Four Areas of Developmental Skills for Children to Demonstrate by Age 3- An Article

In early 2019, my 2 year old daughter started speech therapy. Various assessments showed she was developing normally in all other areas except for her speech, where she had an obvious, and then test proven, delay.

As part of the infants and toddlers program she recieves her speech services through, she is also assessed in other areas of development about every 6 months to check for continued overall growth. 

As I watched the assessments take place and as I answered assessment questions, I started to panic. “Oh my God. I never even thought about whether she could do that...or that...or that.”
My daughter has been at home with me since birth and I started to feel as if maybe I would be confident that she could do more of the skills being assessed if she was attending a toddler/preschool program. 

Then I started to realize that any skill my daughter needed exposure to, I was capable of showing her. I just needed to know what those skills were. So I opened up google search and the following is what I found. 

I will share 4 areas of development and some related skills that  3 year olds should be able to do or are least beginning to learn to do. Please remember that the range for normal development is wide for young children so don’t worry immediately if your child doesn’t quite match up to this list. Mine sure doesn’t and she’s awesome. 


Social Emotional Development
According to Stanford’s Children’s Health (2019), children start to “develop socially and emotionally from birth”. Social emotional development are skills that “help us manage emotions, build healthy relationships, and show empathy and understanding. (“Social Emotional”, 2019)

The following are some social emotional skills children should be displaying around 3 years old:
-shows affection for friends (high five, hug)
-cooperating more with friends (ie sharing, taking turns)
-uses words to express needs
-understands mine, yours
-separates easy from mom and dad
-becoming more independent with daily activities (ie picking out clothes to wear)



Speech / Language Development
Speech and language development is “the foundation for developing expressive communication skills, but every child will develop communication in his or her own unique way.” (Temple, 2017) It’s important to say, again, that “there is a wide range of “normal” and just because your child is slightly delayed in a few of these areas, doesn’t necessarily mean he or she has a speech or language delay (“Three Year Old Speech and Language Skills”, 2016)

The following are some speech/language skills children should be displaying around 3 years old:

-follows 2-3 step instructions
-begins to understand action words
-understands position words (in, on, under)
-answers simple “why” “where” “what” questions
-names friends
-says I, me, you, we and plurals (cats)
-says about 1,000 words


Cognitive Development
This area of development deals with children’s ability to learn, think and problem solve. 
“(S)he's beginning to think for (him)herself and make logical connections and is developing the ability to really communicate and make sense of (his)her daily schedule.”(Aitman, 2007)

The following are some cognitive skills children should be displaying around 3 years old:

-knows name, age, and gender
-plays make believe with dolls, animals and people
-completes puzzle with 3-4 pieces
-understands “two”
-builds tower of more than six blocks
-counts and understands concept of counting
-sorts objects by shape and color
-recognizes/identifies familiar objects and pictures



Physical Development
Physical development includes gross motor (actions that utilize large muscles) and fine motor (actions that utilize small muscles) activities. Preschool age children are “learning more about their own body and how to control it. Balance will get better and, with practice, your child will be able to do things they hadn't been able to before.” (Morin, 2019)

The following are some physical skills children should be displaying around 3 years old:

-walks in a line
-skips or gallops
-pedals tricycle
-walks backwards
-catches a ball
-jumps with two feet
-turns pages of a book
-uses fork and spoon correctly
-copies a circle


I hope this was helpful for just getting a feel for some skills your 3 year old should be able to or is at least close to doing. And us parents know our children best. If you feel there is a real developmental concern, talk to his/her pediatrician. The doctor will do one of two things: either set your mind at ease and tell you your concern isn’t warranted or give you information for services and programs to help your child. 

Speaking as a kindergarten teacher, early intervention is so important. Don’t ashamed of help; be grateful it’s available and take full advantage. Your child will thank you for it someday. 



Resources


Aitman, A. (2017, June 8). 3 Year Old Development: Cognitive Milestones. Retrieved from https://www.care.com/c/stories/3388/3-year-old-development-cognitive-milestones/

Morin, A. ( 2019, July 25). 3 Year Old Development and Milestones. Retrieved from https://www.verywellfamily.com/3-year-old-developmental-milestones-2764712

Social Emotional. (2019). Retrieved from https://pathways.org/topics-of-development/social-emotional/

Temple, A. (2017, May 22). Speech and Communication Development-Birth to 3 Years. Retrieved from https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/family-resources-education/700childrens/2017/05/speech-and-communication-development-birth-to-3-years

Three Year Old Speech and Language Skills. (2016) Retrieved from https://www.speechandlanguagekids.com/what-speech-and-language-skills-should-my-3-year-old-have/


Your Child’s Social and Emotional Development. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=your-childs-social-and-emotional-development-1-4521

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