Happy birthday to your 2-year-old toddler as he marches into the twenty-four-month-old developmental milestones!
Besides having relentless interest in pretend play, your little one is also having fun with categorising and talking to you. Though your toddler is likely going to be annoying at times when he throws his tantrums, there are still a lot more exciting things going on in his life.
Let’s read on to find out what you can expect from your 24-month-old toddler.
Twenty-Four-Month-Old Developmental Milestones
24-month-old Sleep
If your little one is getting a shorter afternoon nap by now, don’t be overly concerned. Instead, you can put him to bed a little earlier so that he can still enjoy an adequate amount of sleep.
So, how many hours should a 24-month-old toddler sleep? He should sleep for 13 to 14 hours per day. Having a day time nap around 1.5 to 3 hours, your toddler would sleep for 11 to 12 hours throughout the night.
24-month-old Feeding
Needing a variety of healthy food, you can serve your 24-month-old toddler with three main meals and two snacks daily. Simply offer balanced diets containing all the main food groups including whole grains, fruits and vegetables, protein and dairy.
If you are in need of more interesting ideas to prepare your toddler’s meal, here’s a sample daily menu for your reference:
Additionally, you can try to offer your toddler some low-fat dairy products like yoghurt and cheese. You can equally talk to your paediatrician about switching your toddler from drinking whole milk to skim milk.
To ensure your toddler gets 700mg of calcium per day, it is recommended that he drink 16oz of milk every day.
Key Milestones in Growth
As your little one continues to grow, you will surely be amazed by his growing confidence. He is getting braver at trying out new things, including challenging your parental limits with different behaviour.
How should your 24-month-old toddler grow in terms of weight and height? Here are the averages that you can expect from your twenty-four-month-old toddler.
- Weight: Around 12.02 kg for a 24-month-old baby girl and 12.47 kg for a 24-month-old baby boy
- Height: Around 85.09 cm for a 24-month-old baby girl and 86.88 cm for a 24-month-old baby boy
Mind that your toddler might experience some teething discomfort as his upper second molar will be erupting*.
*For more insights, consider exploring When Do Baby Teeth Fall Out and Adult Teeth Come In?
Key Milestones in Skill Development and Senses
Key Milestones in Movement
- can run well
- can kick a ball
- can jump in place
- can walk up and down the stairs one foot at a time
- can carry a large toy or a few smaller toys around while walking
- can turn pages of a book one at a time
- can build a tower of four cubes
- can feed himself well
Your 24-month-old is certainly getting better in coordination, arm and leg movement control. As he is becoming more agile, we need to take some precautions while giving our toddler the chances of exploring different environments.
Here are some useful tips on how we can help to prevent our toddler from falling while exploring the world:
Key Milestones in Five Senses
- can say around 50 to 100 words
- starts to use real words instead of baby talk
- can identify body parts
- can understand two-step directions
- enjoys pretend play
- can play along with other children
- can start to understand others’ feelings
- starts to ask a lot of ‘why’ questions
Your 24-month-old still throws tantrums at times when he does not get what he wants. This may also happen when you ask him to stop doing what he enjoys to prepare him for his meal time and bedtime.
You can approach your toddler’s tantrum by helping him to identify and label his feelings. Then, show him the appropriate way to vent his emotions such as punching a pillow instead of screaming or hitting people.
Your 24-month-old is also learning to string words into phrases and sentences. Ranging from “want milk” or “play ball daddy”, here’s how you can actually help him to express himself in longer sentences.
24-Month-Old Toddler Activities
It is common to have toddlers to stay active throughout the day. Therefore, our toddler needs a safe place to explore with constant supervision.
While keeping reading activities as a part of his daily routine, you can keep your toddler busy with the following activities. This would help him practise his motor skills and imagination.
Additionally, if you are considering to allow your 24-month-old with some screen time, it should be not more than one hour per day.
Be A Patient Parent While Working Through Twenty-Four-Month-Old Developmental Milestones
As parents, we tend to get impatient easily while our toddler is trying out new activities. Instead of rushing along, do take a deep breath and discover the world together at every present moment.
Use a cheerful and friendly tone whenever you are trying to help your toddler in completing the activities. With this, your little one will be more willing to try out new activities and less likely to throw tantrums whenever he gets stuck during the activities.
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