Three year old milestones include being able to walk upstairs, run and jump easily, being able to ride a tricycle and have developed language and cognitive skills like speaking in complete sentences and knowing their own age and name.
Three year olds should also understand basic concepts and a 3 year olds social and emotional milestones also include expressing affection and taking turns as well as understanding the concept of mine and yours as well as understand the concept of time.
A 3 year old should also be able to stand on their tiptoes, speak 250 to 500 words, respond to their own name, imitate parents and friends and brothers and sisters, play outside independently, reach for a book, identify shapes and colors, follow 3 part commands, have and understand feelings, engage in imaginative play, dress with little assistance, draw a circle, count to 4, climb into a chair, can remember simple lyrics and rhymes, say full name and age, recognize objects and then name them, often ask "why" and "what", kick a ball, get dressed, draw a person with 3 parts, catch a bounced ball, name colors and be able to pedal a tricycle.
Two year old milestones include being able to run, kick a ball, walk independently and have a growing vocabulary, follow simple instructions, being able to use tools such as spoons and be able to start to sort shapes and colors and play simple pretend games.
By 2 years old they should be able to walk independently, run, kick a ball, climb on and off furniture, walk up and down stairs while holding on and can stand on tiptoes and can hold a spoon, turn pages in books, string small items and may even begin to develop a dominant hand.
2 year olds should be able to follow simple instructions like pick up the ball and be able to play simple make believe games and enjoy interacting with others and start to show signs of independence such as wanting to feed themselves and dress themselves and copy actions and words as well as sort shapes and colors and find hidden objects and build towers with 4 or more blocks.
By 2 years old many 2 year olds start to recognize and identify a few colors although they may not be able to name all the colors but they can often understand and respond to color words.
And by the age of 3, most kids can identify at least one or two colors and can often start naming the colors.
Toddlers often begin to associate names with objects as early as 18 months.
A 2 year old should be able to speak around 50 words and also begin to be able to form simple 2 word phrases.
And by the time the child turns 2 they will also understand many more words than they can actually speak yet.
A 2 year old's vocabulary is also constantly expanding and they can be expected to add new words to their vocabulary each week.
2 year olds think about and focus on their immediate surroundings as well as needs and desires and are also learning to understand the world around them and are learning to communicate their wants and also while exploring concepts like opposites, shapes and time.
A 2 year olds brain is evolving very quickly and it's best to think of them as a work in progress.
A 2 year old is also learning about relationships and can also sometimes imagine how other people feel which is empathy.
2 year olds also often begin to tell other people how they feel and what they want and they also enjoy stores, songs and rhymes.
The social skills that 2 year olds need are empathy skills, imitation skills and the understanding of basic social interactions.
2 year olds are also beginning to engage with other people or children through play and exploring their emotions and are developing their communication skills.
Having strong, positive relationships also help kids and toddlers to develop trust, empathy, compassion and also a sense of right and wrong.
A 2 year old should be smart enough to have several cognitive skills which include the ability to follow 2 step instructions, be able to sort shapes and colors and even engage in some simple make believe play.
2 year olds also often begin to use two word sentences and can understand familiar names and body parts and can also find objects which are hidden under multiple layers.
2 year olds should also be able to follow a set of directions such as touch your nose and give me a high five.
You can test your 2 year olds IQ through the Standford-Binet (SB5) and the Weschler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-III (WPPSI).
The Stanford-Binet can be given to children aged 2 and up and the WPPSI test can be given to kids ages 2 to 7 years of age.
You can often know if your 2 year old is gifted by the signs they show.
The signs that your 2 year old is gifted is the 2 year old can pay excellent attention to favorite TV shows or videos and know all colors, shapes, letters, sounds and numbers and may be able to do puzzles and make patterns with blocks.
Profoundly gifted 2 year olds and toddlers often also develop skills of reading, writing and even numerical processes years before other 2 year olds.
Other signs of a gifted 2 year old are they are able to read a story they've heard many times as they remember the words and patterns, they have excellent memories and retain information easily, they are often curious and ask a lot of questions and show a strong desire to learn, they can stay focused on tasks for longer periods, they may prefer interacting with older children or adults and they may approach problems or subjects differently or often with their own unique methods.
A gifted 2 year old may also build towers with 4 or more blocks and demonstrate their developing fine motor skills and spatial reasoning and engage in simple make believe games and might even play with others in a group and they can often sort shapes and colors and indicate an early understanding of categorization and follow two step instructions such as pick up your truck and put it on the shelf.
A 2 year old is often advanced if the 2 year old is developing ahead of other 2 year olds in certain areas like language and problem solving or if they are speaking in complete sentences with proper verb-noun agreement by or before age 2.
Other signs that your 2 year old could be advanced are they have a large vocabulary or are also quick to learn new words.
Most 2 year olds should start putting 2 to 3 words together such as "red apple" or "I go up".
And 2 year olds that are advanced may even use more than just simple words to express their needs such as "Help Me" or "I want cookie".
An advanced 2 year old may also show advanced problem solving skills by finding things that are hidden under multiple layers or exploring how things works and sorting of shapes and colors.
An advanced 2 year old may also have excellent memory and retain information easily or be able to recall details of past events that happened.
Advanced 2 year olds may also exhibit signs of abstract thinking, like coming up with their own idea or even coming up with creative additions to a task.
Most 2 year olds can also walk alone and are also beginning to run, stand on their tiptoes, kick a ball and climb on and off furniture unassisted.
And the 2 year old may be able to use cups and spoons, undress themselves and even push and pull toys.
A 2 year old will also start to become more independent and try to do things on their own and express their own needs or wants.
2 year olds also start to show awareness of their own feelings and the feelings of others, and may have rapid mood shifts.
All children also develop at their own pace and some kids are more advanced than others and there is a wide range of what is considered to be typical for a 2 year old.
A child may also be advanced in one area such as language but not in other areas such as social emotional development.
It's also important that you nurture your child's love of learning and also follow their interests, regardless of whether they are advanced or not.