What are your 2 year olds doing?

I just saw a thread on what was typical for a 3 year old, now I'm curious about who is doing what at age 2.
My boys aren't great with speach. They say 2 to 4 word sentences but aren't very clear most of the time. One knows all of his colours and the other knows about 5. They know shapes and can count to 12. They can sing the ABC song but only recongizes a few of the letters. They can't answer "why" questions but are starting to answer things like "What happened?", although their response is sort like "Mitchell hit". They will also tell you their name and how old they are when asked. They do not do a whole lot of imaginitive play but will play together and with other kids to a degree.
I have one who is a pro at puzzles and could put together a 48 peiece puzzle before he was 2. The other one is now able to do a 24 piece puzzle on his own.
They can jump forward, stand on one foot and walk up stairs alternating feet.

Just curious as to what other kids are doing at this age.


ETA: Could a mod fix my error in the title please? Thanks!

 

Mine aren't 2 anymore & it is always hard for me to remember exactly what they were doing but it sounds like they your 2 are doing great!

 

Well my twins are 2.5 and my youngest is 1.5 so we're just in between the 2 year mark :lol: But it sounds like your guys are doing AWESOME! Mine twins are still having trouble with colors but my dd is talking a lot.
Mine also starting using their forks and spoons at 2 and my youngest is just now getting the hang of the fork. They are so curious at this age and I hear " What's that?" all the time! Mine loved and still love to sing songs and now can do all the motions for most of them and they initiate it, which is very cool.

I love this age!!!


I fixed your title

 

Thanks!
I know my boys are behind with their speach. I hear a lot of other kids their age just talking away and I feel a little sad...but I try to concentrate on the things they can do well

 

Your kids don't sound behind at all, what's expected at 30 months is 2-3 words sentences and using pronouns. My kids still don't have 50 words and no 2 word sentences, and they score about 24 months (they've been in speech therapy for a year).

My kids just got their EI eval but I can't really remember what they are supposed to do at this age for everything... I know the things they are ahead in is imaginative play, playing together (which they have been doing for several months now), strapping themselves in their car seat, cleaning up after them, putting dishes away etc. They understand a lot in both English and French and DD can sort things by type. DS knows a few letters, but we haven't worked on those at all (or numbers, colors etc) because I see no point in rushing it, especially as they're not even really talking yet.

 

I was curious about this as well. Mine are 2 years and 5 months. They've been able to identify all their letters, numbers, colors and shapes for quite awhile now - from around 20 months I think. In the last couple months they're learning lowercase letters (only recognized uppercase before), and can count to 10 (with an occasional number or two mixed up!) and can sing parts of the ABC song. They also know what some of the basic letters stand for - A is for Allison, G is for Grant, B is for baby, ball, etc...I think my son can even recognize his name - he picked up his own name tag at story time the first time we went earlier in the summer. They're communicating well, my son puts sentences together well and I'm really impressed with what he's able to say lately. He's very inquisitive too. He asks a lot of questions and can answer questions with thoughtful answers. My daugher is maybe a step behind him, and can say 4-5 word sentences. They communicate very well with each other too.

I haven't noticed if they go up the steps one foot after the other, that's interesting. I'll have to watch. My daughter is very fast though, so she must. My son takes his time with everything. Even if he can, he probably doesn't. They can jump and stand on one foot though. My daughter is a pro at those 24 piece jigsaw puzzles. My son has less patience and usually asks for help, even though he can eventually do it himself. They "ride" their big wheel bikes, but don't pedal much yet. My daugher is starting to get the hang of it, but that might be because she can actually reach. She is ridiculously tall, and my son on the other hand, has some of the shortest legs around.

I think my kids are very bright, but they are very shy in social situations. In one aspect it's good, because I don't usually have to worry about melt downs in public, and I can pretty much take them out by myself anywhere without the stroller. They listen well. But they take a long time to warm up around others. They are very quiet and shy at story time and other settings like that. I know they know all the answers, but they will sit quietly and rarely warm up enough to participate. I think it's just their make up, my husband and I were (are) both that way. So as far as knowing all the songs and the hand motions - I don't really know. They do sing some silly songs at home. And I'm never good with all the hand motions, so they would have really only seen them in a library setting from a teacher, and they certainly won't do in "class".

As for potty training - we've started and stopped several times. they're showing interest again, and I am now convinced my daughter knows when she has to go, she just doesn't always want to. We bought some m&m's last night to start with the training again. As soon as we got out of the car, she ran into the bathroom and peed. She takes after me when it comes to having a sweet tooth, so I should have known that's all it would take! What else...my daughter is in a toddler bed, my son is not, and they both still take a 2 hour nap a day. But bed times have been later and later, so it may be on its way out soon. I think that's all I've got for now!

ETA: I forgot about imaginitive play. Within the last month or two I've been so impressed with their imaginations - the things they pretend to cook for each other and me, the scenarios they come up with when playing with their little people or their dolls, it's so amazing and fun to watch.

 

Like a 48 piece jigsaw puzzle? That's awesome!

 

I know they aren't technically behind for the amount of words they are supposed to have but they do seem to be behind the average. The main problem they have though is their pronunciation of the words. Strangers understand probably about 30% of what they say. They are still on the wait list for speech therapy.

 

Yes! I love that he is so good at that because he seems to be behind his brother in most other areas.

 

let's see...

Riley says two word sentences once in a while, Danika almost never (at their 2 year WBV our doc said if we don't see a significant jump in 3 - 6 months to take them back in so i'm kind of nervous about that), they both think all colors are "puhpul" ardon:, neither one can count to anything, nor sing along to ABC. they like clapping/action/finger games (pat-a-cake, ring around the rosy, itsy bitsy spider, etc). they know most animals & animal sounds & will often say please & thank you without prompting. they can both run, jump, and do stairs alternating feet. just the other day they both told me their scribbles were something specific (one was a picture of a kitty & the other was a picture of me :laughing: i'll have to take their words for it!). i've never thought to let them try actual jigsaw puzzles although we do have some of the shape puzzles with wooden knobs. they're getting pretty good at their shape sorter & both know what an "'iangle" is, although no other shapes.

i don't know. i feel like they may be kind of behind, but am trying not to stress or worry about it unless i'm given reason to. other than expressive language, they met all of the other milestones the doc asked about at their WBV so :unknw:

 

It's sounds like they are doing just fine to me

 

Hmmm....

-They both talk in 7-8 word sentences
-Know numbers up to 10
-Colour- They get them right about 95% of the time
-Letters...not so much
-Running, jumping, climbing....check
-They don't answer my questions yet, when I ask 'Why are you tired?' they will say 'I am tired' or 'Why did you throw that on the floor?' answer 'I throw that on the floor'

-they do imaginative play a lot and make me supper about 39 times/day and pretend to be turtles or puppies or whatever
-potty training will be taking place in October since that is our least busy month so no luck there yet
-eating with utensils-well they can do it but sometimes it is still messy

That's about all I can think of now, I hadn't really thought about 2 year milestones but it's nice to know where they sit with other kids their age.

 

Nate is definitely ahead of Jack verbally, but Jack is much more physically adept.

Nate can almost count to 20, knows most of his letters, is starting to sing songs, talks in full sentences. He doesn't respond to almost any questions, other than to repeat what you just asked. He can walk up steps, but he's so short that it's really tough unless he's holding on to a railing! He knows most of his shapes, but thinks most colors are blue. ardon:

Jack can count to 12, know some letters and part of the ABC song, talks in 3-4 word sentences, he can kick a ball around the entire house like a pro soccer player, and does a lot of interesting fine motor things that Nate can't do (like pinch a ball between his fingers so it pops into the air).

I haven't tried puzzles, but am planning on getting some for when Jack goes in for surgery next week. I think it will give them something to do while Jack recovers and can't run around. They both jump with both feet in the air, dance, throw (Jack is a lot better than Nate).

Nate can tell me when he has to go potty and asks for diaper changes, but cries when I try to put him on the potty. Jack likes to sit on the potty fully clothed, but doesn't want his pants down; he is also my "stealth pooper" so I never know when he goes! Jack is going in for hypospadias repair (again) so PT is on hold until he recovers.

Like a lot of kids, my guys are ahead in some things and behind in others. I think your boys sound like they're doing really well!

 

Wow, my two just turned two today and we haven't been to their WBV yet, but it sounds like to me that I may be in for a rude awakening tomorrow when we go! They are not anywhere near doing most of these things and yet all of the people they are around (caregivers, family, friends) say they have an astounding vocabulary and communicate really well. They talk in sentences and have way more words than I can count and I discover that they know new ones every day when we are reading. They will sing the ABC song (missing a few letters or jumping ahead most of the time)and talk about colors, BUT they have no clue really how to identify colors or letters. When we are driving down the road every car to my dd is orange and all of them to my son are blue trucks. My dd is a jumping bean, and ds is just starting to really get some air under both feet. They do great on stairs, and are fast, fast runners. They do those kid puzzles with the knobs and shape sorters and know triangle, circle and square - and they think they know oval but they just call it balloon! Their answers to questions vary - sometimes they seem to know what I am asking - like if I say what's wrong, they will say foot hurts, Katie (usually the other one saying it for her) sleepy, more milk, etc. but then again they will sometimes just repeat what I said or repeat the question they are interested in (like asking me repeatedly - ok mama? - because I have had a cold and been coughing and I guess I always ask them if they are ok if they are coughing or choking. I'm not worried about it, really though. I work at a preschool and think they are right on track with the other kids and have noticed that most kids excel in one area and are a little behind in another. My dd is so physically adept and has great fine motor skills, ds can put anything together, is so verbal, and already is very empathetic and in tune with the emotions of everyone so I think they are just concentrating on their strengths right now and will catch up soon with things like colors, counting (they can only get to five), etc.

 

My girls are in a daycare/preschool, so I credit them for most of what my kids can do. They are 2 years, 8 months old. I know people don't generally adjust age for prematurity after 2 years old, but I still do when I'm thinking about milestones. They were 30 weekers and I do think they are still a little immature compared to their peers.

Karina speaks pretty well and can be understood most of the time. She is using 5-6 word sentences. Annelise is not as verbal. I think she is just a quieter kid in general. She says 4-5 word sentences, but I have to "translate" for her because other people frequently don't understand her. They both can sing the ABC and recognize all capital letters. They can count to 15. They know all their colors and shapes - even the ones I think are hard like diamond and oval. I haven't tried puzzles except for the 6-8 piece wooden ones with knobs. I'll have to get some soon and see how they do.

Physically, they are a little behind. Neither is very good at alternating feet on steps. I attribute this to the fact that they are very small and normal sized steps come up to their knee. Karina can run and jump. Annelise has been identified as having a gross motor delay although it is not enough to receive services. She cannot yet jump (she's close, but not there yet) and she has an immature running pattern.

We've just started potty training and neither ever asks to go potty. They are pretty successful at keeping pants dry only because I regularly take them to go.

 

They actually are not expected to know any of that stuff until at least age 4, so they are probably doing fine.

 

Bad mommy here, but I haven't even started introducing letters and numbers to them - other than the ABC song and counting aloud. We talk about shapes and they are starting to get the colors (mainly green, red, and blue) - but it really isn't something we've "worked on", any of that "pre-academic" stuff they are learning is simply through hearing me or others say, "Hey, you have a blue car! Your shirt is blue, too!" or "I like how you are coloring that bear purple!". We don't do flashcards, never have. We have the fridge magnets from Leap Frog and the bathtub letters, but they are just toys to them at this point.

They speak conversationally and are excellent with imaginative play - pirates, chef, dress-up, etc. They play in depth with Little People, hotwheels, stuffed animals, building things with locks, love to color and "write" with a pen or pencil. They climb stairs alternating feet and can jump off the ground with both feet, kick, throw, and usually catch a ball, shoot a basket, play baseball without a T and actually hit it sometimes, swing a golf club and hit the ball, carry their dishes to the kitchen sink, follow 2+ step directions, etc. They use please and thank you with little or no prompting, tell someone their name, their brothers' names, my DH's name, and my name. They are not potty-trained, though they know when they have to pee and poop and will tell you to "Leave me alone, I need to go poopy." :laughing: But they just don't have any interest in going on either the potty chair or the big toilet. Oh well.

I think a lot of what kids learn and when has to do with what we as parents introduce to them. Some kids might be excellent with more physical skills because the parents spend a lot of time playing outside with them while another kid might do great with their colors, shapes, numbers, letters, etc. because their parents spend a lot of time coloring, drawing, etc. with them. At this age, I have just never spent a lot of time on the preschool-type skills, so much of it is rote memorization without a lot of meaning until they get a bit older - at least with my kids. :tomato:

 

But you ARE working on colors with them when you say "That is a great purple bear you are coloring!" etc. Thats all we've done with our girls and they learned their colors/numbers/shapes/letters easily.

 

Oh, I know we are. I should have said we don't do the instructional, structured activities to teach them these things - I use my Special Ed teacher philosophy of "saying what I see". Look at that red barn! Oh, that blue lego is a rectangle. Can you find another one? etc. That is how our oldest DS learned all of his stuff, too. We've just never been a flashcard-workbook-etc. family - and some of my friends/acquaintances are and some people think it is weird since we are both teachers. When really, that is probably WHY we don't do those things. They'll get plenty of that kind of instruction once they start school.

 

Mom23boys, as a special ed teacher, I'm sure you know that these are skills that children are not expected to know until later on. If a kid gets them early, that's wonderful, but it doesn't necessarily mean anything. My kids are "ahead" on some things and "behind" in others and "average" in still others.

It isn't a competition, people

 

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Oh, absolutely. I just don't give any of it much thought. They are 2.5, they are doing great playing and having fun. Lots of time for the other stuff when they get older and it becomes more meaningful to them. Just speaking about my own kids, though. Everyone is different!