3 year old milestones
Milestones are reference points for what most children do. We never score or compare.
Feelings & Comfort
- Comforts someone who is hurt or sadBy 48 months
- Uses words for feelings, like happy, sad or madBy 48 months
- Says why they feel a certain way, like “I'm sad because…”By 48 months
- Calms small upsets on their own, and asks for help with big onesBy 48 months
Limits & Cooperation
- Asks to join another child’s playBy 48 months
- Changes how they behave for different social settingsBy 48 months
- Uses a friend’s name when talking about or to themBy 48 months
- Follows simple rules and routines, with remindersBy 48 months
- Shares or takes turns with another child, with your helpBy 48 months
- Suggests a way to fix a clash with another child, with your helpBy 48 months
Talking & Understanding
- Asks 'who,' 'what,' 'where,' and 'why' questionsBy 40 months
- Answers questions about what familiar objects are used forBy 48 months
- Uses articles such as “a” and “the”By 48 months
- Uses sentences with four or more wordsBy 48 months
- Talks about something that happened during the dayBy 48 months
- Uses a sentence with a joining wordBy 48 months
Speaking Clearly
- Talks smoothly without repeating sounds, words, or phrases most of the timeBy 48 months
- Says t, k, g, f and y sounds correctly in wordsBy 48 months
- Says all the syllables in a wordBy 48 months
Early Literacy
- Tells a story from a book or videoBy 48 months
- Pretends to read a book aloudBy 48 months
- Recognizes familiar signs or logosBy 48 months
- Pretends to write or spell and may write some lettersBy 48 months
- Says words from a song, story, or nursery rhymeBy 48 months
- Tells what comes next in a familiar storyBy 48 months
- Joins in with rhymes, and with help hears when words rhyme or start with the same soundBy 48 months
- Recognizes some letters, like the ones in their own nameBy 48 months
Exploring & Discovering
- Explores how things work, like what sinks and what floatsBy 48 months
- Makes a simple guess about what will happen, with your helpBy 48 months
- Uses their senses to look closely and describe what they noticeBy 48 months
Logic & Numbers
- Compares things using words such as “bigger” or “shorter”By 48 months
- Uses location words such as “inside,” “on,” and “under”By 48 months
- Names a few colorsBy 48 months
- Counts a small group and knows the last number says how manyBy 48 months
- Sees how many are in a small group (up to 3) without countingBy 48 months
- Copies and continues a simple pattern, like red, blue, red, blueBy 48 months
- Sorts things into groups by one feature, like colorBy 48 months
- Tries a new way when the first try doesn't work, with a nudge from youBy 48 months
Pretend & Imitate
- Takes on a role in pretend play, such as a teacher or an animalBy 48 months
- Plays pretend with other children, each taking a partBy 48 months
- Keeps to the pretend rules a game has set upBy 48 months
Doing It Myself
- Serves themselves food or pours water, with you nearbyBy 48 months
- Likes to be a helperBy 48 months
- Unbuttons some buttonsBy 48 months
- Washes their hands when remindedBy 48 months
- Gets dressed with less help, like putting on a coat or zipping it upBy 48 months
- Brushes their own teeth while you watch, then you finishBy 48 months
- Uses the toilet in the daytime, with a reminder or a little help
Knowing Myself
- Answers questions about age, whether they are a boy or girl, and nameBy 40 months
- Talks about what they like and what they're likeBy 48 months
- Talks about their family and their own story, like when they were a babyBy 48 months
- Talks about differences between people in an open, friendly wayBy 48 months
- Knows simple body-safety rules, like private parts are privateBy 48 months
Nara is educational and doesn’t assess or diagnose. If you’re worried, talk to your child’s doctor.
What to say and do with your 3 year old →
Join the waitlist