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 phrase
- 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 had
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.
More Information:
Your Child at 24-36 Months
Your Child at 3 Years