Your baby, 23 months 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 and older

As a parent, it is your responsibility to develop and build your toddler's self-esteem. Don't wait until your child is older to help him learn how special he is-start now if you have not already. Because everyone likes to be praised and acknoledged for a job well done, show your child will hugs, smiles and words of praise when he has done something well. Always try to focus on the positive and avoid negative feedback, when possible. Instead of telling your toddler what not to do, explain the correct method. Good communication skills will help your child's self esteem, confidence and relationships with others. Use kind words to get good results and build your child up. Smiles and happy facial expressions can also go a long ways towards developing your toddler's self-esteem.

Your toddler is very curious about the world around him! Listen to what your child has to say and always answer her questions. Toddlers often ask why the sky is blue or how to fix a broken toy. Most often, they do not understand how things work and we have to show them. Some toddlers will ask questions just to keep a conversation going. Your child might be able to respond to simple questions regarding their name, age, siblings names and colors, shapes and names of objects.

Children this age are more active than they have been and can actually begin to pedal tricycles. Remember to always provide a helmet to protect your child's head from falls. Your toddler can also throw a ball into a wastebasket or small hoop. Remember to give your child a variety of toys that encourage different types of development.

With the second birthday quickly approaching, you might notice that your child is ready to be toilet trained. Girls are often ready to train around two years old and most boys are ready around two and half. Do not rush toilet training and follow your child's lead. When you think that your child is ready to begin toilet training, make sure he knows the correct words. He needs to understand when he peed or urianted and pooped or had a bowel movement. Decide which words your family will use to describe these bodily functions. Make it easy for your child to toilet train by dressing him in loose-fitting clothes that are fast and easy to get down. Children often wait until the last minute to use the restroom and this will make it easier for him. Remember to praise your child when he uses the bathroom, but do not scold or punish for accidents or when he does not use the toilet. Encourage your toddler to sit on the toilet for a few seconds or minutes if they will, but it is best not to insist that your child sit on the toilet until he actually uses it because your child will soon become frustrated with sitting there.

Developmental Milestones - 23 Months Old

Physical

• Loves to climb
• Jumps well
• Runs well
• Can pedal a small tricycle
• Can throw a ball into a wastebasket

Intellectual

• Tries to ask questions during conversations
• Can answer simple questions
• Can put together a 4-6 piece puzzle
• Likes to read and turn pages

Emotional

• Likes to be with other children
• Does not share well
• Afraid of disapproval and rejection
• Interested in babies
• Likes to cuddle

Age Appropriate Toys

• Sand and water play
• Climbing toys
• Ride on toys
• Pretend play
• Dolls or stuffed animals
• Books
• Balls
• Alphabet toys
• Stringing beads
• Dolls
• Cars/trucks
• Dress up clothe

Comments:

Comments 51-75 of about 1484 for month 23
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Bek 30 - Wednesday, 21 Oct
Personal question for you girls,,,How many of you have a weak bladder? I never realised how weak mine was until I got this damn flu, I cough, I trickle, I sneeze I trickle!! It's giving me the shits. It was never this weak after Dylan, probably cause I have had 2 kids, I have now just noticed how weak it really is.~~~~~~ 3RD: I wish I could sew, but it's just not me, I like things to be perfect, and my sewing defintly isn't that...lol, but Dylan is a good at sewing, he even makes shirts, who ever marries that kid will be in heaven, he cooks, he sews, he cleans, he washes..the only thing he can't do that he wants to do is hang washing on the line..but he is to small..hahaha.

doublemama - Wednesday, 21 Oct
oh 3rd im so envious of your sewing skills..that must be so useful! even just to be able to surge the edge of fabric would be great..im real picky about table cloths, curtains, etc and in our search for these things for our new house i kept thinking how nice it would be if i knew how to just get fabric and sew it myself! it seems to be a lost art around here

3rdtimer - Wednesday, 21 Oct
Hi all, a lovely lot of reading to catch up on this morning! Good to know most other kids don't have names for themselves yet. Clem often says 'baby' if he sees a photo of himself when he was smaller. I don't know if he realises it's him. He definitely knows his name, and does me and mine, but I think he just sees no need to have a name for himself since he's right there and we know who he is! I just want to hear how he will say it. Those little mis-pronounced names can really stick, like you said about your sister Bri. We mostly call Jasper Bashi (rhymes with mushy or slushy) because that is what Charlie first called him. And now I talk about 'the Da-dees' a lot referring to the big boys, because Clem calls them both Da-dee. Like 'let's go up to school and get the da-dees.' And Clem will be like, 'School, da-dee? Two da-dee! Eight da-dee!' *** Luv I'm so sorry to hear that Craig has been lettng you down with the boys. You would think at his age (well I know he's older than you) he would be keen to have a good relationship with his kids. You would more expect a really young guy to be more involved in his own life and slacking off on the responsibilities. Such a shame. Doesn't he miss them terribly? He's going to get to a point in his life where he realises and is very regretful, surely. Probably when it's too late. ***** Well I am pleased with my sewing skills today! Last night I copied a hat Clem already had but was too small for him, and measured his head to try and make one the right size. It was all a bit experimental, I wasn't sure if I'd end up with a disaster. But it turned out really well and even fits properly. And the best art is, he seems to like it and has been wearing it all morning so far! I made it from this cute fabric with little robots and stars and things on it. Bit of a fluke it turned out okay i think! I have downloaded a pattern for a little unisex pullover shirt (i.e. no buttons or collar, very simple) and I will try that next. I am a woman obsessed with my sewing machine!

doublemama - Wednesday, 21 Oct
sometimes its just alot of ear infections in the first year that can delay it...believe it or not they start language acquisition and learning grammatical structures from 3 months old! by four months maryam would cry if someone talked to her in a language other than arabic so i researched it and found out thats why. when its something like ear infections or being part of a bilingual household etc, then i think its no biggie as its not an issue in the wiring of the child's brain...just environmental factors that even themselves out eventually. anyway off to shop...darn coupons keep comin in the mail and i keep using them...i think im on my seventh free panty now from victorias secret lol and now theyve added free lipgloss!

Bri - Wednesday, 21 Oct
Definately, if it makes you feel better talk to your doctor and see if there is signs. But, I can say a lot of boys don't talk until at least 2. They are just too busy to learn. They know exactly what you are saying but won't respond...wait a minute! That goes for ADULT men too! HAHA! Kekoa really doesn't have that many words that he uses on a daily basis but he is starting to put sounds in front of the words that may sound like 'it' or 'I'. No sentences yet, mostly sounds. And, even though he knows colors right now everything is yellow. HAHA! He refuses to say green or red though. Oh well. He'll get it, eventually.

doublemama - Wednesday, 21 Oct
cn...i always say it doesnt hurt to check, if anything itll either give u piece of mind if nothing is up, and if there is an issue itll give you a headstart on working on it. i tend to be overly cautious with my daughter if anything is concerning me...not sure if its just cause shes my first so she's getting all my focus? i just used to get so bothered when parents would write things off as no biggie when it came to my students when i was a teacher and not cooperate with me in just looking into it.

cncmom - Wednesday, 21 Oct
My son isn't much of a talker either and I am a bit concerned. My first was talking up a storm by 2 and Carter barely has 15 words that he says. He makes tons of sounds but not many words. He has gotten better in the past couple of weeks but I am worried. He has his 2 year checkup tomorrow so I will see what she says. He is just more of a go getter and is more physically active. He could care less about books, puzzles, etc.

joeyandzacksmommy2007 - Wednesday, 21 Oct
zack does not say his name but will say everyone elses..even ones on tv like steve from blues clues and wow wow from wuzzby...he says chie for richie, doe for joey, see for ashlee and of course ma and pa for grammy and granmpy...he notices them in pics to cuz in the hospital we were looking at teh pics in my phone and he was like doe, dad, chie and smiling

doublemama - Tuesday, 20 Oct
lol bri, thats maryam that calls herself mimi. its funny cause she has a friend thats also named maryam, and she calls her maryam just fine..but she prefers to call herself mimi (even though we never used that as a nickname on her haha). i think they know alot more than they say at this age anyway. she can have full on conversations in arabic now, because thats what we speak to her in. but lately if she is trying to get my attn and i havent been responding, she'll translate to english what she is saying. so shes got a stash of english vocab, just doesnt use it unless totally necessary lol.

Bri - Tuesday, 20 Oct
As for names. Kekoa really isn't much of a talker. He's been getting better and saying words that I wouldn't think he knows but he does. He knows mom, dada, tutu (grandma) and that's about it. Our cats are still kitty, Spanky is still turtle and the chins are still cheechee. He does know his name but doesn't say it. It's not important to him to say. He does say me and mine though. Someone said something about their daughter saying Mimie. It's funny cause my sister couldn't say Jamie so it turned into Mimie. She was like 10 before we all actually started calling her by her name.

Bri - Tuesday, 20 Oct
Luv, my own dad is very distant. He always has been but my parents didn't divorce until I was 15, well it was finalized when I was 17. But he is still distant when it comes to the grandkids. What my sisters and I have been doing is not saying anything to the children about when he's coming around until he's there. We don't get their hopes up to have them slammed right back down. I don't know how easy it would to do something like that. Just don't tell them it's a planned Daddy day until he's on his way to get them. I don't know. It's a hard situation no matter what.

doublemama - Tuesday, 20 Oct
and in the beginning, dont expect too much to be revealed in the drawings, but the more he does the more you'll notice in them. eventually he can have his 'very own drawing notebook' that noone is allowed to look at..theyre like us, the more exposed they are the more vulnerable they can start to feel. i wish teachers also received training on these things, cause it does come out in school as well. the students would tell me all sorts of stuff so i had to learn ways to help em thru it.

doublemama - Tuesday, 20 Oct
http://www.amazon.com/Two-Homes-Claire-Masurel/dp/0763619841/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256100574&sr=1-5 luv, i like this one, its called Two Homes by Claire Masurel, it got good reviews also.

Bek 30 - Tuesday, 20 Oct
3Rd: Katy says atie and points at herself then claps..we r just missing the K..haha, she is als saying cupppppppp of teaaaaaaaaa poppy....hehehe way to cute and when we sang happy b'day to Katy, she would chime in with atie...she has only been saying it for a week and a half..before u would ask her name and she would say Meeeeee, but she will say lots of names...scott ( my cousin) zac, jill, ray, jay, dyl, peter is eater, codie is odie and benny. laura is aura and dora and ora, but I know who she is referring to

luvbeingamom - Tuesday, 20 Oct
Double - I never thought of that. but that is a great idea. I think we will do that tomorrow. I will check online and see if i can find a good book for Jake. Any specific recommendations? Thank you also for all your support. It is very overwhelming and i know they are blaming me for stuff that they are diong. I am making Craig call and tell them he won't see them when he cancels. i don't want to be the bearer of bad news. I will be trying the picture with Josh, he is def more visably upset. he is a sensitive kid generally anyways. Jake def holds it in more, but has been extra clingy esp when he is with Craig and i know that is b/c he doesn't see him much.

luvbeingamom - Tuesday, 20 Oct
3rd just recently Jake will say Jake when i point to him in a mirror, just like he will say mommy when he sees me. But that is only in the last week or so. Before that he would just say Baby.

doublemama - Tuesday, 20 Oct
3rd...maryam has decided her name is mimi. she will only refer to herself as that, and speaks about herself in the third person. we are trying to teach her 'I' and 'me'. she does recognize herself in pics etc. if clem isnt doing so just yet i wouldnt think too much of it..at some point he'll know his name :)

luv im sorry craig is being so unreliable. that totally will have an affect on the kids, and perhaps even some resentment towards u if they think somehow its your fault. i think if they know how to draw, it would be great to start having them draw out their 'feelings' a lil each day, or some sort of other outlet to try and sort out how they feel. a good way to start for at least the 4 yr old is to ask them to draw their family. how they draw their family can tell u LOTS about their perception, like did they draw a sunny sky or was it rainy? where the dad's placement is in the pic, is it with the rest or does he seem far away? does one child seem to be closer to the mom than the rest? etc..for 2 yrs old id say a childrens book on divorce would be great, just explaining via pics etc to let him see u 'get it'. what i noticed with my students going thru the same is if they didnt get it off their chest, it would end up comin out via misbehavior. best of luck, its a tough place to be and not even your fault, hang in there though and we're here when u need to vent!

luvbeingamom - Tuesday, 20 Oct
Double - i am laughing so hard after reading that about eating on the table! haha. Though congrats on the progress. That is grerat! ****** Bek - I am sorry, i menat to comment yesterday but i missed that section... That must have been terrifing with katy. It is amazing how quick they are and how dangerous that can be! Glad she was caught quickly and that Dylan still has an ear! :-) ****** Julia that is great that your daughter is so excited about her birthday. Every time someone says birthday to Jake he screams byeoone (balloon for the layman :-)) B/c his brother said 'yeah it is Jake's birthday, Can we get balloons!' hehe. ****** Bri and Double, wasn't that a great way to think of it. It made me really stop and go, wow, yea! haha. ****** J&Z - Glad it sounds like everyone is doing a bit better. ****** Bek - I hope you get better soon. I know you have been talking about feeling ill for a long while now. ****** My kids are pushing all the limits right now and they are tag teaming! Niether of them are listening. I have to say something at least 5 times before i get a response. As of today they are in TO if i have to say it more than once. I don't give complicated instructios. They are usualy 'do this and come back here'. Neither of them want to be in their bed. Plus even if one does, the other one would throw a fit and then the other one will chime in and throw the same fit. UGH! I think they are acting out b/c Craig is a moron and it is getting worse. He has seem them 2 days in the last month. yep, thats it. 2 days. He took them on a friday night and kept them through sat afternoon. then had them one day last week after daycare until daycare the next morning. Then this weekend he will have them from friday after daycare until Sunday morning but only b/c i am forcing him to keep them Sat night. he wanted to bring them home sat night. UGH! idiot! haha.. sorry. I am just so frusterated with him. The kids miss him. Have no faith in him and all he keeps doing is bailing on them, then wonders why (at 4 and 2) they don't want to chat with him on the phone. DUH! Thanks for letting me vent.

3rdtimer - Tuesday, 20 Oct
Hey a question for all you girls. Do any of your kids say their own name? Or name themselves in photos? Clem has never said his own name, just looks at us like we're asking a dumb question if we point to him (in real life or a photo) and ask who it is. He'll name lots of other people (or his names for them if not their real names) but goes all funny about himself! Just curious.

Bek 30 - Tuesday, 20 Oct
J&Z: I know exactly how ure kids feel right now. We have been passing this cold back and fourth for some months now... and yesterday of all days I got it back, worse then I have ever had it yet... I was so exhausted form coughing, I actually passed out last night...then I fell asleep by 11.30pm, would have been a lot earlier if Jay helped to do bottles and lunches..hahaha. The only way I managed to sleep was sitting up on 3 pillows... I am coughing so hard that I choke, now I know how Dylan feels all the time, it's constantly with him and I have had to pull him out of sport..and he is not allowed to do sport at school either

3rdtimer - Tuesday, 20 Oct
J&Z - glad to hear you sounding positive and like you have a bit of energy back. I hope everyone keeps improving. Well just a quick hello this morning because I have heaps of work to do while Clemmy is with his grandma for their usual Wednesday morning fun. He was in good form this morning so I know they'll both have a lovely time and I have to make the most of it! See ya gals xxx

joeyandzacksmommy2007 - Tuesday, 20 Oct
i said it before and i will say it again..28 months apart.WONDERFUL. would not change it for the world

joeyandzacksmommy2007 - Tuesday, 20 Oct
hey guys how r u all doing? baby fever not here i got my hands full but i am excited to welcome the new babies to our cyberspace families...zack was doing good yesterday but is starting to act up again today with the cough and runny nose...we have an appointment in the morning. Joey is acting sick again as well...i on the other hand is feeling better thats is for sure. gotta have my strength to deal with the sicklings.....

3rdtimer - Monday, 19 Oct
Haha Double I have always got a smile out of hearing that Maryam eats on top of the table! You might even kind of miss it.... I wish I could be more help with the close siblings issue, but Charlie and Jasper were so close that I think Charlie had very little recollection of ever being the only one. At 14 months he pretty much took it in his stride. Plus Jasper was a really good sleeper luckily so I got plenty of one-on-one with Charlie during the day. I think the 2 year age gap could be harder. I don't know how Clem would handle that. Although a good friend of mine who has kids about 2 yrs apart had no real troubles, more just that her eldest would want to cuddle the baby and not really understand that he was being a bit rough. But I don't think he ever really resented her. But that 'new wife' comparison is fascinating! ***** Bek - I hope Katy is having a great day! That's terrifying about her nearly running on the road. It could happen in a split second. ***** I only ever saw Gary at the house once, they were long since divorced. In fact I think it was even after he and Jo split. It was all amicable though so he was there a bit. He had an orange combi van that used to be parked out the front. The kids were lovely. The little girl was about 6 or 7 when Charlie was born and she loved coming over to our house to play with our babies. I just saw gary in the garden once. He was turning on the tap and I saw him across the fence and he said hi. Brush with fame indeed haha! They were delightful neighbours. They just moved when they needed a bit more room for teenage kids.

doublemama - Monday, 19 Oct
aw julia that sounds so cute how your daughter is so excited about her birthday, sounds like she 'gets it' :)...and its quite a doozy being preg with a toddler, dont take it as anything glamorous haha, I love it n all but i think next time i might try to space things out a lil more

luv i think you'd be proud of this, lately she has quit eating on top of the dinner table, and we've convinced her to just sit in a chair and eat like the rest of us lol im trying to get her as civilized as possible before my MIL gets here haha

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