You & Your 4-year-old: What To Expect This Year!

Your child’s fourth year is often full of discovery and learning. From being very curious about the world around them to learning about friendships and gaining more independence. Here’s what to expect…

The journey from three to four is filled with incredible growth – it’s a time of exploration, imagination and new adventures! This age often brings a fascinating mix of budding independence, wild creativity and enthusiastic learning. It’s one of the most enchanting (and sometimes, let’s be honest, exhausting!) stages of early childhood.

By four, your child is starting to form a clearer sense of self and is eager to engage with the world around them. They’ll often continue to develop their personality and practice their physical, social and cognitive skills in exciting new ways…

Movement and Coordination

By four, your little one’s coordination and balance may be improving. You might notice them mastering running, jumping, climbing and even starting to hop on one foot (wobbles or not). This newfound physical confidence gives them the opportunity to explore larger equipment at playgrounds or even tackle balancing on a bike.

As their strength and coordination grow, they’re also more capable of fine motor activities. They might love building tall towers with LEGO bricks or putting together simple puzzles – all of which are great for hand-eye coordination.

Play Tip for Movement: Set up an obstacle course with LEGO DUPLO® structures. Then use pillows, blankets and chairs as climbing or crawling stations. Play follow-the-leader to guide them, encouraging them to hop, jump and balance.

Language and Communication

Most four-year-olds experience a language explosion, moving from short phrases to full conversations! And once they start, you might not be able to get them to stop. They can usually understand and follow more complex instructions, and love asking questions. You might hear endless “Why?” questions as they explore cause and effect, helping them understand their surroundings.

At this age, they’ll often start telling their own stories, which is a wonderful way to strengthen creativity and narrative skills. Reading together, playing pretend and engaging in conversations about their day are great ways to support their expanding vocabulary.

Play Tip for Communication: Build a ‘story corner’ with pillows and blankets where you can read and create stories together. Ask open-ended questions, like “What do you think happens next?” to encourage them to express their thoughts and emotions. They can even build the next part of the story with LEGO bricks!

Social Skills and Friendship

Social interaction can become an exciting part of life at this age. We know children develop socially in different ways and at different paces. Some children may enjoy forming friendships and playing with other children, while others may prefer to play alone or alongside others. Play is the perfect way to explore what they like doing.

Continuing to play with your child will also have benefits as they develop socially. You might see them joining in group play, like working on a shared art project – equally, you might find they prefer to play alone. You might also see them beginning to understand the importance of taking turns, and handling simple rules for games.

Play Tip for Social Skills: Why not set up a building project where everyone works together? You might choose to use the bricks in a LEGO Classic Large Creative Brick Box for more open-ended play, building a free-play house for example. Would your child prefer to build together or would they prefer everyone to work on their own bits – the walls, the garden, the rooms, etc.? Let them guide you!

Creativity and Imagination

You don’t need us to tell you this but, at four, your child’s imagination usually knows no bounds! This is the age when some children begin to dive into pretend play. The LEGO Group provides sets for every interest, from Disney characters (from Moana to Mickey!) to emergency services, vehicles and animals. Pretend play allows children to express themselves and experiment with new ideas.

Art activities are also a big hit, giving children opportunities to express themselves – as well as the physical development needed to use different art tools, from crayons to LEGO® bricks. The LEGO baseplates and Creative Brick boxes provide lots of opportunity for open-ended creative play.

Some children will show a preference for problem-solving and working things out – a different type of creativity! Each set for children aged 4+ comes with easy-to-follow visual instructions that encourage independent little builders.

Play Tip for Creativity: Give your child access to a range of LEGO bricks and encourage open-ended play. Ask questions like, “What will we make today?” or give a challenge, “Can you use LEGO bricks to build a bridge, a cake or an animal?” The goal here is self-expression, so no need to guide too much – let their creativity flow!

Problem-Solving and Learning

Four-year-olds are little explorers, full of curiosity and a desire to understand how things work. They’re ready for activities that challenge their problem-solving skills, like building more complex LEGO structures, sorting objects by shape or color, or playing simple board games that require them to think ahead.

Encouraging your child to tackle puzzles and figure things out on their own helps them build resilience and patience. It also gives them a sense of accomplishment and confidence.

Play Tip for Problem-Solving: Create a simple treasure hunt with easy clues to follow. Start by giving them a hint, like “Find a blue LEGO brick,” and see where their curiosity takes them.

Embrace this year as a time of amazing growth! Celebrate the leaps in learning and enjoy the playful moments of laughter and discovery with your four-year-old.