Some basic developmental facts: 2-3 years

Gross motor skill development

• Your child likes pull and push toys.
• Your child enjoys ride-on vehicle.
• Your child will be able to climb well.
• Your child starts to run easily without tripping much. Your child is able to kick ball and can learn different ball sports.
• Your child will be able to walk up and down stairs independently. Your child will also learn to walk up and down stairs one foot per step.
• Your child will be able to jump on both feet. Your child will be able to balance himself/herself on one foot for several seconds.

Fine motor skill development

• Your child will be able to hold a pencil or crayon. He/She will learn to draw lines and then circles.
• Your child will learn to use building bricks or blocks.
• Your child will be able to turn book pages.
• Your child may be able to screw and unscrew toy nuts and bolts.

Speech and language skill development

• Your child will learn to speak in short sentences (4-5 words).
• Your child will be able to understand better of your sentences even though he/she may not follow your directions.
• Your child will understand placement in space using the words "on", "in" and "under".
• Your child can say name, age and sex.
• Your child will learn to recognize a lot of common objects.
• Your child will learn to speak pronouns (I, you, me, we, etc).
• Strangers can understand at least 50% of your child's words.

Cognitive skill development

• Your child will learn to sort objects by shape and color.
• Your child will be able to complete 3-4 piece puzzles.
• Your child will learn to match familiar items to pictures of those items in a book.
• Your child may play pretend with dolls, stuffed animals and people.
• Your child may learn to count "1,2,3".

Social and emotional skill development

• Your child will imitate adults and playmates.
• Your child begins to understand rules and can take turns in games.
• Your child will show more interest in other kids and show affection for familiar playmates.
• Your child will understand the concept of "mine" .
• Your child will like a daily routine and is object to major changes in routine.
• It will be easy to separate your child from you by age 3.
• By age 3, your child will know that he is a boy or that she is a girl. And he/she can identify himself/herself in the mirror.