The attention span of a 4 year-old

We've all used this expression before. But when you become a parent, you come to understand that it's not just an expression. It is a way of being, if only a temporary one; though on the right day and under the right set of circumstances....

I still receive email updates from the Baby Center; I've subscribed since I was pregnant with Rory. Or rather, since I became aware that I was pregnant - I somehow (blissfully) missed that whole first trimester thing. Anyway, I've remained on the list because 1) it was a good refresher for the full experience the second time around, 2) I stopped reading the books when Rory turned one and have barely cracked them with Myer, and 3) from time to time there are some little gems or a perspective I hadn't before considered. This one is in the latter category. 

But before I continue, I just want to take a second to say that I can't believe - and am really put off by - the amount of advertising on the Dr. Sears web site. And as I can sense this next question coming if you clicked on that link, yes, Vital Choice salmon is sustainable according to most green groups - it's sourced from Alaska. But Alaska's claim to "wild" salmon is not an entirely accurate picture, it's more like ocean ranching that they've been doing the last half century. (Here's more info from a former colleague in the sustainable seafood movement.)

I have really digressed from writing about a 4 year-old's attention span - the right moment and circumstances, or maybe I'm just being clever. Either way, here is what I wanted to share with you, from the most recent Baby Center update:

Some 4-year-olds spend noticeably more time with games and puzzles than they would have a year ago. They get up from their play less often and can become so engrossed that you wind up being the one interrupting.
But don't raise your expectations too high. The average 4-year-old's attention span is still just about five to ten minutes. 

This is exactly what Rory is doing these days. He will role play with his cars, animal figures, Legos people, and Transformers. Myer is doing this as well almost exclusively with trains or animals, though of course, not yet nearly as intricately as his brother. But I imagine that it is no less imaginative. 

(I forgot to mention in the previous post, in my haste and distraction, that the one saving grace of the morning was the box. Ah, the box! Always more popular than the thing that came inside because it is the ultimate wellspring of imaginative play. I challenge you to name one thing a box cannot be.)

Sometimes it is very quiet when they're in their room creating mental story boards - this is the "good" kind of quiet - with subplots in Rory's case and true-to-life animal sounds in Myer's. Matt and I often sneak up and peek around the door frame (not at the same time) to catch a few seconds' glimpse and then tip-toe away before being discovered. I've posted before about the cacophony of youth, but it's these fleeting moments when you glimpse the child yet-to-be that I truly treasure.