Son Just Turned 3... - Lake Stevens,WA

Normal. Little boys are silly. When I begin to practice numbers/letters with my almost 3 yr old, he will only be into it for literally about a minute or two. Then when I ask him to find a particular letter, he looks at me and says, "NOPE!!". End of lesson.

He sounds... very typical.
Don't worry.

I have a boy and a girl.
My son... is so different than my daughter.
Girls, focus more.
Boys are so silly too.
He is only 3.
Don't worry.

Don't send him out to buy your clothes.

Is there such thing as "normal" at 3? :) :) :)

my son would do this too. instead of asking him if your pants are black, ask him if he can get you a black shirt for him to wear. or if you color with him ask him to hand you a certain color. that way you know he knows it and that he's listening. my little boy will read me a story that he's read a hundred times and if i say "can you spell rain for me" he says "ppppp". nice :). sounds like your little one knows how to push buttons to make you worried and that he has a sense of humor to boot.

he's tired of being asked questions he knows, and that he knows you know he knows :) try making the questions harder. he sounds bored!

and, you don't say if this is when he's doing it, but some kids are not big on "performing" i.e. answering these same questions for the hundredth time, in front of aunt jane, just to show off that they can. i don't think you have a thing to worry about. three year olds are goofy!

So my boy is 2.5, not quite as old as yours but you describe his behavior perfectly! I don't see this changing anytime soon i.e. I believe mine will probably still be doing this in six months at age 3. I agree some of it is that some kids (I think mine) don't like to "perform" also that some kids see no reason to answer a question that they know and that they know you know they know :) Usually I will overhear him talking during play about something I was unsuccessfully trying to get him to talk about earlier....

Honestly, this doesn't sound like an issue of attention span... this sounds like not wanting to answer silly questions! Try asking him more interesting questions and see if he takes time to answer them. No one really enjoys being quizzed.

If you want to know if he knows his colors, try offering him a few things and asking "which color would you like?" then let him say it and take it. If you want to know if he know the parts of a face (but at 3 I'd be surprised if he doesn't) why not cut out magazine pictures and have him put the parts where they belong.

HTH
T.

I don't know if it's normal or not. My son will be 3 soon and I just asked him the exact same questions:

me--Jack, are my pants black? (my pants are also black)
Jack--Yes.

me--Can you show me where your eyes are?
Jack--My eyes are right here (points to eyes)...1, 2 (counts eyes)

Maybe rephrase your questions. "Where are your eyes" or "Point to your eyes".

It could be a control issue for him. He may not want to participate in the conversation you are having at the moment. Try something different like, "do you like mommy's green pants?" and see if he giggles and say's "there not green their black" after which I reply something like, "your right, mommy's so silly!"

Does he know how to express himself when needed? Can he tell you he needs help with something? He's hungry? If he can do that than he is on the right track, IMO. Listen in on a conversation he has with another adult about something he is interested in talking about for clues too. Other than that, he sounds like he knows the answer your looking for so I wouldn't worry about it.

Typical guidelines for a 3 year old verbal skills include:
1) talk and usually be understood
2) Use 8-9 word sentences
3) sometimes express feelings with words
4) has a vocabulary around 300 words
5)be interested in books, stories and songs
You can always ask your pediatrician what they think.

I think this is so normal. Sometimes kids just don't want to "perform." They just don't want to answer the question. In my opinion you don't have ANYthing to worry about. Sounds just like regular kid stuff.

I have a three year old and my 2 cents is that they are really wacky little people. If I ask my son questions that are too obvious/boring I get these kinds of answers. Sometimes I say things like, "do you like my purple polka dot pants" (and they're black) and he'll laugh and either start making up funny colors or say they're BLACK...My son rarely gives us straight answer for anything--if I ask him what he learned about at preschool he'll always say "Big Foot"??? Where do they get this stuff! Sounds totally normal to me!

Many kids follow the rule

"Ask a silly question, get a silly answer."

Meaning if it's an OBVIOUS question... they take it as you initiating some sort of game... and participate (saying something silly in return).

Others just refuse to perform. Which is totally natural.

My toddler did this to people who asked him "baby" stuff... my 8yo does this to my mum when she asks him math questions that he learned years ago. She was actually really freaked out last week about how "behind" he was in math, because he wouldn't do times tables with her. Until she saw that was because he was about 4 years beyond times tables. Kids sooooo often go in one direction or another (What color is the FIRE truck? Blue. ... or just out and out "Not gonna answer that one.")

I think the question is HOW do you know he knows the answer? If he's told you in the past that it's probably silly answer or refusing to perform. If he *hasn't* been able to verbalize the answer at any time in the past.. you might want to seek out an evaluation.

hes just being naughty and playing with you in his mind. my 2 1/2 yr old does similar things everything is no your lucky to get a yes instead of a yes they are at that age.

I think he's toying with you. Try "where are your eyelids/eyelashes/eyebrows" or earlobes or toenails or something more specific that might make him stop and think. If he knows the answer to your questions backward and upside down, he may be bored and simply won't engage with you. Normal by my book!

He just doesn't want to answer questions that have no purpose to him. How about teaching him shapes ...square, rectangle, cube, etc. I bet you will get real and thoughtful answers.
If he calls a rectangle a door say yes a door is shaped like this.

He's playing with you. My 3 year old does it all the time and I've seen the other boys at his daycare and in his play group do the same thing. They are mischievous little things at this age. I agree with Jana, though. He should be able to follow instructions, even multiple step ones. "Please bring me the book from the shelf and then sit down on the chair so that we can read."

Hello,
I think he sounds pretty normal :) On a different note, he should be able to follow instructions (pick up your toys). That is what I would measure with at this age. The colors, numbers, etc will all come with time :)

Is he able to answer questions about things that matter to him? For example, if you ask him if he wants milk does he respond yes or no? If you ask him what color cup he wants, can he tell you? If he is never able to answer these types of questions then I would just mention it to his doctor. But giving silly answers to other questions I think is perfectly normal. Or not wanting to answer a question about a color. But he should be able to answer your questions about things that matter to him. (most of the time)