Mother, Baby & Kids

Second Year Toddler: Thirty-Month-Old Developmental Milestones

An Asian little girl smiles happily while blowing bubbles.

By working through the thirty-month-old developmental milestones, your little one is now two and a half years old. Time really flies while we spend time with our toddler!

In this month, you can look forward to your chatty toddler sharing about his day. And some 30-month-olds might be fully potty-trained. But don’t worry if your toddler is still in the beginning stage of potty training, every child develops at a different speed.

With this in mind, let’s dive right into what you can expect from your 30-month-old in terms of sleep, meals and behaviour.

Thirty-Month-Old Developmental Milestones

30-month-old Sleep

You know how your toddler behaves whenever he is lack of sleep—he could be cranky and clingy throughout the day. Thus, always try your best to ensure that he has adequate amount of sleep daily.

So, how long should the sleep be for a 30-month-old? Similarly with the previous months, he should sleep 13 to 14 hours daily with 1.5 to 3 hours of daytime nap. If your toddler starts to refuse napping in the afternoon, simply let him go and put him to bed earlier at night.

In order to ensure your toddler sleeps deeply for 11 to 12 hours during the night time, be firm about bedtime boundaries. No matter how fearful he is of the dark, put him back to bed, switch on the night light and comfort him with his favourite stuffed animal.

30-month-old Feeding

As having a proper diet is essential for your toddler’s growth and development, you should provide him with three main meals and two snacks daily.

In order to support his daily activity level, he would need around 1100 calories from a variety of healthy food options. You can include:

  • 24g of protein like chicken breast or hard-boiled eggs
  • 3 cups of fresh, frozen or canned fruits (fresh ones would be best)
  • 1.5 cups of cooked or raw vegetables
  • 3 ounces of grains through whole-wheat bread and oatmeal
  • 16-19 ounces of milk
  • 1200ml of water

On top of this, you should opt for healthy snacks that can keep your toddler staying full longer. Here are some suggestions for power snacks and some tips in providing your toddler snacks:

Key Milestones in Growth

Are you amazed by the new skills and words your toddler shows you each day? Other than building skills and creativity, you may also look into his physical development. Thus, how should your 30-month-old toddler grow in terms of weight and height? Here are the averages that you can expect from your thirty-month-old toddler.

  • Weight: Around 13.06 kg for a 30-month-old baby girl and 13.56 kg for a 30-month-old baby boy
  • Height: Around 90.42 cm for a 30-month-old baby girl and 91.44 cm for a 30-month-old baby boy

Besides taking care of your toddler’s hygiene, it is equally important to look into his personal hygiene through taking baths. In order for your toddler to enjoy and love bathing instead of screaming all over during bath time, this is what you can do.

Key Milestones in Skill Development and Senses

Key Milestones in Movement

  • can use hands to twist things
  • can jump off the ground with both feet
  • can throw a ball overhand
  • can turn book pages whenever you read to him

Your 30-month-old would be able to jump up and down with both feet off the ground. He is also capable of going down the stairs one foot after another. He can also run while avoiding obstacles along his way, thanks to his improved balance. Thus, try your best to take your toddler out to the parks and playgrounds so that he could run and explore safely.

While being able to turn door knobs and opening lids, your little one would love to play with balloons and balls as he has better control over his hands and feet. Having a better hand-eye coordination also enables him to build towers with blocks more easily.

Key Milestones in Five Senses

  • can follow two-step simple routine instructions
  • can play next to other children and sometimes play with them
  • enjoys showing you what he can do by saying ‘Look at me!’
  • shows simple problem-solving skills
  • can say about 100 to 250 words
  • can take off loose clothes by himself

Building from the social skill training during the previous months, your toddler can finally mingle and play better with his peers. Note that your toddler might still be a bit reluctant about sharing his favourite toys with his peers. So, do monitor the play while catching up with other mummies.

In dressing and undressing your toddler, you can encourage your toddler to try it out himself. By staying by his side during the process, you can provide some assistance and compliments if he manages to dress or undress himself.

Here are some common situations that you might face during the process of dressing and undressing your toddler. Worry not, we have equally covered you with practical solutions to handle each issue.

Nevertheless, do help out if your toddler insisted you to dress or undress him out of a sudden. This is about his inner struggle of wanting to be a big kid while still wanting to be a little baby.

30-Month-Old Toddler Activities

As your 30-month-old has a longer attention span, you can now take the time for developmental activities. Simply include basic problem-solving activities or trial-and-error activities during his play time.

Some interesting activities and games include:

You can equally try out these activities whenever your toddler is having playdates with his peers. This would certainly get him to feel more comfortable playing with familiar faces.

On top of this, you can continue reading storybooks to your toddler and introduce vocabulary through pictorial flashcards.

Developing the Concept of Responsibility During the Thirty-Month-Old Developmental Milestones

As your toddler is now eager to help out the household chores, it is indeed the perfect time to educate him on the sense of responsibility. You can start off with some simple tasks like sorting and keeping the toys.

Repeat the routine of helping out with the housework. This will definitely be a good starting point for your toddler to be more responsible as he grows up.


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