"Little Moments Matter"

Emma Mabusela
Jan 14
2 min read

Supporting your 2-year-old’s learning at home

Being a parent of a 2-year-old is busy, noisy, joyful, exhausting… often all at once. The good news is that children don’t need perfection they grow best through small, everyday moments.

Recent national research following families across England shows that what makes the biggest difference for 2-year-olds is not doing “more” but doing simple things regularly. Children of the 2020s: second survey of families at age 2 - GOV.UK

What really helps at this age

The strongest link to early language and confidence comes from everyday activities such as:

looking at books together
talking about what you’re doing
singing songs or nursery rhymes
counting or naming things as you go
drawing, scribbling, or mark-making

These don’t need to be long or planned. Even a few minutes, done often, adds up.

A word about screens

Screens are part of modern family life and many parents use them for rest, calm, or getting things done (which is completely understandable).

Research suggests:

very long periods of screen time can crowd out talking and play
what seems to matter most is balance, not banning
watching together and chatting about what’s on screen is more helpful than children watching alone

If screens are part of your routine, you’re not doing anything wrong. Protecting some screen-free moments for talk and play is what really counts.

You don’t need special equipment, your child’s best learning tools are:

you
your voice
shared attention
everyday routines

Talking while making tea, naming socks while dressing, singing in the bath, or chatting on the way to the shops all support learning.

Supporting your 2-year-old’s learning at home

If things feel hard right now

Many families experience stress, tiredness, or low mood especially in the early years. That doesn’t make you a bad parent. Children benefit most from: