What Is Your 3 Year Old Doing?

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Hi, I will give you a list of what a typical 3-year old (a child just turning 3) should be able to do...
cognition: points to 6 body parts; enjoys story time; stacks rings in correct order (ring stack toy); sorts shapes (circle, triangle, square); completes 4-6 piece puzzle; sorts colors and can point to several colors when they are named; understands common verbs and common adjectives.
expressive language: uses a vocabulary of 300 - 1,000 words; asks questions (what, where, when); recites a few nursery rhymes; tells his full name when asked; repeats 5 word sentences; tells experiences in short sentences; is intelligible 80% of the time.
gross motor: hops on 1 foot; walks upstairs alternating feet; catching a large ball (should develop this skill around 26 months); rides tricycle (around 30 months) runs (around 30 months).
fine motor: strings beads; builds 9 cube tower; holds pencil w/ thumb and first 2 fingers (adult grip); snips on a line w/ scissors; copy simple strokes on paper (verticle, horizontal lines, a cross and a circle).
social emotional: participates in circle games (ring around the rosie); begins to respect simple rules; shows independence (possible examples: runs ahead, refuses to have hand held); separates easily from mother in familiar surroundings; plays interactive games.
self-help: dresses w/ supervision, needs help w/ fasteners; toilets self w/ help for wiping; helps w/ bathing self; buttons large buttons; knows proper place for own things; uses spoon, fork and napkin; washes & dries hands.

If your son is near these skills he is probably fine. There is a range of what is considered normal development. If he is not able to do many of the activities on the list, I recommend that you contact your local Child Find and schedule an appointment. It could take a long time to get one; so then after you have an appointment, then begin working on these skills at home. Possilbly, your son will have developed these skills befor the appointment date; and if not then you will be in good hands to stimulate his development with some expert intervention. Hope this is helpful. Don't worry; I have seen many children who are behind schedule with their skills catch-up to where they should be with early intervention.

There are many websites with charts for developmental milestones. This is one I like http://www.pbs.org/wholechild/abc/index.html. The charts can give you ideas of things to teach your child if he doesn't already do them on his own. Sometimes it's just a matter of introducing kids to something. You may check for free preschools in your area. There was one I took my oldest son to a few years ago. It was a government grant program. They didn't focus on the alphabet or math, but instead did crafts, songs, stories, and "gym time". I had to attend with my son, but that was good because I learned about things I didn't realize he was big enough to do. For example, dribbling a basketball, using scissors, skipping, using a hula hoop, using glue, using a hole-punch. It was very good for us both.

our grandson is 3, but when he was 1 you would think he was 3. He seems to know so much and understand what you are talking about. We sit down at the table and he reminds us to say grace, he will fold his hands and say it without missing a word in God is great..
but his brother is 2 years and he is totally different. You can't understand is words most of the time. He looks like a baby. But he is smart. Kids or different even when they are brothers.

have you tried a little gym type class? I think they are offered at local YMCAs if you don't want to pay for the private classes. I wondered the same about my daughter and found it priceless to be able to see her around an entire class of others her age and get to monitor them interacting and see how she compared to others. It was also great for teaching her some of those social & motor skills.

Well, I also have a (just last week) five year old, so my opinion and observations are going to be different than others. My 3 y.o. (Sept. baby) is kinda making me crazy. If it's not jumping off of things that are too high, its constantly asking questions. I think that I'm just now coming off of that phase with my 5 y.o., so I'm just a little tired. It takes a lot out of you.
His gross motor skills are about where they should be. He can balance, ride a trike, throw a frisbee. He can write his name and mine. And his brothers. He is very very super stubborn and will try to cry his way into things. But I really feel like that is an attention thing.

Children do seem to do more earlier when there are older siblings, but bring your concerns to his pediatrician (even though his dr visits should have already shown something). My youngest of 4 sons was a little behind the schedule of his older brothers in sitting up and speaking. Even though his doctor wasn't concerned I felt something was wrong. Eventually it was determined there was a problem. I recommend your son attend a daycare a few hours a week as well as alerting the Dr. of your concerns. Read child development books to keep w/the reccommended time frame for age appropriate development. Give him opportunity for independence- dress himself, help fix snacks etc.Consider ordering the book An Essential Practical Guide to Family Living from www.destroyingyokes.com Parenting as well as marital and family issues are addressed.

girl bye! My son is a cry baby, a whiner, and tooooo sensative. part of this is because i worked afternoon so he had his day care provider to him self (i had to goe back to work at 6 weeks). the bubble blowing and catching comes with time cause i'm still teaching mine to catch but he can blow bubbles. just work with him on it.if he's not in daycare try sending him a couple days a week are 5 days for half daysbeing around other children helps ALOT! cause mine is a only child don't worry he will catch up. kids learn at their pace. good luck and you are in my prayers!