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4 years old

Age 4

little girl posing in superhero costume
Your 4-year-old: Milestones and development
Learn how to help your 4-year-old understand numbers and time, polish her fine motor skills, and get ready to read. Find out how to teach her empathy and good sleeping habits.
girl smiling while sticking notes on a calendar
Your 4-year-old: Grasping time
Following routines does more than provide structure; it also helps a preschooler learn about time and sequence.
girl on a swing looking cheerful
Your 4-year-old: Welcome to 4
Welcome to a year that's full of building on old skills while picking up brand-new ones at breakneck speed.
girl brushing teeth with her father
Your 4-year-old: Gaining independence
As motor skills develop, your child's may reject help and want to do things solo.
father leaning on a tree with daughter sitting on his lap and talking with her
Your 4-year-old: Understanding numbers
Fun with numbers for your preschooler.
boy comforting a sad looking girl
Your 4-year-old: Learning empathy
Your child may be starting to show concern or try to comfort others who are sad or angry.
boy sitting at a table and playing
Your 4-year-old: Hands-on skills
Is your preschooler easily frustrated by tasks like snapping or buttoning? It makes sense developmentally.
girl doing her homework
Your 4-year-old: The name game
Children's names are very special to them.
two boys and three girls sitting outside on a bench, hugging and smiling
Your 4-year-old: Love of rules
Four-year-olds love rules. Rules offer structure and security.
mother kissing her daughter for a good night sleep
Your 4-year-old: Sleep struggles
Find out how much sleep 4-year-olds need and what one of their biggest sleep problems is.
mother and daughter reading a book
Your 4-year-old: Pre-reading
Before children start reading, they master certain pre-reading skills.
mother and daughter folding clothes
Your 4-year-old: Sorting it out
You can help boost basic thinking skills by encouraging your child to sort things around the house.
boy opening a comic book
Your 4-year-old: Ready to read?
How and when kids learn to read.
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Age 4 1/4

young girl wearing glasses sitting on a stack of books
Your 4 ¼-year-old: Milestones and development
Learn how to teach your 4-year-old politeness and responsibility. Find out if she's ready for sports and what to do if she's an early riser or becoming a little stand offish.
boy having lunch
Your 4 1/4-year-old: Table skills
children with school bags running
Your 4 1/4-year-old: Peer pressure
Don't be surprised if your child suddenly spurns his favorite toy. What's going on?
mom teaching his son how to swim in a swimming pool
Your 4 1/4-year-old: Swim lessons
Water fear or fun? Your child may be like a little fish in the water or he may cower at the edge of the pool.
mother dressing her daughter
Your 4 1/4-year-old: Routine matters
How to offer the structure that a 4-year-old needs.
mother and daughter watering plants
Your 4 1/4-year-old: Learning responsibility
Your child is old enough to help with caring for plants and animals.
boy and a girl lying on the grass and smiling
Your 4 1/4-year-old: Male and female
At 4, kids' notions of the roles of males and females are becoming more defined.
mother and father lying in bed with their daughter and son
Your 4 1/4-year-old: Early risers
Often, 4-year-olds who are otherwise good sleepers wake up too early, long before the rest of the household is ready to start the day
girl sharing her food with another girl
Your 4 1/4-year-old: Learning to share
Selfishness is beginning to wane in your child.
boy playing with a plastic sword
Your 4 1/4-year-old: Playing make-believe
Sticks become swords. Blankets transform into superhero capes. Preschoolers love using props to enter the world of make-believe.
girl lying down on the grass, smiling and resting her head on a ball
Your 4 1/4-year-old: Too soon for sports?
Age 4 is generally considered too early for organized sports.
mom and daughter with a remote
Your 4 1/4-year-old: Understanding TV
At 4, your child may have trouble understanding that TV characters — even if they're cartoons — aren't real.
girl using magnifying glass
Your 4 1/4-year-old: Curiosity
Conversations can sometimes feel like interrogations with curious, chatty 4-year-olds.
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Age 4 1/2

young children sitting on the floor during class
Your 4 1/2-year-old: Milestones and development
Learn how to make playdates a success, build math skills, and beat bossy behavior. Find out how your child's language skills are improving and why she tells tall tales.
girl whispering to her mother's ear while smiling
Your 4 1/2-year-old: Language skills
Language skills are progressing to near-grade-school proficiency now.
mother and daughter playing a game
Your 4 1/2-year-old: Building math skills
The average 4-year-old can count up to ten.
girl standing outdoors while sticking her tongue out
Your 4 1/2-year-old: Dealing with a lisp
Pronunciation difficulties are still common at four.
boy sitting at a table while playing with his tablet
Your 4 1/2-year-old: A growing attention span
Some 4-year-olds spend noticeably more time with games and puzzles than they would have a year ago.
boy sitting at a table, licking his lips and eating a breakfast
Your 4 1/2-year-old: Building healthy habits
Your preschooler is absorbing all kinds of messages from you about nutrition. Here's how to reinforce good habits.
boy with curly hair, standing outdoors with his arms crossed
Your 4 1/2-year-old: Beating bossiness
Your child absorbs and parrots back all kinds of grown-up behavior. Occasional bossiness is one of these.
three kids sitting on a floor and playing together in the room abundant with toys
Your 4 1/2-year-old: Playdate refereeing
Playdates should be progressing more smoothly than they did six months ago.
girl lying on the ground and painting with her brush
Your 4 1/2-year-old: Artist at work
With improved control over pencils and crayons, your child can now make pictures you can understand without prompting.
boy sitting on his dad's lap and talking to his mom and dad while outdoors
Your 4 1/2-year-old: Tall tales
Pair your child's active imagination with his exploding language skills and you get some fanciful tales.
father applying the band-aid to his son's knee
Your 4 1/2-year-old: Getting into scrapes
Some preschoolers seem to do everything in hyperdrive.
family having a breakfast
Your 4 1/2-year-old: Teaching generosity
Your child is gradually becoming less selfish.
father and mother holding hands with their son and daughter while playing outdoors
Your 4 1/2-year-old: Get fit together
Four-year-olds are perpetual motion machines — running, jumping, hopping, wriggling, climbing.
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Age 4 3/4

young children painting together
Your 4 ¾-year-old: Milestones and development
Learn how to discourage tattling, reestablish a disrupted bedtime routine, and teach time. Find out how to prepare your 4-year-old for shots and for school.
mother comforting her child
Your 4 3/4-year-old: Saying "I'm sorry"
Learning to say "I'm sorry" happens before genuine feeling. You can't force kids to feel remorse.
girl whispering something in her mother’s ear
Your 4 3/4-year-old: Discouraging tattling
How to handle your tattling preschooler.
mom showing her daughter the oven
Your 4 3/4-year-old: Teaching time
You can help your child wrap his mind around that tricky concept known as duration -- how long something lasts.
doctor measuring a girls height while mother is watching
Your 4 3/4-year-old: Body image
Find out how to start encouraging a positive body image in your preschooler and how BMI applies to children.
girl sitting with a group of children
Your 4 3/4-year-old: Listening skills
Even quiet preschoolers are chatterboxes compared with older children.
teacher showing a globe to the kids
Your 4 3/4-year-old: Starting kindergarten
Ready for kindergarten? Many schools have age cutoff dates.
boy lying on the floor, looking bored
Your 4 3/4-year-old: Discipline strategies
At this age your child still lacks self-control.
little girl looking angry
Your 4 3/4-year-old: Taming emotions
One of the greatest gifts you can give your child is teaching her how to calm herself when emotions are boiling over.
boy taking a vaccine shot
Your 4 3/4-year-old: Prepping for shots
How to make shots less scary.
sleeping boy
Your 4 3/4-year-old: Bedtime habits
What can you do when your best-laid plans for consistent bedtimes and happy sleep routines during the week go out the window?
daughter whispering to her mother's ear
Your 4 3/4-year-old: Keeping secrets
Your child may love to whisper (and holler); it's a way of exercising control over his voice.
kids celebrating friend's birthday
Your 4 3/4-year-old: Birthday party prep
Involving your child in birthday plans is a great way to make her feel responsible and respected.

Latest in 4 years old

young children sitting on the floor during class
Your 4 1/2-year-old: Milestones and development
By Karen Miles
young girl wearing glasses sitting on a stack of books
Your 4 ¼-year-old: Milestones and development
By Karen Miles
young children painting together
Your 4 ¾-year-old: Milestones and development
By Karen Miles
little girl posing in superhero costume
Your 4-year-old: Milestones and development
By Karen Miles
girl whispering something in her mother’s ear
Your 4 3/4-year-old: Discouraging tattling
kids celebrating friend's birthday
Your 4 3/4-year-old: Birthday party prep
boy sitting on his dad's lap and talking to his mom and dad while outdoors
Your 4 1/2-year-old: Tall tales
three kids sitting on a floor and playing together in the room abundant with toys
Your 4 1/2-year-old: Playdate refereeing

Community

  • Our 4 year olds
    By Bwood2018 in July 2018 Birth Club
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    Post a newborn and 4 year old but the day pic!! I can’t believe we have 4 year olds!
      08-20-22 by Dreamerachiever
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    • 4 year old
      By Daisyyyrm in May 2021 Birth Club
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      My 4 year old daughter got her 4 year old shots a week ago exactly but I’ve noticed this does anybody know what could have caused this ?? Seems like the bandage burnt her ???
        03-17-22 by HarlyQuin
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      • changes in 4 year old
        By jworg1224 in Bargain Hunters
        So I have two kids a 3 year old and a 4 year old. My 4 year old has gone from a sweet child to a anger filled kid. She will literally talk back to me and make threats like " I will draw on the wall" things like that. And she simply refuses to listen to me. The thing is she is only like that with me.
          12-01-18
          7
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