Support your toddler’s growth! Tips for motor, social, and cognitive development milestones at 30-36 months. Encourage skills, confidence, and learning safely.
Motor Development
By 30 months:
- Can twist, turn, and unscrew some objects
- Can take some clothes off on their own (for example, an unzipped jacket)
- Jumps up with both feet
- Turns pages of a book one at a time
- Strings items together (for example, macaroni on a string)
- Puts some clothing on without help Uses a fork
What to Try:
- As always, be mindful of safety! Motor development is exciting, but also means that your toddler can suddenly access new potential hazards.
- Give your child a big cardboard box to draw on. This inspires pretend play and helps them practice fine motor skills.
- Play games that combine movement with cognitive skills, like “Freeze Dance” (dance and freeze when you pause the music).
- Practice age-appropriate tasks like getting dressed, cleaning up, stirring, washing fruits and veggies, or using the hamper.
- This puts their motor skills into practice while fostering their self confidence.
- Sing songs with gestures, like “Itsy Bitsy Spider”.
Reminder: You know your child best. If you notice that your child has lost any skills that they once had, or you have other concerns, don’t hesitate to speak with your child’s healthcare provider.
Social & Communication Development
By 30 months:
- Parallel play alongside other children
- Sometimes might play with other children
- Follows simple routines
- Says around 50 words including some pronouns (“I”, “we”)
- Combines two or more words with action words (“Mommy go”)
- Names some things in a book when you ask them what they are
By 36 months:
- Calms down within 10 minutes after a separation
- Plays together with other children
- Can have a serve & return interaction with two or more back and forth exchanges
- Uses question words (“who”, “where”, etc.)
- Labels actions with “-ing” words (“running”)
- Says their name when asked Understandable when they speak
- You understand 75-100% of what they say
- Other adults understand 50-75%
What to Try:
- When your toddler is nervous or afraid, brainstorm solutions together (nightlight, spraying for monsters under the bed, posting a sign on the door that says no bad dreams allowed). The solution is less important than the control your child feels in trying something, and you taking that attempt seriously.
- Model sympathy. For example, when you see a child crying in the playground, talk with your toddler about what may have happened and how that child must feel.
- It’s important for our young children to get comfortable feeling sad, disappointed, angry, lonely, etc. Tell them that “feelings come and feelings go,” and that no feeling lasts forever, good or bad. All feelings are normal and OK, and we move between them.
- Talk about what “stop” means, and help them practice it from both perspectives.
Cognitive Development
By 30 months:
- Uses objects to represent other things (for example, “feeding” their stuffed animal a block)
- Follows two-step directions
- Knows one color or more
- Simple problem solving skills
By 36 months:
- Can draw a circle when you show them how
- Avoids touching hot objects when you warn them not to
What to Try:
- Watch out for over-praising. Skip insincere praise, avoid extreme praise, don’t praise for things that come naturally, don’t praise in comparison to others. Think about your child feeling the benefits of something they do well, not doing it for your approval.
- Offer age appropriate choices when possible. Limit them to 2 so that your child is not overwhelmed.
- When they are struggling with a task, offer suggestions, but don’t take over. Allow them to try and fail with your support. Help them recognize mistakes as learning opportunities.
- Recognize progress. Talk about your toddler’s improvements (“you can do the whole puzzle now!”) and how much they have learned and grown in doing new things.
Sources: American Academy of Pediatrics & CDC