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What should your child be able to do
- All walking skills will now be rapidly improving
- They will be able to walk upstairs confidently and usually walks downstairs holding a rail two feet to a step
- They will be now beginning to run well in a straight line and climbing easy nursery apparatus
- They will be beginning to jump with two feet together and from a low step
- Able to string 3 to 4 beads and build a tower of 3 to 5 small blocks
- Able to copy a simple sequence of coloured blocks in a tower
- Turn single pages in a book
- Make snips with scissors
- Uses one hand consistently for most activities
- Imitates circular, vertical, and horizontal strokes
- Completes insert puzzles
How you can help
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NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde have produced an interactive questionnaire for children aged 2½ to 3½ years old. It gives you activity ideas to develop some of the skills they need to join in at nursery.
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NHS start4life has some great activities to get your toddler moving
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It’s quite normal for children to have flat feet up until the age of 3 years, the APCP advice leaflet has lots of information regarding development of foot posture in children, this can be found here:
Flat Feet in Children V3.pdf (csp.org.uk) -
The APCP also have good advice around choosing the right footwear for children, this can be found here:
Choosing footwear for children PDF -
Parents often worry about their children’s feet turning in when they walk, walking with an in-toeing pattern can be normal around this age and will gradually correct as your child grows. The APCP have produced an informative advice leaflet which explains more about this.
Intoeing Gait 2019.pdf (csp.org.uk) -
Fine motor development activities for 2-year-olds produced by Just One Norfolk
Fine Motor Development Activities (justonenorfolk.nhs.uk)
When to seek support
- Not walking independently
- Not able to get up from the floor independently without using the furniture.
- Not attempting to feed self, using a spoon, and/or help with dressing
- Not attempting everyday self-care skills (such as feeding or dressing)
- Difficulty in manipulating small objects (e.g., threading beads)
What your child should be able to do
- Your child will begin to follow simple “who,” “what” and “where” questions, relating to the here and now (what they can see, or is currently happening)
- Your little one will be using some longer phrases, on average 2-3 words together to talk to others
- By 2 years old, your child will be using around 50 words but can understand many more: around 300 words!
- You will hear your child use some action words (for example, “run” and “jump”) as well as the names of things
- Their speech sounds are developing, but your child will often shorten the longer words, such “elfent” for instead of ‘elephant.’
- Your child will now play more with other children, and they’re getting better at sharing things
- You might notice your child has started to stammer, this is when the sounds, parts of the words, or whole words might be repeated, stretched, or get stuck completely, for example, “b b ball” “but but but” or “mmmmmmmore.” They may try to say a sound, and nothing comes out
How you can help
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Model back any sentences your child says, adding on another word, repeating back the sentence correctly. This strategy is called recasting, take a look at it in action here.
Recasting- Younger Aged PDF -
Talk about what you’re doing around the house and get your child’s favourite toy involved too! This gives lot of opportunities for your child to hear those action words, in action! Try out some of these other activities
Using verbs PDF -
You can find more hints, tips and advice on supporting your little one’s communication and interaction at:
Activities for 2-3 year olds - BBC Tiny Happy People -
If you notice your child is stammering, or stuttering (they mean the same thing!) then get in touch with us straight away so we can support you – you can do this by clicking here
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For advice on how to support your child if they are stammering, check out this sheet:
Talking Fluently PDF
When to seek support
- Your child using pointing, or taking you by the hand, to what they want instead of using their words.
- They are only saying single words instead of joining 2 words together.
- You cannot understand most of what your child can say.
- They find it tricky to follow your straightforward instructions, such as “where’s is the ball?”
If you have any concerns regarding your child's development please click on this link to refer your child into the service, you will then receive a telephone call from a member of the team to discuss your concerns further and organise an assessment as appropriate.