Child development and milestones:Your 42-month-old

At three-and-a-half years old, your little one is even more active, friendly, and constantly learning how to communicate and relate to the world. It's truly an exciting time filled with more memorable milestones!

Physical Development

Your 42 month old just loves running, jumping, hopping, rolling, dancing, and also has basic climbing skills. She can go up the stairs, alternating feet, while holding on to a rail. She can also throw and catch balls with both hands.

Aside from gross motor skills, kids this age are fond of activities that allow her to exercise dexterity, like unbuttoning clothes, stacking blocks and doing puzzles. 

Tips:

• Bake a cake with your kid! Empower her to do helpful tasks while guiding her accordingly.
• Play simple sports like kicking a soccer ball around and aiming for a net.
• Engage her in activities that can improve dexterity, like arts and crafts.

When to Talk to Your Doctor:

• Consult your child’s paediatrician if your child has extreme difficulty climbing up stairs or grasping balls. 
• Being unable to do activities that require dexterity, like grasping crayons and pencils, could also be a cause for concern. 

Social and Emotional Development

Since your child has likely started preschool at this age, he is starting to be more comfortable with interacting with other kids. He can also be taught to put his toys away and not to snatch toys from other kids. Sharing is a good lesson to learn at this age. 

When before the age of three he likely preferred parallel play, at 3.5 years old, he becomes less shy. Your not-so little one is beginning to establish friendships, choosing these connections with peers based on similar interests. But at this age, he can also happily play by himself. Imagination plays a huge role in playtime. 

Watch out for occasional temper tantrums because they can still happen at this age, often when things don’t go his way. 

Tips:

• Guide him when it comes to building things with his friends, through projects involving blocks, cardboard boxes, and fabric.
• You can also boost his confidence and independence by asking him to match shoes or socks together. 
• Play dress-up! Role-playing can help nurture his imagination.
• In the event of tantrums, your 3.5-year-old can already grasp and express certain emotions. Use this as an opportunity to teach him how to manage his emotions.
• At 42 months old and beyond, kids start appreciating being included as part of routines, like grocery shopping and attending special occasions like birthdays. 

When to Talk to Your Doctor: 

• If your child is extremely clingy or refuses to be separated from mum, dad, or any other caregiver, this might be a cause for concern. 
• If your child’s tantrums are interfering with daily tasks, then consult a paediatrician to know how best to help your child manage overwhelming emotions.

Language and Cognitive Development

Your 42 month old is swiftly learning how to communicate. At this age, she will already have an extensive vocabulary. Your 42 month old should also be able to learn words easily and incorporate them into sentences. 

Grammar skills are also flourishing at this age. Verb tense, subject-verb agreement? Your child is getting the hang of these, too. 

At 3.5 years old, kids can recognise numbers and distinguish them from letters. Though she might get confused by series of numbers and letters, her greatly improving memory should help her effectively recognise and repeat them back to you. 

When it comes to her surroundings, 42 month olds are becoming increasingly aware of how to distinguish and name objects. She can also identify patterns, and even grasp the concept of how things can grow and change — like how seeds can grow into flowers.

Tips:

• Communicate with your child by talking about how her day went. You can also play listening games like “Simon Says…”
• Constantly ask her questions about daily tasks or experiences at school to exercise her ability to explain things.
• Give her simple instructions with proper guidance, like where to put her toys away or how to wipe down a table after meals.

When to Talk to Your Doctor:

• If your child struggles with forming sentences and basic grammar, this could mean you should pay a visit to your paediatrician. 

Health and Nutrition

The typical height of a 42 month old is about 87.0 to 110.3 cm and weight is about 10.4 to 21.9 kg. 

At 3.5 years old, kids generally have full bladder and bowel control, but the occasional slip-ups are still expected.

He can also put his shoes on, and he can brush his teeth in both horizontal and vertical motions.

It’s important to know that kids develop at their own pace. Just because your child isn’t hitting these 42 month old milestones, it doesn’t meant there is something wrong or that he will always be lagging behind his peers.

At this age, he is beginning to grasp certain aspects of life, like eating healthy and taking safety measures — like not running with scissors or touching hot pans.

Tips: 

• Allow your child to dress themselves, or go to the bathroom to exercise his independence through self-care. 
• Include him in meal preparation, giving him easy and safe tasks that don’t involve wielding sharp utensils.
• But make sure to constantly remind him of safety precautions at home and at school; he’s able to grasp these at this age.

When to Talk to Your Doctor:

• See your child’s paediatrician if he is unable to control his bladder or bowel movements. 
• If you’re concerned that your child is at risk for the flu, then it’s best to consult your child’s paediatrician regarding the necessary vaccination.

We hope this article on three-and-a-half year old child development is useful in keeping track of your little one’s milestones!