physical Things normal for a month old baby The Medline Medical Encyclopedia says that by 30 to 36 months, your toddler will be able to throw and kick a ball, jump in place and even ride a tricycle. Your toddler's motor skills are growing and maturing, making this the perfect time to engage her in physical activity. Physical fitness is an important aspect of any life, even at such an early age. By applying safe physical activities to your child's life now, you are ingraining healthy habits that your child will hopefully continue later in life.

Your baby’s emotions At months the infant- reflects on their actions and experience shame, guilt, pride How do infants show emotions? Through behavioral and oral cues Unhappy - crying, flail arms and legs, stiffen their bodies Interest in objects - become quiet, visual tracking Interest in people - smiling, laughing cooing, reaching out (and, eventually, going to them) Crying - sometimes the only way to communicate needs Hungry cry - (not always associated with hunger Angry cry - rhythmic cry Pain cry - sudden, loud cry without preliminary moaning Frustration cry - two or three drawn-out cries, with no prolonged breath-holding (louder, longer, more irregular than hungry cry) Should parents always respond to a crying babies? Until age 3, usually “yes” babies don’t like to cry; they do when necessary necessary for building trust, emotional development builds confidence in their power to affect their condition Ignored babies tend to: develop fewer forms of communication modes (babbling, gestures, facial expressions) continue to cry more, but eventually withdraw

Your 2-Year-Old’s Language Development How many words will my 2-year-old learn in a year? Your 2-year-old is learning more than a word a day. Remember, too, that at any age, children can understand more words than they can say. During the third year of life, a toddler’s “receptive vocabulary”—the number of words understood—will grow enormously. How does my toddler manage to learn so many words so fast? Body language is helping your 2-year-old to absorb words quickly. Toddlers very carefully observe facial expressions and hand gestures. This helps them to understand the meaning of the words that they hear. How long will it take for my 2-year-old to start using complete sentences? Right now, your 2-year-old may be using “telegraphic speech”—short phrases with only basic informational words, such as “Mummy play ball.” This is a child’s way to get “up and running” to practice speech. By age 3, your toddler will likely be stringing 5 or 6 words together in a sentence. My 2-year-old says a lot, but mixes up consonants. Should I worry? It is not unusual for toddlers this age to mix up their sounds. So if your child says “runny babbit” instead of “bunny rabbit,” don’t worry. My child says a lot of words, but not many sentences. Should I be concerned? Remember, “normal” language development varies. Some toddlers may combine words earlier, others may combine words later. What’s most significant is that your toddler is combining words and learning new words continuously. If you’re worried, talk to your health care professional. How can I help my 2-year-old learn to talk? Talking to your toddler frequently and using a rich variety of words can greatly influence speech development.