Should my 4 year old be able to write his name or letters?

No way is this necessary at 4.  If he wants to and likes it then great, but if not no big deal.  It is very common for boys not to like to color.  My almost 5 yo is starting to show some interest but it lasts about 5 minutes.  His older brother writes (almost 8) so he sometimes says I want to do it and then he makes shapes or some lines and says it is a snake or lizzard. I too was worried at first because my oldest was drawing and coloring before 2 and by 4 could draw some pretty detailed pictures.  I was assured that he is not typical (my oldest) and that boys need more time to develop fine motor skills so just go with the gross motor skills until the fine ones are ready to go.

My 2.5 yo daughter likes to color and can sit still and read longer than my almost 5yo boy.  Boys tend to be late bloomers in this department but catch up rather quickly.  You could try to sit and color.  Get a fun coloring book or even blank paper and draw or color near him. He may become interested in it.  Trace your hand and see if he wants to try, make it into a turkey.  Show him that you are having fun.  At this point it is realy not a cause for concern tough. He may never enjoy drawing or coloring, but will probably show interest in writing letters in the next few years.

UGH This is so hard to deal with, at least in your own mind, if that makes any sense.  I can give the example of my two kids, the older (a girl, of course) was scribbling as soon as she could hold a crayon.  Never stopped.  Wrote early and has never quit since.  She is a strong reader, but does not read for pleasure – she writes and draws – all day – every day.

Second child – a boy of course lol – never looked twice at a crayon (except to eat them).  Has no interest in drawing, painting, writing etc.  He is six.  He can write, but it is a difficulty.  We do most work orally, incl. math.  I hope his ease in writing develops with age and maturity.

I don’t know what my point is except to let you know that you are not alone!  DS6 went to pub school kindy last year (he also went to preschool for a while, so that is not a magic pill for early writing, either) and all the teachers agreed that his work was age appropriate, so I am trying not to stress about it.  He has some interest in working mazes and doing dot to dot so I try to capitalize on that to work his fine motor skills.

Good luck!  Soon they will be old enough to type LOL.

Just wanted to chime in and say don’t worry and don’t push or he might hate writing forever!! LOL! Both of my sons did not like to write until 6! I felt bad too! I tried to get them to write their names at 4. The first one did after pushing. But didn’t like to do any writing or coloring! Occasionally he would trace. But I decided I wanted him to have a LOVE for writing, coloring, etc.. The only way to do this was to back off! I am soooo glad I did! The oldest has good writing skills and he LOVES to draw, color, all the above! He does it everyday. I never ever thought back then that he would.

When the second came along, thought he would be different. They have such unique personalities. But he was exactly like his brother and didn’t want to write let alone color. He is 6 and he is writing more. It does not look good. But I know it will come. He doesn’t like to color as much..but sometimes he will sit and do it for a while. Other days he absolutely does not want to color! Right now I am amazed because he just begged me to do copywork!!??

It is hard not to compare. Every child is different. And putting him in preschool may not excel him more than he is now…if he is not ready. Preschool is a little over rated in my humble opinion! You are giving your son love, nuturing, character building, and so much more that is so important in the early years! So much more important than writing his name at 4! He will learn, try not to worry! I know I have been there done that! As I am sure many other moms on here have too!