What are 4 year olds like

4-to-5 Year Old Child Developmental Milestones

Written by Hedy Marks

In this Article

• 4- to 5-Year-Old Development: Language and Cognitive Milestones
• 4- to 5-Year-Old Development: Movement Milestones and Hand and Finger Skills
• 4- to 5-Year-Old Development: Emotional and Social Development
• 4- to 5-Year-Old Development: How to Help Your Child
• 4- to 5-Year-Old Development: How to Keep Your Child Safe
• 4- to 5-Year-Old Development: When to Be Concerned

Your child is growing up. Have you noticed that your 4- to 5-year-old is becoming more independent and self-confident? If not, you will in the coming year.

Most children this age begin to develop greater independence, self-control, and creativity. They are content to play with their toys for longer periods of time, are eager to try new things, and when they get frustrated, are better able to express their emotions.

Although children grow and develop at their own pace, your child will likely achieve most of the following developmental milestones before they turn 6 years old.

4- to 5-Year-Old Development: Language and Cognitive Milestones

Your curious and inquisitive child is better able to carry on a conversation. In addition, your child's vocabulary is growing -- as is their thought process. Not only is your child able to answer simple questions easily and logically, but they should be able to express feelings better.

Most children at this age enjoy singing, rhyming, and making up words. They are energetic, silly, and, at times, rowdy and obnoxious.

Other language and cognitive milestones your child may achieve in the coming year include being able to:

• Speak clearly using more complex sentences
• Count 10 or more objects
• Correctly name at least four colors and three shapes
• Recognize some letters and possibly write their name
• Better understand the concept of time and the order of daily activities, like breakfast in the morning, lunch in the afternoon, and dinner at night
• Use future tense, such as, “We will go to the park soon. ”
• Have a greater attention span
• Follow two- to three-part commands. For example, "Put your book away, brush your teeth, and then get in bed."
• Recognize familiar word signs, such as "STOP"
• Know their address and phone number, if taught
• Understand everyday things like food and money

4- to 5-Year-Old Development: Movement Milestones and Hand and Finger Skills

Children learn through play, and that is what your 4- to 5-year-old should be doing. At this age, your child should be running, hopping, throwing and kicking balls, climbing, and swinging with ease.

Other movement milestones and hand and finger skills your child may achieve in the coming year include being able to:

• Stand on one foot for more than 9 seconds
• Do a somersault and hop
• Walk up and down stairs without help
• Walk forward and backwards easily
• Pedal a tricycle
• Copy a triangle, circle, square, and other shapes
• Draw a person with a body
• Stack 10 or more blocks
• Use a fork and spoon
• Dress and undress, brush teeth, and use the toilet without much help

4- to 5-Year-Old Development: Emotional and Social Development

Your self-centered child is now figuring out that it is not always about them. At this age, children are starting to understand about other people's feelings. Your 4- to 5-year-old should be better able to work through conflicts and control their emotions.

Emotional and social development milestones your child may achieve at this age include:

• Enjoys playing with other children and pleasing their friends
• Shares and takes turns, at least most of the time, and understands rules of games
• Understands and obeys rules; however, your 4- to 5-year-old will still be demanding and uncooperative at times.
• Is becoming more independent
• Expresses anger verbally, rather than physically (most of the time)
• Gets the difference between make-believe and reality

4- to 5-Year-Old Development: How to Help Your Child

There’s a ton you can do every day to help your child learn and grow, such as:

• Allow plenty of time for running around and playing, and help with activities like using monkey bars and learning to swing.
• Give your child chores to do around the house.
• Let your child choose activities with friends, and let them work out issues that come up between them.
• Point out common words and symbols in books or when you’re out and about.
• Read to your child every day -- ask questions about the stories, like “What do you think happens next?”
• Suggest activities like drawing, writing letters, and doing projects with glue, scissors, and other art supplies.
• Talk to your child and listen closely -- ask about likes and dislikes, worries, and what they did with friends today.
• Work with your child on how to manage strong feelings, like anger.

When it comes to TVs, smartphones, computers, and tablets, doctors suggest that you:

• Keep technology out of bedrooms.
• Limit screen time to 1 hour a day of high-quality programs.
• Talk about what you watch together and how it applies to the world.

4- to 5-Year-Old Development: How to Keep Your Child Safe

As children gain new abilities, they can do more and more on their own. That’s just what you want, but it means a shift in how you keep them safe.

Here are some tips to keep in mind:

• Always have your child ride in the backseat of a car in either a car seat or booster seat.
• Ask about guns and gun safety in homes where your child goes to play.
• Don’t keep guns in your home. If you have one, keep it unloaded, locked away, and separate from bullets. And make sure children can’t get the key.
• Don’t let your child play in the street, including riding bikes -- teach that the curb is the limit.
• Show your child how to cross the street -- look both ways and listen for traffic -- but help your child cross until around age 10.
• Sign your child up for swimming lessons, but don’t let your child swim alone and always keep a watchful eye in and around water.
• Teach your child not to play with lighters and matches -- and check your smoke detectors regularly.
• Wear helmets when biking, skating, skiing, and doing other activities where falls can lead to head injuries.

You can also start to teach your child basic safety ideas like:

• Ask only certain adults for help, like those with uniforms or name badges.
• Don’t open the door to your house or apartment unless you’re with an adult.
• Make sure your child knows their full name, address, and phone number.
• Talk about what to do in an emergency, like dialing 911.

And teach your child that certain body parts are off-limits. Tell your child that:

• No one can ask you to keep a secret from your parents.
• No one can ask you to see or touch your private parts -- the parts that a bathing suit covers.
• No one can ask you to look at, touch, or help with their private parts.

4- to 5-Year-Old Development: When to Be Concerned

All kids grow and develop at their own pace. Don't worry if your child has not reached all of these milestones at this time. But you should notice a gradual progression in growth and development as your child gets older. If you don't, or if your child has signs of possible developmental delay, as listed below, talk to your child's doctor.

Possible signs of developmental delay in 4- to 5-year-old children include:

• Being extremely afraid, shy, or aggressive
• Being extremely anxious when separated from a parent
• Being easily distracted and unable to focus on one task for more than five minutes
• Not wanting to play with other children
• Having a limited amount of interests
• Not making eye contact or responding to other people
• Being unable to say their full name
• Rarely pretending or fantasizing
• Often seeming sad and unhappy and not expressing a wide range of emotions
• Being unable to build a tower using more than eight blocks
• Having trouble holding a crayon
• Having problems eating, sleeping, or using the bathroom
• Having trouble undressing, cannot brush their teeth, or wash and dry hands, without help

Also, if your child resists or struggles with doing things that they were once able to do, tell your child's doctor. This can be a sign of a developmental disorder. If your child does have developmental delay, there are many treatments available to help your child overcome it.

The 25 Best Gifts for 4-Year-Olds of 2022

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1. Gifts
2. Gifts for Babies and Kids

By

Kelly Glass and Wirecutter Staff

Updated October 24, 2022

UpdatedOct 2022

Updates

Many 4-year-olds are learning to master their environments—and to negotiate boundaries, push limits, and question everything. Some of the best gifts for 4-year-olds engage their endless curiosity, rapidly developing physical skills, and desire to understand everything around them.

Early STEM toys—those that help develop skills related to science, technology, engineering, and math—allow preschoolers to experiment with the strength, size, and shape of objects, and to explore cause and effect (hopefully without breaking too many things). Along with classic wooden blocks, building toys that feature magnets, gears, curves, and wheels allow 4-year-olds to problem-solve independently.

Jena Olson, who was the president of the STEM educational nonprofit Kid Spark Education at the time of our interview, emphasizes other, lesser-known skills that STEM toys can help preschoolers develop: “Children learn language and cooperation,” she said. “They refine their physical skills, including fine motor skills, as they push and pull pieces apart.” Gifts that encourage art and creativity, as well as games and movement toys that allow for silly and energetic play, are also great choices for kids of this age. (You may have noticed that STEAM—which adds an emphasis on the arts to STEM’s existing focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics—has been picking up, ahem, steam over recent years.)

We relied on the advice of Olson and Ann Kienzle of Play toys in Chicago, as well as that of parents and other caregivers on our staff, to identify memorable and engaging gifts for 4-year-olds. Many gifts for kids are appropriate for a range of ages. If you’re looking for more kids gift ideas, check out our guides to the best gifts for 1-year-olds, 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, 5-year-olds, 6-year-olds, 7-year-olds, 8-year-olds, 9-year-olds, and 10-year-olds, as well as crowd-pleasing stocking stuffers for kids. We also have guides to gifts for tweens and teens. (Just remember, since kids develop at different rates, all age recommendations should be taken with a grain of salt.) And please share your own best ideas in the comments below.

Under $20

A bouncy seat

The Waliki Hopper offers joyful bouncing for kids who have energy to spare—and it doubles as a comfy seat for those who like or need to wiggle and rock even when they’re sitting still. For my oldest son, who has autism spectrum disorder and sensory processing disorder, the Waliki Hopper served as a sensory-friendly seat for story time and more, allowing him to rock and bounce to stay alert and focused well into his middle-school years. Constructed of thick rubber, the Hopper is more durable than a yoga ball, which is typically made from vinyl; our Hopper has withstood years of indoor and outdoor use. A hand pump is included. The Hopper comes in six colors as well as plush-covered versions, and there are four sizes (the 18-inch Hopper is best for 4-year-olds).

—Kelly Glass

Dino rescue

Four years old is around the age when many kids can really listen to, understand, and follow simple game instructions, said Keewa Nurullah, owner of the Chicago children’s shop Kido. To play Dinosaur Escape, players roll the die to reveal either a number or a volcano. The former moves the player’s dinosaur in any direction on the board, while the latter adds one piece to the five-piece volcano at the board’s center. As young dinosaur experts know, volcanoes are bad news for dinos. The object of the game is to get the dinosaurs to safety without completing the volcano—or being run back to the start by a T. rex token.

—Kelly Glass

Cold comfort

My aunt is an elementary school teacher, and she always manages to find the gifts that delight my kids the most, like this pretend ice cream maker. The Play-Doh Kitchen Creations Drizzy Ice Cream Playset lets my children live out their sundae fantasies—from lemon ice cream with gummy worms to a rainbow unicorn concoction with sprinkles. They push the Play-Doh through a lever to create creamy swirls, while the 31 molds on the contraption’s side produce faux candies, sprinkles, cherries, gummy bears, and other toppings. Squirting the alarmingly realistic strawberry and chocolate drizzle—pretend syrup goo—from the squeeze bottles is especially fun. (Don’t worry—it’s all washable.) Tulip-shaped serving cups are included, along with two spoons and a pair of recipe cards. The set also comes with six containers of Play-Do. It’s gotten so much use, though, that we’ve purchased replacements (any Play-Doh will do, but we’ve noticed that the fresher stuff works best). I’ll admit that this machine is a little clunky—it’s about the size of my forearm—so I stash it (along with all the accouterments) in a bin between sessions. But considering what a crowd-pleaser this has been, it more than earns its keep.

—Lara Rabinovitch

What a charade

When you have a wide range of ages to entertain, nothing beats a good old-fashioned round of Charades. Granted, you don’t need anything more than your imagination (and a willing audience) to play Charades, but Pressman Charades for Kids definitely helps get the game off the ground. The set comes with an hourglass timer, an optional die (for selecting which clue to act out), and 150 cards. Each card has three levels of clues to choose from: The easiest is represented by just an image (like a cat or a bee), so there’s no reading required, and the other two get increasingly difficult (eating spaghetti; hanging a picture).

—Caitlin Giddings

Classics for reading aloud and learning to read

Arnold Lobel’s Frog and Toad have amused generations of early readers—and their parents—with the silly and profound nature of their enduring friendship (you can find all four of the original Frog and Toad stories, with Lobel’s beautifully expressive illustrations, in Frog and Toad Storybook Favorites). We can all recognize a little of ourselves in the anxious, innocent, and tantrum-prone Toad or the patient, cheerful, and always-reasonable Frog (or both!). Although they offer some useful life lessons, the stories are never didactic: Their appeal lies in the joy these opposites find in simple acts such as gardening, sledding, and doing kind things for each other—as well as in the ridiculous things that Toad does all on his own. The Lobel-narrated audio collection is as beloved in our household as the books, and someday I’ll find the time to knit absolutely perfect, little stuffed versions of my favorite amphibian friends with the Frog & Cast Frog and Toad Pattern Download.

—Winnie Yang

A goofy game

Go Away Monster is a silly, lightly competitive game that offers just the right challenge level for many preschoolers. Players have individual game boards showing a bedroom scene, and each person takes a turn by reaching into a bag filled with cardboard pieces, selecting (by feel; no peeking!) either a bedroom item—a bed, a lamp, a teddy bear, or a picture for the wall—or a friendly-looking monster. The goal is to add all of the bedroom pieces to your game board without selecting a monster. But if you do grab one, you should say, “Go away, monster!” and fling it away. The game challenges 4-year-olds to recognize and remember shapes by touch and to make choices about which pieces they need. And since the game doesn’t end until everyone completes their bedroom, no one really loses. Go Away Monster is a pick in our guide to the best board games for kids, where we also recommend the slightly more challenging Max (the Cat) for the same age group. (In that cooperative board game, players work together to help a bird, a mouse, and a squirrel escape the prowling advances of a hungry cat named—you guessed it—Max.)

—Courtney Schley

A better board game for beginners

As a huge board-game geek, I’ve spent the past three years impatiently waiting for my now-preschooler to age into games that involve even a modicum of strategy—versus, say, feverishly smashing a lever to make a hippo eat marbles. My First Castle Panic is the first game we’ve played together that suggests there’s hope on the horizon. The concept is fairly basic: You simply draw and trade cards with shapes on them (no reading required), and then play them to stop the monsters from encroaching on the castle. But it involves communication, cooperation, planning, and even some fantasy role-playing, when we really get into it. It’s much more engaging and re-playable for all ages than other games we’ve tried that are aimed at kids under 5. Perhaps we’ll launch that family D&D campaign together sooner than I thought.

—Caitlin Giddings

Matchy-matchy fun

Simple, inexpensive, and endlessly replayable, this set of Mudpuppy Dominoes is a welcome take on the classic matching game, designed specifically for toddlers and preschoolers. The dominoes themselves are made of card stock—so you can’t set them up and knock ’em down or craft the beginnings of a Rube Goldberg device. But they’re made from recycled materials and are big and sturdy enough to be gripped by little hands. Playing with them doesn’t require any reading: On one side of each card, there are differing numbers of dots, so kids can practice their counting; on the other side, there are just pictures that can be easily paired up. The themes include unicorns, wildlife, and outer space. We’re a dino family.

—Caitlin Giddings

Bingo with a zing

My son begged me to get Zingo after he played several fun-filled rounds of it at his preschool. As with its predecessor, Bingo, the object of Zingo is to be the first player to fill your row or board—only in this game, the victor shrieks “Zingo!” with competitive zeal. Instead of numbers, the boxes on the laminated boards feature illustrations, like a tree, a cake, or a heart, along with the corresponding word in a bold, easy-to-read font. (My son’s preschool teachers loved how Zingo helped build vocabulary and focus along with a whirlwind of excitement. ) Three years later, this game is still in rotation in our home, with my daughter, 4, joining in the fun. She and her brother, now 7, take turns pulling chips from the dispenser and calling out the images. My husband and I often play too, because it’s tough to resist the high drama and thrill of winning.

—Lara Rabinovitch

$20 to $50

Curvy creations

The Zoob BuilderZ kit is a building toy featuring connectable pieces with ball joints that kids can snap into U-shaped brackets. (We recommend Zoob sets in our guide to learning toys and STEM toys we love.) Instead of building static structures with traditional blocks or Duplo kits, this Zoob set allows 4-year-olds to experiment with hinges and joints, building open-ended creations with curves and bends that they can move, flex, and spin. There are Zoob kits for building robots or other projects, too. Per the box, the Zoob kit is recommended for kids ages 6 and up, though we’ve seen younger kids gravitate to it the most. The pieces fall between Duplo and Lego in size, and they require some manual dexterity and strength to snap together.

—Courtney Schley

Magnetic make-believe

Like a sturdier version of paper dolls, Petit Collage’s adorable magnetic animals come with over 35 mix-and-match costume changes. Young kids can use their imaginations to invent new jobs and identities for the included bear and fox. It’s a particularly convenient toy for long car rides, thanks to its magnetic box, which pulls double duty as a backdrop for the dress-up fun and a container for all of the small pieces. Once dressed, each animal can be displayed on a wooden stand to fully flaunt their new looks. Petit Collage also offers a selection of detailed play scenes, including outer space and a tree-house party.

—Caitlin Giddings

To the moon

If your 4-year-old is into dress-up, make-believe, and all things space, this simple yet sturdy astronaut costume offers ample opportunities for imaginative play. The main suit is made of hefty material and has a front zipper and an adjustable belt buckle. Festooned with official-looking stickers, it comes with its own accessories, namely a NASA cap and a little backpack that can store the costume when it’s out of commission. The best part? Its durability. Several members of the Wirecutter staff can attest that the suit will survive years of space-themed playtime.

—Caira Blackwell

For eagle-eyed kiddos

The world of legendary children’s illustrator Richard Scarry is crammed with industrious animal characters attending to the many particulars of their busy lives, so it’s the perfect setting for a gamified version of Where’s Waldo? To play Busytown Eye Found It!, players work together to move their characters though Busytown, searching for images in Scarry’s signature elaborate pastiches. The goal is to reach the blanket at the other end of the board before pigs swoop in and consume the picnic spread. (All the participants must reach safety as a group, so you win or lose together as a team—which helps foster camaraderie and minimize meltdowns.) You’ll notice right away that the board itself is huge—6 feet long once unfurled from its box. The jumbo size is great for toddlers crawling around to hunt for pictures, but it can be arduous for grownups when the board is on the floor. I’ve found this is a particular joy for kids ages 2 to 5 to play. And it introduces them to all the basic skills and concepts of board gaming: flicking a spinner, counting spaces, drawing cards, watching a timer, making decisions, working together, and yes, sometimes even losing to a horde of hungry pigs. (Note: While kids as young as 2 can handle the action, the small game pieces can be a choking hazard.)

—Caitlin Giddings

Tea for four

My daughter loves a good tea party (humans and stuffed animals are all invited). But when she started drinking out of the cheap, paint-chipped plastic set my sweet mother-in-law bought at a garage sale, I had to step in with an upgrade. The Green Toys Tea Set, made in the US from recycled plastic, meets FDA food-contact standards, so you can feel comfortable putting cakes on the plates and sipping from the adorable cups. The service for four comes in two color schemes (blue, red, and yellow; pink, purple, yellow, green, and blue) and is dishwasher safe, though I just give it a quick hand wash after use. In our house, a tea party is really just an excuse to drink sugar dissolved in water. The sugar bowl, oddly enough, has holes in the bottom that let the saccharine crystals fall onto the table. We quick-fixed that by adding a napkin liner before filling the bowl (and our bellies) with the sweet stuff.

—Annemarie Conte

Turrets and arches

My son got these cool castle-motif building blocks as a gift years ago. They came with instructions for building one fairly elaborate castle, which he enjoyed making. But after a week or two, the wooden blocks were added to our generic block basket. From then on, he just incorporated them into his other block creations. We now have three other kids who are old enough to build with these blocks, and this set has proved to be a well-loved, long-lasting toy in our house.

—Doug Mahoney

A super friend

Researchers are beginning to study the social-emotional benefits of doll play for young children, but boys have often been overlooked by doll designers. Psychotherapist Laurel Wider developed the superhero-themed Wonder Crew buddies to address this gap. The soft-bodied buddies are available in four combinations of skin tones, hair styles, and eye colors, and will appeal to any child who loves exciting play and wants a friend to cuddle and care for. Each doll comes outfitted with a superhero cape and mask—with a matching, real-kid-size version—aimed at inspiring imaginative play related to friendship, adventure, and empathy.

—Julie Kim

Rainbows in their room

Many 4-year-olds are mesmerized by the magic of rainbows. The Kikkerland RainbowMaker is a happy little contraption that uses a solar panel to power a colorful geared motor, which rotates a hanging Swarovski crystal and sends rainbows swooping across your room. You simply attach the RainbowMaker to a window (it affixes via suction cup, so there’s no need to worry about sticky residue) that gets some direct sunlight, and then wait for the optics to work their magic. It’s particularly fun when you forget the Rainbow Maker is there until the sun reaches just the right angle and sets it into motion. My niece calls this “rainbow time,” and she enjoys chasing the colors across the room and seeing them slide over different objects.

—Erin Price

Great gears

The Learning Resources Gears! Gears! Gears! building set is basically what you’d guess: a big box of colored gears that snap together with axles and extenders to create complex, movable structures. The challenge is figuring out how to align and order the gears so they’ll all turn in unison and not get jammed up. As preschoolers experiment with building spinning, whirring, gear-driven structures, they’re actually starting to understand the basics of complex machines. These gears have long been a pick in our guide to learning toys and STEM toys we love, and they’re a favorite among the kids of several parents on our staff.

The Lakeshore Turn & Learn Magnetic Gears set includes magnetized gears that you can attach to the fridge. You can’t build complex structures like you can with Gears! Gears! Gears!, but this set is still an engaging way for little kids to experiment with mechanics (the pieces are also a bit larger, which may be easier for some little kids to handle). My 3-year-old son loves to align the colorful, interlocking pieces on our refrigerator and figure out how he can make them all spin. A bonus: The magnets themselves are really strong and will keep all of your child’s refrigerator-worthy artworks firmly in place.

—Courtney Schley

An approachable intro to coding

Calling this a “coding toy” feels like a bit of a stretch—it’s essentially a jigsaw puzzle that forms a track that a cute, battery-operated narwhal automatically follows. However, the toy does encourage preschoolers to plan, count, and problem-solve in sequential order, as they reconfigure the pieces of the track to send the narwhal on simple missions (which match the story from a short activity book). My 3-year-old enjoyed those exercises only briefly and then moved on to the real fun: building and rebuilding the track to send the poor, persistent narwhal on an endless, tangled loop.

—Caitlin Giddings

Over $50

A monthly craft-box subscription

KiwiCo Koala Crate (about $70 for a three-month subscription at the time of publication)

The KiwiCo Koala Crate is our favorite subscription box for preschool-age kids. We tested five such subscriptions for this age group and liked this one the best for its thoughtful design, appealing themes, and fun, unique, and age-appropriate projects. KiwiCo, the company that makes Koala Crate, develops its projects with input from educators and child-development experts. Although children’s individual skills vary, many 4-year-olds will be able to complete some or all of each month’s projects independently, giving them a sense of accomplishment—and providing a reliable arsenal of rainy-day activities. Each box comes with instructions (including directions for the “grown-up assistant”), as well as all the materials to make two or three different craft projects. Theses projects challenge kids to explore skills like stitching, gluing, and arranging pieces. I tested these subscriptions when my daughter was 4, and she loved the projects we tried: dyeing a tote bag with tissue paper and water, sewing and stuffing a felt rainbow, and making a tissue-paper campfire. Every project is organized around a theme, such as reptiles, ocean animals, or doctor visits.

—Jackie Reeve

A wild ride

I was extremely skeptical about this unusual-looking contraption after my son received it as a gift when he was about 4. But over several years of use, the Cyclone—which you “pedal” with your arms, somewhat like you would a racing wheelchair—became one of my kids’ favorite outdoor toys, and it held up well to miles of rough rolling. From age 4 or 5, my older son was an ace on the Cyclone, speeding it down the sidewalk to a local park and performing spins and skids for littler kids once there. They tended to line up to give it a whirl, and I found that some kids as young as 3 can learn to maneuver the Cyclone in the dizzying circles that no doubt inspired its name.

—Kalee Thompson

Marble madness

My sisters and I played marbles as kids, shooting our balls across the finish line to see who could knock the most marbles out of the circle. Shooting marbles lost its novelty eventually, and we outgrew the game. Marble runs like Marble Genius Marble Run Extreme introduce new energy to a childhood classic. This 300-piece set includes funnels, spinning wheels, tubes that snap together easily on three large bases, and parts that are translucent, allowing kids to see the marbles move from the top to the bottom and through all the spins and twists. In addition to giving kids the creative challenge of constructing a track—and the fun of watching the marbles spin and clatter through the turns—marble runs let kids observe the effects of gravity, speed, and direction. “Adults can help kids make predictions about how fast the marble will move and where it will go,” said Jena Olson, president of Kid Spark Education at the time of our interview.

The set comes with over 100 glass marbles, but it also accommodates the standard-size marbles you might already have. Some 4-year-olds may need adult help to get the hang of building the marble run, but it’s pretty irresistible even for grown-ups. (Note: The marbles in this set could pose a choking hazard for younger children.)

—Kelly Glass

An excellent easel

My son received the KidKraft Storage Easel from his grandparents for Christmas when he was 4. He’s serious about his artwork, and he would be happy to paint every day. But setting up for—and cleaning up after—a painting session on the kitchen table can be a bit of a project. I like that the KidKraft easel comes with an attached roll of art paper and built-in storage bins underneath that can be used to hold paints, brushes, and other supplies (three paint cups are also included). Though this easel requires assembly, it’s sturdier and has more features than less-expensive easels we’ve used in the past. And since we keep it in the kitchen and see it all the time, I appreciate the glossy, dark-wood finish.

Wirecutter kids have also created countless masterpieces with simpler wooden easels made by Melissa & Doug and IKEA. The cheap rolls of craft paper you can buy at IKEA or local art-supply stores should work with any of them. And if your kid goes through a ton of paint, you’ll save money in the long run by stocking up on bigger bottles of washable tempera, rather than buying tiny individual cups of paint from Crayola and the like.

—Kalee Thompson

Magnificent magnets

“If there is one constant of what preschool-age children are interested in, it may be magnets,” said John Dimit III, owner of the toy-and-game store Dr. G’s BrainWorks in Champaign, Illinois. Colorful Magna-Tiles, a pick in our guide to learning toys and STEM toys we love, combine the mesmerizing snap-together magic of magnets with open-ended block play. When my son was 4, castles were his go-to. Now 5, he’s always coming up with new creations, such as a robot or an oven to bake his toy cupcakes in. Classic Magna-Tiles include a variety of basic shapes. We also like Magna-Qubix, a 29-piece set of three-dimensional pyramids, prisms, and cubes. My son uses the Magna-Qubix to add more detail to his structures, and he’s working on making dinosaurs using the small pyramids and cube shapes.

—Kelly Glass

A family membership to a zoo or nature center

A family membership to a zoo or a nature center makes a great gift for families with preschool-age kids. Like many kids, my younger son was obsessed with animals when he was about 4. When we lived in Los Angeles, we had a membership to the LA Zoo (and once made a pilgrimage to the famous San Diego Zoo). When we moved to rural New Hampshire, we found a very different type of animal experience at the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, where a lovely wooded footpath winds through exhibits that hold local native animals (many of them rescued after an injury). I like how smaller, local nature centers like this one can give kids a deeper knowledge of the creatures and ecosystems they encounter every day near their own homes. And similar to many of the best zoos, animal parks, and nature centers, Squam Lakes also has plenty of room—including fun outdoor play areas—for kids to run and use up energy.

—Kalee Thompson

We love finding gifts that are unusual, thoughtful, and well vetted. See even more gift ideas we recommend.

—Additional reporting by Julie Kim

This article was edited by Ellen Lee, Ingela Ratledge Amundson, Courtney Schley, and Kalee Thompson.

About your guides

Kelly Glass

Kelly Glass is a writer and editor whose interests focus on the intersections of parenting and health. Her work has appeared in the Washington Post, HelloGiggles, What to Expect, Livestrong, and more.

Wirecutter Staff

Further reading

• Great Gifts for Listening to Music

  by Grant Clauser

  Everyone loves music, so we researched and tested the best headphones, speakers, and audio gear to give as gifts.

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Children aged 4 to 5

Children from 4 to 5 years old

Development of Children from 4 to 5 years old. You are in the section "Children from 4 to 5 years old".

In this section, we will help you find out and determine the level of development of your child, namely, what your child should know and be able to do at the age of 4 to 5 years.
What a 4 year old should know and be able to do.

This article is for your reference and gives approximate norms for the degree of formation of your child's mental processes at this age. You can check his potential in different areas of knowledge, find out in which areas of knowledge your child succeeds, and in which additional attention and time are required.

In this section "Children from 4 to 5 years old" we have collected all the material published on our website, which will help you and your child to study, prepare for the next, more in-depth stage of classes.

Materials for your activities you can use at home, in kindergarten or in elementary grades.
Mathematics
A child aged 4 to 5 should be able to:

1. The child should be able to determine the location of objects: on the right, on the left, in the middle, above, below, behind, in front.
2. The child must know the basic geometric shapes (circle, oval, square, triangle and rectangle)
3. The child must know all the numbers (0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9). Count items within ten, correlate the number of items with the desired number.
4. The child must be able to arrange the numbers from 1 to 5 in the correct sequence and in reverse order.
5. The child must be able to compare the number of objects, understand the meaning: more - less, equally. Make Unequal Item Groups Equal: Add one item to a group with fewer items.
6. The child gets acquainted with the graphic image of the number, learns to write numbers correctly.

Study aids:
1. Cards Teaching the child to count
2. Connect the numbers and color the picture
3. The game is learning geometric shapes
4. Introducing the child to Geometric shapes
5. Cards with numbers from 0 to 70 6 . Cards "which number is superfluous"
7. Game for learning Geometric shapes
8. Copy Numbers
9. Write numbers
10. Cards with numbers-coloring
11. Puzzles-triple geometric shapes
12. Puzzles-triple numbers and Counting
13. Geometric shapes. Developing memory
14. Geometric shapes. Developing Fine Motor Skills
15. Learning Geometric Shapes
16. Math Copybook
17. Learning to Count. Developing memory with Geometric shapes
22. Correlate the number with the number
23. Entertaining tasks in mathematics
24. Orientation in space. Before and After
25. Cards with Numbers
26. Puzzle Score from 1 to 10
27. Math with Dice
28. Didactic Math Games
29. Puzzle Count from 1 to 10
30. Math for Kids with Dice

Logical thinking
- Development of Thinking, Memory, Attention
A child aged 4 to 5 years should be able to:

1. The child should be able to find differences and similarities between two pictures (or between two toys).
2. The child must be able to fold according to the model of the building from the designer.
3. The child should be able to put together a cut picture from 2-4 parts.
4. The child must be able to complete the task within 5 minutes without being distracted.
5. The child must be able to fold the pyramid (cups, putting them into each other) without assistance.
6. The child must be able to put the missing fragments of pictures into the holes.
7. The child should be able to name a group of objects with a generalizing word (cow, horse, goat - domestic animals; winter, summer, spring - seasons). Find the extra item in each group. Find a match for each item.
8. The child should be able to answer questions such as: Is it possible to go sledding in summer? Why? Why wear warm jackets in winter? What are windows and doors for in a house? Etc.
9. The child should be able to choose opposite words: a full glass - an empty glass, a high tree - a low tree, go slowly - go quickly, a narrow belt - a wide belt, a hungry child - a child full, cold tea - hot tea, etc.
10. A child should be able to memorize pairs of words after being read by an adult: glass-water, girl-boy, dog-cat, etc.
11. The child should be able to see incorrectly depicted objects in the picture, explain what is wrong and why.

Study aids:
1. Find the extra object cards
2. Find the extra object cards. Part 2
3. Cards from the series find a pair
4. Find a shadow in the picture
5. Develop logical thinking
6. Big-small cards
7. Puzzles
8. Krasnoukhov's puzzle
9. Logic coloring
10. Development of Attention
11. Development of Thinking
12. Development of Memory
13. Development of Memory. 15. Add the missing item
16. Game in opposites (Antonyms)
17. Entertaining activities with the child
18. Orientation in space. Right and Left
19. Game - "What is What?"
20. Game Catch a fish
21. Association Game: Find a Pair
22. Game for the Development of Memory and Attention
23. Coloring Book for Children about Horses
24. Guess Whose Shadow

Development of Speech
Child aged 4 to 5 years must be able to:

1. The child must use a thousand words, build phrases from 6-8 words. Even strangers, and not just parents, should understand the child.
2. The child must understand how the structure of a person differs from the structure of animals, name their parts of the body (hands - paws, nails - claws, hair - wool).
3. The child must be able to correctly put nouns in the plural form (flower - flowers, girl - girls).
4. The child must be able to find an object according to the description (apple - round, sweet, yellow). Be able to independently write a description of the subject.
5. The child must understand the meaning of prepositions (in, on, under, behind, between, in front of, about, etc.).
6. The child must know what professions are, what people in these professions do.
7. The child must be able to maintain a conversation: be able to answer questions and ask them correctly.
8. The child should be able to retell the content of the heard fairy tale, story. Tell by heart a few poems, nursery rhymes.
9. The child must give his name, surname, how old he is, name the city in which he lives.
10. The child should be able to answer questions about recent events: Where were you today? Who did you meet along the way? What did mom buy at the store? What were you wearing?

Study aids:
1. Letters of the Alphabet-Puzzle
2. Studying the letter A. What the beech A looks like.
3. Learning vowels
4. Alphabet in the form of cards
5. How to teach a child to read by syllables
6. Learning to Read. Part 1
7. Learning to Read. Part 2
8. Learning to Read. Part 3
9. Colored Letters of the Alphabet
10. Unique Alphabet by Letters
11. Lotto learning Letters
12. Cards with Letters and a Picture
13. Pure words
14. Rhymes and Counts 1090 16. Reading 07 and 15. Playing Slogs Collect the Word from the Picture and Letters
17. Cards - What Letter does the Word Begin with
18. Collect the Word from the Picture and Letters. Didactic Game

World around
A child aged 4 to 5 should be able to:

1. The child should be able to distinguish between vegetables, fruits and berries, to know what they are when they ripen.
2. The child must know the names of insects, be able to talk about how they move (a butterfly flies, a snail crawls, a grasshopper jumps)
3. The child must know all domestic animals and their cubs.
4. The child should be able to guess the seasons from the pictures. Know the signs of each of them.

Study aids:
1. Body parts cards
2. Vehicle cards
3. Fruit cards
4. Vegetable cards
5. Color learning cards
6. Furniture cards 9007 animals and what they eat"
8. "Clothes and Shoes" cards
9. Animals and Birds cards
10. Profession cards
11. Tree and Leaves structure
12. Autumn season
13. Winter season
14. Spring season
15. Summer season
16. Cards learning Colors
17. Winter month - December
18. Winter month - January
19. Winter month - February
20. Lessons on the theme of Winter
21. Fruits and berries. Learning and coloring
22. Vegetables. Learning and coloring
23. Fruits and Berries (coloring cards)
24. Vegetables (cards - coloring)
25. Spring month - March

26. Spring month - April

A child aged 4 to 5 should be able to:

1. The child already perfectly fastens buttons, zippers and unties shoelaces, a spoon and a fork obey him well.
2. The child must be able to string large buttons or beads onto a thread.
3. The child must be able to accurately draw lines without lifting the pencil from the paper.
4. The child should be able to shade figures with even straight lines, without going beyond the contours of the picture.
5. The child should be able to trace and color pictures without leaving the edges.
6. The child must be able to draw lines in the middle of the track without going beyond its edges.
7. The child must distinguish between the right and left hand.

Practice aids:
1. Stencils for drawing
2. How to teach a child to tie shoelaces
3. Outline and color
4. Tic-tac-toe game in a new way
5. Signs and Properties of objects
6. Flowers
7. Getting to know the concepts: Right, left, top, bottom
8. Learning the Clock
9. Book My House
10. Parts of the Human Body
11. Recipe for Lefties
12. Game Catch a Fish
13. Bus for Little Ponies
14. Game - all Professions
15. My House. Components of a house.
16. Plasticine and beads
17. Board game Tell me about your city
18. Children's Rhymes
19. Colored Cardboard Caterpillar
20. Learning Colors with Ice Cream
21. DIY Button Applications
22. Christmas Tree Cones0007 23. Cheerful Chupa-Chups
24. Learning the Days of the Week
25. How to teach a child to jump rope
26. How to teach a child to clean his room

English
9002 A child aged 4 to 5 can be introduced to English.
Use parent and teacher guides designed to teach English to children aged 4 to 5 in class.

Study aids:
1. English Letter Puzzle
2. Cards with Letters of the English Alphabet
3. Card Numbers in English
4. Cards Fruits and Berries
5. Cards with English words. Part 1
6. Cards with English words. Part 2
7. Furniture cards in English
8. Household appliances cards
9. Clothing cards
10. Vegetable cards in English
11. Months cards in English
12. Transportation cards in English
13. Large puzzles and Small letters of the English alphabet

Read also the article for Parents What you need to know about Child Development.

Find out what a child should know and be able to do by age. Take advantage of the training aids offered by our website.

Child development calendar up to 1 year (by months)
Child from 1 to 2 years old
Child from 2 to 3 years old
Child from 3 to 4 years old
Child from 5 to 7 years old

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Peculiarities of child development at 3–4 years old

Many children go to kindergarten and begin to explore the world more actively. How can adults help them?

At 3–4 years old, children strive to learn about the world around them and ask a lot of questions, they actively develop speech and expand social contacts. They are no longer kids who did not walk very confidently and could not always explain their desires in words, but they are still far from school. What new skills and interests arise at this age, and in what cases should parents consult with specialists?

The main achievements of this age

Emotional development

This is an important period in the emotional development of the child. If earlier the child could not imagine himself without a mother, now he begins to realize that his body, mind and emotions belong to him. He begins to confidently distinguish emotions, understands the difference between feelings of happiness, sadness, fear or anger.

A child of this age may be afraid of the fruits of his own imagination (for example, monsters under the bed), worry about how others act, and show affection for people he knows. As the baby becomes more confident in himself, he copes better with his emotions.

Games and learning

The child actively learns and expresses his emotions through games, so they are also very important. He is now more interested in playing with other children, better distinguishes between the concepts of "mine" and "his / her", shares toys more willingly than before.

During the game, the child acts more inventively and shows imagination. He tries different roles and behaviors - for example, he can portray a doctor or one of the parents; can have a tea party with his toys and play with imaginary friends. At this age, children often invent imaginary companions for themselves, although they are already able to distinguish fantasy from reality.

By the age of 4, the child sometimes tries to play pranks on others and tell others about it, for example: “Mom thought I was sleeping!” At the same time, the baby begins to worry that others will deceive him too.

The child may show interest in other people's bodies and his own. Therefore, for example, parents may one day find that the baby is exploring his genitals. This curiosity is quite natural and normal.

Speech

A real leap is taking place in the development of the child's speech. He memorizes many new words from fairy tales, cartoons and adult conversations. In general, the kid begins to be much more interested in communication than before, he may want to tell a story himself.

The child understands most of what others say to him and is able to guess the meaning of words he does not know from the context. So children 3-4 years old, as a rule, understand much more words than they can say.

At about 3 years old, a child can use sentences of 3-5 words or even more. Articulation also improves, and now strangers begin to understand the bulk of what the baby says. He is able to describe the picture in general terms and even point out the details - for example, the nose of a cow.

By the age of 4, the child's speech consists of fairly long sentences (5–6 words or more), and those around him understand almost everything he wants to say. The child, in turn, also understands most of the words addressed to him and can follow simple instructions from 2-3 points when it comes to familiar objects: for example, "Close the book and give it to mom. "

A 4-year-old understands adjectives such as "long" or "thin" and expresses emotions such as "happy" or "sad" in speech.

Thinking

The child is literally fascinated by the diversity of the world around him and asks a lot of questions. He distinguishes between opposites, such as "big - small", and understands such indications of the location of objects in space, as "on", "in", and "under".

His memory is also developing rapidly. For example, he memorizes and repeats nursery rhymes, begins to point to and name the letters and numbers he has memorized, can count up to 4, and separate objects by color and shape.

Everyday life

The baby becomes more independent. For example, he can eat himself, put on shoes without laces, unfasten buttons. Most likely, he can already independently perform some daily hygiene procedures, for example, go to the toilet, wash his hands, wash his face. But he still needs parental help and supervision in such manipulations as brushing his teeth and washing his hair.

Physical activity

Children at this age are very active and love to move. Now they are much better at walking up stairs, and they can also ride a tricycle, they can catch a ball, throw it and kick it, run, climb, jump, and even balance on one leg for a short time.

In terms of fine motor skills, the child can draw a circle or a square, build a tower of blocks and is good with children's scissors. He likes colored pencils and paints, and with the help of drawing, the kid develops his imagination.

At this age, your child usually has the following skills:

1. can open a screw-top jar;

1. can give their gender and age;

1. knows basic shapes and colors;

1. dresses and undresses independently;

1. by the age of 4 holds a pencil in his hand and can write some letters.

How to help your child develop at 3-4 years old

1. Give your child lots of time for unstructured play: with their help, preschoolers express joy, excitement, anger or fear. Children at this age also like to mess around in the sandbox, play with dolls and other toys. Especially outdoors, where you can actively move.

1. Find time to create something together, whether it's drawing, sculpting, appliqué or dressing up dolls. Another idea that a child might like is musical games: all kinds of dances, active games to music, or playing simple instruments.

1. Read with your child: reading stories and fairy tales together, singing familiar songs and reciting poems by heart - all this develops speech, stimulates the thinking and imagination of the child.

1. Cook with your child. This will help him develop healthy eating habits, learn new words, and learn concepts such as "half", "3 teaspoons" or "30 minutes". You can give your baby simple tasks in the kitchen: for example, toss a salad or make sandwiches.

1. Play games that develop the ability to share and take turns. During the game, say something like: "Now it's my turn to build a tower, and then yours", or "You give me a red die, and I give you a green one. " At this age, it is still quite difficult for children to share their things - praise the baby when he is ready to share and exchange toys.

At the age of 3-4, many children already go to kindergarten. There they learn through play, make friends, become more responsible, independent and self-confident. Being in a peer group in kindergarten can be a good incentive for the further development of a child.

Causes for concern

Despite common age features, each child develops at his own pace. If you have concerns about its development or you notice signs of problems in it, it is better to contact a specialist.

At 3 years old

Vision, hearing and communication: the child avoids making eye contact with others; can't see or hear well; in speech uses sentences of less than 3 words.

Behavior and play: the child does not understand simple instructions such as "Please give me the ball"; takes hard even a short absence of parents, is not interested in other children; does not play role-playing games like shopping or taking the bus.

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