Question

Difficulty: MediumDevelopmental Stages and Transitions

During a routine health maintenance visit, a clinic nurse evaluates a toddler who just turned two years old. Based on standard pediatric growth and development guidelines, which assessment findings indicate the client is achieving age-appropriate milestones? Select all that apply.

  1. Building a stable tower of six to seven blocksAnswer
  2. Combining two to three words into short, meaningful phrasesAnswer
  3. Playing alongside other children with similar toys without interactingAnswer
  4. D
    Walking down the stairs by placing alternating feet on each step
  5. E
    Drawing a closed circle when given a crayon and paper
  6. F
    Engaging in cooperative play and sharing toys with peers

Answer

The age-appropriate milestones for a 2-year-old include building a tower of six to seven blocks, combining two to three words into short phrases, and engaging in parallel play.
A 24-month-old toddler is expected to have the fine motor skills to build a tower of six to seven blocks. Their language development typically includes a vocabulary of approximately 300 words and the ability to combine two to three words into short phrases. Psychosocially, toddlers engage in parallel play, where they play alongside other children using similar toys but do not directly interact or cooperate.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the client's exact developmental age from the scenario.
The client is a toddler who is exactly two years old (24 months).
Developmental milestones are highly specific to chronological age and rapidly change between 12 and 48 months.
2
Evaluate the motor skill findings against expected 24-month milestones.
Building a tower of six to seven blocks is expected. Walking downstairs with alternating feet and copying a circle are too advanced (expected at 4 and 3 years, respectively).
Differentiating between toddler and preschool motor skills ensures accurate developmental screening.
3
Evaluate the language and psychosocial findings against expected 24-month milestones.
Using two- to three-word phrases and engaging in parallel play are expected. Cooperative play and sharing are too advanced (expected around 4 years).
Language rapidly expands at this age, and play transitions from solitary (infant) to parallel (toddler) before becoming associative and cooperative (preschooler).

Key Concept

Developmental Milestones of a 24-Month-Old Toddler
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