out to be somewhat different. The long-awaited baby is truly the most beautiful, smartest and most loved, and even sometimes obedient. However, closer to two years, the baby’s character begins to change. So much so that parents stop recognizing their child.

It becomes extremely difficult to cope with a child. Just recently, so sweet and flexible, he becomes capricious, hysterical and strives to do everything his own way. Of course, parents are aware that between two and three years the child enters his first transitional age.

Psychologists call this period the “two-year-old crisis.” He is still a very small child - 2 years old. He often freaks out and is capricious. However, this knowledge does not make it any easier. Life next to the little tyrant becomes simply unbearable. The baby, so obedient and sweet, suddenly becomes stubborn and capricious. Hysterics arise many times and out of nowhere. Moreover, if the child has set out to get what he wants, then it will no longer be possible to distract him by switching his attention to something else. The kid will stand his ground until the last.

Parents' confusion

Most parents are unprepared for such changes. What happens to the child takes them by surprise. Even if the baby has an older brother or sister and the parents have already gone through something similar, a nervous child who always throws tantrums creates an unbearable atmosphere in the house. Parents, frightened by the thought that their baby may have serious health problems, seek help from experienced friends. However, few people decide to turn to a specialist and get advice from a child psychologist.

The advice given by ordinary people in such cases is of the same type. Most are inclined to think that the child simply needs to be “asked the right way” so that he knows how to behave. However, such methods do not bring any benefit. The child becomes nervous and freaks out even more, driving loved ones with his behavior literally to the point of

How it manifests itself - the age of testing

Most often, the baby resorts to a violent demonstration of his dissatisfaction. Falls to the floor, throws things around, hits parents, breaks toys. Moreover, reasons for dissatisfaction sometimes arise out of nowhere. For example, a child wanted water. Mom gives him a bottle, which immediately flies to the floor. It turns out that the baby wanted the bottle to be full, but it was only half filled; or the baby ran through puddles in rubber boots yesterday and wants to wear them too today. Explanations that there is sunshine outside today and boots are not needed do not help. The child throws a tantrum.

It must be said that parents are sometimes frightened not by the hysteria itself, but by the reaction of others to it. In a situation where your child is constantly freaking out or rolling on the floor screaming, it is difficult to remain calm. Especially if this happens in a public place full of well-wishers. Moms are at a loss. What happened? What is missing in education? What to do if the child is nervous and disobedient?

Most often, the parents are not to blame in such situations. It’s just that the baby has begun his first transitional age. Child psychologists call this condition the two-year-old crisis. The cause of the crisis lies in the child himself. The baby is actively exploring the world around him, which constantly presents him with surprises. He wants to be independent, but he is still unable to do without the help of his parents. Moreover, the help itself is often actively rejected. This is how 2 years old manifests itself - this is a rather difficult age for both the baby and his parents.

While the baby was very small, he felt like one with his mother. He calmly allowed himself to be picked up and carried from place to place, fed, dressed and performed many other necessary manipulations. Beginning to realize the limits of his own “I,” the child simultaneously tries to learn the limits of what is permitted in relation to other people. Although sometimes parents feel like they are being deliberately pissed off. However, this is not the case. The child learns to communicate, tries to realize the extent of his power over other people, and tries to manipulate them. Adults are required to show restraint and not succumb to provocations.

There is no specific date when a child will begin to show character. On average it starts at two years and ends around three and a half years. If a small child (2 years old) often freaks out and is capricious, then this can be called the age norm. The only question is how to survive this period with the least losses.

What should parents do?

This is perhaps the most reasonable advice that can be given to parents who are going through their first crisis with their child. It is worthwhile to forget for a while about what is right and wrong, and allow the child to gain his own experience. Within reason, of course.

“I myself” is the phrase parents now hear most often. I’ll dress myself, I’ll eat myself, I’ll go for a walk myself. And it doesn’t matter that it’s +30 outside, but the child wanted to wear warm leggings outside. Negotiations with a stubborn baby will end in violent hysterics. The best thing to do in such a situation is to simply allow the child to wear what he wants. Let him go outside in warm leggings. Just bring light clothes with you, and when your baby gets hot, change him. Along the way, he explained that the sun was shining now, and he needed to dress lighter.

A similar situation occurs at lunchtime. A child may want to eat sweet semolina porridge, dipping a salted tomato into it. Trying to feed him “correctly” will only lead to him refusing both. Let him eat what he wants and how he wants. If you can't look at it, just don't look at it.

Give your child more freedom and don't treat him like a toy. He is a person just like you, and he also has the right to make mistakes. Your task is not to protect him from all troubles, but to help him gain his own life experience. Of course, it is much easier to dress a child yourself than to wait for him to do it himself. Just take a little more time to get ready. In addition, try to listen to the opinion of the child himself. After all, he is also a person and has the right to be listened to. If it's lunch time and your child refuses to eat, then most likely he is not hungry yet. Meet him halfway. Most likely, he will soon get hungry, and you will have no problem feeding him.

Establish contact with your child through play

Games for children 2 years old are the main way of interacting with the outside world. To the question: “What are you doing?”, a child of 2-3 years old will probably answer: “I’m playing.” The child plays constantly. If he has toys, he will play with them. If there are no toys, he will invent them for himself.

Parents often complain that their child has a lot of toys, but he almost never plays with them. Most often this happens when toys are lying around, disassembled and broken. The child simply forgets about them.

In order for a child to remember his toys, they must be in his sight. To do this, it is best to keep them on open shelves. It is better to place large toys on the floor so that the baby can easily reach them. Place medium-sized toys directly on the shelf. This is where they will look most attractive.

Place all kinds of small items like small cars, Kinder Surprise figurines, beautiful pebbles found on the street in small boxes. On top of each box, place one item from the ones it contains. This way the child will understand where whose house is.

Do not give your child all toys at the same time

If a child does not see all his toys at once, then he will remain interested in them longer. If there are too many toys, collect some of them and hide them. after some time they can be shown to the child. He will start playing with them with no less interest than with new ones. Of course, you should not hide those toys to which the child is very attached. Some should be stored where they are most often used. For example, your daughter's toy kitchen utensils can be stored in a special box in the kitchen. This will keep your own kitchenware safe.

Your son's toy tools can be kept next to his dad's. When your child asks for a hammer or drill, give him his own toy tool. It is better to store bathing toys in the bathroom, and it is better to place the ball with which he plays outside in the hallway.

Create activities for your child

Perhaps your child is constantly naughty because he is simply bored. He is still very small and cannot always figure out how to play with this or that toy. To keep your baby busy, keep a special box for all sorts of interesting little things. At the right moment, you will remove a ribbon from the box, from which you can make a leash for a stuffed dog, in which he has already lost interest, or a scrap for a new dress for a doll.

During games, your baby tries to stay closer to you. In his games, he will gladly accept your offer of help, but he is unlikely to want to be told what to do. Games for 2-year-old children involve all kinds of research, experiments and new discoveries. You should not try to explain to him the purpose of this or that toy or rush to answer a question that he himself has not yet been able to clearly formulate. This way you can ruin everything. Try to give your child the opportunity to be a leader in his play and follow him.

Help your child, be his partner

Your baby may have an idea for something, but will not be able to carry it out due to the fact that his physical capabilities are still very limited. Help him, but don't do everything for him. For example, he planted a tree branch in the sand and now wants to water his “flowerbed.” Help him carry a jar of water to the sandbox, but do not pour the water yourself. After all, he wants to do it on his own. If you deprive him of this opportunity, then a scandal will inevitably arise. The child has not yet learned to correctly express his negative emotions, so hysterics often occur in children. 2 years is an age at which not all children can still speak properly. Unable to provide compelling arguments in defense of his position, the kid throws a tantrum.

Many games are simply impossible to play on your own. You cannot catch or roll a ball if there is no one to throw it, you cannot play catch if there is no one to catch you. Often children have to beg their parents for a long time to play with them. After much persuasion, they reluctantly agree, but after a few minutes they say: “Well, that’s enough, now play yourself.” Or, when agreeing to play, they announce in advance that they can only give the child 10 minutes. After this, the child does not so much play as he fearfully waits for the promised minutes to end and for him to be told: “That’s enough for today.” It’s clear that you won’t be able to play all day, but sometimes it’s worth pretending that you really want to. Give your child the satisfaction of finishing the game when they want. Games for 2-year-old children are their very life.

What to do if your child is hysterical

No matter how carefully you treat a two-year-old child, sometimes situations arise in which it is impossible to avoid hysterics. Unfortunately, a small child (2 years old) often freaks out and is capricious. Sometimes he has tantrums. According to statistics, more than half of two-year-old children are prone to hysterics and outbursts of rage. For many, this happens several times a week. Children prone to hysterics are usually very restless, smart and know well what they want. They want to do a lot of things and have a very bad attitude towards adults’ attempts to prevent them from doing this. Having encountered an obstacle on his way, a small child (2 years old) often freaks out and is capricious, wanting to achieve his goal.

Having fallen into hysterics, the baby is unable to control himself. He doesn't see or hear anything at all. Therefore, all objects that get in his way usually scatter in different directions. The child may fall to the floor and scream loudly. When falling, it may hit the floor or furniture hard. Parents are usually perplexed; they don’t understand why the child is freaking out, because just now everything was fine. The baby may scream until he vomits. At the same time, parents find themselves in a state close to panic; they do not know what to do if the child is nervous and disobedient.

It is very difficult for parents to observe such pictures. Especially when he turns pale and it seems that he is about to lose consciousness. True, he won’t cause himself any serious harm this way. His body's protective reflexes will come to the rescue, forcing him to take a breath long before he can suffocate.

How to help your child

First of all, you should try to organize the child’s life so that he does not have nervous overload. If a child has become nervous, the symptoms will be visible immediately. These are frequent outbursts of rage. When these outbreaks become too frequent, they will not lead to anything good. If you forbid something to a child or force him to do something that he is not very pleased with, then try to be as gentle as possible. Do not try to keep your child within strict limits. Trying to protect himself, the child will throw tantrums regularly.

Sometimes parents hope to improve the child's condition by giving him sedatives themselves. Moreover, they “prescribe” the drugs themselves on the advice of relatives and friends. This is strictly not recommended. Only a doctor can prescribe sedatives for children. 2 years is an age at which a child is still extremely vulnerable; uncontrolled use of medications can harm him.

If your baby is hysterical, watch him closely to make sure he doesn't hurt himself. During a child's tantrum, he may not remember what he did while he was rampaging. To prevent him from hurting himself, try to hold him gently. When he comes to his senses, he will see that you are next to him and the scandal he created has not changed anything. Soon he will relax and fall asleep in your arms. The little monster will turn into a baby who needs affection and consolation. After all, this is still a very small child (2 years old). He often freaks out and is capricious, but at the same time he desperately needs your love, affection and consolation.

There are children who absolutely cannot stand it when someone tries to restrain them during hysterical attacks. This only makes the hysteria worse. In this case, do not use force. Just try to make sure your child doesn't hurt himself. To do this, remove all breakable and easily broken objects from his path.

Don't try to prove anything to a hysterical child. Until the attack passes, absolutely nothing will affect him. If your child is hysterical, don't yell at him. It won't make any difference. Some parents, trying to bring the child to his senses, begin to beat him. Usually this not only does not calm him down, but, on the contrary, makes him scream even louder. In addition, you can miscalculate your strength and injure the baby.

Don't try to explain anything to a screaming child. In a state of extreme irritation, even an adult is difficult to persuade. And what can we say about a two-year-old child? After he calms down, don't start the conversation first. Many children perceive this as a concession, and the screaming may begin with a vengeance.

It’s better to wait until the child comes to you. If he approaches you, hug him, caress him and act as if nothing happened.

Often parents are horrified at the thought of their child “throwing a concert” in public. They are ready to make any concessions, as long as he does not become hysterical. This practice leads to completely opposite results. Children are very observant and know very well how to manipulate their parents. Don't be surprised if your child starts having tantrums regularly and in the most inappropriate places.

Let your child understand that he will not achieve anything from you with hysterics. If he got angry because you forbade him to climb a high ladder, do not allow this after he calms down. If before the start of the tantrum you planned to go for a walk with him, go as soon as there is silence and do not remind the child of anything.

Most children's tantrums are designed to have an audience. As soon as you go to another room, the screams miraculously stop. Sometimes you can see a rather funny picture: a child screams with all his might and rolls on the floor. As soon as he discovers that there is no one nearby, he becomes silent, then moves closer to his parents and begins his “concert” again.

When is it time to go to a child psychologist?

You should contact a psychologist if your child’s tantrums become too frequent and become protracted. In particular, they do not pass, even if the child is left completely alone. If parents have tried all the methods, but still cannot overcome tantrums, then it’s time to seek advice from a child psychologist. In order to find a good specialist, ask your friends who have already been helped by a child psychologist. Reviews will be a good guide for you. In addition, it is worth visiting a pediatric neurologist. This doctor will order the necessary examinations and, if necessary, prescribe sedatives for children. 2 years is the age at which natural herbal preparations are most often recommended.

Sometimes the reason for children's tantrums lies in family troubles and lack of agreement between parents. Even if parents never quarrel in front of the baby, the baby still feels the nervous atmosphere and reacts to it in his own way. As soon as they come to an agreement, calming their thoughts and feelings, the child’s tantrums immediately stop.

Being a child is just as difficult as being an adult. But still, time is on our side. Very soon you will find that the two-year mark has been passed, and all the hysterics are far behind you.