All children have their own timetable, but you can watch for certain developments in your 4-year-old. Celebrate with your child as he reaches or nears these milestones.

Cognitive

- Counts 10 or more objects

- May be able to name basic shapes

- Pays attention to a short story and answers questions about it afterward

- Has an evolving sense of time; understands periods of the day and seasons and may know some days of the week and have a concept of hours and minutes

- Begins to have a concept of money

- Understands how some household objects function (appliances, tools)

- May show interest in particular topics (art, animals)

- Begins to learn alphabet; may recognize some letters

- Repeats his name and address

- Better understands the difference between fantasy and reality

- Follows unrelated commands (“Bring me the book and wash your hands”)

Motor

- Able to stand on one foot for 10 seconds or longer

- Hops; tumbles; does somersaults

- Swings

- Climbs well

- May be able to skip

- Copies triangles, squares, circles

- Draws people with bodies

- Prints some letters (possibly his name) but probably not perfectly

- Dresses and undresses himself

- Correctly uses child-safe utensils but still needs help with cutting food

- Can manage toileting

Communication

- Remembers large parts of stories

- Tells stories rich with details

- Speaks in full sentences (more than five words)

- Uses future tense

- Uses the same grammar as family

- Recites his name and address

- Rhymes words

- Says most sounds clearly except, often, l, s, r, v, z, ch, sh, and th

Social

- Has favorite friends; may have a “best friend”

- Wants to please friends

- Wants to be like friends

- May become more agreeable to rules

- Learns that different people have different rules

- May develop fears

- Aware of genitalia; learning about privacy

- Curious about birth and death

- Shows pride in accomplishments

- Can be both demanding and cooperative

- Shows increasing independence

References:

“What's Going on in There? How the Brain and Mind Develop in the First Five Years of Life?” by Lise Elliot.

“Caring for Your Baby and Young Child, Birth to Age 5 (5th Ed)” by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

"The Wonder Years: Helping Your Baby and Young Child Successfully Negotiate the Major Developmental Milestones" by the American Academy of Pediatrics.