Your child, who is 28 months old, is likely running, climbing, and moving at a dizzying rate. Even if you baby-proofed when your child was tiny, you might want to give it another go because of all the growing athleticism.
With a baby that is 28 months old, there is always something exciting to do. They’re probably babbling a lot, playing fast and eager to lend you a hand with chores. Your little one is developing at a rapid pace, and you may be asking what kinds of developmental milestones a kid should be reaching at 28 months old. In this article, you will find information on the upcoming month of your toddler’s life, including sleep routines and meal ideas.
28-Month-Old Development
Your 28-month-old is likely going through a lot of growth, learning new things and forming some endearing (but occasionally difficult) personality traits.
28-month-old weight and height
At 28 months of age, most girls weigh about 28.1 pounds and most males approximately 29.3 pounds. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the average height for girls is around 35 inches and for males it is 35.4 inches.
28-month-old milestones
“What activities would be best for my 28-month-old?” you inquire. While it’s true that every child is unique, here are a few things to look out for around the 28-month mark:
- Speech: Your youngster is making incredible linguistic progress, picking up new words at a dizzying rate. However, they should still work on their grammar. It’s not important. You can reprimand them gently, but eventually they’ll pick up the right way to speak just by listening to other people. Repetition of two-digit numbers, recognition and identification of ten to fifteen pictures, and the use of first-person pronouns like “I,” “me,” and “you” are all expected at this age. If you think your 28-month-old kid is falling behind verbally, it’s important to consult a pediatrician as soon as possible so that you may begin early intervention programs to aid with speech development.
- Potty training: The moment to toilet train your child can be right now if they are displaying symptoms of being ready. The process of toilet training a boy at 28 months of age might be significantly different from that of a girl at the same age, according to some parents. Although it’s not always the case, it’s common for boys to take a little longer to toilet train. Since it takes time and effort to have good aim, you should start teaching your son to pee while sitting down as soon as possible. Instruct your daughter to gently wipe from front to back if you happen to be a parent.
- Teething: Your little one can be experiencing teething with the second molars at 28 months of age. The eruption of these baby teeth typically occurs between 23 and 33 months of age, and they are called the 2-year molars. Because of their size, it may be rather uncomfortable. You won’t have to worry about teething pains again until your child is approximately six years old, when they’ll be able to handle them better. Luckily, these teeth are the last to erupt.
28-month-old behavior
- Extreme personality traits: While some 28-month-olds are somewhat reserved around new experiences, others are incredibly independent.
- Trouble with transitions: Your child may find it difficult to put down the toys and get dressed, or to stop jumping in the puddle and continue walking to school. Your 28-month-old will learn to cooperate with plenty of time and gentle prodding.
- Separation anxiety: Your youngster can have problems bidding you farewell in the mornings if they attend a preschool or daycare. Avoid long and boring drop-offs. Even though they put up a nice show (by crying) to attempt to convince their parents to stay, most youngsters are OK shortly after they leave. The silver lining is that, if it hasn’t already, your separation anxiety will begin to diminish shortly.
- A desire to help: At this point in time, your toddler is likely able to follow orders (within reason, of course) and enjoys helping out around the house and doing errands.
28-Month-Old Health
Parents’ number one priority at any age is their child’s health. Parents of children aged 28 months often wonder about:
- My 28-month-old has diarrhea. What should I do?
- My 28-month-old is constipated. What should I do?
- My 28-month-old is throwing up. What should I do?
- My 28-month old has a cough. What should I do?
- My 28-month-old has a fever. What should I do?
28-Month-Old Food
By now, your 28-month-old child is likely quite adept at feeding himself. Forks are more of a challenge, but they should be able to handle spoons with relative ease. Your child will need some time to learn how to eat independently before they can do it cleanly.
How much should my 28-month-old be eating?
Even at the age of two, children need three square meals and maybe a snack or two. Include a wide range of foods from the vegetable, fruit, grain, protein, and dairy categories in your child’s daily diet. At this age, serving sizes are small: A child’s caloric intake should not exceed one-fourth of an adult’s.
Not whole milk, but 1% or skim is what your 2-year-old should be drinking. It would be great if you could also provide low-fat cheese and yogurt. Daily calcium intake of 700 mg is recommended by doctors for children aged 1 to 3. About a third of your toddler’s caloric intake should come from fat.
Keep cutting their meals into little pieces and keep in mind that your 28-month-old is still prone to choking, so steer clear of potentially dangerous items like raw carrots and entire grapes.
What to feed my 28-month-old
Need some ideas for healthy and delicious meals? See what a 2-year-old can eat with these suggestions:
- Healthy Foods Your Toddler Will Love
- 15 Creative Meal Ideas for Toddlers
- 22 Easy, Tasty Kid Lunch Ideas
- Yum’s the Word! 24 Healthy Snacks for Kids
28-month-old eating problems
Do you want your 28-month-old to start eating better? Include them in the action. Let your youngster choose the menu for supper and then you can cook it together. Let them choose out the produce when you go grocery shopping together. Involve your child in the non-hazardous tasks of food preparation. Most children like helping their parents mix ingredients or add seasonings by stirring or sprinkling.
28-Month-Old Sleep
Maintaining a regular sleep schedule is essential for a 28-month-old. Maintaining regular nap and bedtimes might help keep irritability and squirming at bay. Just go with the flow when things get out of hand, such when a special event interrupts sleep time. The important thing is to get back on course as fast as possible.
How much sleep does a 28-month-old need?
A typical 2-year-old needs 11–12 hours of sleep at night and 1.5–3 hours of nap time, for a total of 13–14 hours of sleep daily.
28-month-old sleep problems
Your 28-month-old may start waking you up in the middle of the night if you let them out of their crib. According to the experts, it’s best to gently but firmly tell your child to sleep in their own bed again. (Although it’s tempting to let them inside yours for a single occasion.) After reassuring your young child and guiding them back to their room, you should leave them alone to fall asleep. The expectation that your child must be able to go to sleep alone in their own room will be established. Plus, it might make it easier for the whole family to sleep through the night on most occasions.
Activities for a 28-Month-Old
The fact is that a 28-month-old doesn’t require all the posh playrooms, cutting-edge toys, and educational programs that are out there. The most enjoyable things in life aren’t always the most complicated. So, how does one handle a 28-month-old? A 28-month-old could like the following games, toys, and activities:
- Blocks: Blocks could be a fun toy for your kid even now. Both the towers and their attention spans are becoming in size.
- Books: If your 28-month-old insists on reading the same book over and over again instead of asking you to pick out a new one, it’s perfectly normal. Repetition is enjoyable for children at this age.
- Everyday objects: You and your 28-month-old may construct an obstacle course in the garden by repurposing water bottles as cones. Instead, you may use the pillows and blankets to construct a makeshift fort. Or you might construct a cardboard box home. Get everyone’s creative juices flowing, and then the good times will surely follow.
28-Month-Old Baby Checklist and Tips
- Try to keep your screen usage to no more than an hour a day, broken down into 15-minute intervals. Instead of vegging out in front of the TV, your youngster would benefit more from playing and exploring the world around.
- Enlist the aid of your young child when you’re cooking. In addition to helping kids develop good eating habits, this activity will also serve as an early arithmetic lesson (when measuring materials, for example!) and a fine motor skill exercise.
- Remember that your 28-month-old kid is still in the process of developing his or her language skills. When intense emotions surface, it’s not uncommon for people to act out violently. It may take your child a while to grasp the concept, but it’s important to keep encouraging them to utilize their words.
- This is a critical period in your toddler’s development, so be sure to give them reading time every day. Research shows that kids whose parents read to them frequently throughout their formative years have a better vocabulary later in life.
- Incorporate writing into your routine of reading to your 28-month-old. One way to assist children learn to associate words with their meanings is to show them their name written down. While it may not be realistic to expect your baby to write their name independently just yet, it might spark an interest. (They will also like having their name included!)
- If your 28-month-old infant still refuses to share, you shouldn’t be shocked. The idea of sharing is still novel at this point. But, your child will come to understand that not everything belongs to them entirely, so it’s important to keep showing them how to share treasured things, like toys.
- Your 28-month-old may begin to grow their permanent two-year molars, so be on the lookout for signs of teething. Although this stage of teething is often less painful than the ones before it, it’s still a good idea to have some soft foods on hand, such as cooled applesauce, mashed bananas, or pureed fruits and vegetables, in case your baby has any discomfort while eating.
- Make your house safe for toddlers. A two-year-old who loves to climb can easily knock over tall, heavy pieces of furniture, so be careful to fasten bookshelves and dressers to the wall. Because 2-year-olds are inquisitive and can reach more places than you think, it is important to keep knives and other sharp or hazardous things out of their reach.
You could expect a kid that is 28 months old to keep you busy! Whether you choose to sit back and watch or jump in yourself, this is a thrilling time for your child as they continue to discover and learn about the world.