Your toddler at 23 months: nearly two, and the vocabulary jump

Where a 23-month-old is

Many children have a sudden vocabulary jump between eighteen and twenty-four months, adding words weekly and combining them into short phrases. Understanding is far larger still.

Physically: running, jumping, climbing, walking up and down stairs holding on, and beginning to pedal a ride-on toy.

Play is imaginative and social: feeding dolls, elaborate pretend, copying household routines, and enjoying being near other children even while playing separately.

Toilet-training readiness

The signs to wait for: staying dry for two hours or more, telling you before or just after going, interest in the toilet, being able to pull pants up and down, and disliking a wet nappy.

If they are there, summer is the practical season to start in most of India — fewer clothes, faster drying, easier to go bare-bottomed at home. If they are not, wait. Starting early trains the parent, not the child, and takes months longer.

Do not start in the same fortnight as another big change — a new sibling, a house move, or starting playschool.

Preparing for the two-year check

Ask for weight and height to be plotted and the curve explained, review the vaccine card (the 16-24 month boosters should be done), and raise any milestone concern now rather than later.

Ask about haemoglobin — anaemia is very common in Indian toddlers and shows as tiredness, pallor, poor appetite and irritability — and about deworming, which is generally twice yearly from a year old.

Bring a written list of questions. It is the item most parents forget and most regret.

When to see a doctor

Same-day at any age: fast or laboured breathing, the chest sucking in, blue lips; a fit; a child who is floppy, drowsy or hard to wake; no urine for six to eight hours or signs of dehydration; a rash that does not fade when pressed; repeated forceful or green vomiting; blood in stool or vomit; a swollen tender abdomen; or a head injury with vomiting or drowsiness. Call 108 for breathing difficulty.

At 23 months specifically: fewer than fifteen to twenty words, no two-word phrases, not following two-part instructions, no pretend play, no interest in other children, walking only on toes, or any loss of skills.

And at any age, the loss of a skill a child already had — words, walking, waving, eye contact — needs an assessment rather than a wait.

This article is general information, not medical advice, and is no substitute for personal medical advice. For any decision about your or your child's health, please consult your doctor.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Is it normal to have far fewer words than my friend's child? — Ranges are wide, and the markers that matter are two-word phrases by around two, plus gestures, understanding and social interest. If those are missing, get an assessment rather than comparing.

Q: He was dry for a week and now wets constantly. — Very common. Go back a step without comment and hold the routine; regression around any change is normal.

Q: When do the tantrums improve? — They peak between eighteen months and three years, then fade as language and self-control develop. Fewer and shorter is the improvement to look for, not their disappearance.

Q: Should I move him to a bed before the second baby comes? — Yes, if it is happening — do it at least two to three months before, or several months after, so the cot is not something the baby took.