Q&A: My four-year-old refuses to learn how to color or write. Should I be worried?

I need to reassure you right off the bat that this doesn't mean that your son is delayed in his development. Skills like letter identification are tasks for five and six year olds to master.

True, many four year olds can already write their names and some can even read, but such achievements are not expected of a child who is not even four.

The coloring is also not expected to be particularly good at your son's age (i.e. between the lines) and many three-year-olds would prefer to spend their time working on their gross motor skills through activities like riding a tricycle or climbing.

A child of almost four should be able to answer most of the following questions:

• What is the color of grass?
  
• Where does a fish live?
  
• A refrigerator is cold, a stove is _______.
  
• I wake-up in the morning, I go to bed at _______.
  
• He should be able to repeat four digits spoken to him and to follow a command with three separate parts.
  
• He should copy a square, catch a big ball and draw a person with about six body parts.