Child Development Milestones: Four Years

One rarely realises the speed at which changes take place in children. They grow up from being dependent crying little kids to children able to stand, run and talk. The child not only grows physically but mentally also. The expectation from a child between three to your years of age can be as follows.

The child grows out of the clothes very fast and every now and then you have to buy him new clothes. The child also starts leaving behind his kiddish habits like crawling, weeping and sticking with the mother and starts to display slight maturity. He will be interested in watching TV even sitting alone. The food intake habits also change. Instead of having milk as the main diet, ordinary food served in house will be given to him. The child at this age starts sitting at the dining table along with parents. This is a sense of joy for the whole family.

Instead of speaking some broken words, the child starts trying to make sentences. He is in a position to communicate with parents and others. Instead to clinging to toys the child likes to play with others, preferably with children of his age if around. He will like to play ball game and will try to grab the ball when thrown towards him and also to throw ball towards others.

Though not fully trained, he is somewhat toilet trained. He is mostly able to tell parents about the desire to go to toilet but if lost in some interesting game he may forget. Up to this age the child is possessive about his toys and even his mother. If someone tries to share these, he will show resentment. Like he will not share toys with others, also if someone, may be his sibling, says that child’s mother is his, he will immediately react. At the age of about four years the child understands this and is also ready to share toys with friends. If there is fight between groups of children he will side with his friend.

The child also starts to become particular about his dress. He will like to select the clothes he wants to wear, and often creates fuss about selection of clothes. The hands of the child of this age become stable as the brain exercises better control on movements. The child is able to write a few alphabets or numbers and is also able to draw incomplete circles and fill colors in objects without crossing lines.

Care should be taken to give a balanced diet necessary for balanced growth of the child and introduce him to vegetables and fruits.