Four-year-olds are kind of the best — the terrible twos [1] are long gone and the threenager stage [2] has (hopefully) completely passed — they still look a bit like a toddler, but act more like an older kid. Four is truly the best of both worlds, and it's when you start to realize that you're raising a little boy or girl, not a baby (bittersweet, but great all the same).
If you have a 4-year-old, these are 35 things you know to be true about them.
- They know how to use your phone better than you.
- And the tablet.
- And the universal TV remote that took you a year to master.
- They watch YouTube videos of other kids playing with toys more than they play with toys themselves.
- They like eating with the blue fork.
- Until next week, when they can't believe you gave them the blue fork instead of the red one.
- They dress themselves.
- Until you tell them they can't wear their Spider-Man costume to school.
- And then they magically forget how to put their own clothes on.
- They can hold a conversation with you now.
- But you better be ready to talk exclusively about superheroes and Disney Junior.
- They understand your daily routine better now.
- But still have to be asked 40 times to put their shoes on before school.
- And will claim every single time that they don't know where the shoes sitting right in front of them are.
- They have a longer attention span.
- But only for watching videos on the internet.
- They are spelling their own name.
- Even writing it.
- They're probably curious about a whole bunch of words.
- And asking what things like S-H-I-T spell because they heard you use the letters in conversation.
- They are starting to become a bit more adventurous with food.
- Unless they don't like the way something looks.
- Which is apparently most foods.
- Except chocolate, obviously.
- They're better at sharing and playing cooperatively.
- Unless they were playing with Batman first and their friend wants to take a turn.
- They teeter on the line between the little toddler they just stopped fully being and the angsty teenager that you thought wasn't going to appear for another 10 years.
- They can "do it themselves."
- Until "it" is brushing their teeth before bed or something equally as boring.
- They are helping around the house more.
- And ask you if you appreciate things they did for you, like putting their Legos in the washing machine.
- They don't need you to play with them anymore.
- But still want you to watch them no matter what they're doing.
- They seem like they're growing up as fast as can be.
- Until they do something — like snuggle in bed with you on a Saturday morning — that reminds you they'll be your baby forever, no matter how old they get.