Preschooler Development Tracker 3-4 years
In this Article
Read about the physical, mental and behavioural milestones your child should have achieved between 3 and 4 years of age. Check whether your child is on the way to age-appropriate development.
As your child enters her third year, she will be walking and talking confidently. She will become more independent and will be delighted in doing her own tasks. Read on to check the milestones she should have achieved.
Physical Development
At 3-4 years, your preschooler will be excited about physical activity. Trips to the garden will become part of your routine. However, she is still young and will tire easily so do give her play breaks. She will be a very confident walker and will have developed good body balance. She will now be able to walk, run, march, jump and hop. She will be climbing stairs using alternating feet and will enjoy riding tricycles. She will also enjoy playing with a ball and will be able to throw, catch, kick and bounce it.
Her hand-eye coordination will get better. She will enjoy playing with puzzles, building blocks, large beads and play dough. She will get better at drawing too and will learn to hold the crayon with her fingers rather than her fists. This is the time when she will start to show whether she is right-handed or left-handed. However, she might use either or both for her tasks.
Completing Daily Chores
At 3-4 years, your child will take her first steps towards independence. She might be potty-trained by now and may be able to clean herself too. She will be able to undress herself including unbuttoning and unzipping, but might need help dressing up. Though clumsy, she will be able to butter her toast and pour water for herself. She will have learnt to bathe herself but might still need help with brushing her teeth.
Social Development
She’ll be able to play for longer hours in groups and may have imaginary friends. She will enjoy ‘pretend games’ like mama-papa or doctors and might enjoy ‘pretend tea parties’ with her friends. She’ll be curious about her body and might engage in sex play.
Talking and Understanding Skills
She’ll have a fairly good vocabulary by the time she’s four. However, she’ll understand far more words than she’ll use. She will be speaking in full and clear sentences and understanding longer instructions.
She’ll be very interested in everything around her. She will ask a lot of questions and will enjoy telling stories and reciting rhymes. She will understand opposites, colours and shapes and learn numbers and letters.
Expressing Feelings
Your preschooler will be able to express herself much better now through words, body language and even through her drawings. She will be better able to control her tantrums.
You Might Need to Seek Help if by Four Years Your Child
- Throws tantrums and is clingy
- Doesn’t use sentences made with more than three-words
- Cannot understand two-part commands
- Cannot pick up small objects like pencils
- Cannot dress herself or use the toilet on her own
- Trips while walking
- Cannot see or hear properly
Remember that every child develops at different rates. You can help your child in her overall development with proper guidance and care. See a doctor if you notice consistent loss of skills in your child.
