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

Your toddler has discovered that drawers open, cupboards open, and repetition is apparently the point.

At around 26 to 27 months, most toddlers can run steadily, stand on tiptoe for a second or two, walk backwards a few steps, and attempt a small jump with both feet (landings are a work in progress). Opening and shutting every cabinet in the house is part research, part theatre. Words pour in and out at speed, if you read, talk and sing in front of them, they will pick up far more than you think.

• Pick 2 or 3 lower cupboards that are "yes" cupboards, Tupperware, wooden spoons, soft cloths. Lock the rest.
• Read the same book twice in a row when they ask. The repeat reading is where the language sticks.
• Narrate their day in short sentences: "You're putting on shoes. Red shoes. We're going to the park."
• Don't correct every wrong word. Just say it back the right way. "Sketti" becomes "Yes, spaghetti for lunch."

• A rough guide, your toddler is on track if they use 50+ words, respond to their name, point at things they want, and start to join 2 words. Above that is bonus.

• Vomiting, unusual sleepiness, a swelling that keeps growing, or pupils that look uneven, head to the emergency room. Most bumps just need a cuddle and a cold cloth.

Every opened cupboard and every repeated story is research to your little scientist, and all of it is toddler development doing its busy, noisy work. Your home is their first laboratory, and your patience is what makes it a safe one.

Around 26 months. Toddler vocabulary often explodes around now, 50 words to several hundred in a few months.

What's happening for you

• Your toddler is more interactive, more conversational. Long days have small bright moments, a new word, a small joke, a moment of connection.

Things that often help

• Talk to them constantly. Narrate what you're doing.
• Read books daily, even just 10 minutes
• Use the home languages
• Hindi-English-regional. Bilingual is healthy, not confusing.
• Sing songs, tell stories, recite poems

For mum's brain

• By 26 months, mum-brain fog usually has lifted. If not, bloodwork. Anaemia, B12, Vit D, thyroid.

Eating well

• Three meals + two snacks. Brain food, omega-3s (walnuts, flax, fatty fish), B vitamins (eggs, leafy greens), steady blood sugar.

Worth flagging

• A toddler with fewer than 50 words at 24 months, no 2-word phrases by 25 months, or frustration that escalates because they can't communicate, talk to the pediatrician. Most "behind" toddlers catch up; some benefit from speech therapy. Earlier intervention works better.

Indian-tradition note

• Reading aloud is a long Indian oral tradition, mythology, folk tales, regional poetry. Pratham Books, Tulika, Karadi Tales offer beautiful Indian-language toddler books. Worth investing in 5-10 books in your home language.

Indian-mum reminder

• Bilingual or trilingual exposure (Hindi-English-regional) is normal in Indian homes and healthy for toddler development. Don't feel pressure to pick one.

A note for joint-family mums

• If you live with extended family, weekly small chats with your partner about logistics, boundaries and your own state matter. Without them, joint-family stress builds invisibly. 15 minutes once a week, in private.

Amid the new words and small jokes, hold on to your own voice too; reading, resting and unhurried conversations are the mother self care your mind quietly craves. The brighter you feel inside, the more of you there is to share in those chatty little moments.