Three to Four Years
[en Español]
How Does Your Child Hear and Talk? |
Birth to One Year |
One to Two Years |
Two to Three Years |
Three to Four Years |
Four to Five Years |
Learning Two Languages |
What should I do if I think my child has a problem?
Children develop at their own rate. Your child might not have all skills until the end of the age range.
What should my child be able to do?
| Hearing and Understanding |
Talking |
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- Responds when you call from another room.
- Understands words for some colors, like red, blue, and green.
- Understands words for some shapes, like circle and square.
- Understands words for family, like brother, grandmother,
and aunt.
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- Answers simple who, what, and where questions.
- Says rhyming words, like hat–cat.
- Uses pronouns, like I, you, me, we, and they.
- Uses some plural words, like toys, birds, and buses.
- Most people understand what your child says.
- Asks when and how questions.
- Puts 4 words together. May make some mistakes, like “I goed to school.”
- Talks about what happened during the day. Uses about 4 sentences at a time.
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What can I do to help?
- Cut out pictures from old magazines. Make silly pictures by gluing parts of different pictures together. For example, cut out a dog and a car. Glue the dog into the car as the driver. Help your child explain what is silly about the picture.
- Sort pictures and objects into categories, like food, animals, or shapes. Ask your child to find the picture or object that does not belong. For example, a baby does not belong with the animals.
- Read, sing, and talk about what you do and where you go. Use rhyming words. This will help your child learn new words and sentences.
- Read books with a simple story. Talk about the story with your child. Help her retell the story, or act it out with props and dress-up clothes. Tell her your favorite part of the story. Ask for her favorite part.
- Look at family pictures. Have your child tell a story about the picture.
- Help your child understand by asking him questions. Have him try to fool you with his own questions. Make this a game by pretending that some of his questions fool you.
- Act out daily activities, like cooking food or going to the doctor. Use dress-up and role-playing to help your child understand how others talk and act. This will help your child learn social skills and how to tell stories.
- Talk to your child in the language you are most comfortable using.