Mother, Baby & Kids

Second Year Toddler: Thirty-Four-Month-Old Developmental Milestones

An Asian toddler is posing happily in front of the paddy field.

While working through the thirty-four-month-old developmental milestones, you might find yourself considering about his regular dentist visits. As your little one might have all his 20 teeth, you need to ensure that he brushes his teeth besides the dental visits.

How about his early education enrolment? As for now, you can look for preschools that focus on play and interactions for him to learn and explore.

Read on to find out more about your 34-month-old’s behaviour along with tips and tricks you need to sail through this exciting journey of toddlerhood.

Thirty-Four-Month-Old Developmental Milestones

34-month-old Sleep

Due to his brain and body growth, your 34-month-old needs adequate amount of sleep. Here’s how your toddler’s sleep schedule should be like:

  • daytime nap – 1.5 to 3 hours
  • night time sleep – 11 to 12 hours

In order for your little one to get his full 13 to 14 hours of sleep, it is necessary for you to train your toddler to sleep independently. If your toddler refuses to fall asleep without you, you should not vent out your frustration towards him.

Instead, you should train him gradually by spending less time in his room each night. With that, your toddler will learn that he is safe to sleep on his own.

34-month-old Feeding

The rule of thumb remains the same: serve your 34-month-old with three main meals and two snacks daily. Ensure your toddler’s weekly meals consist of fruits and vegetables, grains, protein and dairy products for optimal nutrition intake and physical development.

What if your toddler tells you about his cravings for dessert after a meal? Or he is obsessed with juice and sweetened drinks? Here are some ideas to handle this common issue:

On the other hand, it is common for your toddler to be a picky eater. Instead of forcing or bribing him to eat more, your little one should be responsible of what and how much he eats. With that, he would learn what it feels like to be hungry and full. He would also learn how to make healthy eating decisions such as knowing when to stop eating when he is full.

Besides providing healthy food, how can we as parents help our toddler to get less fussy over food? Here are some suggestions that you can take action on to help your little one to enjoy a range of food options:

  • eat a range of nutritious food yourself
  • prepare simple meals together with your toddler
  • avoid showing disinterest when you are trying new food

Key Milestones in Growth

As he grows taller, your little one is going to lose his baby fat. So, how should your 34-month-old toddler grow in terms of weight and height? Here are the averages that you can expect from your thirty-four-month-old toddler.

  • Weight: Around 13.65 kg for a 34-month-old baby girl and 14.11 kg for a 34-month-old baby boy
  • Height: Around 92.96 cm for a 34-month-old baby girl and 93.98 cm for a 34-month-old baby boy

As your toddler grows physically, it is quite common for him to experience a high temperature at times. It is his body’s natural response to fighting common infections such as coughs and colds.

Besides checking his high temperature with a digital thermometer, here are some other dos and don’ts:

Key Milestones in Skill Development and Senses

Key Milestones in Movement

  • can walk up and down stairs
  • can pedal a tricycle
  • can jump
  • can dress and undress himself
  • can turn a knob and unscrew a cap
  • can complete simple puzzles

Good news for you, parents! As your little one can run, jump and balance well without falling, he would be less likely to get bruises compared to previous months. You can even enjoy cycling while he pedals his tricycle in the park.

However, we should remain alert whenever he is opening doors, climbing the stairs and crossing the road. Remember to always be by his side during any physical activities.

Key Milestones in Five Senses

  • can talk in complete sentences
  • can follow 3 to 4 steps instructions
  • can recognise letters better
  • can form logical connections around his everyday life
  • shows a strong sense of preferences

Your 34-month-old is currently discovering and exploring with his imagination. You might find him dreaming, visualising and playing with his creative ideas through his little chats with you.

What if you notice that your toddler has made up an imaginary friend and blames his wrongdoing on him? Mind that you should never make a big fuss over his imaginary friend. Simply get your toddler to clean up what he has done wrongly and remind him gently about rules and limits.

Other than his emerging imagination, your toddler is going to amaze you with his improvement in speech and language. He could form and talk in complete sentences more often. To further support his language development, you can get him to listen to nursery rhymes and songs through videos.

Speaking of watching videos with your toddler, it is essential for us to limit our toddler’s screen time. If your toddler throws a tantrum whenever you turn off the TV, here are some alternatives you can try without getting rid of your TV:

34-Month-Old Toddler Activities

At the age of 34-month-old, your toddler begins to understand symbols. This is indeed an important skill for learning as it allows him to think about ideas and concepts.

Let’s look into some exciting activities and games that could develop his symbolic thinking skills and creativity:

Be A Positive Role Model Throughout the Thirty-Four-Month-Old Developmental Milestones

In just two months, your toddler will be celebrating his third birthday! While looking forward to his new milestones, you should be very careful with how you speak and behave at home.

This is the age where he starts to identify his personality and imitate the elders around him. Thus, be someone whom you aspire your little one to be.


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