Developmental Guidelines: What Most Babies Do at 48 Months

Social and Emotional

• Enjoys doing new things
• Plays “Mom” and “Dad”
• Is more and more creative with make believe play
• Would rather play with other children than by himself
• Cooperates with other children
• Often can’t tell what’s real and what’s make-believe
• Talks about what she likes and what she is interested in

Language/Communication

• Knows some basic rules of grammar, such as correctly using “he and “she”
• Sings a song or says a poem from memory like the “Itsy Bitsy Spider” or the “Wheels on the Bus”
• Tells stories
• Can say first and last name

Cognitive (Learning, Thinking, Problem-Solving)

• Names some colors and some numbers
• Understands the idea of counting
• Starts to understand time
• Remembers parts of a story
• Understands the idea of “same” and “different”
• Draws a person with 2 to 4 body parts
• Uses scissors
• Starts to copy some capital letters
• Plays board or card games
• Tells you what he thinks is going to happen next in a book

Movement/Physical Development

• Hops and stands on one foot up to 2 seconds
• Catches a bounced ball most of the time
• Pours, cuts with supervision and mashes own food

Red Flags For 48 Month Old Children

• Can’t jump in place
• Has trouble scribbling
• Shows no interest in interactive games or make-believe
• Ignores other children or doesn’t respond to people outside of family
• Resists dressing, sleeping and using the toilet
• Can’t retell a favorite story
• Doesn’t follow 3-part commands
• Doesn’t understand “same” and “different”
• Doesn’t use “me” and “you” correctly
• Speaks unclearly
• Loses skills he once had

Have a question? Want to learn more? Leave a comment at the bottom of this blog or email reachforthestars@achievebeyondusa.com and we will do our best to follow up with you.

About Achieve Beyond

Achieve Beyond is an agency founded by Dr. Trudy Font-Padron in 1995 and remains a family-run company. Achieve Beyond is a leader in providing pediatric therapy, autism, and early intervention services in New York City, Long Island, Hudson Valley, Texas, New Jersey, Virginia and Metro DC. They are dedicated to providing quality evaluations and therapeutic/educational services to children ages birth to 21 years of age.