www.lsuagcenter.com/.../ cdevelopment_preschoolers.htm

Louisiana's Future: Families and Children
By: Diane D. Sasser, Ph.D.
Family Development Specialist
LSU AgCenter Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service

What to Expect from Your 3 year old

Each of us wonders whether our children are developing appropriately and if they're achieving as they should. These are guidelines on what to expect from your child at age three. Remember that these are only guidelines. Child development is not age-specific. Each child develops at his or her own special rate. Each child is a unique and separate individual.

Social-emotional

* Highly imitative of adults
* Wants to please adults, conforms responds to verbal suggestions
* Easily prompted, redirected
* Can be bargained with, reasoned with
* Begins to share, take turns, wait
* Avid "me-too"er
* High-spirited, talkative, humorous
* Has imaginary companions
* Has nightmares, animal phobias
* Plays consciously, cooperatively with others
* Plays spontaneously in groups
* Dramatizes play
* Goes after desires, fights for them
* Asserts independence often
* Often puzzled, frustrated, jealous
* Sympathizes
* Strong sex-role stereotypes

Language

* Talkative with or without a listener
* Can listen in order to learn
* Likes new words
* Increases use of pronoun, preposition
* Uses "s" to indicate plural nouns
* Uses "ed" to indicate past tense
* Uses sentences of three or more words
* Says, "Is that all right?"
* Often talks about nonpresent situations
* Puts words into action
* Moves and talks at the same time
* Substitutes letters in speech
* Interest captured by whispering
* Uses 300 to 1,000 words

Physical/Motor

* Well-balanced body lines
* Walks erect, nimble on feet
* Gallops in wide, high steps
* Alternates feet in stair climbing
* Suddenly starts, stops
* Turns corners rapidly
* Swings arms when walking
* Jumps up and down with ease
* Uses toilet alone
* Loses baby fat
* Achieves bladder control
* Rides tricycle
* Puts on, takes off coat with help
* Unbuttons buttons
* Has some finger control with small objects
* Grasps with thumb and index finger
* Holds cup in one hand
* Pours easily from small pitcher
* Washes hands without help
* Can carry liquids
* Has activity with drive and purpose
* Can balance on one foot

Intellectual-cognitive

* Estimates how many
* Enjoys making simple choices
* Alert, excited, curious, has lively imagination
* Asks "why?" constantly
* Understands "let's pretend"
* Enjoys guessing games, riddles
* Often names block buildings
* Has short attention span
* Carries out two to four directions in sequence
* Often colors pages one color
* Can't combine two activities
* Names and matches simple colors
* Has number concepts of one and two
* Sees vague cause/effect relationships
* Can recognize simple melodies
* Distinguishes between night and day
* Understands size/shape comparison

Reference:

Gordon, A. & Brown, K. W. (1996). Beginnings and Beyond. New York: Delmar Publishing.

Louisiana's Future: Families and Children
By: Diane D. Sasser, Ph.D.
Family Development Specialist
LSU AgCenter Louisiana Cooperative Extension Service

What to Expect from Your 4 year old

Each of us wonders whether our children are developing appropriately and if they're achieving as they should. These are guidelines on what to expect from your child at age four. Remember that these are only guidelines. Child development is not age-specific. Each child develops at his or her own special rate. Each child is a unique and separate individual.

Social/emotional

* Moods change rapidly
* Tries out feelings of power
* Dominates, is bossy, boastful, quarrelsome
* Assertive
* Shows off, is cocky, noisy
* Can fight own battles
* Hits, grabs, insists on desires
* Explosive, destructive
* Easily over-stimulated, excitable
* Impatient, intolerant in large groups
* Cooperates in groups of two or three
* Develops special friends
* In-group develops, excludes others
* Shifts loyalties frequently
* Resistant
* Tests limits
* Exaggerates, tells tall tales
* Teases, outwits, has terrific humor
* May have scary dreams
* Tattles frequently
* Has food jags, food strikes

Language

* Has more words than knowledge
* A great talker, questioner
* Likes words, plays with them
* Has high interest in poetry
* Able to talk to solve conflicts
* Responds to oral directions
* Enjoys taking turns to sing along
* Interested in dramatizing songs, stories
* Exaggerates, practices words
* Uses voice control, pitch, rhythm
* Asks when? why? how?
* Joins sentences together

Physical/motor

* Longer, leaner body build
* Vigorous, dynamic, acrobatic
* Active until exhausted
* Works, builds, drives, pilots
* Can jump own height and land upright
* Hops, skips, hops on one foot
* Throws large ball, kicks accurately
* Jumps over objects
* Walks on a straight line
* Races up and down stairs
* Turns somersaults
* Walks backward toe-heel
* Accurate, rash body movements
* Copies a cross, square
* Can draw a stick figure
* Holds paintbrush in adult manner
* Can lace shoes
* Dresses self except back buttons, ties
* Has sureness and control in finger activities
* Alternates feet going down stairs

Intellectual/cognitive

* Does some naming and representation in art
* Gives art products personal value
* Can work for a goal
* Questions constantly
* Interested in how things work, has active intellectual drive
* Interested in life and death concepts
* Has an extended attention span
* Can do two things at once
* Dramatic play is closer to reality
* Judges which of two objects is larger
* Has concept of three, can name more
* Has accurate sense of time
* Full of ideas
* Begins to generalize, often faulty
* Likes a variety of materials
* Calls people names
* Has imaginary playmates

Reference:

Gordon, A. & Brown, K. W. (1996). Beginnings and Beyond. New York: Delmar Publishing.