Your Three Year Old
Developmental Milestones
How your three-year old plays, learns, speaks, acts, and moves offers important clues about your child’s development. Developmental milestones are things most children can do by a certain age.
What’s unique to your three year old? What is typical of a three year old?
Developmental Milestones Three years
Social and Emotional Milestones
- Copies adults and friends
- Shows affection for friends without prompting
- Takes turns in games
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- Shows concern for crying friend
- Understands the idea of “mine” and “his” or “hers”
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- Shows a wide range of emotions
- Separates easily from mom and dad
- May get upset with major changes in routine
- Dresses and undresses self
Communication Milestones
Language/Communication
- Follows instructions with 2 or 3 steps
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- Can name most familiar things
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- Understands words like “in,” “on,” and “under”
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- Says first name, age, and sex
- Names a friend
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- Says words like “I,” “me,” “we,” and “you” and some plurals (cars, dogs, cats)
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- Talks well enough for strangers to understand most of the time
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- Carries on a conversation using 2 to 3 sentences
Physical Milestones
Gross motor/Fine motor
- Climbs well
- Runs easily
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- Pedals a tricycle (3-wheel bike)
- Walks up and down stairs, one foot on each step
Cognitive Milestones
Learning, thinking, problem-solving
- Can work toys with buttons, levers, and moving parts
- Plays make-believe with dolls, animals, and people
- Does puzzles with 3 or 4 pieces
- Understands what “two” means
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- Copies a circle with pencil or crayon
- Turns book pages one at a time
- Builds towers of more than 6 blocks
- Screws and unscrews jar lids or turns door handle
- 24-30 months is an exciting time as older toddlers begin using their growing language skills to tell you what they are thinking and feeling.
- At 30-36 months, older toddlers are full of personality and energy. They want to know the reason for everything. You will probably hear your child ask “Why?” a lot!
Birth – 3 months 3 – 6 months 6-9 months 9-12 months 18 months 2 years 3 years
CHILD DEVELOPMENT
FAMILY FUN
PARENTING CORNER
COMMUNITY