What most children can do
Each list shows what about three in four children manage by that point. It is a guide to what is coming, not an exam: children arrive at these in different orders and at different speeds, and a baby born early should be measured from their due date.
At 2 years
- Puts two words together and points to pictures in a book when asked
- Knows at least two body parts
- Uses gestures beyond waving and pointing, like blowing a kiss or nodding
- Holds something in one hand while using the other
- Runs, kicks a ball and eats with a spoon
By 2½ years
- Plays next to other children, and sometimes with them
- Says about fifty words, and two or more words with an action word: "doggie run"
- Names things in a book when you point and ask, and says "I", "me" or "we"
- Uses things to pretend, such as feeding a block to a doll as if it were food
- Follows two-step instructions, knows at least one colour, jumps off the ground with both feet
Coming up to 3
- Shows you what they can do: "look at me!"
- Follows simple routines when told, like helping to pick up toys
- Calms down within about ten minutes after you leave them, as at a playschool drop-off
- Talks with you in a conversation of at least two back-and-forth turns
- Asks "who", "what", "where" or "why" questions
- Draws a circle when you show how, and strings large beads
- Puts on some clothes by themselves and uses a fork
What helps at this age
- Talk in sentences one step ahead. If they say "car go", you say "yes, the red car is going fast". Do not correct; just model the next size up.
- Pretend with them. A tea party, a shop, a doctor. Pretend play is where language, memory and other people's feelings all get practised at once.
- Sort and match. Socks into pairs, spoons from forks, red bricks from blue. This is the beginning of maths.
- Sing every day. Songs slow words down and repeat them. Our songs page has short ones for brushing teeth, tidying up and bedtime.
- Name feelings. "You are cross. You wanted the blue cup." A two-year-old with words for feelings has less need for a tantrum.
If you only have ten minutes a day
Get down to your child's level, put the phone in another room, and follow their lead: play what they choose, describe what they are doing, and copy them. Ten minutes of that, daily, does more than an hour of distracted company — and it is the part children remember.
When to ask a doctor
Most differences are just differences. But some signs are worth raising early, because early help works far better than waiting, and asking costs nothing:
- Does not use two-word phrases by two and a half
- Does not know what to do with common things such as a brush, phone or spoon
- Does not copy actions and words, or follow simple instructions
- Does not walk steadily
- Does not make eye contact, or does not seem interested in other children by three
- Speech that even family cannot understand by three
- Loses skills they once had
You know your child better than any list does. If something worries you for more than a few weeks, that is reason enough to ask — you do not need to be certain. This page is general information, not medical advice or a diagnosis.
The range of normal is wide
Some children walk at nine months and some at seventeen; both are normal. Children growing up with two languages may say their first words a little later and then catch up completely, with both languages intact — do not drop the home language. Girls and boys, first-borns and third-borns, cautious children and bold ones all take different routes. What matters is steady progress in their own direction, not the date on the calendar, and never the neighbour's child.
Other ages
See every age from birth to six on the child development milestones page. For day-to-day ideas there is a twelve-week plan for parents, and for the hard moments — tantrums, sleep, biting, food — there is feelings first aid.
Now do it for real
When the screen goes off, do something with your hands. Try 🚁 Paper helicopter — an easy science experiment for ages 4-6, with every step read aloud in your language. You will need a strip of paper, a paper clip; nothing that needs a trip to a shop.
There are 56 more on the things to do at home page, and free printable worksheets if you would rather have something on paper. Ten minutes on a screen and twenty minutes off it is a good shape for a day at this age.
Parents also look for
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- First words for baby
- Games for 4 year olds at home
- Activities for 2 year olds at home