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Proper development of a 3 year old child. "Don't want! I won't! No need! I myself!” — three-year-old crisis: signs of a crisis and how to overcome it

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Children fill the lives of their parents with special meaning and new colors. Raising and raising a child correctly is the main task facing mom and dad. Surrounded by love and care, a child grows by leaps and bounds and does not notice how many sleepless nights his parents spend at his cradle, how they worry about every, even minor, sore and fever, how many times a day they wash the sheets and rompers. It is especially difficult for mothers in the first 2 years, when they must be with their children almost constantly.

But finally, the moment comes when three candles are placed on the birthday cake of a son or daughter. Can parents breathe a sigh of relief when their child reaches 3 years of age? What should child upbringing and development be like at this age, and how can parents and their children overcome the new difficulties that they will inevitably face at this time?

About the features of object and game activities

Psychologists call 3 years of age the first stage of a child’s maturation; at this time he realizes his place in the world.

For children 2-3 years old, objects are of great importance. Kids love to touch different things, feel them, fold them and assemble them, which is good for the development of motor skills. But if at an early age they mastered only single subjects and did not understand the connections or differences between them, then at 3 years old children already realize this. They feel the difference between flat and three-dimensional geometric shapes and can identify them by touch, select them at the request of adults, compare them with a picture, and even name them. Correct subject development means that 3-year-old children can compare things by size (choose a larger or smaller object), put them into pyramids, and determine the texture of things (softness or hardness). At three years old, children can match about 7 colors using patterns; they already know some colors.

Children at this time draw with pleasure, but their visual activity has its own characteristics. Now not just scribbles appear on sheets of paper, but the same ovals, circles, and rectangles. A child of normal development can not only color in an object in a coloring book or fill in some missing detail, he can already depict simple objects in a drawing according to his own design (rain, clouds, sun). The love for drawing is so great that at three years old children cover the walls of their rooms and pieces of furniture with their “masterpieces.” Even 3-year-old children begin to master modeling: they roll out plasticine or clay in their hands, connect flagella into rings, and can fashion a ball.

By the age of 3, children already have the prerequisites for play, which will become their main activity until the age of 7. The peculiarities of game development are that the children first begin to build houses, cars, fences from cubes based on a model or existing drawings, and then involve other geometric shapes (trapezoid, triangle) in the construction game. At the same time, the development of role-play begins, that is, children try on the roles of a driver, mother, father, doctor. They can invent and implement game rules (“direct”) or imitate the actions of their peers. Instead of some things, 3-year-old children easily use other objects (substitutes) in the game, for example, a hand instead of a comb.

How to develop motor skills and motor activity of a baby?

During play activities and manipulations with objects, children develop fine motor skills. Particularly good in this regard are all kinds of feeling objects with the right and left handles or rolling pencils with the palms. To develop motor skills, you can play drawing games with children aged 3 years, for example, race them to trace geometric objects, draw intricate lines of labyrinths. It is also good to use any available material available in the house: buttons, cereals, peas. Together with your children, you can use it to lay out various shapes and even insects: butterflies, caterpillars. To improve motor skills, you can teach kids to transfer peas or matches from one container to another with two different fingers alternately: little finger and thumb, middle and thumb. Proper development of motor skills is the key to the fact that a child will quickly learn to write, draw, and hold small objects well in his hands.

Children at the age of three have already learned to walk, run, and jump up and long on their own, so you can teach them to master more complex actions. At this age, they should be shown games with a ball - let them try to throw it, catch it, hit it with their legs and arms. Motor development means that you can begin to teach children to swim (with the support of an adult, of course) and ride a tricycle. In winter, it’s worth trying to put your son or daughter on skis or ice skates. Thanks to such actions, motor skills and child development will occur faster and more efficiently.

About the development of memory and speech of a 3-year-old little man

At 3 years old, the baby develops memory, so it is important at this time not to miss the moment and give him the opportunity to absorb many things. The most significant phenomenon, along with memorizing the names of objects, is learning with the baby numbers, letters, folding letters first into syllables, and then into simple words. Children 3 years old easily and simply remember fairy tales, learn rhymes and songs.

The most important element of child development is speech; it must be constantly enriched with new concepts, and the child must be taught to construct phrases correctly.

Features of the speech development of a child at three years old are that he is able to speak in phrases and simple sentences with the correct endings, gender and number of words.

He asks parents educational questions and can conduct a dialogue with them. The baby is able to complete unfinished sentences, answers questions from adults and is able to retell a fairy tale from a picture that he has heard several times. At 3 years old, a child can maintain a long-term interest in the fairy tale he listens to and in his parents’ conversations. While playing, he begins to accompany the actions of the dolls with speech and gradually begins to call himself not Petya, Misha, Masha, but the first person pronoun.

Emotions of three-year-old babies and toddlers

The emotional development of a child at 3 years old enters a new phase. He doesn’t just cry or laugh - the baby begins to experience feelings such as fear, shame, shyness, jealousy, and guile. He already knows how to restrain his emotions, for example, he does not shout uselessly in crowded places, he listens to the requests of adults. During this period, the child likes to be praised, and he also understands whether he did good or bad. The baby begins to be upset about his failures and rejoices at his small successes.

There is a development of emotional empathy for fairy-tale or cartoon characters. A 3-year-old child is already able to recognize and understand the state of the people around him and can imitate them. He remembers good and bad adults and behaves with them in different ways: boldly, kindly or shyly, with fear. The child begins to express his feelings with gestures, facial expressions and glances.

A few words about the 3-year crisis

Closer to the age of 3, parents begin to notice that their child has become nervous and irritable. It refuses food and favorite toys, does not want to listen to elders and fulfill their requests. Many adults are frightened by such phenomena, believing that the baby’s development is experiencing some kind of failure. In fact, the child is going through a 3-year-old crisis. This process is normal and necessary, since upon its completion a new phase of life will begin for the baby, he will have overcome the first stage of development. The 3-year-old crisis is associated with the child’s beginning to realize that he is an independent being, and not part of his mother. That is why the baby is so abruptly trying to free himself from her care and do what he wants. The child needs his parents to be interested in his opinion; he wants to become independent, but does not yet know how. Therefore, he conflicts with his loved ones, realizing that without them he will not be able to do everything he wants.

What should parents do at this time? First of all, do not scold the baby, do not be offended by him or forcibly persuade him to do something. It is better to approach the parenting process more gently. For example, ask a child for advice, give him adult objects (an old watch, a ballpoint pen). If he doesn't want to do something, you need to perform this action with his toy, then he will repeat the process and join in (for example, feeding or washing). It is necessary to skillfully expand the scope of the child’s rights, but also remind him of his responsibilities. The main rule of this period of development is that the child should become friends, not parents. But you shouldn’t go too far, otherwise in the future your son or daughter will twist ropes out of adults.

How to prepare a child for kindergarten?

The baby will attend kindergarten for several years. It is worth accustoming him to this event in advance. First of all, he must have special skills, such as undressing and dressing independently, washing his hands, drying them with a towel, fulfilling simple requests, using a napkin and handkerchief, the ability to hold a spoon, and regulating his physiological needs. The child must know and say words of greeting, gratitude and farewell in the right situations.

It is important to teach your child to communicate with peers and the ability to play with them. A painful moment for a child is separation from his mother. Therefore, you need to accustom him to it gradually and at first leave the baby in the garden for several hours, so as not to traumatize his psyche. Proper upbringing and development of a child is a guarantee that in the future he will be able to become an independent person, responsible for his actions, able to make friends, love and respect others.

A child aged 3 is a serious test for his parents. He has already grown noticeably, began to speak and actively express his aspirations. At some point, the child’s behavior begins to change, from an obedient baby he turns into an obnoxious boy who may refuse to go for a walk with his mother, pretend to be asleep, and suddenly begins to call him names. In psychology, this age was called the “3-year-old crisis.” The main thing is to remain calm and not panic; these are all temporary difficulties that all parents face who have the responsibility of raising a child.

Antics at 3 years old is one of the ways to express protest

The baby begins to realize that he is an individual who has his own desires and unique characteristics.

It is for this reason that you can often hear from parents that education during this period turns into a struggle with stubbornness and negativism; this is partly true.

Little stubborn guy

Negativism is a characteristic feature of the 3-year-old crisis. This attitude is expressed towards the requests of the adult and his personal person. Often, this attitude of a child manifests itself only towards one family member, while he obeys others. This trait also appears so that a 3-year-old child can force his parents to fulfill his demands by demonstrating his power through aggression.


3 year crisis - symptoms

Raising a child is different in different families. Some parents also begin to react extremely negatively to the antics of their grown-up child, trying to show the little manipulator his place. They use pressure and physical force. In other families, obedience to the child is accepted; there they fulfill any demand, as long as he does not bother his parents over trifles. Here it is important to find a middle ground in order to direct education in the right direction.


Hysteria at 3 years old - a way to express your opinion

There are the following useful tips for parents raising a 3-year-old child:

  • It is important to be patient and assess each situation as soberly as possible. You need to understand the baby’s feelings, skillfully using his whims against him. For example, if a child refuses to put away toys, deftly scattering them on the floor, then you can ask him never to collect them again.
  • All prohibitions, strict requirements, and whims have low effectiveness, so you need to switch the child’s attention to an activity that is more exciting and interesting for him.
  • You shouldn’t react too violently to a boy’s hysterical attacks. You should not indulge any child’s desire, which is followed by a series of hysterics. Otherwise, a 3-year-old child may develop the habit of starting a tantrum for any reason. You can easily divert the attention of a hysterical boy to an interesting thing or toy.
  • Raising a 3-year-old child should be completely the same; dad should not allow the child to do what mom forbade, and, on the contrary, these rules especially need to be clearly explained to the kindest grandparents.
  • A boy and a girl need to be raised in an atmosphere of love and sincerely praised for good deeds. And if a child suddenly stumbles and does the wrong thing, you need to explain why you shouldn’t do that.

Manifestations of protest at 3 years old

Real "male" education

It should be very important for a boy to realize that he is a man. He must understand that he is strong, brave and kind, just like dad. At the age of 3, a boy begins to actively imitate his father; he should feel comfortable next to his dad. The mother should understand this peculiarity of the boy, giving men the opportunity to be together more often. They need to be given more space because they are more active. It is important not to lower the boy’s self-esteem; do not use negative epithets: “coward”, “weakling”.

You need to spend more time playing active games outside. A 3-year-old boy should be given more independence under vigilant parental supervision.


Boys are more likely to show obstinacy and self-will

A mother can teach her child to open the door, help him carry a bag of groceries from the store, or perform simple tasks; the baby will be happy with these innovations. It's nice to be useful and needed.

A little advice for mom: in order to cultivate in a boy the qualities inherent in a man, you sometimes need to pretend to be weak and helpless so that the child expresses himself.

Little princesses

A girl, unlike a boy, develops more intensively, her feelings and emotions become more acute. It’s easier to contact girls, but here you need to take into account their cunning. Her mother is an ideal and example for the girl; together they find many topics to talk about - discussing doll outfits, recipes for delicious baked goods, caring for indoor flowers. The role of the father in raising his daughter is to positively influence her communication with the opposite sex. It is necessary to constantly monitor the daughter’s aspirations and capabilities and promote her maximum development.


Stubbornness - how it manifests itself

Offended beauty

Parental education is a significant contribution to the development of their child; the character and attitude towards the world around them depends on this contribution.

And if you don’t start seriously raising a child from the age of 3 and after this period, otherwise there is always a chance of completely ruining your child. In any case, children should be raised in a full-fledged family, where love and harmony reign. The daughter must prepare for the future role of a mother, and see her loved one in the role of a father, and if there is no man in the family, then such a situation can be inherited. Rejection of a spouse and divorce are problems that have their roots in early childhood. You need to find your own unique key for the girl, which will help open her heart to her parents, because trust in the family is the main thing.


Negativism is the main manifestation of the 3-year crisis

Raising children after the three-year mark

After reaching the age of three, tantrums can also continue, sometimes they are very similar to seizures. The fact is that upon reaching 3 years of age, the child continues to be mentally and physically dependent on his mother, which is why he does not let his mother go a single step, emotionally experiencing even a short-term separation. It is during this period that the boy actively absorbs information, it accumulates. Time moves inexorably forward, and the old little boy is no longer recognizable.

After 3 years, the child begins to actively explore space, reaps the results of his activities, and rejoices in the fact that he is able to influence this world around him.

For example, if you kick a ball hard, it will roll further; if you cry for a long time, you will definitely get what you want.


Role-playing games at 3 years old - a favorite pastime

After the age of 3, a child begins to actively copy adults, trying on various roles. Role-playing becomes his main activity. He also shows increased interest in his peers, begins to actively interact with them, and play various games. His self-confidence is gradually growing, he begins to understand that he can do this, he knows that he is as big as mom and dad. He begins to feel like a separate person who does not understand, does not want to understand, why they always pull him back, prohibit many things, and decide everything for him.

In simple words, the crisis of this age manifests itself in the contradiction between the child’s “I want” and “I can.”

The wishes of a 3-year-old child do not always coincide with real possibilities, and on the other hand, he encounters guardianship from adults. In psychology, there are 7 signs of a 3-year-old crisis: self-will, stubbornness, negativism, the appearance of obstinacy, rebellion, depreciation syndrome, pronounced despotism. How should parents behave correctly in such a difficult situation, so as not to aggravate the situation with their actions?


Advice to parents: don’t punish your child
  1. A child at this age strives to do everything on his own, although he has practically no skills for this. In this case, it is important for parents to allow the child to do everything on his own, even if they clearly understand that it will be difficult for him to do this. Personal experience is the best teacher. You need to be patient while watching his actions; you need to give him more time to complete this task than an adult spends on it. Don’t forget to praise your baby when he succeeds, how great he is, that you are proud that he has already grown up.
  2. There are times when a child begins to be stubborn, insisting on his request. He does this not because he wanted it so badly, but because he made such a decision. The best solution in this case is to offer an alternative in return, without insisting, wait a few minutes, and let the little stubborn person make the decision himself.
  3. Sometimes a child acts contrary not only to his parents’ wishes, but also to his own aspirations, because this is not his personal decision, but his parents ask him about it. Therefore, instead of ordering: “Let’s go for a walk!”, you can simply ask the child about his personal desire: “Little one, are we going for a walk today?” Here you can use a little trick by asking your child a question, any answer to which will completely suit you. For example: “Shall we go for a walk today in the alley or in the park?”
  4. A riot on a ship is a kind of protest reaction to parental pressure; violent children's energy still comes out in the form of strong hysterics and outbursts of anger. Of course, this is a kind of release, but along with it the baby receives severe stress, which lowers the immune properties of the child’s body. Therefore, when the baby is hysterical, it is better to wait it out calmly, and then explain how to behave correctly in this situation, do not try to do this when the baby is hysterical, it is useless, these are the characteristics of the fragile human psyche.

Each child can have several crisis periods on the way to growing up. One of them occurs at the age of three, but many pediatricians characterize it as a crisis of 2-3 years. What happens to the child at this time and why should parents double their vigilance? Let's talk about how to survive this difficult period and how to determine that the child is growing and developing in accordance with his age standards.

The first significant crisis period may occur earlier than 3 years

Physical indicators

First, it’s worth understanding what a child aged 2-3 years should be able to do. However, it is equally important to find out what conditions need to be provided for the baby so that he does not lag behind his peers. Full and comprehensive development is promoted not only by education, but also by:

  • a well-designed daily routine;
  • balanced diet;
  • walks;
  • active games, physical education.

If the baby grows in normal conditions, the parents pay enough attention to him, there will be no problems in physical development. A child at this age can follow the instructions of adults well, and also act at his own discretion to achieve assigned goals. So, the main skills and characteristic stages of child development in the period of 2-3 years:

  • The ability to walk, run, jump, move on toes, on heels, squat, step over a low threshold.
  • Play with the ball - throw it to someone, hit a basket, a wall.
  • After a little training, catch the ball with both hands.
  • Imitate the behavior of other people. Play, repeating the actions of mom, dad, older sister or brother.
  • Perform more than one action at the same time - for example, jumping by clapping your hands.
  • Learns to ride a bicycle - masters a four- or three-wheeled model.
  • Try swimming, skating, skiing, rollerblading.


A child of this age can master a tricycle

Intellectual level

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Next, we will list the features of the development of children 2-3 years old - their intellectual, logical thinking. All of the above standards are approved by experts in the education, mental and physical development of children. However, they are only indicative. If a two-year-old child falls short of the average in some way, it makes sense to work with him in this direction. Let's figure out what a child should understand and remember, as well as how much he should be able to express his thoughts and emotions.

Development of memory, logical thinking

A 2-year-old child's attention is still unstable, but the older he gets, the more time he can spend on any one activity. Closer to three years, the baby should be able to hold attention for 10-15 minutes if he is interested in something. This could be a new toy, a cartoon, activities with mom.

At this age, memory develops rapidly - the baby can remember the most significant events of his life that happened a week, a month or more ago. For example, a son may remember that he went with his mom and dad to his grandmother, went to the circus, or found a gift from Santa Claus under the tree.

What can a child:

  • correctly connect the parts of a collapsible toy that has at least 4 components - assemble a pyramid, make a picture from simple puzzles, build a tower from cubes;
  • be able to identify an object by one of its parts - the wings belong to a butterfly, the wheels belong to a car;
  • determine what color an object is;
  • be able to distinguish whether toys are the same or different, which doll is large and which is small;
  • distinguish the shape of objects - square, circle, triangle;
  • understand the meaning of definitions - this toy is soft, the tea is warm, the chair is heavy;
  • identify the missing parts in the picture - which character the artist forgot to draw a tail, who has missing ears, etc.;
  • find an object based on its characteristics;
  • be able to tell his mother what he saw in the drawing, photograph - how many characters are in the house, what each of them is doing, what they are wearing;
  • talk about what you did all day.


Now the baby constructs meaningful phrases and can talk about past or fictitious events.

If any of the above is not yet available to the child, then this skill needs to be trained. Properly raising a child involves stimulating logical thinking: learning to retell what they hear, describe pictures, and concentrate attention.

Counting and logic

A baby at this young age should already be able to understand simple mathematical concepts. The child can already be taught to count and explained that counting is done from left to right. Make sure that the little student does not miss numbers when counting. In the third year of a baby’s life, you can teach:

  • count to 5;
  • remember that there are five fingers on each hand;
  • comparison - larger, smaller, wider, longer;
  • understanding that there are many objects drawn in the picture, or one object;
  • correlate words with familiar numbers - three chairs in the room, two windows;
  • show what is above and what is below.

Speech and vocabulary

During this period of life, the child actively increases his vocabulary. It is believed that a three-year-old child may well have a vocabulary of 1200-1500 words. It is at this age that the ability to compose simple phrases consisting of 3-4 words is formed. By the age of three, the child will be able to freely use complex sentences. He must perceive an adult’s speech at such a level that he can understand the essence of short stories, perceive a description of an object that he does not currently see, or some event. At this age children:

  • They know the names of objects that they see and that they and their parents use. Understand their function and degree of importance.
  • They focus on the following generalizations: “animals”, “birds”, “transport”, “dishes”, and determine which of what they see belongs to a certain group.
  • They begin to master words denoting actions. They can say that the car is moving, the plane is flying, mom is making soup, the bear in the picture is eating.
  • They understand the meaning of some professions, they understand what a seamstress, a driver, a postman does.
  • Answer simple questions. If the baby tends to answer in monosyllables, you need to encourage him to give a detailed answer.
  • Ask adults questions.


Being a “why” is completely natural for a child of this age
  • They can know a couple of simple poems of up to 4 lines.
  • With the help of their mother, they try to compose a story based on a drawing or photo.
  • They recognize animals or cartoon characters by their characteristic sounds - a pig makes “oink-oink”, a cow “moo”, a sparrow chirps.
  • By the age of three, children can use nouns, verbs, and definitions in speech.
  • The child tries to communicate not only with adults, but also with children.

Time for games and creativity

Play is a powerful stimulus in a child’s development. With its help, he expresses himself, learns to imitate adults, and unnoticed by himself remembers the names of objects, the sequence of actions in a given situation. The development of a child aged 2-3 years means that he can:

  • remember the words of rhymes, songs, rhymes;
  • draw with pencils, felt-tip pens, sculpt balls and sausages from plasticine;
  • enjoy doing creative work under the guidance of an adult.

Parents need to try to encourage their son or daughter to think creatively, develop fine motor skills, and the ability to express themselves through crafts and drawings. To do this, you need to create a creative atmosphere at home, give your child the opportunity to use clay for modeling, construction sets, and various educational toys.

Mom and dad must realize that the development of fine motor skills creates the prerequisites for improving speech, memory, and attention. It is advisable to provide your child with the following types of play items:

  • puzzles, nesting dolls, pyramids, various sorters, construction sets, mosaics;
  • sets for simulating adult life - plastic dishes, a doctor’s case, equipment for a store, etc.;
  • developmental literature, age-appropriate books (we recommend reading:).

Psychological picture

In the third year of life, the child demonstrates characteristics that parents should remember. At this age, the baby’s psychology is such that he does not accept pressure and tries to get maximum freedom. It is necessary to try to give him more rights, but at the same time explain that the baby has certain responsibilities. For example, remove the cubes, fold the construction set, wash your hands. It is important not to force the child to do anything, but to create conditions so that he wants to do it himself. Let us list the characteristic psychological characteristics of children 2-3 years old:

  • the nervous system can already withstand stress, the child is less susceptible to mood swings, he has hysterics less often, his mental health is stronger, sometimes he can hide strong emotions;
  • the period of wakefulness is extended to 7 hours;
  • persistence appears, patience and determination are developed;
  • he can no longer instantly switch from one game to another, it happens more smoothly than before.

A child at this age constantly improves his skills and abilities. Right now, a leap in the development of fine motor skills can occur, which allows the baby to learn a lot. For example, put on socks, slippers, unfasten buttons, eat carefully from a spoon, without leaving stains on clothes.

This period is also characterized by the desire for socialization, the search for contact with peers, and awareness of oneself in the society of adults. It has been noticed that a baby closer to 36 months can already:

  • adopt the style of behavior of society, follow the rules adopted in kindergarten, at home, on the playground;
  • repeat the actions of adults, their gestures, words, and notice some characteristic features.

The desire to be completely independent is a characteristic sign of a three-year-old child

The desire to do something on their own, familiar to many mothers, does not disappear; the child also tries to perform some difficult actions on his own. At this age, self-awareness arises - the baby no longer talks about himself in the third person, he can begin to use the pronoun “I”.

Right now, parents are noticing signs of the onset of the notorious “three-year crisis.” It is very important to outline the acceptable boundaries of independence and not deviate from the agreed rules. For example, mom and dad have the right to prohibit the baby from using electrical appliances without supervision, opening windows, or picking up a knife. At the same time, he can easily handle cutlery for children - a fork and spoon, wash his hands on his own, standing on a small chair, etc.

Parents should clearly understand what the baby needs and try to create conditions in which he will feel comfortable. When raising a child, it is wrong to go to extremes: allow permissiveness or intensely care for the baby. We will highlight the key points that parents of children of this age need to take into account:

  • Raising a child at 2 years old implies all kinds of encouragement for independence, praise for every new achievement (see also:).
  • Show your attitude towards his efforts, make it clear that mom and dad care about the result.
  • Do not seize the initiative and do not finish what the child started if he was unable to do it himself. It is better to simplify the conditions of the task, give advice for solving it, and encourage you to do it again.


It is at this age that a child can be instilled with hard work and independence - to achieve results, it is enough just not to stop his initiative
  • Mom and dad should not laugh or joke if the baby doesn’t succeed in something.
  • Be patient, remember that it takes time for the baby to learn any action.
  • Do not scold the baby, nervously pulling him back if he could not do something carefully, or if he broke a toy, trying to understand how it works.
  • Demonstrate trust and confidence that he will cope with the task.

Competently raising a child aged 2-3 years is constant encouragement, stimulation to overcome difficulties, preparation for the fact that not everything is easy. It is very important to develop a child’s faith in his own abilities. For example, if he couldn’t do something, calm him down, tell him what will happen next time. In this case, it will be psychologically easier for the baby to cope with the task.

Each child is an individual with his own interests and desires, and a vision of the world. The parents’ task is not to reject his worldview, destroying his mental health, not to force him to meet his own standards, but to support in every possible way the desire for self-expression and independence. It is necessary to direct the child’s interest in the right direction, and strive to arrange it so that he learns to make decisions himself, as well as bear responsibility for them. Patience and a positive attitude will help mom, dad and baby get through a difficult but very interesting period called the “3rd year crisis.”

Your baby has reached the age of three, and you can proudly boast that he has matured, wiser, you can negotiate with him, find out what hurts him, what he wants, etc. It would seem that now you just need to rejoice and hope that the difficulties in upbringing will become much less! Unfortunately, not everything is as simple as it seems. The fact is that many children at this age experience a three-year-old crisis, which manifests itself in regular whims, discontent, and causeless hysterics. In order to be mentally prepared for this difficult period and analyze the development of your baby, I recommend that you familiarize yourself with the age characteristics of children 3 years old.

Below I have detailed statistical information about what your child should know and be able to do after 3 years.

Physical development of a 3 year old child

Children 3 years old can do the following physical exercises:

  • walk on your toes
  • run
  • jumping from curbs, steps, or other small heights
  • jump
  • climb stairs
  • slide down the children's slide
  • catch the ball
  • ride a tricycle
  • jump over a line drawn on the floor
  • overcome low obstacles.

Neuropsychic characteristics of children 3 years old

Baby this age:

  • can speak phrases or simple sentences, including adjectives and adverbs
  • looks at pictures or photographs with great interest, points with a finger at familiar faces and objects and names them.
  • plays role-playing games, for example: daughter-mother, hospital, store, etc.
  • draws with a pencil, marker or felt-tip pen, depicting elementary figures, squiggles, dashes, etc. on a sheet of paper.
  • sculpts simple figures from plasticine in the form of a sausage, a ball, a mushroom...
  • sculpts little beads and houses out of sand...
  • paints with finger paints
  • turns the phone dial
  • opens boxes, drawers, bags, lids
  • She can put on many things on her own, and some with the help of an adult. At the age of three, the baby is able to unfasten and fasten buttons
  • independently uses a handkerchief, soap, comb, napkin, toothbrush and other personal hygiene products.
  • when playing with a mosaic, he can lay out a beautiful picture, and when playing with a constructor, he can build a house, castle, garage or other structure.
  • shows independence, makes plans about what he is going to do, and in many cases without informing adults about it
  • likes to be the center of attention, others like it
  • listens to fairy tales and short stories being read, delving into the plot with great interest
  • distinguishes between what is good and what is bad (if his parents tell him about it)
  • loves to play with other children and feels great in a group. Although some kids prefer to play independently, and the presence of other children nearby is perceived as a source of negative emotions. It will be problematic for such toddlers to get used to kindergarten, so parents need to accustom the child to communicate with other people and children. You may have to seek the help of a psychologist.

Schedule

In order for a three-year-old child to develop normally, I recommend sticking to the correct daily routine:

  • A baby's night's sleep should last about 11 hours and start at 21.00.
  • nap - approximately 1.5 hours

If your baby refuses to nap during the day, still try to persuade him, be persistent, or resort to various tricks. For example, we’ll lie down for a while and not sleep, or let you lie down and I’ll read you your favorite fairy tale. Remember that systematic lack of sleep is fraught with increased child moodiness at the end of the day, irritability and fatigue.

Another age-related characteristic of 3-year-old children should be noted: they are overly emotional, and their mood can change dozens of times a day. What advice can you give to parents? Of course, be patient and calm, learn to switch the whim from one emotional state to another, calmly talking to him, kissing, stroking, rocking, and sometimes throwing him. Thanks to this, the baby will be distracted, calm down, smile or laugh.

Activities with a child

We train and develop a 2-3 year old child, providing him with a wonderful atmosphere:

  • comfort - the room should not be hot, cold, or noisy...
  • The little one should be full
  • the baby should feel good (for example: nothing should hurt him)

Classes should be short-term, in the form of a game. Remember that at the age of three, a toddler learns only what is interesting to him and perceives information only from the person he trusts. The little one tries to imitate a loved one, adopting his habits, words and actions, both good and bad, right and wrong. You must definitely take this fact into account and control yourself.

An important feature of intellectual development is that the attention, thinking and memory of a three-year-old child work involuntarily, so even when playing in the sandbox, he absorbs information like a sponge. Be attentive and patient with your child, work with him in an involuntary manner, develop his abilities and then in the future it will be easier for the child to comprehend the preschool and school curriculum.

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

The speech and thinking of a three-year-old child are closely related. 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 according to common characteristics. 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 a 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 exercises 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 child of 3 years old 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, and 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 will not avoid overexcitation and poor 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.


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