During your child’s fourth year, your three year old will have entered the second half of the toddler years. The toddler years are marked by independence, mobility and a developing language bank.

A three year old will continue to grow slowly and gain about 4 to 6 pounds over the course of the year. Your toddler will also grow about 2 ½ to 3 inches in height by the end of his fourth year.

Although all toddlers develop at their own pace, your three year old should hit some general developmental milestones by the end of his fourth year.

Some developmental milestones you should look for in your three year old toddler include:

• Expressing an interest in trying new things
• Exerts independence
• Dresses and undresses
• Plays pretend
• Fears of monsters
• Sees himself as a separate person with his own mind, will, body and feelings
• Knows some colors, letters and numbers
• Understands the same and different
• Understands time
• Speaks in sentences of 6 words
• Tells stories
• Hops
• Stands on one foot for 5 seconds
• Kicks ball well
• Throws ball overhand well
• Catches a ball that is bounced to him
• Draws a basic picture of a person
• Can copy capital letters
• Uses scissors
• Draws squares
• Rides a tricycle
• Likes interactive games