What does your 4yr old do?

Ok, just wanting a general idea of what your 4yo can do as I don't know if I am expecting too much or too little of DS and as we are about to venture back into the world of in law, grandparents and extended family (big month long holiday with family) I want to be prepared for the comments I am going to cop.

Alrighty DS can dress himself (ie jocks, shorts, t-shirt, shoes) but is easily distracted and often gets his jocks on back-to-front and shoes on the wrong feet. We haven't even attempted buttons just because we don't own any clothes with buttons

Eating - he can use a knife and fork but often doesn't and is pretty unco with them, he doesn't eat much at one and prefers small meals often and dislikes anything that is orange or green.

General - seat belt in the car. He tries hard but can't really get to it, I think it's the style of booster seat we have

So what is normal for Four yo and can you give me any hints for working on any of these things

Hi sara, my son will be 4 in just over a week, and is pretty much the same as Xander

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Alrighty DS can dress himself (ie jocks, shorts, t-shirt, shoes) but is easily distracted and often gets his jocks on back-to-front and shoes on the wrong feet. We haven't even attempted buttons just because we don't own any clothes with buttons

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Nick is exactly the same, he too gets easily distracted when dressing himself, but he can do it

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Eating - he can use a knife and fork but often doesn't and is pretty unco with them, he doesn't eat much at one and prefers small meals often and dislikes anything that is orange or green.

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Same again, he can use a knife and fork, but prefers to use his fingers for most meals except breakfast cereal

I think Xander is doing exactly what he should be for his age, so i would not be worrying about it, enjoy the time with your family and if you get any negative comments just smile and ignore them :)

Thanks, we live a long way from family so it's not a problem we usually have to cope with but I remember the grief they gave my sil when we lived in town. At least now I can say he's just being 4 and leave him alone :-)

Just had to add are most 3-4 years olds really fussy with food and do they ever out grow it?

Erin is OK with getting her clothes on, but 9 times out of 10 she will put her shoes on the wrong feet. She has her moments with buttons, she tries but most of the time she can't get them. She uses a knife and fork well, but prefers to only use a fork. She is a bit fussy still too with her eating, not sure when they tend to grow out of it. I think that some kids are more fussy than others kwim? I really can't see what they would have to critisise about him, he seems like a perfectly normal little boy to me :)

Thanks Sherie - I'm just wondering because I don't have much to do with other 4yr olds and we have been away from the usual family viewfinder since he was 6wks old. When we lived in Brissie they used to always make rude comments about other family members kids and what they should be doing/eating/acting like and I just wanted to know If I would need to be on the defensive more so than not. I thin he is doing fab but he is an only child and spoilt rotten :-)

Hi Sara

My replies are about kameron who has just turned 5.

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Alrighty DS can dress himself (ie jocks, shorts, t-shirt, shoes) but is easily distracted and often gets his jocks on back-to-front and shoes on the wrong feet. We haven't even attempted buttons just because we don't own any clothes with buttons

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Kameron is the same and we make sure when we buy jocks they have their little tags in the back of them and we tell him that tags go at the back. So he has got alot better with this. He is also correcting himself now when he has shoes on the wrong feet. He is just starting to grasp buttons now. His pyjamas have button up tops.

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Eating - he can use a knife and fork but often doesn't and is pretty unco with them, he doesn't eat much at one and prefers small meals often and dislikes anything that is orange or green.

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very rarely does Kameron use a knife & fork together. So he gets a fork at meal times and we cut the steak/chops whatever. If it is sausages we let him attempt to cut them with a knife. Doesn't eat vegetables at tea time, and sauce has to go on everything at tea time as well no matter what is dished up LOL

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General - seat belt in the car. He tries hard but can't really get to it, I think it's the style of booster seat we have

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can do up his own seatbelt, but finds it a bit harder now that we have 3 carseats in the car due to lack of room. Has managed it a few times.

So it sounds like your 4yr old is pretty much on par with the rest of them ;)

love

Thanks, that is great to hear

My DS Daniel is 4 years old turning 5 in April.
He can dress himself,do up and undo buttons,usually put shoes on the right feet.
He can use a knife and a fork but usually just needs a fork as I tend to cut up his meat just to make dinnertime a bit quicker and easier.
He is very fussy with what he eats but he will eat most things I put in front of him especially if he wants dessert.

He can put on his own seatbelt most times, he has a bit of trouble when sitting in the front part as we have 1 baby seat and 2 boosters and not a lot of room but if he is in the back part then he doesn't have a problem as there is more room for now.
I wouldn't worry about what anyone else says or thinks, he sounds like your typical 4 year old boy and each child is different.Some children can talk better than others at the same age, some are more independent than others, the list goes on.
I hope you have a lovely stressfree holiday and you have a good time.
Good luck
Michelle

Yeah! I laided Xanders clothes out this morning on his bed like I usually do and he wandered in to get a toy and decided to dress himself without me even having to say anything. I was so excited!

Thanks Michelle!

neverplan - my ds is the same. He doesn't care about dessert or rewards - if he doesn't want to eat it it is not going to get eaten. I've been through enough tantrums now not to bother, if he wants to go hungry well... He always eats a good b'fast the next morning. I'm hoping he grows into the reward or dessert brides when he is a bit older though :-)

Jillian - thanks. Hehe I have tried the disguise veges too but DS has the most sensitive taste buds. He can pick a mashed green or orange vege in anything! Potato not so bad. Read something the other day about some kids having tastebuds that actually taste some foods as bitter that normal people don't