Creative mind and rising self-confidence are what you can expect from your little one while working your way through the thirty-one-month-old developmental milestones.
On top of this, you might have to deal with the issues of picky eating and toddler shyness. To know more about what your toddler can accomplish at this stage along with some practical tips, let’s dive into the 31-month-old developmental milestones.
Thirty-One-Month-Old Developmental Milestones
31-month-old Sleep
If you are uncertain whether to increase or decrease your toddler’s sleep duration, worry not. Simply stick with his sleep routine as the previous months: 11 to 12 hours of night time sleep along with 1.5 to 3 hours of daytime nap.
If you find your 31-month-old taking a longer time to wind down at night, it might be due to the lack of sleep during the day. To resolve this issue, simply get him to take a nap for two hours after lunch.
Or you can have your toddler be more involved in various activities during the day to burn off his limitless energy. Most importantly, always stick to the same bedtime routine every night.
On the other hand, your toddler might be scared of the dark or an imaginary ‘monster’ affecting his sleep. Other than installing night lights in his room, you can prepare an empty squirt bottle and give it to your toddler as the ‘Monster Spray’. He can spray it to ‘defeat the monster’.
31-month-old Feeding
The issue of picky eating is here again as your toddler is equally figuring out his food preference. Instead of yelling at your toddler for refusing to eat, you can:
- build a mealtime schedule which taps into your toddler’s natural hunger pattern
- avoid distractions and stress during the mealtime
- provide 2 to 3 healthy choices for him to pick and choose.
How much should your 31-month-old be eating? He should have three meals and two snacks each day which provide him with 1050 calories. You can prepare your 31-month-old’s meals as the suggested nutrition below:
Additionally, your toddler should consume milk, yoghurt, soy milk and cheese to obtain 700mg of calcium every day.
Key Milestones in Growth
Noticing your little one stacking up taller tower blocks? Besides having better hand-eye coordination, he is in fact growing taller as well. So, how should your 31-month-old toddler grow in terms of weight and height? Here are the averages that you can expect from your thirty-one-month-old toddler:
- Weight: Around 13.20 kg for a 31-month-old baby girl and 13.70 kg for a 31-month-old baby boy
- Height: Around 90.93 cm for a 31-month-old baby girl and 91.95 cm for a 31-month-old baby boy
Key Milestones in Skill Development and Senses
Key Milestones in Movement
- can run, crawl, roll over and twirl around
- can walk on a narrow beam
- can flip one page of a book at a time
- displays better grasp of objects
At this age, your little one does not only enjoy running, crawling, rolling over and twirling, he is more eager with climbing ladders and any other short furniture.
Thus, always get your toddler to be physically active. Playgrounds and kids’ gyms are where he may showcase his developed physical skills and movement. Nevertheless, you should educate your little one to be careful while having fun outdoors.
Looking into his fine motor skills, you will be able to notice an improved usage of his hands and fingers. He is able to pick up a pencil or crayon and start drawing circles, lines and swirls. This is because he has developed a better grasp of objects. Speaking of developing grasp, here’s a timeline of your toddler developing his grasp:
As your 31-month-old is currently developing his pronate grasp, here’s how you can help him to enhance his grasp:
Key Milestones in Five Senses
- can say around 100 to 250 words
- can utter two to three-word phrases
- can recognise different shapes such as circles and crosses
- displays assertiveness by saying “no”
- develops shyness
While your 31-month-old’s gross and fine motor skills enhance, he is also able to recognise shapes, including circles and crosses. Thanks to his expanding vocabulary, he is going to be more confident and chattier too. He will likely enjoy telling stories about his daily life.
What’s more? He is going to say “no” to almost everything. As a sign of exerting his assertiveness, you can struggle less by providing your toddler two choices. Avoid posing close-ended questions with only ‘Yes’ or ‘No’.
It’s common too if your toddler is a little shy, especially when he is in the daycare centre or kids’ gym. He would tend to become clingy and quiet around other kids or adults. Instead of forcing him to become social instantly, this is how you can help your toddler:
31-Month-Old Toddler Activities
Besides reading books to your toddler, you can take some time to play with your 31-month-old as well. Not only he can be physically active, you can also help him enhance his skills and creativity.
Some interesting games and activities for your 31-month-old include:
Give Your Toddler More Space and Guidance During the Thirty-One-Month-Old Developmental Milestones
Though it might seem hard to believe that your little one has grown rapidly alongside with the developmental milestones, you can support him with more guidance.
Understand that your toddler is developing his personality as the time passes while being shy. Simply encourage more participation and help him to make more new friends in different social situations.
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