Content provided courtesy of.... www.lincolnshirechildrenstherapyservices.nhs.uk

What your child should be able to do

  • Your child should be now able to walk up and down stairs without holding onto a rail
  • They will be jumping well with feet together and from a step
  • They will be beginning to appreciate size and movements of their own body in relation to the objects and space around them
  • They will be now able to ride a tricycle using pedals and can steer it around wide corners
  • They will be able to stand momentarily on one foot when shown 
  • Ball skills will be developing, they should be able to throw ball overhand and catch a large ball with straight arms.  Can kick a ball forcibly
  • Your child should be able to build a tower of approximately 9 or 10 small block
  • They will be able to copy a block design of up to 6 blocks
  • Open zip lock bags, containers and lunch boxes
  • Trace on thick lines
  • Use their dominant hand most of the time
  • Copy a circle or imitating a cross
  • Hold a pencil with thumb and fingers on opposite sides of the pencil
  • Thread a sequence of small beads onto string
  • Cut roughly around pictures
  • Complete 4-6 piece puzzles
  • Coordinate hands to brush teeth
  • Dress independently including large buttons, socks, and shoes (not laces)

How you can help

  • You can find useful tips, hints, and advice on ways to help support your child’s physical skills to help them become school ready here: School readiness advice sheet 

  • Parents often worry about their children’s feet turning in when they walk, walking with an in-toeing pattern can be normal around this age and will gradually correct as your child grows.  The APCP have produced an informative advice leaflet which explains more about this: Intoeing Gait 2019 PDF (csp.org.uk)

  • Let them draw using colouring pens (you can get washable ones!) get them copying circles and shapes. Draw with them - they will like taking it in turns.

  • Encourage them to try and keep in the lines in colouring books.

  • Play at chopping and shaping play dough, cutting out with play scissors, and dressing teddies and dolls.

  • Let your child try to do their own buttons and zips. It may take longer but these are important skills, and they will get quicker. 

  • NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde have produced an interactive questionnaire for children aged 3 ½ to 5 years old. It gives you activity ideas to develop some of the skills children need to join in at schoo

  • Starting primary school - BBC Bitesize

  • Potty training advice can be found here: How to potty train - NHS (www.nhs.uk) 

When to seek support

  • Not able to jump
  • Not able to walk up and down stairs.
  • Not toilet trained by day
  • Not able to draw lines and circles

What your child should be able to do 

  • You child will be asking you lots of questions, as they learn lots about the world around them, you might begin to hear them ask “why” (a lot!!)
  • They will understand and begin to use words relating to colour and numbers, such as ‘yellow’ car and ‘two’ dogs
  • Your child will be using longer sentences
  • You might hear them trying to describe events that have already happened, but their sentences might not be quite like how we say them
  • It’s typical for your child to get their tenses muddled up, such as “drawed” for ‘drew’ and “swimmed” for ‘swam’
  • Their skills are developing in make-believe play; their imagination is blossoming
  • Your child may have some difficulties with some sounds, in particular the r, w, l, sh, ch and j

How you can help

  • A child needs to be able to understand language before we can expect them to use it themselves. If we want our children to use 3 words together, first they need to understand 3 key word level instructions. You can find some ideas on how to help your child with this in this section of our First Call resource
  • Take a look at our advice for encouraging those 3-word phrases:

3 word expressions PDF 

  • You can find more hints, tips, and advice on supporting your child’s communication and interaction at:

Activities for 3-4 year olds - BBC Tiny Happy People 

When to seek support

  • Your child is not using simple sentences, such as “drive big car”
  • Their phrases are jumbled and tricky to understand.
  • Their speech is difficult for familiar people to understand

If you have any concerns regarding your child's development please click on this link to refer your child into the service, you will then receive a telephone call from a member of the team to discuss your concerns further and organise an assessment as appropriate.