normal 2 year old or not

[barbapapa]

I am becoming a little worried about my two year old.(just turned two) She has good language ( is making sentences, has pronouns down pat and has new words every day now) , is interested in imaginative play ( playing with tea sets , pretending to be a doctor with her big sister) and very social and engaged. But with physical things she seems to struggle and I am not sure if this is just a sign of lack of practice or something more.

She struggles:

• to climb/descend the stairs unless I am holding her hand - but she only gets to try out the stairs twice a day when we go upstairs to bed - and I am usually in a hurry to get down in the morning so I carry her down

with any type of puzzle - be it wooden insert ones or simple jigsaws ( just doesn't seem to have the manipulative skills to manage one - gives up very easily and demands " help, Mummy").Haven't really persevered with this too much - find that I am so busy with both of them that she doesn't get the one to one that dd1 had

She uses a spoon to eat - but it is a messy business and she prefers to use her hands

She can't jump (not so worried about this one - dd1 couldn't until she was almost 3).

Can't steer a pedal-less trike when sitting on it - she stands up and sort of walks with it between her legs - have to say that we do not have a trike so it is possible she hasn't had enough practice

She has just had her two year check - the HV seemed pleased with her progress and not at all worried about the inability to do puzzles - which she demonstrated to full effect or really any of the other stuff either but all her peers seem so far ahead in fine /gross motor ( though she is ahead in language -maybe this is what she is concentrating on at the moment?)
She was late to crawl (10 months) and walk (16 months).

She sounds totally fine. She's not ahead in some skills, which appear to be ones she hasn't practiced a lot. No surprise there!

TBH I think that she's just concentrating on language skills at the moment.

My DD was almost identical at this age - excellent language / communication skills, but not as good physically. Absolutely no patience with puzzles and like your DD demanded help with the lift-out ones.

My DS is the complete opposite. He was 2 in September, physically he's fantastic - can walk up and down stairs, finds it very easy to run around, can jump (although I think this is because we have a mini trampolene in the back garden). He is also excellent at jigsaws.

His speech, though, is nowhere near as good as my DD's was. Has quite a lot of words, but doesn't learn new ones quickly and has only just started forming simple sentences. My HV actually referred him for a hearing test after his 2 year check as she was a little worried about his speech. (He was fine though.)

My friend has a DD who is a day older than my DS and her speech is excellent, and you really notice the difference when they're together.

If your health visitor is happy, then I wouldn't worry too much TBH.

Think it is too early to be concerned and they do seem to develop different strengths at differing rates. It doesn't sound as if she has missed any milestones as such yet. ime a lot of 2 yr olds don't have the perseverance to complete puzzles on their own and it would be unusual if she could jump properly so young. Self feeding, tricycling, stairs etc all take a lot of practice, for some more than others.

Having said that ds (now 7) was similar at that age (although good at puzzles and Lego) and was later diagnosed with motor issues. I really don't think anything stuck out at the age of 2 though, by 3-3 1/2 probably, and it is only with the benefit of hindsight that I can think of certain things that may be connected.

Enjoy your dd, she sounds lovely, and try to find ways to encourage her to practise some of the more physical, coordination skills. Does your dd1 go to preschool/school freeing up any time for one-to-one with dd2 ?

Thanks for your responses - I am reissued - and in fact dd2 just walked down the stairs holding on to the banister!

lol at reissued !
I meant reassured !

yes, dd1 is at nursery so I am trying to utilise the time I have with dd2 constructively - seem to end up doing lots of chores though

LIZS - what was the diagnosis of your ds if you don't mind me asking ? How is he doing ?

No formal diagnosis, but his issues, although mild, are symptomatic of dyspraxia. He is fine and happy although gets stubborn if he finds something hard and refuses to do it (like riding a bike),isn't great at teamsports and is relcutant to try new activities. At school he finds handwriting physically tiring as he naturally tends to use his whole arm not just flex his wrist, but he's working on it, and can be easily distracted from hsi work. Generally he benefitted from Occupational Therapy but we are now waiting to get that on NHS. If you do a search on Dyspraxia in the archives you'll find several threads with more detail about it.

I know what you mean about your time with just one child disappearing under a sea of chores. Same used to happen when ds was at school and dd at home. She's turned out fine though .

hth

Is this your DD or mine?!? They sound identical. Mine is nearly 2, bilingual and has great vocab (but hardly any pronouns yet), very complex imaginary play, loves books and has excellent social skills. But she doesn't like puzzles (and isn't much good at them), eats with spoon/fork/hands in equal measures (puts food on spoon with hand if tricky) and doesn't do stairs on her own yet. Not even tried a trike.
She seems utterly normal and gorgeous to me - so does yours, they'd probably love playing together!

ps mine doesn't jump with two feet yet (but has been trying for months!) and also walked at 16 months. She's always been advanced on the social stuff and a bit behind on the gross motor skills - but I know from watching her catch up on walking/running that its just her 'order'! Her little cousin, five weeks older, has more motor skills and much less language, her friend has more language and less motor, etc etc. And I think they're all totally fine.