Your Child’s Development 18-36 Months

Milestones: By 36 Months, most children can:

• Use hands to twist things like turning doorknobs.
• Jump off the ground with both feet.
• String items together, like large beads or macaroni.

Body Awareness and Control:

• Your child can move around objects and people without bumping into them.
• Your child has likes and dislikes over how things feel on their skin.

Muscle Development and Coordination:

• Your child can move from one place to another by walking and running with basic control and coordination.
• Your child will enjoy throwing.
• Your child can build and stack things (and knock them down).
• Your child can jump off the bottom step or a few inches forward.
• Your child can kick a ball and catch a ball using two arms.
• Your child can walk up or down stairs with both feet on each step without holding on.
• Your child will be able to walk on tiptoes.
• Your child may be able to on a ride-on toy without pedals.

Nutrition:

• Your child can chew and bite into foods with different textures.
• Your child may develop a willingness to try new foods if offered on multiple occasions.

Basic Safety:

• Your child will love to climb. When your child begins to climb, it is important that you look around the area to see if it is a safe environment.

Self Care:

• Your child will show interest in doing things for themselves, like putting soap on their hands.
• Your child may resist sleeping or napping even when tired.

Milestones: By 36 months, most children can:

• Talk with you in conversation using at least two back-and-forth exchanges.
• Say what action is happening in a picture or book when asked, like “running,” “eating,” or “playing.”
• Speak clearly enough to be understood most of the time.

Expressive Communication/Expressive Language:

• Your child will have many words to communicate their feelings, needs, and ideas, and they can be understood by friends and other people outside their families.
• Your child can combine two words to express wants or needs, such as walking to the car. They may say, “Car go.”
• Your child will begin to understand your gestures even when you don’t say words, understanding that shaking your head no means “no.”

Receptive Communication/Receptive Language:

• Your child will pay attention to language tone and understand when your tone is excited, loving, frustrated, or scared.
• Your child can understand 2-step requests.
• Use many descriptive words to build your child’s vocabulary.
• Talk about what you will do next. This gives children a chance to make a mental picture of what is going to happen before it happens.

Emergent Reading:

• Your child might pretend to read the book to their dolls or stuffed animals.
• Your child will watch you when you read, turn the pages, point to pictures, name things in the book, and sometimes tell you what will happen next.
• Taking trips to the library provides a fun outing and gives your child new books to look at.
• Your child may recognize words around them, such as signs with writing or words on a cereal box.
• Your child may recognize their name when it is written for them.

Writing:

• Your child will gain more control over the kinds of marks they make, such as making lines instead of circular marks.
• Your child will scribble and draw.

Milestones: By 36 months, most children:

• Notice misplaced items, find favorite books, and search for toys while explaining what they are looking for
• Pay attention even when there are distractions.

Inquiry and Exploration:

• Children continue to seek information through observation, exploration, and asking questions.
• Children anticipate and try to prevent another person’s actions that will create undesirable effects.

Reasoning and Problem Solving:

• Children can process new information and experiences by comparing them to previous information and experiences, which expands their understanding of the world. For example, a child sees a horse for the first time and says, “Big doggie!”
• A child may be able to solve problems without having to physically try out all possible solutions and may ask for help when needed. For example, a child may ask another child to hold his cup while he pours milk.

Play:

• Children enjoy using their whole bodies in active play
• Children play with toys in ways of their own invention. For example, a child put blocks and cars together in a single structure
• Children try out new actions, roles, and words that they imitate from others
• Children begin to engage in simple pretend games. For example, a child puts sand in a muffin tin, places the tin in the oven, and asks, “Who wants some cupcakes?”

Executive Function:

• Children can stay focused on simple stories or books for brief periods of time.
• Children can initiate simple plans. For example, a child pulls on her teacher’s hand and says “out” as she walks to the door.
• Children persist in following their curiosity even if adults try to deter them. For example, a child keeps dropping his toy cars in the toilet bowl even though his mother tells him no.

Symbolic Representation:

• A child might use an object to represent something else. For example, a child uses a short rope as a fire hose.
• Children use various materials, media, and other forms of self-expression to represent their thinking. For example, a child makes up a song about herself.

Tips to promote cognitive skills:

• Point out different things you see outside the car, like trees, buildings, or animals. Ask your child to name them or describe what they see.
• While in the car, talk about the sequence of events for the trip, like where you’re going and what you’ll do when you arrive. This helps them understand planning and sequences.
• Let your child touch and explore different fruits and vegetables at the grocery store. Ask them to name the colors or shapes they see.
• Create a routine where they help put clothes in the washer or take them out, reinforcing sequences and following steps.
• Talk about the day’s events and discuss what might happen tomorrow.
• Follow a consistent bedtime routine, such as brushing teeth, putting on pajamas, and reading a story to help them understand sequences.
• Involve them in meal preparation, like stirring ingredients or pouring water, to help them follow steps and stay focused.
• Ask them to help set the table or sort utensils, which encourages problem-solving skills.

Milestones: By 36 months, most children:

• Begin to use words like “more” and “bigger” to talk about amounts
• Count a few numbers and build their understanding of quantity through activities like setting the table with plates and cups
• Notice how you use counting in everyday life and start imitating you to learn about numbers
• They usually learn to say “1-2-3-4-5” (sometimes putting the numbers in a different order) before knowing that each number represents something.
• Count their broccoli pieces up to 3 or 4, but they might count the same piece twice or miss a piece. They are still learning the sequence of numbers and might miss a number, for example, “1-2-4.”
• Hold up two fingers to show you how old they are, and they can hand you two tissues when you ask them to
• Understand the terms “a little bit” and “a lot.” They can choose when you ask if they want a little yogurt or a lot.
• Use their fingers for counting.

Skills to promote cognitive number development:

• Talk about the shapes and sizes of bath toys, like “This is a round ball, and this is a long boat.” This helps with shape and size recognition.
• Read books that involve counting and counting objects on each page together. For example, “Let’s count the stars on this page: one, two, three.”
• Count the steps in your bedtime routine, like “One, brush your teeth. Two, put on pajamas. Three, read a story.” This helps them understand sequences and routines.
• Use terms like “a little bit” and “a lot,” and let your child choose. Ask, “Do you want a little bit of yogurt or a lot?” This helps them understand quantity.
• When pouring a drink, show them the full cup and say, “Your cup is full of juice.” After they finish drinking, show the empty cup and say, “Now your cup is empty.”
• When giving your child food, say, “You have more carrots than I do,” or “I have less rice than you.”
• During meal time, try, “How many grapes do you have? Let’s count them before we eat: 1, 2, 3.” Counting food items reinforces the concept of quantity and helps them understand that numbers represent actual objects.
• While getting dressed for the day, try this, “How many socks do we need? Let’s count them: 1, 2.” Counting pairs of socks reinforces the concept of quantity and helps them understand that numbers represent actual objects.