3 year old child development. What should a child of three years old be able to know? Three-year crisis: an integral stage of growing up


When raising children, many parents prefer to focus on certain norms of age-related development. If your baby is 3 years old, then he should already be able to and know a lot, but is NOT obligated. Everything is very individual. The list of basic skills is very arbitrary. This is the standard for the development of physiological, intellectual and emotional abilities.

Don’t be upset if your baby still doesn’t know how to do something or doesn’t want to do it himself; help him acquire the necessary skills through games and exciting activities.

At 3 years old, your child should be able to do the following:

  • State your first and last name;
  • Answer simple one-word questions;
  • Tell short poems, if, of course, you teach them with him;
  • Name the primary colors - at least 3. These are red, yellow, blue;
  • Dress and undress independently;
  • Unfasten buttons and zippers on the jacket;
  • Take it off, put it on;
  • Collect puzzles of 4 or more elements;
  • Build a house, a tower from cubes;
  • Assemble the round pyramid correctly;
  • Count to 5;
  • pictures of sticks, circles, dots;
  • Find connections between objects, for example, play the game “Who eats what”;
  • Collect construction sets;
  • Wipe your face after washing;
  • Put toys back in place;
  • Put your things in the closet;
  • Jump, run, climb the wall bars;
  • Ride a tricycle;
  • Communicate with peers on the playground and in the garden, build friendly relationships during the game.

It would take a long time to list all the skills and abilities a three-year-old needs, but we focused only on the basic ones. If you gave your child a plus for most of the points, then you can rest easy. Your baby is developing at a normal pace. If there are some delays or unmastered skills, use our tips for their education and development.

Raising children under three years of age

Most often, children at 3 years old do not know how to dress and undress independently. How to teach them this?

Developing self-service skills

The most important thing is not to interfere with your child’s learning new skills. Take your time to put it on yourself. Let him pull up his socks as best he can, take off his panties to sit on, fasten the zippers on his jacket or the fasteners on his blouse. Buy your baby dolls dressed in pants and shirts. It will be easier for him to understand the principle of action not on himself, but on them. Let him dress and undress the baby dolls, make mistakes with buttoning, correct them together, do not swear or shout at the baby at this moment. He's just learning.

Start training at a very early age before. By the age of 3, the child will learn to put on most things himself.

Video what a child should be able to do at 3 years old

We teach a child to jump, throw and catch a ball

Physical development does not end with learning to walk and climb on chairs and tables. By the age of 3, a child should be able to throw a ball, roll it, catch it, jump on two and one legs, and run.

Play with the ball as a family. First, give the toy directly to the child, then move away, put your palms up, then throw the ball from a long distance. The ability to catch and throw a ball is necessary for developing concentration, spatial orientation, and thinking about one’s own goals for further actions.

Start learning to jump at age 2. Bounce on the bed, holding the child's hands, let him try to fall on his butt, push off from the surface. Use a trampoline. Doing morning exercises, ask the child to stand on his toes, lower himself down, gradually making small jumps in place. Ask to catch a mosquito, a fly, a butterfly while walking, walk on a log and jump off it together.

Jumping and playing with a ball are necessary to strengthen the muscles of the legs, arms, and the formation of the vestibular apparatus.

Teaching a child to clean up after himself

By instilling discipline, you can instill in your child the skill of neatly putting things in their place, being organized, and being clean. At 1.5 - 2 years old, a child should know where his socks, T-shirts, cars, and dolls are kept. Involve him in cleaning up his toys before bedtime, ask him to take out a blue sweater for a walk from the bottom drawer. So, at 3 years old, your baby will be able to help you put your personal belongings in their places without reminders, but immediately after undressing. Many parents note that the habit of cleaning up after themselves creates a reluctance to scatter things around the apartment.

Young parents should understand that the skills and abilities of a 3-year-old child are not developed in one day. It is necessary to instill rules of behavior and teach the actions of a child from birth, gradually increasing their complexity.

Attention! Use of any medicines and dietary supplements, as well as the use of any therapeutic methods, is possible only with the permission of a doctor.

A three-year-old child can dress and wash himself. Communicates with other children in the game, can comply simple rules. Very inquisitive and strives for independence.

Newborn baby

The main things a newborn needs are physical contact with the mother, warmth and breastfeeding. These needs will be the most important throughout the entire neonatal period - the first month of life.

Baby 1 month

The main achievements of the first month are weight gain from 500 to 1500 g, attempts to hold the head in a lying position and eye contact with the mother.

Baby 2 months

The two-month-old baby is very sociable and active: he smiles at his mother, communicates his condition with various sounds and waves his arms and legs with all his might, sometimes hitting a hanging toy.

Baby 3 months

A three-month-old baby can already clearly see the rhythm of feedings and sleep. The child actively communicates with loved ones with smiles and sounds, loves to explore his hands and confidently lies on his stomach, leaning on his forearms.

Baby 4 months

At 4 months, most children are able to roll over and become increasingly interested in the world around them: their vision acquires an “adult” quality, and their hands are able to grab a toy.

Baby 5 months

A five-month-old baby is preparing to crawl - spinning around his navel and rolling around. May be interested in adult food. Often the first tooth is on the way.

Baby 6 months

At 6 months, the baby begins to be introduced to new foods - the first complementary foods are offered. The child intensively communicates with loved ones, babbles, and begins to manipulate toys in various ways.

Baby 7 months

At 7 months, some children are already crawling well, others are just trying to lift their torso off the floor. Some people master sitting before crawling. Many people stand up with support.

Baby 8 months

An eight-month-old child, when asked to find an object, looks for it with his eyes. The first onomatopoeic words appear. Most crawl well and can stand up with support from a sitting position.

Baby 9 months

The baby can stand and walk while holding onto a support. A “tweezer grip” appears - the child can now grasp objects with his thumb and forefinger. Gums and teething teeth require increased chewing load.

Baby 10 months

At 10 months, many children take their first steps. The baby is fascinated by collecting objects in boxes and throwing them away, closing and opening lids.

Baby 11 months

At 11 months, many children begin to walk and master actions with objects that correspond to their purpose: putting a doll to sleep, carrying loads by car. Some children begin to speak their first words.

Child 1 year

A one-year-old baby understands and fulfills simple requests, imitates the actions of children and adults, and manipulates pyramids and cubes.

Child 1 year 3 months

The child moves actively and in a variety of ways and can run. Learns to use a spoon, knows how to drink from a cup. Compared to the first year of life, weight gain and growth almost stops.

Child 1.5 years old

At one and a half years old, the baby pronounces about 40 words, and the first sentences may appear. He is interested in books - looks at pictures, turns pages. Learns to use pencils, begins to master dressing skills.

Child 1 year 9 months

At this age, the baby usually already understands simple shapes and colors and watches children play with interest (“plays nearby”). Can finish the last words in familiar verses.

Child 2 years old

By this age, many children master the potty and learn to eat themselves carefully. The child can listen to the adult’s explanations; some children begin to ask questions.

Child 2.5 years old

At two and a half years old, children begin to say “I” about themselves. The kid can learn to ride a tricycle, throw and catch a ball, and enjoy drawing and sculpting from plasticine.

Child 3 years old

A three-year-old child can dress and wash himself. Communicates with other children in the game, can follow simple rules. Very inquisitive and strives for independence.

By the age of 3, a child usually masters a tricycle, swings on a swing, and slides on a sled. Knows how to play with peers and exchange toys. For children 3 years old, it is not difficult to perform two actions at the same time: for example, stomp and clap. A 3-year-old child is not afraid to swim when supported by an adult. The following techniques and movements can be included in games for children 3 years old: stepping over obstacles on the floor (blocks) in alternating steps, walking along an inclined board, jumping over a line on the floor, standing long jump on two legs, jumping from a small height. A three-year-old child enjoys running, jumping, throwing and catching a ball.

Height and weight of a 3-year-old child, data from domestic pediatricians

Height and weight of children aged 3 years WHO data

Cognitive development of a 3 year old child

Distinguishing objects by characteristics:
At 3 years old, a child correctly names four primary colors and some shades of colors.
Orients himself in the seven colors of the spectrum (knows black and white), finds according to a pattern, at the request of an adult.
A three-year-old child assembles sequentially (puts smaller ones into larger ones) nesting dolls, bowls, molds, caps from four to six components (as shown, at the request of an adult, in independent play).
Games for a 3-year-old child can be based on matching flat geometric shapes to a pattern (circle, rectangle, triangle, trapezoid, oval, square).
Visually navigates the configuration of three-dimensional geometric shapes (matches them to the corresponding holes). He names some of them: ball, cube, prism (“roof”), cylinder (“column”), brick, cone.
Identifies by touch (in the game) and names familiar geometric or other figures.
A 3-year-old child assembles a pyramid of eight to ten rings according to a pattern or design (in descending size, in size and color, in shape and size).
Finds and can name a large, a small object, a medium one - between them.
Identifies an object by its texture (soft, hard).
Composes a picture from two parts (in class).
Matches the mosaic to a simple pattern.
Remembers and indicates the place where the toy removed by the adult stood (in a joint game).
Imitates the writing of an adult (imitates).
At 3 years old, a child can add the missing details to an adult’s drawing (a stem for a flower, a leaf for a branch).
Draws circles, ovals, draws lines, depicts rectangular objects; paints over; imitates the model.
He draws according to his own ideas. Explains what he is drawing (sun, path, rain, etc.).
Rolls out lumps of clay and plasticine in palms; connects the parts.
Sculpts simple shapes (ball, column, sausage, bagel).
Performs simple applique from ready-made forms.

Game actions (beginning of role-playing game):
A three-year-old child shows initiative in play (creativity). Can “take on a role” (calls himself “mother”, “doctor”, etc. in the game). Understands his role in the game.
Fantasizes in the game (introduction of a fairy-tale character).
Plays calmly with other children using substitute objects.
Imitates other children (in any games).
Follows the rules in outdoor games.
Builds a house, a fence, a car, a bridge, etc. from cubes (according to a model, according to a drawing, according to verbal instructions, according to a plan).
Uses various three-dimensional geometric shapes in building games and design, plays with buildings with toys.

Social-emotional development of a 3-year-old child

Wants to be good, expects praise, approval, emotional and positive reinforcement from an adult.
Shows initiative and independence.
Experiences emotional satisfaction if he was able to accomplish something. I'm happy when they praise me.
Shows a sense of pride in himself (“I’m the best runner”), in his parents (“dad is the strongest,” “mom is the most beautiful”).
Inquisitive, curious.
The long-term memory of a 3-year-old child is based on previous emotional experiences; memories of the last year may arise.
Shows emotional restraint: does not scream in in public places, calmly crosses the street with an adult, does not run along the sidewalk, calmly listens to an adult’s request and fulfills it, stops crying when there is a justified prohibition.
Disobedient, emotionally tense when movements are limited, when adults do not understand his requests and desires. Can be persistent in its demands.
He worries if they scold him. He may be offended for a long time by punishment.
Feels sad and ashamed. He understands that he did something badly (he didn’t have time to go to the toilet, he spilled water); he expects a negative assessment from an adult.
He understands if someone else is doing something bad. Gives an emotionally negative assessment (“You can’t: offend, break, tear, take away, fight”).
Can be jealous, offended, intercede, angry, disingenuous, mischievous.
Knows non-verbal methods of emotional communication. Expresses his feelings with his gaze, facial expressions, tone, gestures, expressive movements, and poses.
Emotionally expresses imaginary situations (in play).
Speech is filled with emotionally expressive shades (often by imitation).
The word denotes his emotional states: laughing, afraid, frozen.
Fears and fear of the dark may arise.
Begins to understand humor (laughs, puzzled).
Emotionally empathizes with characters when listening to fairy tales, when watching children's plays, cartoons (he is happy, sad, angry, winces in “pain,” etc.).
Emotionally responsive (experiences pleasure) to music, singing, artistic expression. Sings along, dances (passes the rhythm). Reacts to changes in music - moves differently (spinning, crouching, waving his arms, clapping, stomping).
Reacts emotionally differently to familiar and unfamiliar pieces of music or art when looking at illustrations.
Prefers cheerful music and songs, bright drawings.
Shows interest in drawing and modeling.
Experiences emotional satisfaction from outdoor games.
Emotionally reacts differently to the beautiful and ugly (notices, distinguishes, evaluates).
Emotionally anticipates the outcome of certain actions (one's own or other people's).
Gets upset when you can't do something.
He rejoices at his skillful actions when he succeeds.
Friendly, emotionally open, treats people with trust. He is interested in their actions (deeds), answers if they ask about something.
Remembers kind and harsh people (emotionally responsive and emotionally restrained).
Shows shyness with characteristic facial expressions, especially when addressed by a stranger.
Understands the state of others based on his own emotional experience.
Emotionally assesses the situation: empathizes (if someone is in pain), helps (if someone needs help), sympathizes, behaves quietly (if someone is sleeping, tired).
Notices the sadness, dissatisfaction, and joy of adults or children.
Imitates facial expressions, voice intonations, and emotional and expressive movements of close adults.
Imitates the emotional behavior of peers (can copy someone who is noisier or louder).
Treats children kindly: does not snatch toys, does not take them without asking, and shares his toys.
Enjoys communicating with peers. There is an interest in playing games together.
Shows affection for some children.
Wary of unfamiliar animals, individual people, and new situations.

Speech development of a child at 3 years old (up to 1500 spoken words)

Pronounces complex sentences when communicating. Uses words to express desires, feelings, impressions.
Speaks in simple, grammatical phrases.
He often accompanies his actions with speech. Begins to use subordinate clauses (not always).
Changes words according to numbers and cases. Asks cognitive questions: “Where?”, “Where to?”, “Why?”, “When?” and others. Easily repeats unfamiliar words and phrases after adults. Quickly learns poems, songs, and excerpts from fairy tales. Pronounces many sounds correctly (vowels and simple consonants).
Word creation and a tendency to rhyme appear. Enters into verbal dialogues with children and adults. Answers questions from an adult based on the plot picture. Names some animals (their babies), household items, clothes, dishes, equipment, plants and more from a picture.
Tells a familiar fairy tale coherently based on the picture. Conveys with words, gestures, and intonation the content of a fairy tale, nursery rhyme, song, or poem. Speaks out about a book, an event (after questions and based on memory).
Can prove and think through a sentence said by an adult.
Quickly answers the question: “What is your name?” Knows his last name.
Answers the question: “How old are you?” Points with fingers.
Distinguishes and names people by their gender and age (boy, uncle, grandfather, girl, aunt, grandmother).
Knows his gender: boy or girl; names after the adult’s question.
Knows the names of body parts (head, neck, back, chest, stomach, arms, legs, fingers).
Knows the purpose of body parts (answers questions): “eyes look”, “ears listen”, “legs walk”).
Knows the names of the same parts of the body in humans and animals: “eyes for everyone, legs for a person, paws for an animal, arms for a person, wings for a bird.”
In the game he calls himself some kind of character. Answers an adult’s question: “Who are you in the game?”
When playing, he accompanies his actions with words.
Uses role-playing speech in the game. Speaks for himself and for the doll.
He recognizes and names the whole image by detail (by the trunk - an elephant, by the trousers - a boy).
Has an idea of ​​numbers, shows and says: “one, two, three, many, few.”
Anticipates the outcome (mental possibilities). Uses means to achieve goals.
Able to observe for a long time, concentrate attention, and get carried away by his activities.
Begins to distinguish between the right and left sides (may be mistaken).
Summarizes objects according to their properties (who (what) flies? who (what) swims?).
Shifts from calling himself in the third person to the pronoun “I”.
Shows special interest in conversations between adults.
Listens for a long time to a fairy tale, read or told to adults or recorded on audio cassettes.

Household skills of a 3 year old child

Dresses independently, with a little help from an adult.
Undresses independently; folds his clothes before going to bed.
Fastens several buttons.
Ties (ties) shoelaces.
Knows the purpose of many objects, their location and purpose.
Performs instructions consisting of two or three actions (carry, place, bring).
Can wash hands with soap, wash, dry with a towel.
Notices the disarray in his clothes.
Uses a handkerchief.
Wipes his feet upon entering the apartment.
Regulates its physiological needs.
Eats carefully.
Holds the spoon by the end of its handle.
Uses a napkin.
Doesn't leave the table until the end of the meal.
Doesn't bother others at the table.
He says “thank you,” says hello, and says goodbye.


Pediatricians note that the development of each child occurs “according to an individual program.” Three-year-old children develop rapidly and spasmodically. The baby’s skills are improving every day, and parents are surprised to note all the new achievements of their fidget. And although it is unlikely that you will be able to find even two kids with the same set of skills, there are certain development standards at any age, including at 3 years old.

Content:

Speech skills

By the age of 3, a child’s speech changes dramatically. This is no longer a clumsy monosyllabic conversation, but coherent sentences with words changing according to cases and declensions. The vocabulary is about 1.5 thousand words, of which 500-600 words are actively used. However, not all children speak freely; many cannot pronounce hissing sounds and the sound [r]. Mandatory speech skills are as follows:

  • correctly pronounces his first and last name, the names of his parents and loved ones;
  • makes sentences of five or more words, using prepositions correctly;
  • sentences consist mainly of nouns, pronouns and verbs;
  • remembers short children's poems, reciting them from memory, retells short prose;
  • easily recognizes and names objects familiar to him;
  • composes a story based on the picture using up to 5 simple sentences;
  • uses singular and plural words in conversation;
  • knows many adjectives, but rarely uses them in speech; more often he uses them separately, characterizing an object or phenomenon;
  • distinguishes antonyms and uses them correctly (big - small, high - low);
  • conducts a dialogue and answers questions coherently.

At this age, some children begin the “age of why,” when they ask questions about all the objects and phenomena that come their way. It is important to be patient and satisfy your baby’s curiosity. You need to talk a lot with your child, read books, learn poems and song lyrics. Let him talk about his impressions, using words from the category of perception (liked, remembered, saw, felt). All this perfectly develops speech, enriches vocabulary and conceptual stock.

Thinking

Speech and thinking three year old child closely connected. Perceiving new phenomena, he tries to explain and talk about them. A child of 3 years old already has access to the simplest cause-and-effect relationships, he draws conclusions from what he sees and hears, and tries to explain some phenomena:

  1. Composes simple logical chains based on his own observations and stories from adults. So, he is quite capable of determining that it rained at night if he saw puddles through the window in the morning.
  2. Compares pictures or objects, finds similarities and differences, groups them by common feature. Able to identify the “extra” item in the presented row.
  3. Recalls events of the recent past, talks about what happened a few days ago.
  4. Collects puzzles consisting of 6-8 elements. Easily assembles a pyramid, taking into account the size of the rings. He makes a tower out of cubes, trying to place them evenly.
  5. Knows the concepts of “one-many”, counts to five, showing the corresponding number on his fingers.
  6. Knows up to 10 colors, distinguishes them and names them himself, knows and distinguishes basic geometric shapes, concepts of seasons, names of vegetables, fruits, flowers, etc.
  7. Compares figures by shape, color, groups them, arranges them by size - from largest to smallest, matches one object to another according to a given criterion.

A child of 3 years old is already making quite complex decisions and trying to explain his actions. This is the time when special attention should be paid to creative development: together we sculpt from plasticine, draw, make crafts from natural materials. This develops not only thinking and creativity, but also fine motor skills.

Motor development

Experts advise developing a child’s motor skills up to school age, because the clarity of movements depends on this, even how correctly he will hold a pen when writing. At 3 years old, a child should be able to do the following:

  • easy to collect one bead, pea and other small item at a time;
  • put beads on a thread;
  • make balls from plasticine;
  • cut paper with scissors;
  • collect the mosaic.

To develop fine motor skills, there are special exercises and games that allow you to improve motor skills. Finger exercises, which are performed daily during or before classes, will help.

Video: Developing fine motor skills: finger gymnastics for the little ones.

Household skills

A 3-year-old child strives for independence in everything: for example, he tries to tie his own shoelaces and brush his teeth. Household skills at this age are already quite developed; the baby can easily perform all the necessary hygiene and other daily procedures on his own:

  • dresses confidently, some can even distinguish between the right and left legs, the front and back sides of clothes;
  • knows his things and knows how to use them, finds his toothbrush and towel;
  • unbuttons and fastens buttons on clothes, puts things in the closet;
  • cleans up toys after himself, puts them in their places: cubes in a box, soft toys on shelves, the rest in a basket;
  • eats independently with a spoon; some children can use a fork quite deftly;
  • uses a handkerchief for its intended purpose, wipes the soiled face with a napkin;
  • washes hands before eating, drying them with a towel;
  • takes off shoes and outerwear when coming home from the street.

Everything that a 3-year-old child should be able to do in terms of everyday skills is taught exclusively by close people. Failure to meet certain criteria is not a failure to meet age or a developmental delay; rather, it is a failure of the parents.

Motor skills

Three-year-old children are very active and mobile. Coordination is already fully developed, the baby freely controls his movements, testing his own capabilities and abilities:

  • runs confidently and quickly;
  • plays with the ball: kicks it, throws it, catches it;
  • easily climbs and descends stairs, including vertical ones, alternating legs; more physically developed children can jump over steps;
  • he climbs up the hill and slides down it;
  • maintains balance while standing on tiptoes and can walk quite a long distance this way;
  • walks backwards;
  • rides a tricycle;
  • keeps balance and jumps on one leg;
  • tumbles back and forth.

It is better to channel the child’s overwhelming energy in the right direction by placing him in one of the sections for the little ones, where he will develop physically. Swimming is a very good training for motor functions and coordination. This must be done under the guidance of an experienced instructor.

Cognitive, intellectual and emotional development

Mental processes: attention, memory and thinking are already well developed by the age of 3. The baby has a good sense of spatial orientation and can show the way to a store or playground. He is already able to concentrate on one lesson for up to 5 minutes, which can be used in educational games aimed at describing the sequence of actions shown in the picture, or describing a drawing from memory.

Talking about the events of the day, the baby embellishes reality. Sometimes this is perceived by adults as a lie, but this is only a manifestation of fantasy, which by this time begins to develop.

The child understands that he is an independent person, trying to show individuality in everything, to defend his opinion, which often turns out to be opposite to the opinion of his parents. This is also related to the replacement of the pronoun “we” with “I”: “I will go”, “I will do”.

Psychologists talk about the crisis of three years, when yesterday’s obedient child becomes capricious and does not fulfill the requests of his parents. This is a kind of attempt to defend the emerging point of view. It is very important not to try to achieve complete obedience, but to find a compromise in the relationship, otherwise trust and mutual understanding can be lost, causing aggression.

Social skills

Communication skills with other people become increasingly important for a child. If earlier he was content with communicating with his parents, now he strives more and more to be among his peers. Until recently, children played nearby, but at the age of 3 they begin to play together, sharing toys, enjoying joint role-playing games:

  • the child easily gets to know other children, although some still prefer independent games to group games;
  • perceives and obeys the rules of a certain game;
  • during the game he sees and understands the danger and can prevent it;
  • When communicating with others, he uses the words “thank you” and “please,” “hello” and “goodbye.”

The listed skills and abilities are the result of educational and educational games, active communication with loved ones and peers. A child’s day during this period should be eventful and varied, filled with new emotional and tactile sensations. However, you should not overdo it, otherwise you cannot avoid overexcitation and bad sleep. Routine for a baby is still very important, and it is advisable to replace active games by the end of the day with calm ones, without neglecting reading at night.


Three-year-olds grow at a rapid pace. Every day they never cease to delight their parents with new skills. Today’s article will talk about what a 3-year-old child, namely a girl, should be able to do. Despite the fact that there are hardly at least two toddlers in the world who have the same skills, in pediatric practice there are still certain criteria by which the normal development of a particular baby is assessed.

At this age, the physiological characteristics of a girl’s body may differ from generally accepted norms, since the growth rate of children is purely individual. If the deviations are minor, there is no need to worry. A three-year-old girl should weigh approximately 13 to 15 kg and be about 90 to 97 cm tall.


Some babies lag behind their peers, while some, on the contrary, grow at a fairly rapid pace. This is explained by dietary habits, genetic predisposition, physical activity and some other factors. Be that as it may, only a doctor can suspect a pathology in a child, so do not worry and look for shortcomings in your baby.

Physical development and physical activity

Let's move on to the physical development of three-year-old girls. At this stage, the baby should have the following skills:

  • Jump from a height of 20-30 cm and land confidently on your feet.
  • Pedal and ride a tricycle.
  • Overcome obstacles on the floor up to 30 cm high using an adjustable step.
  • Walk and run on tiptoes.
  • Throw a ball or plastic ball quite far.
  • Stand on one leg for about 5 seconds.
  • It's good to walk with your back facing forward.
  • Go up and down stairs.

If your child does not succeed in something from this list, do not worry; perhaps the little one will master this skill a little later.

A three-year-old girl by this age should have already mastered quite a lot of skills related to everyday life.


Let's look at them:

  • Put on and take off outerwear yourself, fastening the zipper, large buttons and Velcro.
  • Put on and take off shoes, fastening the Velcro and zipper. The baby still cannot lace his shoes.
  • Use scissors. A girl should be able to cut a sheet of paper in half, but cutting out small parts along the contour is not yet possible for her.
  • The baby should also be able to independently draw a circle, oval or other shape on a piece of paper at the request of the parents.
  • Correctly hold a pencil or felt-tip pen in your hand. Now the child can draw objects with rather distorted contours, for example, cats or dogs with rather large heads.
  • Three-year-old children can wash their faces and brush their teeth independently if parents help squeeze toothpaste onto the brush.
  • At this stage of development, children already skillfully pour liquid from one cup to another, twist and unscrew caps from jars and bottles.

If you show a girl some action, she will be happy to repeat after mom or dad.


It is very important now to stimulate the baby’s desire to explore the world and learn new skills. This is necessary for both good physical and psycho-emotional development of the child.

All parents wait with bated breath for the first intelligible words to come out of their baby’s mouth. Often this exciting moment coincides with the age of three. The question immediately arises: is everything normal with the baby’s speech apparatus and is the baby developing normally in this area?


So, what should a baby at this age be able to do:

  • A girl should be able to say her name, how old she is and show it on her fingers.
  • Compose simple sentences, including nouns, adjectives, verbs and pronouns. Of course, the endings of the words and their order may still be incorrect.
  • Reduce words, for example, dog - dog, cat - kitty.
  • Name generalized concepts - cat, dog, horse (animals), jacket, sweater, pants (clothing).
  • Correctly pronounce almost all sounds, except for complex ones - “zh”, “s”, “ch”, “sh”.

The vocabulary at this age should be approximately 300 to 600 words, while the baby understands about 1000 - 1500 words spoken by others.

Muscle development in children begins in the womb, and after the child is born, this process accelerates rapidly.


At the age of three, a girl should be able to:

  • Walk and run without parental help.
  • Be able to lean forward, backward and to the side.
  • Walk backwards.
  • Kick the ball, hit it, throw it with your hands.
  • Go up and down stairs without parental help.
  • Stand on one leg and do several jumps.
  • Walk on your toes and heels.
  • Overcome obstacles 30 cm high in staggered steps.
  • Climb onto a chair, sofa.
  • Going down the slide on the playground.

If the baby has a lag in one or more points from the above list, we are talking about inharmonious development of gross motor skills. Here you need the help of a specialist and correction of the physical development of the baby.


If the baby is unable to perform basic skills such as walking, running, jumping, urgent diagnosis and search for the causes of such deviation are required.

At this stage, fine motor skills are important in the development of children. Now the little one is happily mastering new skills and abilities, learning to control his fingers. At 3 years old, a girl should be able to do the following:

  • Take small objects with your fingers, be able to transfer them from hand to hand without dropping them on the floor.
  • Hold scissors in your hand and cut paper with them.
  • Hold a pen, felt-tip pen or pencil correctly and draw basic shapes.
  • Sculpt simple parts from plasticine.
  • Putting together large puzzles.
  • Build a pyramid and a tower from cubes.
  • Fasten Velcro or zipper on clothing.
  • Eat on your own with a spoon.
  • Place the figures in a box.
  • Roll the ball.

Parents must definitely take into account the fact that the development of fine motor skills directly affects the mental state of the baby.


Scientists have proven that than better baby developed physically, the more rapidly his speech and psyche will develop.

Psychological and emotional aspect of development

At the age of three years, the psycho-emotional development of a girl has its own nuances. Let's look at the main points:

  • Empathy, that is, the ability to consciously experience another person, is practically absent.
  • The baby cannot make decisions on his own.
  • Egocentrism predominates in the psyche.
  • The emotional reaction is directly related to the child’s desires.
  • Children at this age have high self-esteem.
  • It is very important for a child how his behavior and desires are assessed by his parents.

As at an earlier age, now the relationship between the baby and the mother is very close. The little one needs her protection and support, and gets upset if she is separated from her family for a long time. Parents should not regard this as whims, because the psyche of a little fidget has its own characteristics.

At the age of 3 – 3.5 years, children have a predominant visual-effective nature of thinking. Every object that the little fidget sees makes him want to interact with it, that is, assemble, disassemble, touch with his hands. For example, when she sees cubes, the baby will want to build a tower or throw them; when she sees pencils and paper, she will want to draw; a ball will make her want to throw it or roll it on the floor.


Such actions of a child may seem a little tiring for parents, but we must not forget that this is the need of a three-year-old baby. In other words, this is how the baby gets to know the world and learns to interact with it.

Educational games

The three-year-old is extremely active and cannot sit still. At this age, little know-it-alls love to play various games with adults. Let's look at several options for such activities.

For this activity you need to take 2 sheets of paper and draw a red and green circle on them. These circles need to be cut out and glued to a stick. If mom raises the red circle, the little one should stand still.


When the green circle is raised, the baby must walk. This game is especially fun to play if there are several children in the house.

An excellent game for developing fine motor skills, during which the baby must stick stickers on paper. They can be purchased at a children's store or ordered online.


By the way, with the help of these stickers you can learn geometric objects, animals, colors, numbers, letters, etc. The activity will not only be fun, but also useful.

For this game you will need cubes or drawings with the same images. They need to be laid out in front of the baby in a chaotic order and asked to find the same ones.


This activity develops memory and attention well. Children of all ages can play it.

For this activity you will need a table tennis racket and a small balloon. The child should be shown how to hit the ball correctly with a racket.


The lesson will be very useful for training dexterity, spatial coordination, large and fine motor skills. You can use 2 rackets and try to hit the ball to each other.

For this game you need to collect various toys and ask them to put them in different boxes, taking into account the color of the object.


Green toys in one container, yellow ones in another, and so on. In addition, items can also be sorted by size and shape.

To train your thinking and attention, you can play a game that involves finding a hidden object. You need to hide the toy in the room, but so that the little one can find it. This can be done, for example, under a pillow or in a box with other toys. During the search, you can use hints - “hot” or “cold”.


Try to spend as much time as possible with your kids, walk with them, talk, read books, tell fairy tales. This will have a positive impact not only on the baby’s development, but also on personal relationships with mom and dad.

Age 3 is exactly that life stage, when many little ones go to kindergarten. In this regard, parents have many questions about what the baby should be able to do? Below we consider some of the criteria that are required of children entering the preschool:

  • Potty training. If parents do not want their child to walk around in wet tights, it is very important to master this skill before going to kindergarten.
  • Eat independently with a spoon. If a girl has not mastered this skill at home, her chances of remaining hungry greatly increase.
  • Put on and take off outerwear and shoes yourself.
  • Wash your hands yourself with soap.
  • The baby must be able to tell the teacher or nanny if something is bothering him or if something hurts.

And, of course, you should teach your little fidget to be able to interact with other children. This skill is very important for the child to feel comfortable in an unfamiliar group.


Each kindergarten has its own rules, which parents must be informed about before accepting their child. This is especially true for private institutions.

Experts say that the earlier one or another developmental defect is identified in a child, the more chances for its successful correction. So, what should parents be wary of:

  • The baby does not make eye contact or immediately looks away when trying to establish eye contact with him.
  • Repetitive and stereotyped movements. These could be actions such as running in a circle without changing trajectory, throwing a ball, rolling a car, and so on.
  • Displaying aggression towards other children and adults. In this case, attacks can occur both at home and in the garden.
  • Sadism towards animals. If your baby catches insects or animals, or torments cats and dogs, you must show the baby to a specialist.
  • Reluctance to interact with other people, which may indicate autism and others mental disorders.
  • Excessive passion for orderliness of actions. For example, if a toddler tries to arrange toys strictly by color and size.
  • Sleep disturbance and difficulty falling asleep. Anxious sleep may indicate psychological trauma and other disorders.

It is also important to pay attention to speech development.


If at three years old the baby does not have at least 300–500 words in her vocabulary, this is a reason to contact a specialist. Early diagnosis of certain diseases allows you to cope with them without negative consequences for the child's health.

Let's sum it up

Children grow and develop very quickly. Each baby has his own individual characteristics and don’t worry if he does something a little worse than others, you just need to put in a little more effort. In addition, in order to form a harmonious personality, it is necessary that the atmosphere in the family be as friendly as possible. This will help establish contact between the toddler and his parents and develop a full-fledged personality.

Video

If you want more information on a topic that interests you, be sure to watch this video until the end. One of the mothers shares her experience.

In this article:

At three years and three months, a child's development allows him to master riding a tricycle without the help of adults. In addition, at this age, children can independently ride on swings and slide down small slides on sleds. They show great interest in their peers, exchange toys with pleasure, and play games together.

Babies at three years and three months still find it difficult to perform several actions at the same time. At the same time, children are distinguished by courage and even despair: almost all three-year-olds are not afraid of water or heights, and are happy to take risks if they feel the support of an adult. Three-year-old children are very energetic, they run a lot, dance, jump, and play with a ball with pleasure.

Features of cognitive development of a three-year-old child

At three years and three months, the baby knows several primary colors and also tries to identify some of the shades. If you ask your baby to find a particular color in a picture, he will do it with enthusiasm.

Babies at three years and three months demonstrate active cognitive development. They play with insert toys, putting smaller ones into larger ones,
play with the pyramid, assembling it into in the right order- by ring colors or size.

At this age, a child’s development can be accelerated by selecting games for him based on flat geometric shapes, such as trapezoids, circles, squares, and triangles. Children at three years and three months are already able to distinguish them from each other; moreover, they will be able to navigate the configuration of three-dimensional figures, selecting, for example, suitable holes for them.

How else is a child’s cognitive development expressed after three years? Here are his main skills in this area:

  • the child can, while playing, identify geometric shapes by touch and name them;
  • assembles a pyramid of more than 10 rings;
  • puts together a mosaic according to a drawing or diagram;
  • knows how to name large and small objects, giving a name to what is between them - “middle”;
  • puts together simple puzzles from several parts;
  • remembers the place where the toy hidden by the adults stood and points to it;
  • imitates writing and reading of adults;
  • fills in the missing details in the drawings;
  • draws geometric shapes;
  • draws original pictures, explaining what is shown on them;
  • sculpts simple figures;
  • makes simple applications using templates.

After three years, children show a keen interest in role-playing games, happily playing the roles of adults, such as mom, dad or teacher. During the game, kids fantasize, come up with rules, and actively use objects and substitute toys.

Features of the baby's social and emotional development

At three years and three months, the child’s social-emotional development moves to a new level. During this period, it is very important for a child to feel the support and approval of adults. Children try to be more independent and independent, they are not afraid to take initiative,
They are sincerely upset if something does not work out as planned, and are proud when everything goes according to plan.

The feeling of dominance over peers is especially pronounced at this age. After three years of age, it is very important for children to prove to themselves and adults that they are the best, regardless of whether it is a competition in running a race with the same kids or climbing a gymnastic ladder.

A three-year-old baby is curious and shows interest in everything that surrounds him. Interestingly, a baby’s long-term memory is based on experienced impressions, the shelf life of which can exceed a year or a year and a half.

One of the achievements of a child of the fourth year of life is control of emotions. In crowded places, the child already knows how to restrain screams and hysterics, tries to follow the rules of behavior, listens to the requests of adults and tries to fulfill them.

A child shows disobedience when his desires are deliberately limited, as well as when adults do not understand what he wants to convey to them. The child insists on his own and is sincerely upset if he is punished or scolded.

Acting, in his opinion, badly, the child suffers from shame and remorse. He knows that he did something wrong, and already anticipates the negative reaction of adults to his action. Children also know how to evaluate the actions and behavior of other children, condemning them or encouraging them.

At this age, it is normal for babies to show a wide range of emotions, from jealousy to anger or joy. The kid already knows how to put it into practice
non-verbal methods of communication, uses facial expressions, gestures, postures and expressive movements.

It is also noteworthy that at three years and three months the baby perfectly understands humor, listens with pleasure to fairy tales, songs, stories, experiences the emotions of the main characters, showing a desire to discuss their actions with adults.

At three years and three months, babies are especially emotionally responsive, react positively to singing and music, try to dance, keeping the rhythm, clap their hands and stomp their feet to the music. Children give preference to cheerful music and bright pictures. Kids show interest in drawing and modeling, and simply love outdoor games.

How does a child’s speech develop?

At three years and three months, children already speak quite confidently; their active vocabulary contains many new words that they use when communicating, as well as to express feelings, desires, and impressions.

The speech of a three-year-old child is dominated by simple, grammatically correct sentences. In some cases subordinate clauses begin to appear in it. Very often the child comments on his own actions.

At three years and three months, the child’s speech development is accompanied by the improvement of his oral literacy. The baby already changes words according to cases and numbers, knows question words, replenishes his stock of adjectives and adverbs, and uses prepositions. The child listens to adults, remembers and repeats entire phrases from songs, fairy tales and poems, and tries to pronounce sounds and words as correctly as possible.

At the same age, children develop a desire to rhyme. They happily come up with rhymes, invent their own children's words that are incomprehensible to adults, and monitor the reactions of others to them. Kids willingly enter into dialogue with both adults and children, name animals, insects, objects and phenomena in pictures, and give them simple descriptions.

Very often, it is at the age of three that parents decide to send their children to kindergartens, believing that they are strong enough and their psycho-emotional development allows them to communicate with peers and teachers without the presence of their parents. However, not all children, even at three years and three months, are ready to enter kindergarten. The development of each baby is individual, so before making such a decision, it would not hurt to consult with your pediatrician.

After three years, the child’s active physical development continues, which is expressed in a change in the proportions of his body and an improvement in physical qualities. The baby grows taller, becomes more coordinated, fast and resilient. He succeeds in a lot, and most importantly, he practically never gets tired, trying to be constantly on the move.

In order for the baby’s development to proceed correctly, parents must take care of organizing the correct daily routine for him, preferably with daytime sleep or at least rest.

If you plan to enroll your child in kindergarten, then you need to try to bring the home daily routine as close as possible to the kindergarten routine. The baby will need to be woken up no later than eight in the morning, fed breakfast no later than nine, go for walks with him twice a day, and be sure to teach him to be independent in maintaining hygiene rules, if adults have previously been responsible for this.

It would be a good idea to take your baby for a walk near the kindergarten where he will be enrolled, to get to know the teacher and the children. Such simple actions will help the child prepare for entering kindergarten, and his subsequent adaptation will be quick and painless.