Developmental milestones for your baby - 29 months

Your baby dumpling is 29 months old! She is probably talking ten to a dozen as kids between the age of 2 and 3 experience a language explosion. So be prepared to hear constant chatter! Here is what to expect at 29 months. 

• Tantrums: While your child’s vocabulary is increasing day by day, she doesn’t have all the words yet to express herself. So she may resort to whining. Encourage her to use her words to describe how she’s feeling or what she wants. 

• Repeated activity: Tired of reading the same book for the 10th time in a row? Read it again! Because your little chick is learning something new with every repeated action. Also, the little scientist in her wants to see if the same action always yields the same result.   

• Getting Dressed: Your tot is growing up fast and is probably attempting to try on her own clothes. Help her when she asks for it, give her ample encouragement and look forward to clothes worn all wrong.  

• Speech: Your little one is probably addressing himself as ‘I’ or ‘me’. Which means he is understanding pronouns now. That’s a big jump. He will probably be speaking in sentences, although grammatically imperfect.  A child that is not talking by now needs consultation with a speech therapist.

• Potty Training: You are probably on your way to potty training your baby. Don’t let accidents frustrate you and provide lots of encouragement. 

• Teething: Your bundle of joy is probably cutting his second molars. And it can be quite painful. So be patient with those tantrums mummy. This too shall pass. 

• Sleep: Most 2-year-olds need around 13 to 14 hours of sleep every day. Every child is different though and your baby may need more or less also. Some kids may also develop nighttime fears. Try to have a calm and soothing environment before bedtime. Have a consistent bedtime routine to help develop healthy sleep habits. Put her to bed before she is overworked and tired, which can lead to tantrums and delay sleep even more. 

• Food: Encourage self-feeding as your little dumpling should be able to self feed fairly well now. Continue to offer a variety of healthy options and let her make her choice. Offer three meals plus two snacks with healthy options daily.  Eat meals with your child and let your child decide how much he wants to eat. Force-feeding will only develop an aversion to food. Serve them small portions and don’t insist on cleaning the plate. Children at this age prefer finger foods to full-course meals. There may also be phases where they are constantly hungry due to growth spurts. Keep finger foods handy. Also, expect appetite to be different each day. Don’t insist on 1 roti today as they ate 1 yesterday. If your baby drinks milk, give low-fat milk instead of full-fat milk.

Involve your little one in creative ways be it music, dance, painting or drawing. Take them out to places of interest. Zoo, library, museums may all be a good idea. Since they are quite eager to help at this stage, get them involved in no fire cooking and baking. They will appreciate the food they eat if they have been involved in the process of making it. Try to give them independence wherever it is safe to do so. For example, trying to button his own shirt or cut paneer/potato pieces with a butter knife. Never say, you cant do it!

Stay Tuned! Stay Relevant!