3 Years Child Development
During the 3-year-old child development period, a more curious child may welcome you. The longer your 3-year-old’s attention span and the more verbal skills develop, the better he will be able to follow directions and express his own needs and thoughts. Still, the transition from toddler to preschool can often be a bit of a bumpy ride.
3 Years Child Development
Physical Development in a 3-Year-Old Child
3-year-olds not only grow in height and weight, but their gross and fine motor skills evolve to a good point. Mastering these skills, like everything else, depends on the child, their abilities and size. As your 3-year-old grows, they are learning more about their own body and how to control it. Balance will be better and with practice your child will be able to do things they couldn’t do before.
Important Milestones
Gross motor skills: Most 3-year-olds can walk in a line, balance on a low balance beam, jump or run quickly and walk backwards. They can usually pedal a tricycle, catch a large ball, and jump with both feet.
Fine motor skills: 3-year-olds can often wash and dry their hands, dress themselves with a little help, and turn the pages of a book. Most preschoolers can hold a writing instrument with their fingers, not their fists.
Important points: Some children can be given potty training within 3-year-old child development.
Parenting Tip
Yes, keeping up with all that running, climbing, jumping and nonstop speed can be tough. It may be tempting to tell your 3-year-old to “stay still”, but giving kids the freedom to run, climb and jump is crucial. Preschoolers need to develop their physical skills so that they can develop better balance and coordination.
Emotional Development in a 3-Year-Old Child
Temper tantrums tend to peak at this age, as your child doesn’t know how to deal with stressful situations. They may insist on independence when given the opportunity to try something on their own.
Some 3-year-olds find it difficult to stay away from their caregivers. Therefore, your child may cry when you drop him off at kindergarten, or he may regret going to nursery even if he loves it.
Important Milestones
He begins to understand both his own and others’ feelings. “I’m angry!”, “I’m sorry!” to let your child know how they are feeling. or “I am happy!” You can use simple expressions such as
He learns to share and take turns, but he may not always like it.
Parenting Tip
Use emotion words such as sad, angry, and happy in your daily conversations with your child. Building your child’s emotional vocabulary makes it easier for your child to learn how to use their own words to express themselves.
Social Development in a 3-Year-Old Child
Around your child’s third birthday, you may notice a change in their interactions with other children. This is often the point at which many children begin to move from parallel play (where children play close together) to group or interactive play (where they actually cooperate and play with others). This means they will need some help learning how to manage relationships.
3-year-olds can start to develop real friendships with new friends (and sometimes imaginary ones). Preschoolers are fascinated by the things they love. Therefore, it is common for their favorite characters to be from TV or books.
Important Milestones
When another person is hurt or upset, they begin to show empathy and may even try to comfort the person.
They may start babbling if they feel they’ve been “handed down” by another child or sibling.
They can show their love to others on their own (without suggesting a hug to a friend).
Parenting Tip
Your child will begin to understand the difference between “mine” and “yours”, so you may find that your child has a hard time sharing with friends. Instead of interfering with who is playing with which item, it can be helpful to encourage your child to figure it out on their own. If someone becomes aggressive, step in and handle the situation.
Cognitive Development in a 3-Year-Old Child
Cognitive development in 3-year-old child development is not just about learning the alphabet or how to count. It encompasses the entire learning process for assimilating information, including asking questions and processing and understanding information.
Most 3-year-olds are like sponges and absorb everything around them. Help them as a parent know what to do with this information. Now that they can sit still and focus for a longer period of time, they can perceive their surroundings even more.
Your child’s mind and imagination will blossom this year. Develop their memory and learn about the world around them.
4 Years Child Development
4-year-old child development is closely related to living your child’s life to the fullest and making the most of every opportunity to learn, play and grow. Your 4-year-old’s skills and knowledge will continue to develop by leaps and bounds as he prepares to enter kindergarten.
Understanding the important developmental milestones of this age will help you make sure your child’s development is on track. It can also help you see the skills your child needs to learn and identify warning signs that you and the pediatrician should discuss.
4 Years Child Development
Physical Development in a 4-Year-Old Child
As a 4-year-old child develops physically, he not only grows taller, but continues to better handle his gross and fine motor skills. A 4-year-old is still learning how to control his body, and the more successful he is, the more likely he is to try new things.
Important Milestones
Gross motor skills: Your 4-year-old will become aware of his own place in space and will be less likely to bump into others as he moves. His running abilities will improve dramatically and he can even drive a soccer ball.
Fine motor skills: By age 4, your child should have developed hand-eye coordination which results in the ability to string beads, complete puzzles and color inside lines.
Highlights: At this age, most kids can dress themselves, brush their teeth under supervision, and are generally potty trained.
Parenting Tip
Remind your child of safety rules such as holding hands in the street and staying away from the stove, and if you finally ask, “We are in a parking lot, what are we supposed to do?” your child will respond to these verbal cues.
Emotional Development in a 4-Year-Old Child
Children up to the age of 4 show a great desire for independence and want to do as much on their own as possible. It’s okay to be cooperative one minute and overly demanding the next. But in general, they learn to have more control over their emotions.
Important Milestones
Becomes more aware of other people’s feelings.
He experiences a wide variety of emotions, including jealousy, excitement, anger, and fear.
It can focus more on winning while playing.
Parenting Tip
Avoid threatening to leave your child behind if they don’t hurry and say you’ll spank him if he crosses the line. Even if you are joking, your child may not understand that you are not serious.
Social Development in a 4-Year-Old Child
As your child learns coping mechanisms, tantrums will become less frequent. But an important life event like moving, divorce, or the birth of a sibling can definitely affect your child’s mood and behavior. While trusted adults such as parents and grandparents are still the primary source of your child’s interactions, the opinions of friends and peers are starting to become more important.
Important Milestones
He makes real friendships and may even have a “best friend”.
Easier to share with peers and take turns.
Still, she looks to a trusted adult for help when needed.
Parenting Tip
While you may not want to let your child win every time you play, sometimes you can let your child bend the rules. Don’t worry they will change the rules in their favor as they progress, but it might be good for the imagination to let them do it.
Cognitive Development in a 4-Year-Old Child
Your 4-year-old is probably getting better at solving problems and knows how to incorporate a solution that will please (or at least try) everyone.
While most 4-year-olds can read the alphabet and memorize shapes and colors, cognitive development isn’t just about learning facts and academic fundamentals. Learning for children this age also includes learning how to ask questions and process information to understand it.
This age is definitely a talkative age, as more language skills (what they say and understand) develop at an astonishing rate.
Most 4-year-olds love to use their imaginations. They may even develop imaginary friends. Your child may alternate between reality and fantasy and pretend to play all the time. They may enjoy playing house or dressing up and getting their friends involved.
Important Milestones
Shows interest in setting goals for himself; such as learning to ride a tricycle or swing on a swing.
He likes to make decisions on his own, such as choosing his own clothes or having a snack.
Understands number concepts; the number four represents four flowers or four balls.
Parenting Tip
Keep talking to help your 4-year-old keep learning. Answer their questions (even if you don’t know the answers), read, and think about words by asking questions about what you’ve seen and done.
