30-36 Months: Toddlers in Motion -- Milestones

1. Demonstrates increased body control and combines several movements when participating in play activities.

Children this age can move around with a goal in mind, rather than just for the exhilaration of the activity. They respond to things in their environment, such as other children, games being played, marching, and dancing to music. They participate in circle games and pretend play that requires planning and following a theme. They love to climb and jump. They thrive on riding toys and pretend to be riding on a motorcycle, or to be a truck driver or the pilot on a plane. For example:

Developing as expected, they might:

• participate in group activities that include running, galloping, crawling, rolling over, and twirling around
• help a friend make the rocky boat go
• follow a yarn trail that goes under the table, over a large beanbag pillow, and ends with jumping off a wooden block
• run with ease, stopping and starting with precision
• become really skilled and fast in pushing the riding toys around with their feet
• run across the yard with a friend, calling out to each other as they go
• walk on tiptoe for a short distance
• use the pedals on the riding toy for locomotion
• throw the ball in an underhanded toss, although it is still not very directed
• enjoy a group activity such as keeping the beach ball afloat, or seeing who can run to the steps the fastest
• climb up the steps on a toddler gym and slide down the short slide

Needing development, they might:

• try to get on the riding toy, but not be able to get their leg over the seat
• jump but be unable to get both feet off the ground at the same time
• continue to run with an awkward gait, finding it hard to turn corners or stop quickly
• refuse to climb on the toddler gym or come down the slide

2. Uses fingers, hands, and eyes to engage in a variety of activities.

Older toddlers participate more skillfully and with more purpose in the eye-hand and finger activities made available to them at home and in preschool. They explore and create with art materials such as finger paints, tearing paper, pasting, using markers and crayons, painting at the easel, and play dough. They enjoy feeling, smelling, squishing, and swirling, but are not expecting a product at the end of their exploration. They love trying all the new manipulatives available to them, such as counting bears, table and pattern blocks, stringing beads, puzzles, and pegboards. All these materials provide opportunities for becoming more proficient in using their hands and eyes together. For example:

Developing as expected, they might:

• watch as lines appear, and then splotches, and then squiggles, as they carefully move a marker over the clean paper and sometimes onto the tabletop
• participate with a small group of children as they sing "Where Is Thumbkin?"
• put food coloring into the play dough and help to mix it up
• string large beads on a shoelace
• use their crayons to make dots, small lines, and swirls, and then talk about what they see on the paper
• successfully turn the key for a windup toy
• build a connecting cube structure and sometimes decide it looks like something they can name
• use an eye dropper to add color to a bowl of water in the water table, or watch as the color spreads on a piece of paper toweling
• use a meat baster at the water table
• tear up pieces of colored construction paper to paste on a collage

Needing development, they might:

• refuse to try new art media, preferring to stay with a favorite such as markers or crayons
• do the same kind of drawing or painting every day, not exploring new ways to use a variety of tools such as smaller brushes or chalk
• hesitate to try finger plays or hand motions to songs
• do the same three-piece puzzle over and over
• watch as others play with puppets or the felt figures

3. Accomplishes many self-help activities.

Along with developing self-help skills goes developing attention to routines. Older two-year-olds are firmly attached to routines and like to do things the very same way every time. This is how they master new skills, learn about how things work, and begin to participate in their own care. Three-year-olds want to dress themselves, even when they can't do it all, and they insist on a rigid routine for almost everything from getting ready for bed to choosing which way to walk to the store. They often express very firm decisions about the foods they'll eat and those they won't. For example:

Developing as expected, they might:

• undress themselves with no help
• help get the table ready for lunch as they put out spoons and cups at each place
• dress themselves after getting some help with the hard things, such as which hole to put their foot through in the pants
• want to bathe themselves, extending the routine to shining the fixtures
• feed themselves entirely, until they become tired - and then they may need help
• use a fork relatively well
• hold a glass with one hand and rarely spill when they drink
• help prepare foods for salads such as tearing the lettuce or peeling a banana

Needing development, they might:

• seem not to notice the order of routines or know what comes next
• wash their hands without paying attention to the process or being clear about the order of washing and then drying
• continue to drink from a cup, holding it with two hands and spilling quite often
• use a spoon but not be able to turn it sideways, which makes the food drop off the spoon on the way to their mouth
• help in dressing by putting out their arm or leg but not try to do more, such as trying to put on their shirt by themselves