At three years old, your little one will be changing almost daily. They will be learning all the time and asking lots of questions about the world around them. Here are some of the milestones they're likely to meet by this age:

Playing

Your three-year-old will enjoy watching other children play, and will sometimes join in. They will feel confident asking you to play with them.

They will be able to tell how others feel and will respond to it. Their games will be becoming more complicated. Your child will also be happy making simple choices.

Listening

Your child will understand a lot of what is being said to them by this age. They will be able to follow instructions with more than one part.

They can listen to and remember simple stories with pictures.

Speaking

By three, your child will able to speak in sentences. They can join four or five words together to express simple ideas. They can ask simple questions and talk about things in the past.

Their speech will be clearer too. It won’t be perfect, but you’ll be able to understand them most of the time. They might start using little grammar words, like ‘me’, ‘a’, and ‘the’.

Any concerns?

All children learn different things at different times. No two are the same. If your child is doing some of these things, but not all of them, this is normal.

If you’re worried about how they’re getting on, speak to their teacher or headteacher. They should be able to give you some simple ways to help at home.

If you need more help, here are some places which may be able to give you advice:

Talking Point - 0845 225 4071
Afasic - 0845 355 5577
SOS!SEN: Special Educational Needs - 020 8538 3731

IPSEA: Independent Parental Special Education Advice - 0800 018 4016

Contact a Family - 0808 808 3555

I CAN - 020 7843 2544

You don’t always need to read the words in books. Looking at and talking about picture books is a great way to encourage your child to enjoy stories. If you speak another language at home, talk about the pictures and story in your own language.

Sharing stories in 18 different languages

You can download the information by selecting one of the links below.

• Chinese
• Albanian
• Italian
• Russian
• Spanish
• Arabic
• Bengali
• French
• Gujarati
• Kurdish
• Lithuanian
• Polish
• Portuguese
• Punjabi
• Romanian
• Somali
• Urdu
• Yoruba

Have fun sharing books with these tips

• Talk about the book’s cover and point out the title. 
• Let your child hold the book and turn the pages. 
• Encourage them to talk about the pictures. 
• Use different voices for different characters. Add in sound effects like splashing in puddles, beeping car horns or animal sounds. 
• When the story is finished, you could ask them if they liked it and if they had a favourite character.
• Make a den together, like a cloth over a table, with space for both of you to share. You can make your den part of the story – it could be a monster’s cave, a rocket ship, or a princess’ tower.
• Talk to your child about what you did as a child. Involve the whole family – grandparents may have stories to share from when they were growing up!

Did you know?

• Children who were read to regularly by their parents at age five performed better in maths, vocabulary and spelling tests at age 16 than those who were not helped in this way.
• Children often have a favourite story they want to hear again and again. This helps them to learn the word order and link the written word to the story – which are the first steps in learning to read!

Learning to share, take turns, chat, be comfortable and become friends with others are life-long skills. These skills take some time to learn! You can help your child practise learning these important things by playing together.

There are lots of different ways to do this. You can set up play dates with friends or family members, either in person or via FaceTime or WhatsApp.

You can download this information in 18 different languages:

• Albanian
• Chinese
• Italian
• Russian
• Spanish
• Arabic
• Bengali
• French
• Gujarati
• Kurdish
• Lithuanian
• Polish
• Portuguese
• Punjabi
• Romanian
• Somali
• Urdu
• Yoruba

Top tips

• All children are different. Some are livelier and more confident than others. Don’t compare and don’t worry if your child seems different to others. You know your child best, so give them the support and encouragement they need.
• Encourage and reassure your child to build their confidence as they start to make their own friends.

Children play in lots of different ways. There are lots of ways for your child to play and express themselves. Encourage them to do what they enjoy.

It might be:

• Playing on their own
• Watching other children play
• Playing alongside others by doing the same activity but not joining in together
• Becoming more interested in what others are playing and starting to chat together
• Playing together, usually in a small group

Learning to play with others is important for children’s personal, social and emotional development. You can be a great playmate for your child. Just follow their interests!