Your 25-month-old will chatter away and seek to engage your attention whenever they can. Sure, there’ll be short periods of time when something fascinating captures their attention, but they will be so bonded to you emotionally that they’ll need to know you are reasonably close. Although this may, feel a little stifling at times, your toddler’s independence will only increase as they get older. For now, give them the attention they need and support their exploration away from your side.

You’ll need to start pulling back a little this month as your toddler develops more independence over his / her little body. Sometimes their skill level won’t match their intent though, so you’ll need to help them out when things get a bit too tough. “Me do it” will become a familiar cry. Although you know you’d be able to do what are trying to achieve in less than half the time, that’s not the point.

You’ll have a busy month ahead of you as your toddler builds on all their social, emotional and physical skills. Some days you’re likely to feel really frustrated with them, and other days you’ll be simply delighted. Just like the rest of the population, toddlers can have good and bad days. The problem is, they aren’t very good at keeping the bad ones to themselves. Frustration fuels a lot of tantrums for 2 year olds, who aren’t always able to communicate what they want to the people around them.

Be prepared for more dress ups this month as your toddler morphs themselves into whatever their little imagination desires. This is a highly imaginative, make-believe age where reality and fantasy be very blurry. Your toddler may resist going to bed because they “see” things in their room, wake up after having vivid dreams and tell you wonderful stories about themselves. All of this is due to the powers of their imagination and the world of make-believe they are so absorbed in. You will find they are still very egocentric and not keen to play interactively with other small children. Protests will be common when there are groups of them together – getting along takes time, skill and motivation.

You may have another baby by now or be considering whether to start trying for one. Two years between siblings is common, but often hard work. Nothing will cause your toddler to look so grown up than being placed next to their new baby brother or sister. Many parents, especially mothers, worry that they won’t love their new baby as much as their toddler. It just doesn’t seem possible to replicate all that love and closeness with another little person. But nature has been very clever in working this out and it’s remarkable just how quickly the new baby will weave its way into your heart and family. Try not to compare how you feel towards the new baby with your older child or children. Give yourself time and be patient.

Your little toddler is officially 2½ years of age and although it’s only been 6 months since they had their 2nd birthday, this extra time will have added so much to their maturity and development. Their routines will be well established and they’ll really have their own special place in the family. Some days you will look at them and think they are all grown up and others you’ll think of them as still being so little.