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   Important Milestones: By The End Of 3 Years (36 Months)

Three Years

For warning signs of possible developmental delays, click here.

 

Sharing Concerns
For tips on sharing concerns about a child's development,
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Children develop at their own pace, so it's impossible to tell exactly when yours will learn a given skill. The developmental milestones below will give you a general idea of the changes you can expect as your child gets older, but don't be alarmed if your child takes a slightly different course.

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

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"

Language

  • Follows a two- or three-part command
  • Recognizes and identifies almost all common objects and pictures
  • Understands most sentences
  • Understands placement in space ("on," "in," "under")
  • Uses 4- to 5-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

Movement

  • Climbs well
  • Walks up and down stairs, alternating feet (one foot per stair step)
  • Kicks ball
  • Runs easily
  • Pedals tricycle
  • Bends over easily without falling

Hand and Finger Skills

  • Makes up-and-down, side-to-side, and circular lines 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
Developmental Health Watch
Alert your child's doctor or nurse if your child displays any of the following signs of possible developmental delay for this age range.
  • Frequent falling and difficulty with stairs
  • Persistent drooling or very unclear speech
  • Cannot build a tower of more than four blocks
  • Difficulty manipulating small objects
  • Cannot copy a circle by age 3
  • Cannot communicate in short phrases
  • No involvement in "pretend" play
  • Does not understand simple instructions
  • Little interest in other children
  • Extreme difficulty separating from mother or primary caregiver
  • Poor eye contact
  • Limited interest in toys
  • Experiences a dramatic loss of skills he or she once

From CARING FOR YOUR BABY AND YOUNG CHILD: BIRTH TO AGE 5 by Steven Shelov, Robert E. Hannermann, © 1991, 1993, 1998, 2004 by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Used by permission of Bantam Books, a division of Random House, Inc.

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Date: May 15, 2007
Content source: National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities

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