DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES

3 - 4 YEARS

The following list of developmental milestones should be used as a guideline in following your child's overall development. Many children develop faster in some areas and leave other areas lagging behind, only to find a sudden burst of development in these slower areas, later on. No two children develop at the same rate, or in the same order of abilities.


This checklist should serve the following two purposes:

1.

Use the checklist as a guide of developmental areas you should be stimulating, through play or even through daily activities.

2.

Should you find that your child is not developing according to several items on the checklist, it is advised that you consult with a General Practitioner (GP), Pediatrician, Occupational Therapist, etc. for further advice.

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT:
(Fine and Gross Motor)

• Finally, the little bodies are becoming more coordinated and looking less clumsy as they master the physical skills our bodies require in order to keep up with the ‘big world’.

• Most 3 – 4 year olds can:

  • Walk on a straight or curved line
  • Balance on one foot for 4 – 8 seconds
  • Throw and catch a ball
  • Run around obstacles
  • Climb up and slide down a playground slide unassisted
  • Push, pull, and steer toys
  • Ride a tricycle
  • Turn one page at a time
  • Build a tall tower of blocks
  • Draw simple shapes such as a cross and a circle
  • Make simple clay objects such as worms, flat plates and balls
    

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT:
(Thinking and Reasoning Skills)

• From birth, children are trying to make sense of their worlds. They analyse, categorise, synthesise, etc. their worlds to give meaning to everything ‘out there’.

• Between the ages 3 – 4 years, most children:

  • Understand that parts belong to and make up the whole, e.g. slices of an apple
  • Draw pictures which are somewhat recognisable
  • Provide names for these pictures and even give a brief explanation of what is happening in the picture
  • Group (or catagorise) objects according to some or other commonality, e.g. same shapes and/or colour
  • Place objects in a certain logical order, e.g. stack blocks from largest to smallest in a tower shape
  • Try to obtain more information through ‘why’ and ‘what’ questions
  • Pay attention to an activity for between 5 – 15 minutes at a time (depending type of activity).

   

SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

• The 3 – 4 year old is continuously moving towards independence, striving to be self-reliant.

• Most 3 – 4 year olds:

  • Show a variety of emotions
  • Dress and undress with little help
  • Wash their hands on their own
  • Share their toys with other children and start with turn taking activities
  • Become more interested in playing with other children
  • Use imaginative play e.g. pretend to be animals in a zoo
  • Play simple group games
    

COMMUNICATION SKILLS

• The language use by 3 – 4 year olds becomes more complex.

• Most 3 - 4 year olds:

  • Ask questions beginning with, "What? Where? Who?"
  • Make themselves understood to strangers, despite some articulation errors
  • Provide you with their name, surname and age
  • Use regular plurals and regular past tense correctly (could still find errors with the irregular forms of grammar)
  • Understand vocabulary indicating time, e.g. tomorrow, yesterday, later
  • Understand and correctly use adjectives depicting size, e.g. small, smaller and smallest
  • Understand cause and effect relationships, e.g. if you drop a glass then it will break
  • Follow 2 – 4 instructions (which are related in some way). For example: take this plastic cup, go to the kitchen, fill it with water and take it to your bother
  • Sing a few songs (in their own way, of course).