3-year-old timeline: Name Writing

Your 3-year-old now
It's exciting when your child's scribbles begin to look more like real letters. Some threes even start writing their name, or a few letters of it. But writing is one of those developmental milestones that varies greatly from child to child. Don't stress out if your child isn't even interested in writing.

A lot depends on fine motor development. Your child may have a clear dominant hand by now (or it may not be clear for another year or so). But it's still hard to control a pencil to make letters with diagonal lines (M, N, K). Other letters may not look quite right either. The lines might not connect at the right place, or letters like E may have too many horizontal lines. What kids should be able to do at this age is copy a circle and make an "x."

Regardless of where your child is on the spectrum, encourage his writing by keeping paper, fat pencils, fat crayons, and chalk within easy reach. Another way to pique interest: Pour sand, salt, or sugar onto a tray and show him how to trace letters with a finger.

Your life now
Some clever bedtime resisters prolong the routine by asking you to kiss not only them, but an ever-increasing cast of stuffed animals. If your child tries luring you into a 20-minute kissing party, put your foot down. What seems fun at first will get tiresome fast. Say, "You have too many animals for me to kiss. Let's pick three, and then I'll blow a big kiss to all the rest when I walk out the door."

Source http://www.parentcenter.babycenter.com/