Two to six: Health24: parenting

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Developmental stages

Two to six

During early childhood, your helpless, dependent baby becomes an independent, 'proper' human being. It is an exciting and rewarding time for parents as parenting becomes a two-way process: children become more communicative and start to express their feelings and thoughts.

Milestones

During early childhood, a child will refine his/her ability to walk, will learn to climb down stairs and improve fine motor skills to name a few.

Emotional and social

During early childhood, children become more independent and develop a strong sense of self. They define themselves through what they can do and how successfully they can do it.

Tests

As your child approaches schoolgoing age, you may decide to have your child assessed for school readiness.

Physical

Your child has lost his/her baby fat and becomes a slimmer and less top-heavy. Coordination, motor skills and balance improve a great deal during this stage.

Cognitive

This is a period of rapid development and you will see your two-year-old magician change into a concept-forming, linguistically competent realist, ready to enter “big school”.