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2-Year Well Child Check

Your child has great climbing and exploration abilities now. He can fall off play equipment, stairs, windows and anything that can be climbed on. Make sure the surfaces underneath play objects are well padded. Close doors and use gates as needed. Your child may be able to ride a tricycle, and should wear a helmet when riding. They may also be able to get to other objects that can cause burns, such as stovetops and hot liquids.
The front yard and near the street can be a dangerous place for your child to play. They should have constant adult supervision, preferably with you between them and the street. Be aware of where your children are when backing up in your car
Continue to put your child in a forward-facing car seat in the back seat until he weighs 40 pounds. Make sure the seat is installed correctly. Never leave your child alone in a closed car, even with the A/C on.
Your child always needs adult supervision within arm’s reach when in or near water of any kind. A child can drown in any amount of water. Pools should be completely surrounded by a fence that separates it from the house and has a self-locking gate.
Keep all firearms locked in a secure place. The key location should be hidden from the child and the ammunition should be locked separately from the firearm.
To prevent a sunburn, keep him out of direct sunlight, dress him in clothes that cover the body, and use children’s sunscreen of at least 30 SPF.

You may now transition your child to skim or 1% milk, still limiting it to 16-24 ounces a day (at mealtimes). He should drink water the rest of the day. He should only drink from a sippy cup as this will help prevent tooth decay.
Mealtimes are a great social interaction time for the family. Meals with toddlers can be lots of fun, but also frustrating. Your 2-year-old will be getting better at feeding himself. You should be offering them 3 healthy meals and 2 scheduled snacks a day. Often toddlers will have a decreased appetite because they are not growing as rapidly. They might also be picky eaters and only like a few different foods. It can take several tries to get a toddler to like a food.
Avoid foods that are choking hazards like popcorn, grapes, hotdogs, nuts and hard candies.

Any smoke in the house is dangerous to kids. We encourage parents never to smoke around their child, and to not to smoke at all for their own health.
A regular sleep schedule and bedtime routine will promote healthy sleep patterns. Reading books before bedtime can promote a relaxing environment before bedtime and also encourage language development. He should still have a nap or quiet time during the day.
Continue to brush your child’s teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste. You can prevent cavities by never putting them to bed with a bottle or cup.
Limit the amount of television your child watches. Encourage outdoor activity to prevent against obesity. You can model healthy living activities.

This is still a time of rapid language development as your child learns to combine words into phrases and sentences and expands his vocabulary to hundreds of words.
Talking with and reading to your child will help his language development. Books can be a part of every activity and work very well in routines. Help your child learn the names of the objects by letting him find them in the book. Books at this age can have longer stories. Books about the alphabet, numbers, shapes and colors can direct his learning.
Your 2-year-old can run well, jump, climb stairs and throw a ball. Continue to encourage activities that strengthen his muscles and develop his coordination. Have him help get dressed, color and paint to help develop fine motor skills.
Children at this age start to play next to other children and will soon be playing together and learn about sharing. Spend time with other children to help his social development.

Rewarding good behavior reinforces it, ignoring bad behavior discourages it.
Your child will be trying to become independent in many things he does. Many parents often have behavior questions and struggles at this age. Have your child help you carry out activities throughout the day. This will help him learn new words and feel important. Give clear messages at his level about what he can and can’t do. Brief (up to 2 minutes) “time-outs” can be effective. Temper tantrums are common at this age; they are best treated by ignoring them.
There are many different effective discipline techniques. Parents need to find the one that works well for their individual child. Most children thrive when they have limits and a routine, but they still need to fulfill their exploration needs. The biggest key is to be consistent with enforcing limits with your child.

Next Visit – at 3 years of age