What is normal two year old behavior?

[nickvae]

My daughter is 2.5 years old. My daughter memorizes words and books. I can currently write down on a peice a paper (usually on her manga doodle) around 50 words in no particular order, and she reads them back to me. I know that she cannot read; she is memorizing the words (I've been told it's called site reading), but friends and family keep demanding that I get her tested. She is my first child, so I don't know what they are talking about. Tested for what? My daughter was 12 weeks premature and I like to celebrate her health and that she is capable of doing these things. I know everyone thinks their child, grandchild, or loved ones are just the smartested child ever, and so I don't ever try to be like that. I have no idea what the development of a two year old should be. I don't want to sounds stupid, so I don't ask people what they mean when they say they want me to have her tested, and I don't want to sound stupid and take her to a doctor when it is not necessary. Can you tell me if I should get my daughter tested, and if so, what is the test I ask for?

[margypops]

I agree scary behavior he probably had seen it, hes 4-5 years old now wonder how it went ..

[MsBetie]

This is a very scary behavior, and he should not be at his dads without supervision, that is either something he has seen or has had done to him. Either way it is not something that a child at that age should be mimicking. Some adults do not realize that children see and hear way more than is often thought that they can. I hope that you are able to get the help you need to prevent him from any more exposure to this behavior.

[margypops]

Good input emerald even if it is on a 3 year old thread Lol  I like the input in the case of the original poster she was concerned by family wanting her to get her normal sounding child tested ..then in another post another child appeared to have been molested . be nice to hear a follw up of them ...

[emeraldrain]

I remember from babysitting a toddler when I was a teenager the same behaviors you mentioned. This toddler would seem to ignore you when you would call him or tell him to do something he didnt want to do. He had very bad tantrums and cried when it was time for bed. His parents would get so tired and outraged that they would call me, a 14 year old, to give them a break. These behaviors slowly ceased with me when I cleaned up his environment and made everything neat and orderly in his room. He knew when he saw me that there was a set routine that would follow for that night. He would eat a balanced meal with a carb, veg., and protein, this I learned in school. He had no sugary sweets because a book and bedtime in a clean fresh bed would follow. This seemed to mellow him but what I really noticed was the way he would pronounce his words and ask for things. He seemed to only pronounce part of his words and sometimes was frustrated when he could not get his point across. I told his mother to have his ears checked. She later told me that he had bad a infection deep in his ear that had been there for awhile. Once corrected so was his behavior. He wasnt ignoring them he just couldnt hear them from one side.

[supermomma531]

She probably acted like this due to the fact of not having a completely good night sleep. This probably was due to having a nightmare and so hence the agitation. She wasn't ready to get up yet when you woke her up in the morning. If you can afford to let her sleep in on days like this, it would be helpful to her. If you can't do this, try your best to help her get through the day and put her to bed at her normal time the next night. Try to make her day as easy as possible. Sometimes children are cranky for no apparent reason. Everyone has their off days and just need to be left alone to get it out of their systems. If you have serious concerns, you can certainly take her to her doctor for advice. Good luck.

[moonstar1000]

my 2 year old daughter woke up during the night & had trouble going back to bed, but eventually did, so yes her normal sleeping pattern was broken & she missed an hour & a half of her regular sleep time..

this morning we had to slowly wake her up but it just backfired! She became very very agitated, yelling, crying screaming, pulling off all her clothes that i tried to dress her in, i was not able to dress her for over an hour.  she did say she wanted to sleep but still cried when i let her be..
for lack of a better word, she was possessed, this was NOT my daughter!  twice before she kind of had an episode like this but it was in her sleep, so i assumed it was a bad dream. but never like this once she was awake.

needless to say it was a very difficult morning. does anyone have suggestions as to why she reacted this way, it is not her normal behaviour & do you have any suggestions as to calming her down, because NOTHING i tried worked.

[margypops]

Learned behavior ...your child should not be visiting his Dad unless supervised.

[Annie600]

I have a 2yr. old Grandson and he is a beautiful child. Lately though he has been exhibiting very troubling behavior. It is really simple. He is rude and seems to have a hateful attitude to everyone. He is talking a mile a minute and alot of times if I ask him a simple question he barks the answer back at me. Of course most everything is No right now but this hatefulness just drives me crazy. He can completely ignore you and does NOT mind at all. It is upsetting to me and I keep him one day a week while my Daughter works. According to her she can't do anything with him at home. She is entirely patient with him and is constantly teaching and telling him things but this attitude is just hard to deal with for me and his Pap Paw. We love him dearly but he seems disrespectful even though he is so young. Any ideas on how to treat this or discipline him? My Daughter wants to use time outs but I swear you would have to tie him in a chair or he would beat you with it!! What happened to my pleasant little guy??

[michaelamberskinner]

No, that is not normal 2 year old behavior.  It is learned from watching his daddy and or from having it done to him.  My step son did the same kinds of things and we found out it was from his mother and her boyfriends doing things to him and in front of him.  Sad scary, my heart goes out to you.  I would talk to someone about this and stop his visits unless supervised.

[singlemom19]

My question is, is it normal for a 2 year old child to be sexually corious?  my ex-husband hand them over the weekend and he is now living with someone already and he is telling me this is normal for a 2 year old child. i believe he is mimmicing what he sees him do to his girlfriend in front of my children.  my son put his hand up my dress to rub my leg and his hand down my shirt to rub my breast and i was teaching him to use the potty by letting him watch me go. and he tried to touch my privates. Needless to say i was furious at all this and tried to confront him about it.

[nickvae]

Thank you very much for you comments, and you made a good point that I need to learn what behaviors to expect. I will never know how to assist her with development, if I can't recognize what it is she is going through. I think a trip to the library will be in my near future.

Thanks again.

[RockRose]

Nick,  oops,  forgot to say in above post that you need to learn what is appropriate development for a 2 year old,  if you really meant it when you said that you have no idea what is appropriate for her age.  There are TONS of books,  and I'm sure your pediatrician has guidelines of what to expect of a child her age.

Soon,  she will be coming into different very normal fears and behaviors,  and you need to be aware of what is normal for children.  This stuff can be found at your library or bookstore,  and certainly online.  

Best wishes.

[RockRose]

nick - she sounds like a very bright girl!  And also,  she sounds like you and she have a very great relationship,  where you can sit and work with her and she eagerly responds and enjoys your sessions.  This is a very good thing.  ;D

I would shy away from "testing" her,  as your relatives suggest,  I guess for what - genius?  Usually geniuses are usually very difficult toddlers,  and have odd behaviors and difficult lives.  

I think you're right,  she's recognizing the words the way children learn to recognize types of fish,  or numbers,  or favorite cartoon characters - by sight.  

She's very lucky to have you,  and you are very lucky to have her.  Hopefully she'll continue this quest for learning and you can continue to keep her at the top of the scale all through school.  I've seen 3 year olds who could name all the presidents by their photo,  and the vice presidents,  and states,  and state capitals,  and I have a nephew who could "read" "Twas the Night Before Christmas",  just before he turned two,  pointing at each word,  although it was complete memorization.

The more you encourage her desire to learn,   the better.  I don't think that attempting to classify her as freakishly intelligent is going in the right direction,  though.

Best wishes -