Developmental Milestones for 3-Year-Old & Health Delay Signs
Most 3-year-old children become slimmer and lose the rounded tummy of a toddler. After age 2, children of the same age can noticeably vary in height and weight. Although kids come in all shapes and sizes, a healthy toddler should continue to grow at a regular pace.
The doctor will measure and weigh your child at routine checkups and plot the results on a growth chart. This lets the doctor track your child’s growth over time and spot any trends that need attention. As long as your child is maintaining his or her own rate of growth, there should be no reason to worry. A consultation with your child’s pediatrician is recommended if there is cause for concern.
Movement Milestones
- Runs and jumps easily
- Walks upstairs unassisted
- Rides a tricycle
- Washes and dries hands
- Stacks 10 blocks
- Easily draws straight lines and copies a circle
- Can stand on tip-toes
- Uses spoon well and feeds self
- Dresses and undresses self except for buttons and laces
- Can concentrate on tasks for eight or nine minutes
- Has all 20 primary (“baby”) teeth
- Vision is nearing 20/20
- Bladder and bowel control are usually established; uses potty chair or toilet
- May sleep 11 to 13 hours total, may still take a short afternoon nap
Language Milestones
- Should be able to say about 500 to 900 words between ages 3 to 4 years old
- Speech can be understood by others
- Speaks in two or three word sentences and progresses to four- to five-word sentences
- Can remember simple rhymes or lyrics
- Uses “please” and “thank you”
- Refers to self by using own name
- Names color stones
Cognitive Milestones
- Understands size differences (such as, big and little)
- Understands past tense (yesterday)
- Understands long sentences
- Understands prepositions (on, under, behind)
- Uses pronouns correctly (such as, I, you, he and me)
- Asks “why” constantly
- Counts up to four objects by 4 years old
- Says full name and age
- May have fears of certain things (for example, dark, monster under bed and going down the drain)
- Attempts to solve problems
- Remembers certain events
- Can point to the correct picture when asked a simple question about it
Social and Emotional Milestones
- Begins to share and likes to play with other children
- Can take turns
- Temper tantrums are less frequent
- Begins to show feelings in socially acceptable ways
Developmental Health Watch
All 3-year-olds develop at slightly different rates. And often, kids who are a little behind will catch up with their peers at some point in the near future.
- Can’t work simple toys (such as pegboards, simple puzzles, turning handles)
- Doesn’t engage in pretend play
- Doesn’t make eye contact
- Doesn’t speak in full sentences
- Doesn’t understand simple instructions
- Doesn’t want to play with other children or with toys
- Drools or has very unclear speech
- Falls down a lot or has trouble with stairs
- Loses skills they once had
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