Your 23-Month-Old: Feelings, Rules, Stairs, and Sorting Things Out
By the Growbaby team · Published Aug 4, 2026
Written against AAP, CDC and WHO guidance. How we write these guides
At a glance
- Feelings get directed at you deliberately, not simply displayed.
- Simple house rules are understood, which is separate from being followed.
- Stairs get climbed with a hand on the rail, usually two feet to a step.
- A story is followed across a whole book, including who did what.
- Toys get sorted into named groups: animals, cars, things for the bath.
Somewhere in these weeks your toddler starts doing something new with a feeling: showing it to you on purpose. A frustrated face is aimed at an audience now, which is the earliest version of talking about emotions rather than only having them.
Rules start being understood, if not always obeyed, stairs get climbed properly, stories are followed across a whole book, and objects are sorted into named kinds.
What is new this month
Expressing an emotion is a step beyond having one. Your toddler is beginning to notice that an inner state can be communicated and that it produces a response, which is why the sobbing sometimes pauses to check whether you are watching. That is not insincerity, it is a social skill in its first draft.
Understanding a rule and following a rule are different jobs. A toddler can tell you the rule about the stairs and climb them anyway, because understanding runs well ahead of self-control at this age, and consistency does more here than explanation. Stairs are worth watching in their own right, since going up arrives before coming down and a hand on the rail stays necessary for a good while.
Sorting has moved past grouping by one obvious feature. Objects go into named kinds now, so a rubber duck and a plastic hippo can belong together as bath things despite looking nothing alike. Following a story uses related machinery, since a character has to stay the same character from page to page for the plot to hold together.
Week by week, in the app
Our paediatric specialist wrote one thing to notice and one thing to try for every week of the first three years. Here is what this month covers. The app works out which week your child is in from their birth date and brings each one to you on the day.
- Week 96Your baby Expresses Emotions
- Week 97Your baby Understands Simple Rules
- Week 98Your baby is Climbing Stairs
- Week 99Your baby Follows Story Narratives
- Week 100Categorizing Objects
This week, for your baby
Growbaby works out which week your baby is in from their birth date and brings that week's activity to you on the day, so you are not looking up where you are. Plus adaptive soothing for the nights and Growy for the questions in between.
This guide is for general informational purposes only. Growbaby is not a medical device and does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Every baby develops at their own pace; for any question or concern about your baby's health or development, always consult your pediatrician or another qualified healthcare provider.