Child Development: Letter to a future child about growth and development

My dear child,

As I look at you playing with your toys on the floor of your now "big girl bedroom" so many thoughts run through my head. I can't wait to see the person you'll become in the next few years but this next year is going to be one of the toughest. Two year old you will be going through many changes not only physically but cognitively and emotionally as well. As a parent, my hope is that you will make it through each stage of your life without obstacles and that I'll be able to provide you with the information to do so.

Physically you will go through many changes, though not as many as when you were an infant. Within the next year you will grow somewhere between two and three inches and gain between four and six pounds. Your brain will continue to grow, though not as rapidly seeing as how it already has 75% of its adult weight.

Will eat for food

The Faro Caudill [family] eating dinner in their d...

Dagstuhl 2008-02-01 - 70

And just know, that if you fall and bump your head there is a better chance of a brain injury because the plasticity of your brain is slowly decreasing. Big words, I know but you'll learn what they mean eventually.

Some of the most exciting things that will develop physically for you are your gross and fine motor skills. For the next year you'll find yourself doing things such as being able to run well straight ahead, walking up stairs with both feet per step, kicking a large ball, jumping 4-14 inches, throwing a small ball without falling, hopping on one foot, and climbing on furniture to look out the window. You'll also be able to build towers of 6 or more blocks, be able to copy vertical or horizontal lines, print on an easel with...