What should the skills of an age-appropriately developed 3-year-old child look like in the development areas listed here as examples?

It is known from developmental psychology and pediatric medicine that many children make a big developmental leap after their third birthday. The following exemplary points of reference indicate age-appropriate development:

Motor skills

• Gross motor skills: The child should be able to walk, run, hop, climb and jump safely.
• Fine motor skills: The child should be able to hold and use objects such as pencils, paintbrushes and cutlery. They should also be able to draw simple shapes, string beads and play with building blocks.
• Hand-eye coordination: The child should be able to catch and throw simple balls.
• Sense of balance: The child should be able to stand on one leg and walk a few steps on a narrow beam or line.
• Body awareness: The child should be able to feel their body and understand the position of their body in space.

Source: "Entwicklungspsychologie des Kindes- und Jugendalters" by Klaus Hurrelmann and Uwe Haisch (2008), p. 169.

Language skills

• The child forms simple sentences.
• The child uses pronouns such as "I", "you", "he", "she".
• The child has an understanding of questions and how to answer them.
• The child names objects and people in the immediate environment.
• It tells simple stories.

Source: "Entwicklungspsychologie des Kindes- und Jugendalters" by Klaus Hurrelmann and Uwe Haisch (2008), p. 188.

Cognitive skills

• The child develops an understanding of cause-and-effect relationships.
• It has an understanding of spatial relations such as "above", "below", "next to", etc.
• It can classify objects and people according to certain characteristics such as color, shape or size.
• It develops an understanding of numbers as quantities.

Source: "Entwicklungspsychologie des Kindes- und Jugendalters" by Klaus Hurrelmann and Uwe Haisch (2008), p. 200-201.

Social-emotional skills

• The child begins to dress independently.
• The child can express emotions such as joy, anger, sadness and fear.
• The child understands the emotional reactions of other people.
• The child develops the ability to empathize.
• The child begins to build friendships.
• The child increasingly plays games with other children, including role-playing games.
• The child stays with a trusted caregiver for a few hours without any problems.
• The child develops the ability to cooperate and resolve conflicts.
• The child wants to help around the house

Source: "Entwicklungspsychologie des Kindes- und Jugendalters" by Klaus Hurrelmann and Uwe Haisch (2008), pp. 220-221.

At the age of four, children have usually overcome the "defiant phase" and are more understanding than three-year-olds. They are already more dexterous and develop a great urge to move.

Motor skills

• The child can walk, run and hop on one leg.
• The child can catch and throw a ball.
• The child can climb stairs with alternating feet
• The child can put on and take off clothes independently.
• The child develops fine motor skills such as painting, cutting out and assembling simple objects.

Source: "Entwicklungspsychologie des Kindes- und Jugendalters" by Klaus Hurrelmann and Uwe Haisch (2008), p. 162-163.

Language skills

• The child expands their vocabulary and sentences become longer.
• The child can talk intelligibly about events, including past events.
• The child also understands complicated sentences, complex structures and relationships.
• The child speaks active sentences with four or more words.
• The child uses pronouns such as "I", "you", "he" and "she" in the correct form.
• It tells stories with a clear plot and a beginning, middle and end.
• The child understands opposites such as "high" and "low", "in front of" and "behind".
• It uses past tenses and verbs such as "I walked" or "I ate".

Source: "Sprachcherwerb und Sprachentwicklung im Kindergartenalter" by Angelika Redder and Sylvia Stahl (2012), p. 24-27.

Cognitive skills

• The child can recognize and compare simple numbers and quantities.
• The child can name and distinguish shapes and colors.
• The child can sort objects by size, weight and length.
• Solves simple riddles and puzzles.
• It can follow simple instructions and adhere to rules.
• It shows compassion and empathy for others.

Source: "Entwicklungspsychologie des Kindes- und Jugendalters" by Klaus Hurrelmann and Uwe Haisch (2008), p. 166-168.

Social-emotional skills

• The child develops friendships and interacts with other children.
• The child can recognize the feelings of others and react appropriately.
• The child develops frustration tolerance and is able to resolve conflicts in an appropriate manner.
• Develops self-confidence and self-esteem.
• They understand rules and norms and can follow them.

5-year-old children are becoming increasingly independent. They are due to start school in a year's time.

Motor skills

• The child can walk, run, hop and jump safely.
• The child can climb and descend stairs safely.
• It can balance.
• It can throw and catch objects.
• It can draw and paint, e.g. draw circles and squares or trace letters.

Source: "Entwicklungspsychologie des Kindes- und Jugendalters" by Klaus Hurrelmann and Uwe Haisch (2008), p. 162-163.

Language skills

• The child forms sentences with several words and speaks in complete sentences.
• The child masters the grammar and sentence structure of the family's first language.
• The child is able to tell short stories and explain relationships clearly.
• The child has a vocabulary of at least 2000 words.

Source: "Entwicklungspsychologie des Kindes- und Jugendalters" by Klaus Hurrelmann and Uwe Haisch (2008), p. 184-185.

Cognitive abilities

• The child can solve simple problems and finds appropriate solutions.
• The child recognizes numbers and letters and can name them.
• The child recognizes colors and shapes and can name them.
• It can memorize things and reproduce them
• It follows rules and instructions.

Source: "Entwicklungspsychologie des Kindes- und Jugendalters" by Klaus Hurrelmann and Uwe Haisch (2008), p. 186-187.

Social-emotional skills

• The child develops empathy, which means they can put themselves in other people's shoes and understand their feelings.
• The child works and cooperates with other children.
• The child has an understanding of social rules and norms, such as sharing toys or taking turns when playing.
• It is capable of self-regulation and controls its impulses.
• It has a strong sense of self-confidence and self-assurance.

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020). Developmental milestones: 5 years.

https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/index.html

At the age of six, children go through another major developmental spurt. Many children have already started school.

Motor skills

• The child can safely ride a bike or scooter.
• The child has good body coordination and control.
• The child can write and draw with both hands.
• It can play simple ball games and catch.

Source: German Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine e.V. (DGKJ). (2021). Child development - motor skills. Retrieved 04.05.2023 from https://www.kinderaerzte-im-netz.de/krankheiten/entwicklungsstoerungen/…

Language skills

• The child masters the correct pronunciation of words and sentences.
• The child uses more complex grammar structures.
• The child tells stories and events in the correct chronological order.
• It uses adjectives and adverbs to describe objects and actions.
• It understands linguistic irony and jokes.

Source: Sprachstandserhebungen in Kindertageseinrichtungen (SPATZ) des Instituts für Qualitätsentwicklung an Schulen Schleswig-Holstein (IQSH) (https://www.schleswig-holstein.de/DE/Landesregierung/IQSH/Service/Sprac…)

Cognitive skills

• The child can think more abstractly and understand the relationships between things.
• The child understands the meaning of the seasons and the division of the week into days.
• It can recognize problems and find its own solutions.
• It can draw simple logical conclusions.
• It can assess spatial relationships and understand maps or plans.
• It can orient itself better in rooms and in the environment and uses left and right correctly.
• It recognizes what is in front and what is behind in drawings and pictures and can name them.
• It understands quantities and numbers and can compare them.
• It counts to 10 and can recognize and name quantities up to 10.

Source: American Academy of Pediatrics. (2009). Developmental Milestones: 6 Years Old.

Social-emotional skills

• The child develops empathy and compassion, can take the perspective of other people and understands that other people also have their own feelings and needs. They can put themselves in other people's shoes and have compassion when others are sad or hurt.
• The child shows appropriate behavior in groups: they can play in a group, work together and resolve conflicts. They can compromise and respond to the needs of others to enable harmonious coexistence in the group.
• The child develops the ability to self-regulate: they can regulate their feelings and express them appropriately. They can control their emotions and react appropriately without being led by impulsive behavior.
• The child has their own understanding of social norms and rules: It understands which behaviors are acceptable in society and which are not. They can follow rules and understand that there can be consequences for breaking rules.

Sources: National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2009). Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age 8. https://www.naeyc.org/sites/default/files/globally-shared/downloads/PDF…

Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. (2016). From Best Practices to Breakthrough Impacts: A Science-Based Approach to Building a More Promising Future for Young Children and Families. https://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/from-best-practices-to-br…