Tolo Toys

Cognitive Milestones: Reasoning, Judgement and Understanding By 2 years old your child's cognitive development is progressing from simple thinking and reasoning to a more complex understanding of time, letters, numbers and colours. You will probably notice that your little one is increasingly able to follow more detailed commands, has an increased attention span and his or her play is becoming more inventive and richly imaginative. Simple time concepts such as last night and tomorrow are now understandable. Your child now refers to him or herself as 'me' and will also be demanding more of your attention when discovering new skills - 'watch me' will be a common phrase! By 3 years, thought and behaviour is maturing and a realisation of others is setting in. A 4 year old has an increased comprehension of time and is able to distinguish between two objects based on simple criteria such as size and weight. By 5, your child should be beginning to tell the time competently, recognise letters and numbers, and will understand more complex concepts such as less and more, full and empty, early and late.

Language Language develops rapidly between the ages 2 and 5. By age 2, your child can most likely say at least 50 words and recognize the names of many objects and some body parts. Your son or daughter will also be linking nouns and verbs such as "Mummy go" and will use 2-word negative phrases such as "no want". Storytelling becomes more interactive as your child can name common pictures and objects and will love to hear a favourite tale over and over again. By age 3, children are learning new words quickly and yours will most likely speak at least 200 words and follow two-part directions, such as "wash your face and put your shoes away." Your child will also start to use plurals and short complete sentences. By the age of 4 your little one will use longer sentences and can probably describe an event. Your child probably falls into the category of most 5-year-olds - having developed a vocabulary of around 1500 words and the ability to carry on a conversation, use the past tense capably, and will have learnt and can sing simple songs by heart.

Mobility and Dexterity While their stance may remain wide for balance, from the age of two, your child can most likely run with better coordination. Sensory and motor skills are becoming more refined - your child is probably able to walk up stairs, kick a ball, and draw simple strokes and rough figures of people and other recognisable objects. Children of this age are gradually learning to dress themselves and handle their toilet needs independently. Your child will be able to stack and build

Social/Behavioural Developments Emotional and social development begins with excitement about being around other children at age 2. However you may have noticed your child playing near other children rather than with them at this stage which is perfectly normal. By the age of 5, your child will probably be seeking and enjoying friendships. Often they might identify a playmate as their "best friend," although their choice may change frequently.