Language & Learning

How much should a 3-year-old know?

Sounds as though you’ve already done a lot to encourage her! Your description fits
a bright and happy little girl. I don’t think anyone can tell you “just how much”
your child should know at 3. But I’ll mention a few important things:
She should be talking a great deal, have a vocabulary of more than a thousand words
and understand just about everything you say to her.
She should be toilet-trained, be able to feed and dress herself and sleep through
the night without undue visits to your bed.
She should be able to play with other children without too many quarrels and fights
over sharing toys.
She should be able to give and receive love to important people in her life.
She should be reasonably agile and well-coordinated, active with her toys and on a
playground.
She should love to be read to and to look at books by herself and pretend to read.

How is that for a brief set of “shoulds”? Not least of all, she should have a
mother who loves her and is very proud of her!

Dr. Bettye M. Caldwell

Ph.D. Professor of Pediatrics in Child Development and Education

Parenting advice is given as a suggestion only. We recommend you also consult your
healthcare provider.