2–3 years · Sentences and self
Language takes off, pretend play becomes rich, and the child discovers that they are a separate person with their own opinions — often strongly held.
Body and movement
- Runs well and stops without falling
- Jumps with both feet off the ground (about 2½)
- Walks up stairs one foot per step (about 3)
- Pedals a tricycle (about 3)
- Turns a doorknob and unscrews a lid
- Draws a circle after being shown (about 3)
Communication
- Speaks in three- and four-word sentences
- Strangers understand about half to three-quarters of the speech by 3
- Asks 'what' and 'where' questions constantly
- Uses 'I', 'me' and 'my'
- Follows a two-step instruction
- Knows around 200–1,000 words by 3 — the range is enormous and normal
Thinking and looking
- Does a simple four- to six-piece puzzle
- Sorts by one attribute — colour or shape
- Plays make-believe with dolls, animals or people
- Knows some body parts and some colours
- Begins to understand 'now', 'later', 'today'
Feeling and belonging
- Plays beside and briefly with other children
- Shows concern when another child cries
- Finds sharing genuinely difficult — this is typical
- Follows a simple routine and protests when it changes
- Separates from a parent with some distress but recovers
👀 Worth asking a doctor about
- Speech that familiar adults cannot understand at 3
- No two- to three-word sentences by 3
- No pretend play
- Does not want to be with other children at all
- Cannot follow a simple instruction
- Extreme distress at every change, most days
These are reasons to ask, not verdicts. Early help works; waiting rarely does.
🤝 What helps at this age
- Answer the questions, even the twentieth one
- Give warnings before transitions: 'five more minutes, then home'
- Let them help with real work — washing, sweeping, carrying
- Read the same book as many times as they ask; repetition is how language sets
