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Old 08-16-2008, 10:26 AM  
Merrifox
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Default Re: 2 year old won't eat with utensils, and other problems

It's really not abnormal for a 26 month old baby to have these problems In fact..it's highly normal, and to be expected. By the time she hits Kindergarten, she'll use utensils (usually) and brush her own teeth(if you keep reminding her) and enunciate words very clearly(mostly).

It sounds as though she's developed an aversion to using utensils, and you may wish to take her to a store and pick out a special set (or a few) just for her -- they make pretty ones, with plastic handles and cartoon characters on the plastic, which she may enjoy. Then, hand them to her or set them next to her bowl/plate when she eats -- but don't force her to use them. Eventually, she'll want to use them again, because children like to mimic their parents, it's how they learn to do anything when they're young. Of course, when she does pick one up, make sure to praise her, even if she scoops the food into the spoon or onto the fork then uses her fingers to take it from the utensil to place in her mouth...coordination is very bad at this age, and just scooping up food can be hard, let alone getting it to their little mouth

Brushing teeth is also a difficult thing to learn, and after all their attention span is so short..for mine, I usually did a basic job, and as they'd say "ME do!" I'd hand over the toothbrush and let them do. As they would pretend to brush, I'd point out areas they hadn't 'reached' (although granted none was done well by them at this point) and they would make an attempt to brush those areas too. (Although I made the mistake of saying "brush here too" to my oldest, using my mouth as example..and he attempted to brush MY teeth...LOL)Mainly, though, at this age it's about the taste of brushing teeth, and they're just not gonna do a good enough job to keep away cavities on their own. It's just part of the learning process.

About the talking..this is also normal. My middle one was 2 1/2 before he said ANYTHING...and yeah, I did all the doctor rounds to try to figure it out. My oldest had talked so young...anyway, after much research, and doctors, I found out that talking that late was within the normal range. And eventually he DID talk (and never shut up thereafter!) As for speaking clearly...it takes a lot of practice. Imagine you, trying to learn spanish or french, and perhaps trying to learn to roll those R's...it's hard. For toddlers, it's a lot the same...learning to say the different sounds correctly takes time and practice. My youngest had the most problems with this, and as late as 4 years of age had problems with L's...(My dog's name is Lilah, and he first said Yiyah, Wilah, then eventually it became Lilah)Being excited made it worse, too. But he speaks normally now, and is considered "gifted" and in the advanced studies courses at school. So it'll happen, just keep being patient and loving

Of course, if there are other signs you've not mentioned, don't hesitate to follow up on the Autism.
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