Speech and Language of the Four-Year-Old

By Mickey Mellen | May 13, 2011

At age four, your child…

points to colors red, blue, yellow, and green.
identifies crosses, triangles, circles, and squares.
follows commands even though objects not present.
understands “early in the morning,” “next month,” “next year,” and “noontime.”
can speak of imaginary conditions such as “suppose that” or “I hope.”
asks many questions although more interested in how answers fit his/her own thoughts rather than just the explanation.
has a sentence length of 4-5 words.
asks “who?” and “why?”
begins to use complex sentences.
uses contractions such as “it’s a” or “there’s a.”
uses past tense correctly.
copies a line and a circle.
has a vocabulary of nearly 1,500 words.
uses the following sounds correctly: m, n, ng, p, f, h, w, y, k, b, d, g, r.
stays with one activity for 11-12 minutes.

You can stimulate your four-year-old’s speech and language by…

helping your child classify objects and things – like talking about what kinds of things you can ride in.
teaching your child correct use of a telephone.
letting your child help you plan activities such as what you will make for Christmas dinner.
giving your child more responsibility.
talking with your child as you would any other person.
letting your child tell and make up stories for you.
continuing to show your pleasure at his development in speech, language, and thought.
not expecting absolute perfection in the way he pronounces words.

For more information about speech and language in children please visit www.pediaspeech.com!