Children Go Through Multiple Stages of Development
All children go through developmental stages. As with physical characteristics such as height and weight, children have stages of social and cognitive development. This includes their interest in playing alone or with friends. It also includes how they learn or how talkative they are. For the most part, developmental stages are predictable. With each stage, children will go through predictable changes in how they relate to others and how they approach the world. That said, the rate at which each child goes through the developmental stage may differ.
Developmental Characteristics of 4 Year Olds
Four year olds are active, curious, and adventurous. They have lots of physical and mental energy.
SOCIAL
- Friendly and love being with friends despite generally keeping some physical distance more often playing near rather than with a friend
- Learn from modeling other behavior
- Makes decisions based on interests
- Enjoy having some responsibility of jobs, taking care of small tasks
PHYSICAL
- Vision focuses on faraway objects
- Generally clumsy and often creates spills
- Awkward writing and small fine motor movement
- Generally needs lots of physical activity
COGNITIVE
- Short attention span and has a need to move from project to project fairly often
- Learns best through playtime and exploration
- Learns well through gross motor activities: large blocks, broad paint strokes, physical activity
- Loves being read to
- Enjoys language and hearing words, repetition, and especially words that are a little naughty like bathroom words
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