Your four year old, sixth month
How your child's developing
Language skills are progressing to near-primary-school proficiency now. Your four year old may learn up to four to six new words every day. Their sentences are getting longer and more complex, containing multiple clauses as well as describing words. Four year olds can also reason out hypothetical situations such as, "If this happened, what would you do?" So you may be facing an onslaught of "What if…" questions right now!Your child may also now be able to adapt their speech to the situation at hand. They may say, "Mummy gone" to a younger child, compared with "Mum went to the shop to get some milk", when talking to Grandma.
Your child is also better able to follow multiple steps: "First, cut on this line. Then, glue the paper here." Following two or more unrelated directions is another development: "Please bring me my purse and then give the dog some water."
The average four year old can count up to 20, although they may not get the numbers in the right order every time. The biggest obstacles to going higher are those pesky numbers like 11 and 20. The irregularity of their names doesn't make much sense to a preschooler. When they’re counting individual objects, you may find that they can only get to four or five. That’s because they don’t fully understand the concept of quantities just yet. But they’ll get there!
What is the best way to deal with tantrums?
Health visitor Gemma Crisp explains how you should try to deal with tantrums, and that it's best to try to understand why your child may be angry or upset. More videos
Your life now
If it's been way too long since you had an evening out with friends, get messaging and book it in on your calendar today. And if there's an activity, whether it's shopping, jogging or attending a book club, that you once loved but have let fall by the wayside, it's time to work it back into your life.Let's play!
A great activity for you and your preschooler to enjoy this month.Parent tip: an end to bathtime battles
"I always used to bath Sophie and Harry together because I felt it was easier. But the bigger they got the more they messed around. I dreaded bathing them - they would splash about so much half the water ended up on the floor. Instead of it being a calm end to the day, I found I was shouting at them and that just made them worse. One day I tried bathing them separately and it was a revelation. No messing about. No water on the floor. Just two calm and happy children (not to mention mummy) ready for bed."Track your baby’s development
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