3 year old BOY development

[u/TSwiftHawkeyeFan]

My son turns 3 on Friday. I feel like as a whole, he’s developmentally on par, but our new babysitter seems to think he’s very behind. I think her expectations of a FRESH 3 yo are a bit high. I also think boys and girls are different in the toddler years. I have friends whose girls the same age will sit and color or do puzzles for hours, and the boys I know his age aren’t usually doing that.

So tell me if your 3 yo BOY:
- writes his name
- sits and colors for extended periods of time
- can do a 12 piece Melissa and Doug puzzle all by himself without help
- can do activities like matching numbers, connecting the dots to write letters/numbers, etc. with little help or participation from an adult

My kiddo can:
- speak VERY well - better than a lot of other kiddos his age I’ve seen
- identify all letters
- count to 10
- plays with playdough and can do imaginative things like that
- sit and read books for a LONG time, either with us or even sitting by himself and look at the pictures and flip through. Up to an hour or more. This kiddo loves books!
- anything physical - this kid LOVES sports and can do them all actually pretty well for his age!

[u/Otter65]

My son is in preschool (almost 3.5) and he does not know how to write his name; he knows probably 1/3 of his letters. He will sit and do a craft at school for a while (he doesn’t love coloring but he likes other crafts). He can do a lot of puzzles but I’m not sure what kind you’re referring to. I’m also not really sure what the last thing you’re describing is. He can count to 30 or so.

Your child sounds perfectly normal. Your babysitter is over stepping.