What Should My Child Be Doing at 3 Years Old?

A three-year-old has transitioned from being a toddler to a preschooler. At three years old, your child will make up stories, play, build relationships, learn right from wrong, manage their feelings and figure out different types of words.

A three-year-old has transitioned from being a toddler to a preschooler. Your child’s social development, imagination and language skills are about adequate for them to start learning with other kids. At this age, your preschooler will be busy

• Figuring out different types of words
• Making up stories
• Playing activities
• Learning to build relationships
• Managing their feelings
• Learning right from wrong

Most babies reach certain milestones at similar ages, but some take their own sweet time to reach those milestones. Infant development is not a science. However, you can consider these general infant development milestones for your three-year-old child.

Moving-physical or motor development

• Climbs stairs with alternating feet—one foot per step
• Runs with speed
• Throws a ball overhead
• Catches a ball with full, outstretched arms
• Balances on one foot for one second
• Copies circles or lines
• Starts pedaling a tricycle or bike
• Walks backward and climbs stairs one foot after the other
• Stacks 10 blocks
• Uses a spoon well and feeds themself
• Turns pages of a book one at a time
• Works door handles and opens twist-on bottle tops
• Plays with toys that have small moving parts or buttons
• Develops handedness (becomes right-handed or left-handed)

Talking-communication and language development

• Says five or six words in a sentence and has a two- to three-sentence conversation
• Talks enough to be understood by most strangers
• Names friends
• Names everyday objects and understands a few words
• Follows two- or three-part instructions
• Asks “why,” “where,” “when,” “what” and “how” questions
• Follows pronouns such as “I,” “me,” “you” and “we” and uses some plurals such as cats and dogs
• Says name, age and gender
• Uses “please” and “thank you”
• Remembers simple lyrics or rhymes

Interacting-social and emotional development

• Dresses or undresses with little help
• Has separation anxiety, but gradually overcomes it
• Takes turns in games
• Enjoys helping with simple household tasks
• Shows a wide range of feelings
• Copies adults and friends
• Verbalizes toilet needs and is toilet trained during the day
• Enjoys daily routine and gets upset with a major change
• Is interested in new experiences
• Often cannot distinguish between fantasy and reality
• Starts finding simple ways to solve arguments and disagreements
• Throws fewer temper tantrums
• Starts sharing and likes playing with other children

Thinking-cognitive development

• Counts three objects
• Retells a story from a book in bits and pieces
• Does simple puzzles
• Correctly names eight colors
• Understands the concept of same and different
• Engages in fantasy play
• Recites numbers up to 10
• Starts understanding time in terms of morning, night and days of the week
• Understands long sentences
• Remembers certain events
• Draws a full circle