Developmental Milestones | 3 Years
Movement
- Climbs well
- Walks up and down stairs, alternating feet
- Kicks ball
- Runs easily
- Pedals tricycle
- Bends over easily without falling
Hand and Finger Skills
- Makes vertical, horizontal and circular strokes with pencil or crayon
- Turns book pages one at a time
- Builds a tower of more than six blocks
- Holds a pencil in writing position
- Screws and unscrews jar lids, nuts and bolts
- Turns rotating handles
Language
- Follows a two- or three-component command
- Recognizes and identifies almost all common objects and pictures
- Understands most sentences
- Understands physical relationships (“on,” “in,” “under”)
- Uses four- and five-word sentences
- Can say name, age and sex
- Uses pronouns (I, you, me, we, they) and some plurals (cars, dogs, cats)
- Strangers can understand most of her words
Cognitive
- Makes mechanical toys work
- Matches an object in her hand or room to a picture in a book
- Plays make-believe with dolls, animals and people
- Sorts objects by shape and color
- Completes puzzles with three or four pieces
- Understands concept of “two”
Social
- Imitates adults and playmates
- Spontaneously shows affection for familiar playmates
- Can take turns in games
- Understands concept of “mine” and “his/hers”
Emotional
- Expresses affection openly
- Expresses a wide range of emotions
- By 3, separates easily from parents
- Objects to major changes in routine
Excerpted from Caring for Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5, Bantam 1999