106 Week Old Toddler: Your Toddler's Development and Your Recovery This Week

Your toddler is picking up independence in small, messy doses this week.

Around 24 to 25 months, most toddlers can stack 3 or 4 blocks into a tower before it topples, wash and dry their hands with help, and scribble happily on paper (and anything else in reach) if you hand them a crayon. Pretend play is becoming richer too, feeding a doll, making a phone call on a wooden block, "cooking" in a play kitchen. The pretend games are more than cute; they're how toddlers test out language and feelings.

• A low shelf with 4 or 5 toys on rotation rather than the whole toy box out at once. Fewer choices, longer play.
• Big sheets of cheap paper on the floor, your crayons will survive longer if walls and furniture are not the most tempting canvas.
• A step stool at the basin so handwashing doesn't turn into a lift-and-balance act.

• Some toddlers are pincer-grip pros with a crayon by now; others still use a full fist. Both are fine at this age. Mention to the pediatrician if your toddler hasn't started scribbling at all by 2.5 years, or can't stack 2 blocks without frustration.

Keep pretend play loose. There is no right way to pour from an empty teapot.

• A steady squint, a white reflection in flash photos, or frequent bumping into things, worth getting a vision check.

An empty teapot, a wooden-block phone, a doll fed with utter seriousness: your child is rehearsing life, and you are their favourite audience. These unscripted activities for 2 year old imaginations flourish because you keep the space loose and loving. Let the pretend chai keep coming.

Around 24.5 months. Your toddler can now build small sentences and stack blocks high enough to topple, both fast-changing this month.

What's happening for you

• Year 2 mum-tired is different from year 1 mum-tired. Less sleep deprivation, more "every conversation is a negotiation". Your patience reservoir refills slower than it did before.

Things that often help

• Real meals, sitting down, your blood sugar affects your fuse more than anyone admits
• 30 min daily movement, even a brisk walk
• A 5-minute pause when toddler is melting down: deep breath, count to 5, then respond
• One trusted person you vent to weekly, partner, friend, sibling, therapist

Indian-context tip

• A weekly oil massage, head, shoulders, lower back, is genuinely restorative. Sesame, mustard or coconut oil. Done by yourself or family. Indian aunties know this works.

Eating well

• Three meals + two snacks. Iron-rich Indian basics. Hydrate.

Worth flagging

• If you find yourself shouting more than you'd like, hitting yourself when frustrated, or fantasising about leaving, please talk to a therapist. None of these are character flaws; all are signs the system is overstretched. Treatable, often within 8–10 sessions of CBT.

Indian-mum reminder

• Mental health support is medical care. A trained therapist can help. Asking for help is strength, not weakness.

A small Indian-context tip

• Weekly batch-cooking on Sundays, dal, sabzi, paratha dough, ginger-garlic paste, saves 3 weekday hours. Ask family to help; share the work. The week's eating runs smoother, your stress lower.

Indian-context support note

Building a small support system that works for the longer journey:

• 1-2 close mum friends you can call without explanation
• A trusted gynae for body, a therapist for mind if needed
• Online Indian mum communities (Mompresso, Instagram circles, WhatsApp groups) for daily small things
• A weekly call with mother, sister, or close friend

Quality over quantity. 2-3 strong relationships matter more than 30 acquaintances.

Negotiating with a small, determined person all day drains a different kind of energy, and it is okay to admit that. Parenting a toddler in year two asks for a patience nobody warned you about, so guard your walks, your meals, and your weekly vent like treasures. A steadier you is the kindest gift this house receives.