Language and Communication Milestones for 3-Year-Olds

DEFINITION OF LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Johnny sees that Billy has a toy that Johnny really wants. What does he do? Does he walk right over and take it out of Billy’s hands? Or does he use his words and ask for the toy? Well, knowing that Johnny is only 3 years old, you can probably guess it: He takes the toy out of Billy’s hands without using his words. It’s not that he’s trying to be mean… he just hasn’t built up his language and communication skills yet to get his needs met by using his words. But soon, he will!

As children approach age 3, their language development typically “explodes!” You will notice a huge difference between a 2 year old and a 3 year old’s language and communication development. 3-year-olds should be saying around 200+ words. That’s a pretty big jump from 50+ when they were 2 years old. On the more advanced scale, some 3-year-olds are saying 500-1,000 words. However, a variety of 200 words is great!

By age 3, the language development is there, however very often around this age 3-year-olds will need reminders that they can “use they words” instead of whining, crying or screaming when they want something or are feeling upset. This is a skill that takes time and reinforcement. Teaching 3-year-olds how to problem solve is another huge idea that is great to start at this age. They have the cognitive ability to understand and their language development is more progressed from where they were at 2 years old.

3-YEAR-OLD LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS MILESTONES

• Join other children in play
• Initiate or participate in back and forth conversation with other children
• Create play scenarios, “I’m playing house,” or “I’m play school.”
• Hold up fingers to show age when asked
• Enjoy listening to books for longer periods of time (10-15 minutes)
• Recognizes Logos (Favorite restaurants, stores)
• Can say 3-4 word sentences
• Show a variety of emotions
• Begin to understand positional words (under, over, in, out, behind, in front of)
• Can identify and name body parts
• Copy friends and adults
• Show affection for friends without prompts
• Follow 2-3 step directions with success
• Using nouns, verbs and adjectives in sentences.

LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS ACTIVITIES

Play is huge at this age! Play is powerful and how 3-year-olds can learn! Encourage play scenarios where they can naturally use language in a safe and non intimidating environment.

Give your 3-year-old the respect they deserve and focus on what they are saying, not necessarily if they are saying incorrect sounds in their words. Repeat what they say so they know you heard them. Foster those amazing ideas they have and ensure they feel confident and secure. These ideas will help your child’s language and communication skills to develop and progress even further.

• Read favorite books over and over! Leave words out and see if your 3-year-old can remember what to say!
• Play imagination games or make suggestions of what your 3-year-old can play
• Recite what you did that day. Ask, “What was your favorite part?” “What do you think we should do tomorrow?” This gives the 3-year-old the opportunity to lead the conversation.
• While reading a book, ask your 3-year-old to point out certain objects. “Can you find the dog?”