3 Years Old Not Talking and Playing with Toys

Please have her evaluated. My son was eligible for services because he said about 40 words at 24 months. At 3 she should have lots of sentences, and more vocabulary then you can count. Her pronunciation does not have to be great but she should be talking, singing, etc. If she doesnt like to listen to stories, and cannot tolerate singing, her kindergarten year will be a complete disaster! By six she will be expected to take all the rhyming she's heard and begin to understand rhyming and use it to help her to read. At five she should take all her experience of listening to stories and begin to use it to learn to read and talk about stories. None of the other symptoms sound worrisome, but early intervention will evaluate everything just in case. Things you didnt mention: Is she affectionate with her parents? Does she usually make eye contact? Is she overly picky about textures of clothes and foods? Does she get "stuck" on one thing playing only one thing over and over. Imitating house work is imitating lots of things, not just pretending to iron every single day for hours. As I said I had my son evaluated at 24 months they came to my home, it was free and easy! there's no reason not to get her started and maybe by the time she goes to school she will be completely ready!

I would get an eval done through your states early intervention program. It is free. She should definitely be talking more than she is and better able to answer questions. It may be nothing, but if it is the earlier you get intervention the better! Good luck!

Talk to your pediatrician if you already haven't. Don't take chances. If something isn't developing right, the earlier you can get it dealt with, the better things can be. Good luck!

I would make sure she sees the doctor just tr make sure her hearing and eyesight are normal.

Also you have to talk all of the time. I used to chatter away about everything I was doing, even when out daughter was in infant.

I am going to change your diaper. I need the wipes, and a diaper. Ok I am holding your legs up.

I am trying to decide, should I wear my red shirt or my blue shirt?

Look there is a cat. It is a yellow cat.

Ok we are going to the grocery store. I have my list, the diaper bag, my purse and my keys.

In the car I would play children's music or I would talk about what we were seeing outside the car windows. Look there is a police car. Boy it sure is raining today.

It will feel silly, but this constant talk and flow of words is filling her brain with how to communicate.. and the words and names for actions, feelings, and things.

Make an appointment and make sure she hearing and seeing everything to the best of her ability.

Consider playing children's music and children's nursery rhymes. while she is playing..
Consider placing her in a Mothers Day Out program so she can watch other children play.

Make sure she has some creative activities.. Colors, paints, playdo, sidewalk chalk, stringing beads..

I would take those developmental concerns to her doctor. You can have her speech evaluated by a speech pathologist and the pediatrician can also direct you to resources to test her for learning disabilities or other concerns.

My DD is uncoordinated (like me) so the tricycle is not easy for her. She is 3.5. I would worry less about that than some of the social behaviors (though 3s do sometimes ignore you if they want to) and the small amount she speaks.

I had one little girl who loved her Cabbage Patch doll and wanted to sit and 'feed' her and dress her and that was her life. She also had a baby sister at that time and she copied what I did with her baby sister. She was not 3 but 2 at the time. She did talk but was into cups, dishes, etc for her doll. She did play cars with her brothers though and did talk a bit more than your daughter even at age 2. I did what Laurie A said with all my kids though, talk, talk, talk, all day about sizes, colors, shapes, what you are doing, etc., etc. They learn from that more than sitting down in an organized situation. You may not be a big talker yourself but you do need to talk to her about 'things'. What you're doing, how you do it, etc.
Here is a link from webMD that may help you.
http://www.webmd.com/parenting/guide/3-to-4-year-old-mile...
I wouldn't worry if she does some but not all yet. Some kids are later in some things, say riding a tricycle. Just so she's close to most of the expected milestones. Kids are individuals just like adults are. Most all of my girls talked way more than your daughter seems to be though and even the quieter ones were more verbal in what they could say. They just weren't talking all the time like my other girls were.

You have gotten a lot of great responses. I'm a speech pathologist and I think she needs to be evaluated. My career has mostly with adults but I have a 2yr old and 4 yr old. Your daughter sounds like a good candidate for a speech language evaluation. Good luck

It's uncommon for little girls to not be big talkers. Usually it's boys who are quiet. Then again there is an exception to everything.

My daughter is a squawk box, all day everyday from the moment she opens her eyes to the moment she closes them. Talk, talk, talk. Maybe you're the lucky one to not have a little chatter box in the house.

You should be having yearly check-ups for your little one. I suggest bringing these things up at the next one. You may even want to look into a once or twice weekly day care visit to help her socialize.

Good luck.

I would not assume that she will naturally improve once she is around other kids - at age 2, my daughter had not been around lots of other kids either, but she was still saying a lot more than 40 words, plus several sentences of 3 to 5 words. Also, she may have a harder time socializing with other kids and joining in their games and participating in preschool if she doesn't want to play with a ball or listen to stories. I hope you will discuss this with her pediatrician and see about getting her evaluated. Early Intervention is free for children under age 3 and is available in all states.

I am a preschool teacher and I have my master's degree in early childhood education ( and I have a 3.5 year old). Definitely talk to your pediatrician    
about getting her a general evaluation (not just speech). I don't know your area but she is most likely too old get evaluated through early intervention but she should be able to be evaluated through your local department of education. It may be nothing but it doesn't hurt to check. I believe in following your mommy instincts.

I didn't see any huge red flags in your description except maybe with talking. but I also have a 3 year old who only talks if she feels like it (she can say lots of things but just doesn't talk a lot). But it is not a bad idea to talk to the doctor or someone else who have met her and can see her behavior and speech in person.