3 Year Milestones
Language Development is the process by which children come to understand and communicate language during early childhood. From birth to age five, children develop language at a very rapid pace. The stages of language development for humans are universal, however the age and the rate at which a child reaches each developmental milestone can vary greatly among children. A child’s development should not be compared to that of other individual children but rather be compared to norms. Generally girls develop language at a faster rate than boys. More than any other aspect of development, language development reflects the growth and maturation of the child’s brain. For a child after the age of five it becomes much more difficult to learn language. Early Intervention is critical. A typically developing child usually develops receptive language development (the ability to understand language) faster than expressive language (ability to communicate).
If your child is missing any of the items in the appropriate age milestones, please complete the “Referral Form” or contact us. Early intervention is vital to your child’s speech and language development.
Social/ Emotional
- Copies adults and friends
- Shows affection for friends without prompting
- Takes turns in games
- Shows concern for a crying friend
- Understands the idea of “mine” and “his” or “hers”
- Shows a wide range of emotions
- Separates easily from mom and dad
- May get upset with major changes in routine
- Dresses and undresses self
Language/ Communication
- Follows instructions with 2 or 3 steps
- Can name most familiar things
- Understands words like “in”, “on”, or “under”
- Says first name, age, and sex
- Names a friend
- Says works like “I”, “me”, “we”, and “you”, and some plurals (cars, dogs, cats)
- Talks well enough for strangers to understand most of the time
- Carries on a conversation using 2 or 3 sentences
Cognitive (Learning, Thinking, and Problem-solving)
- Can work toys with buttons, levers, and moving parts
- Plays make believe with dolls, animals, and people
- Does puzzles with 3 or 4 pieces
- Understands what “two” means
- Copies a circle with pencil or crayon
- Turns book pages one at a time
- Builds towers of more than 6 blocks
- Screws and unscrews jar lids or turns door handle
Movement/ Physical Development
- Climbs well
- Runs easily
- Pedals a tricycle (3-wheel bike)
- Walks up and down stairs, one foot on each step