Late Toddlerhood (25-36 Months Adjusted Age)

Your little explorer is now becoming a confident and curious individual, ready to take on new adventures! This stage is all about refining skills, expanding language, and engaging in creative play.

Toe Walking: In children aged 25-36 months, toe walking is common and usually resolves on its own. Many toddlers engage in toe walking as they explore their mobility and balance skills. It’s typically a temporary phase and often not a cause for concern unless it persists beyond early childhood or is accompanied by other developmental issues. Encouraging activities that promote flat-footed walking, such as barefoot play and engaging in games that involve walking on different surfaces, can help toddlers develop a more typical gait pattern over time. If you have concerns about your child’s toe walking, consulting with a pediatrician or healthcare provider can provide reassurance and guidance.

Motor Development

Active Exploration: Watch as your child masters running, jumping, and climbing with enthusiasm. Encourage their love for active play by providing safe spaces for them to explore, like playgrounds and soft play areas.
Fine Motor Skills: Their fingers are becoming more nimble. Engage them in activities like drawing with crayons, using child-safe scissors, and playing with small building blocks. These activities enhance hand-eye coordination and dexterity.

Communication

Complex Sentences: Your child will start using more complex sentences and having conversations with you. Encourage this by asking open-ended questions and engaging in discussions about their day. Provide opportunities for them to express themselves and expand their vocabulary through storytelling and descriptive conversations.

Storytelling: They will enjoy listening to stories and may start telling their own simple stories. Reading together every day supports language development and literacy skills. Use a variety of books, including those with repetitive text, to reinforce language patterns.

Answering Questions: They will improve at answering questions and expressing their thoughts and feelings. Encourage them to describe their experiences and emotions. Use emotional vocabulary to help them articulate their feelings.

Following Multi-Step Instructions: They will be able to follow more complex instructions that involve multiple steps. Practice this by giving them simple tasks, like “Please pick up your toys and put them in the box, then bring me your shoes.”

Social Interaction

Cooperative Play: Your child will start to engage in cooperative play with peers, working together to achieve common goals. Arrange playdates and group activities to foster these skills. Encourage activities that require teamwork, such as building a block tower together or playing simple board games.
Understanding Rules: They will begin to understand and follow simple rules in games and activities. Teach them the importance of taking turns, sharing, and respecting others. Use positive reinforcement to acknowledge and praise cooperative behavior and rules.

Play

Exploration

Creative Play: Provide materials for creative play, such as art supplies, building sets, and musical instruments. Encourage them to use their imagination and create their own projects. Activities like dress-up, puppet shows, and imaginative role-play can stimulate creativity and cognitive development.

Outdoor Exploration: Spend time outdoors exploring nature. Activities like collecting leaves, observing insects, and playing in the sand or water help develop curiosity and understanding of the world. Nature walks, gardening, and simple science experiments can also be very engaging.

Self-help Skills

Dressing Independently: Toddlers at this stage are beginning to assert their independence, including dressing themselves. They can typically manage simple clothing items like pulling on pants, shirts, and socks. Encourage this by providing clothes with easy closures (like elastic waistbands) and praising their efforts.
Basic Hygiene Routines: Teach toddlers the importance of personal hygiene. They can start learning to brush their teeth with assistance, learning to use a small amount of toothpaste and practicing brushing motions. Encourage them to wash their hands independently, emphasizing the importance of soap and water and scrubbing for at least 20 seconds.
Feeding Themselves with Utensils: By now, toddlers should be proficient in using a spoon and fork, though they may still be messy eaters. Provide child-sized utensils that are easy to grip and encourage them to practice scooping and stabbing food. They can also begin learning to drink from a regular cup, which promotes fine motor skills and independence.

Numeracy Skills

Counting Objects: Toddlers are developing their ability to count objects accurately up to about five or ten. Encourage counting during everyday activities such as counting toys during cleanup or counting steps while climbing stairs. Use hands-on materials like blocks or buttons to make counting fun and tangible.
Sorting and Categorizing: Introduce toddlers to sorting objects by color, size, shape, or type. This helps develop their ability to classify and organize information. Use activities like sorting different colored blocks or grouping toys by type (animals, vehicles) to reinforce these skills.
Basic Math Concepts: Begin to introduce basic math concepts through everyday experiences. Talk about concepts like more and less, bigger and smaller, and same and different. Use real-life examples, such as comparing the size of different fruits or determining which pile of blocks has more.

Health and Safety

Learning Basic Safety Rules: Teach toddlers important safety rules that are relevant to their daily activities. This includes crossing the street safely by holding hands, using playground equipment properly, and understanding basic home safety rules (like not touching hot surfaces).
Understanding Healthy Habits: Encourage healthy habits by offering nutritious food choices and modeling balanced eating habits. Teach toddlers about the importance of eating fruits, vegetables, proteins, and grains. Engage them in meal preparation and grocery shopping to introduce them to different foods.
Identifying and Communicating Health Needs: Help toddlers recognize when they are feeling sick or hurt and teach them how to communicate their needs. Encourage them to use simple words to describe how they feel and reassure them that it’s okay to ask for help when they don’t feel well!
Screen Time: It’s recommended to limit screen time to under an hour per day. Excessive screen time can interfere with sleep, physical activity, and cognitive development. Instead, encourage activities that promote active play, interaction with others, and exploration of the physical environment to support healthy growth and development.

Sleep

Transitioning to a Toddler Bed: Around this age, some toddlers may transition from a crib to a toddler bed. Make this transition gradual and positive by involving them in choosing their new bed or bedding. Ensure the sleep environment is safe and secure to prevent falls and promote a smooth transition to independent sleeping.
Monitoring Sleep Patterns: Observe and monitor toddlers’ sleep patterns and behaviors. Look for signs of adequate rest, such as waking up refreshed and being alert during the day. Address any concerns about sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns with your pediatrician to ensure healthy sleep habits are maintained.

Sleep

Promoting Healthy Sleep Habits: Encourage healthy sleep habits by ensuring toddlers get enough restful sleep each night. Toddlers generally need 11-14 hours of sleep, including naps, depending on individual needs. Provide a comfortable sleep environment with a consistent bedtime and wake-up time to support their sleep schedule.
Addressing Sleep Challenges: Be prepared to address common sleep challenges that toddlers may experience, such as bedtime resistance, night awakenings, or difficulty falling asleep independently. Establish soothing bedtime rituals and respond to their nighttime needs calmly and consistently to help them feel secure.
Sleep “Onion”: The concept of the sleep onion remains crucial for establishing healthy sleep habits. Just like layers of an onion, good sleep habits build upon each other to support better sleep. Consistency in bedtime routines and sleep schedules helps children wind down effectively, signaling to their bodies that it’s time to sleep. Avoiding stimulating activities close to bedtime and creating a calm sleep environment can also aid in promoting deeper and more restful sleep. Additionally, addressing any sleep disturbances promptly and maintaining a consistent sleep-wake routine further reinforces healthy sleep patterns in toddlers.