Your child is constantly learning and growing! Here are 16 new and exciting skills they'll gain this month.

At 36 months old, your toddler is showing huge growth in language, social skills, and thinking. They can speak in short sentences and follow simple instructions. Their motor skills are also developing, allowing them to begin to do more coordinated activities such as drawing basic shapes. They are continuing to engage in more interactive play, although emotional regulation may still be a struggle. This month is marked by curiosity and a stronger sense of self.

The milestones this month fall into five areas: Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Cognitive Development, Social-Emotional Growth, and Communication development. Together, these skills help your toddler learn to move their bodies, think and ask questions, express themselves, and make sense of their surroundings.

Is your toddler becoming more strong-willed?

At 36 months old, your toddler is gaining a stronger sense of independence as they practice doing tasks on their own. This can sometimes come across as stubbornness, but is really a learning point as they navigate boundaries, growing independence, and decision-making. They will be better at communicating their feelings and needs which will result in fewer tantrums. They are also becoming more aware of routines and expectations, and with patience, time, and support, will continue to become more self-assured, social, and confident.

Why 36-month milestones matter

This month is crucial in your little one's development as their independence, coordination, and language skills continue to develop. They are constantly strengthening both gross and fine motor skills through activities such as balancing, tracing circles, and climbing stairs using alternating feet. As they test boundaries and assert themselves, provide consistent and constant support to help build their confidence, self-control, and problem-solving skills.

What are the 36-month milestones?

This month, Gross Motor development involves the ability to imitate someone balancing on one foot. Your little one will be able to watch someone lift their leg to balance on one foot and be able to imitate the gesture. They will be able to balance on one foot for around 3 seconds with their hands on their hips. This skill is an important building block to more advanced activities such as hopping, skipping, or kicking a ball. Show your excitement when you witness your toddler balancing on one foot, to help strengthen their coordination and body awareness.

In addition, your toddler will be able to alternate feet while climbing the stairs on their own. They will be able to climb the stairs without holding onto anyone or anything. This skill will help build their leg strength and coordination, as well as enhance their spatial awareness. Help support this skill by making it fun, such as placing stickers in an alternating pattern on the stairs.

By this month, your toddler will be able to run and walk without tripping over their own feet, most of the time in familiar, even surface. Additionally, they will be able to change direction and speed much faster. Provide a safe and obstacle free environment for your little one to practice. Offer positive reinforcement for safe movements to help boost their confidence.

Their Fine Motor skills continue to grow. By this month, your toddler will be able to successfully use door handles without help. Their newfound ability to coordinate their wrists, fingers, and palms allow them to turn rotating handles. Make sure they are supervised and kept in safe environments.

In addition, your toddler will now be able to trace a circle. This is a huge new development as tracing a circle helps with hand-eye coordination, spatial awareness, and is a skill that acts as a pre-writing foundation. It is also a form of neural mapping as tracing helps your toddler strengthen the neural pathways for drawing and forming shapes. Encourage tracing of circles through printable tracing worksheets, with large circles.

Your toddler will also be able to button and unbutton large buttons. They will be able to do so without help most of the time. This milestone reflects growing finger dexterity, bilateral coordination, and increasing patience with smaller and more precise tasks. Your toddler will be able to take a more active role in dressing themselves which is very exciting for both you and them!

In Cognitive development, your toddler will now be able to show their age by holding up fingers when asked. This skill reflects growing number awareness and communication skills. This gesture shows that toddlers can now connect numbers with real-life meaning, through a visual representation. It also shows increased social confidence, as toddlers proudly share their age with others.

In addition, they can now remember and talk about things that happened in the past. This could include simple sequences of events such as taking the cat to the vet last week. This skill demonstrates development in memory and communication, as toddlers remember situations and share them with others. This skill helps toddlers engage with others in social situations. Show your excitement when you hear your little one talking about events that have happened in the past such as, "Yes, that's right. We did take the cat to the vet last week!"

By this month, your toddler can take some clothing on and off. This can include items such as socks, shoes, or pullover shirts. This skill shows growing independence as well as increased coordination and body awareness. While their efforts may not always be perfect, dressing is an important developing skill that will help with their independence, problem-solving skills, and sense of accomplishment in everyday tasks.

As for Social-Emotional growth, your child now has fewer tantrums. This happens through the development of better emotional regulation and communication skills. An increasing ability to express their needs and feelings through words, help to lessen the need to express emotions through emotional outbursts. They also can understand routines and expectations better, which helps manage frustration more healthily. Your little one will still have occasional tantrums as they are still learning how to regulate their emotions, but their self-control and emotional maturity will grow over time.

Additionally, your child will now play with other kids independently. This is now done through associative play, which is when children play alongside or with other children. This development reflects improvements in attention span, social awareness, and confidence. They are beginning to feel more confident and at ease in social situations and understand better the presence of others. Encourage associative play so your child can increase their confidence and independence in social situations by taking your kids to the park.

Overall, your child is becoming more independent this month as they play without you and no longer need your constant attention. This increasing confidence reflects progress in problem-solving, decision-making, and self-help skills. Let your child take the lead on things such as dressing themselves and helping with small routines, to help foster their independence and growth.

Communication development in this month includes your child's ability to say 4 to 5-word sentences. This skill shows language development as they are able to communicate their thoughts and needs more clearly. You may hear them combine words to describe actions, ask questions, or share experiences, such as, "I want more milk" or "We went to the park." This extended sentence length helps them to communicate more clearly and fully with others.

Your child now has a vocabulary of 900-1,000 words. This quick language development allows them to more fully share their thoughts, feelings, and observations about the world. They are both learning new words each day and learning how to use them in more complex ways in sentences. This is an exciting development as their expanding vocabulary will help with the depth of their communication and cognitive development.

In addition to their expanding vocabulary, your little one can now correctly use all vowels. This new skill makes their speech clearer and easier to understand. Although they are still working on pronunciation, learning to correctly use all vowels lays the foundation for continued literacy skills.

Your child can now correctly use consonants "p," "m," "h," "n," "w." Mastering this skill can help your child become significantly easier to understand. You may witness them practicing these speech sounds and slowly being able to replace less accurate pronunciations with more clear and correct ones. Encourage their practice of consonants and be patient as they make their pronunciation more clear and defined.

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FAQs

What milestones should a 36-month-old toddler be reaching?

At 36 months, toddlers often show growth in gross motor skills, fine motor skills, cognitive development, social-emotional growth, and communication development. Common milestones include imitating someone balancing on one foot, alternating feet while climbing the stairs on their own, running and walking without tripping over their own feet. They should be able to use door handles, trace circles, button and unbutton large buttons. You can see their cognitive development when they show their age by holding fingers up when asked, remember and talk about things that happened in the past, as well as taking clothes on and off. Their emotional maturity allows them to have fewer tantrums, play with other kids independently, and become more independent. They can now say 4 to 5-word sentences, have a 900-1,000 word vocabulary, correctly use all vowels, and correctly use consonants "p," "m," "h," "n," "w."

What are the gross motor milestones for a 36-month-old?

At 36 months, many toddlers are able to imitate someone balancing on one foot, alternate feet while climbing stairs on their own, and be able to run and walk without tripping over their own feet. Encourage practice of these skills to aid in their development of body strength, coordination, and confidence.

What are the fine motor milestones for a 36-month-old?

A 36-month-old toddler may be able to use door handles, trace a circle, and button and unbutton large buttons. Have them practice by giving them circles on worksheets to trace, and let them try to dress and undress themselves.

What cognitive milestones are common at 36 months?

At 36 months, toddlers will be able to show their age by holding up fingers when asked, remember and talk about things that happened in the past, and remove and put back on clothing. Encourage practice of these skills by asking them their age, asking questions that will prompt them to talk about past events, and let them attempt to remove and put on their clothes on their own.

What are the social-emotional milestones for a 36-month-old?

Social-emotional milestones at 36 months include having fewer tantrums, playing with other kids independently, and becoming more independent overall. Praise your child when you notice them responding calmly rather than throwing a tantrum, and when you notice them playing well with others, to help foster their independence.

How does a 36-month-old communicate?

At 36 months, many toddlers are able to say 4 to 5-word sentences, have a vocabulary of 900-1,000 words, correctly use all vowels, and correctly use consonants "p," "m," "h," "n," "w." Encourage their language development by praising sentences of theirs you hear that are longer, as well as praising their word choice when you hear them exploring implementing new words.

How can I support my toddler’s 36-month milestones?

Parents can support 36-month milestones by encouraging daily practice and independence across all areas of development. You can help your child's gross motor skills by having them imitate balancing on one foot, alternating feet as they climb stairs, and practicing running in a familiar and safe environment without obstacles. Model clear speech and praise them when you hear them using new vocabulary words and speaking in sentences of 4 to 5 words.