Resources

Checkups at 2 Years

What Can Your Toddler Do?

• He climbs and descends steps alternating feet while holding on the rail.
• She opens doors and climbs on furniture.
• He jumps and runs a lot and kicks a ball.
• She uses a spoon and cup well.
• He imitates adult activity and work. He will follow 2-step commands.
• She will try to help her parents dress her.
• He should have a vocabulary of greater than 50 words. You should understand his speech, but a stranger may have difficulty understanding all his words.
• She makes short phrases or sentences and uses pronouns such as I, me, and you.
• He refers to himself by name.
• She asks frequently, "What's that?"

What Can Your Toddler Eat?

• Your child can begin low fat milk.
• He should have a balanced diet.
• Discourage frequent snacking by her other than with fruits or vegetables.
• Make sure your toddler brushes his teeth at least once a day.
• She should have a dental appointment sometime within the next year.
• Be careful when giving him hard foods such as nuts, raw carrots, or popcorn since he might choke on them. Avoid giving him large pieces of hot dogs. Hot dogs are the most common serious cause of choking because the slick skin allows his hot dog to slip down into your child's breathing passages.
• She may be a picky eater especially compared to her first year. Offer a balanced meal, but do not force her to eat. However, do not let her dictate what is served. If she will not eat the wholesome meal you have served, then she should remain hungry for two hours before you give her a little snack of fruit. She will eat better next time.
• A multivitamin once a day may be a good idea if he is a picky eater.
• If your home does not have fluoride in the water, a fluoride vitamin will be prescribed for her by her doctor.

Immunizations

• If your toddler is up-to-date on vaccinations, then he will not need any more for 2 or 3 years.
• One vaccine she may not have had is the chickenpox vaccine which protects her from the viral illness that causes tiny blisters to break out all over her body. Severe cases also lead to pneumonia and brain swelling. This vaccine may cause a few blisters near the injection site or other areas of her body from a few days to three weeks after the vaccine.

Tests to Be Done

A tuberculin (TB) skin test may be needed if your toddler has been exposed to someone with TB, a chronic cough, IV drug use, HIV disease (AIDS), recent prison time, time in a developing country, or if required by school or insurance.

A hematocrit may be done to make sure that your toddler is not anemic.

Your child may need a lead test if he or she has had one of the following exposures:

1. He lives or regularly visits a house built before 1960, an old house with peeling or chipping paint, a home with lead plumbing, a home on a major highway, or one near a lead-producing or battery recycling plant.
2. You have given her any home remedies that contain lead.
3. Any of his friends or brothers or sisters have had lead poisoning or he eats paint chips or dirt.
4. She is around an adult who works with lead in construction, welding, pottery, bullets, fishing weights, a firing range, stained glass, refinishing furniture, or car repair.

Accident Prevention

• Watch out for burns in your toddler which occur most often in the kitchen, bathtub, around space heaters, and while he is experimenting with matches or lighters.
• Use sunscreen on her during sunny days.
• Do not leave him alone in your home or car.
• Beware of the hazard of electric car windows to her little fingers. Make sure that your garage door opener switch is too high for her to reach.
• Keep your toddler away from power tools. Be careful with electrical equipment of any sort. He will like to imitate mom's or dad's use of these.
• Falls often occur at this age because toddlers are so active.
• Storage batteries for toys and games can cause terrible problems if she swallows one of these
• You need to supervise your child at all times while he is on the playground to avoid injuries.
• Do not leave her alone with plastic bags or balloons.
• Use a car restraint on him. Do not place young children in the front seat of a car with airbags.
• Keep guns and sharp objects locked away.
• Protect her from common household poisons such as liquor, mothballs, furniture polish, drain cleaners, weed killers, insect and rat poisons, kerosene, bleach, cosmetics, and dishwasher detergents.
• Iron vitamins are a very common cause of death by poisoning in children.
• Remember that 25% of childhood poisonings occur at the grandparent's house.
• The number for Poison Control is 1-800-POISON 1 (1-800- 764-7661). Have Ipecac in your home but do not induce vomiting without talking to Poison Control or your doctor.

Emotional and Social Development

• Praise your child's good behavior.
• You may be in the midst of the "terrible twos." Consistent, loving discipline will slowly alter his current behavior to better behavior.
• Offer toys to your toddler that she can take apart and put together again. Make sure that the pieces are large enough to avoid choking.
• Your toddler will enjoy interaction with children of his same age.
• Arrange periods of time for safe running and exploring the outdoors for your child.
• Censor so-called "children's programs." In many of them there is too much violence. Do not use the television as an alternative to interaction with you. TV tends to decrease exercise and quality time with other members of the family.
• Be careful what mature movies and television that your child sees. Even if she does not understand what she sees, the intensity and tension she experiences may lead to restless sleep or nightmares.
• Toddlers do not like to share their toys.
• He should have a regular bedtime with a short bedtime ritual.
• Toilet training should be encouraged although it may be 6-12 months before your child is ready. Girls usually train before boys. Always encourage and praise her for small successes.
• Your toddlers will be curious about his body parts.
• Read simple stories to your child regularly, especially one with many pictures. Children like to see a familiar book and story.
• It is normal for her to suck her thumb or fingers. Do not discourage this.
• It is normal for him to have a favorite security object such as a blanket or stuffed animal.

If you are considering nursery school for your toddler, consider the following:

1. She will probably have infections more often.
2. He will prefer to be with his parents as much as possible rather than 40 hours a week of nursery.
3. She will learn more with you one-on-one than with a teacher who has 10 children to instruct.

 

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