Four Developmental Skills for Four-Year-Olds

By the time your little one turns four years old, there are several key developmental milestones that they are expected to hit. While all children do reach these milestones at their own rate, there are a few that should be fairly well established in your child around the middle of their fourth year of life. Watching your child start to grow and turn into their own person is an exciting time for any parent, which is why seeing them gain mastery in these four developmental regions can make you feel both proud and even a little bit nostalgic.

Cognitive Developments

Your child’s brain is growing at a rapid pace, and at this age, they are like little sponges. They’re soaking up everything about the world around them and are learning new things every day. By their fourth year, your child should have a grasp of the difference between real and make-believe, understand abstract concepts, and can start to see the consequences of their actions. They are also starting to learn their colors and may even start to learn numbers and counting.

Physical Growth

There are many growth spurts at this age, and your child is probably starting to grow like a little weed. They’re also developing several motor skills, too, and are becoming less clumsy. They now should be able to dance and skip and frolic. They are starting to draw actual shapes (“This is a drawing of me and mommy!”) and can start to write their numbers or letters. Your child is getting better at dressing themselves, too, with only a little bit of help with buttons or zippers.

Emotional Progress

There are probably fewer temper tantrums and melt downs at this age, and if they do occur, your child is able to calm themselves down easier. They’re starting to develop a sense of humor and tell you how they’re feeling. Because this is also the time where they realize they could get in trouble for being naughty, they may start telling little fibs to get out of trouble, too!

Language Building

A four-year-old has an impressive vocabulary of over 1,000 words and they’re not afraid to use it to tell you what they want. They may also start asking you what unfamiliar words mean. They’re also able to follow simple directions at this age, too. At this age, they can also speak in sentences up to five or six words in length, and they are finally able to enunciate clearly enough for strangers to make out what they’re saying.

Being four years old can be a fun time for both you and your child. To help them make the most out of this incredible age, enrolling them in VPK (Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten) with us here at Dream Big Preschool can help them maximize their learning in a fun and save environment. To learn more about the benefits of our daycare program, or to start the enrollment process, please reach out to us today at (407) 602-1313!