What developmental milestones is your 5-year-old reaching? (2024)

FAQs

What developmental milestones is your 5-year-old reaching? ›

Thinking - Cognitive Development

Counts 10 or more objects. Names at least four colors correctly. Understands items used every day such as food or money. Draws a person with at least six body parts.

Thinking - Cognitive Development

Counts 10 or more objects. Names at least four colors correctly. Understands items used every day such as food or money. Draws a person with at least six body parts.

Interacting with Your Child

As kids gain language skills, they also develop their conversational abilities. Kids 4 to 5 years old can follow more complex directions and enthusiastically talk about things they do. They can make up stories, listen attentively to stories and retell stories.

At 5-6 years, you can expect tricky emotions, independence, friendships and social play, plenty of talk, improved physical coordination and more. It's good for children's development to play with you, do simple chores, practise classroom behaviour, have playdates and talk about feelings.

Thinking and reasoning (cognitive development)

Most children by age 5: Know their address and phone number. Recognize most letters of the alphabet. Can count 10 or more objects.

Vision reaches 20/20. First adult teeth start breaking through the gum (most children do not get their first adult teeth until age 6) Has better coordination (getting the arms, legs, and body to work together) Skips, jumps, and hops with good balance.

Between 5-6 years your child may:

Be able to hold scissors properly and cut shapes from paper with them. Be able to draw more recognisable pictures such as houses, cars, flowers and people. Be able to write one or two letters in their name and recognise and sing along to the alphabet song.

Correctly name at least four colors and three shapes. Recognize some letters and possibly write their name. Better understand the concept of time and the order of daily activities, like breakfast in the morning, lunch in the afternoon, and dinner at night. Use future tense, such as, “We will go to the park soon.”

They are able to make decisions and enjoy taking on challenges. They have a better understanding of social rules and may experience new emotions such as shame, guilt, and pride. They are getting better at taking the emotions of others into consideration. For example, their empathy may lead them to console a friend.

What is normal 5 year old behavior? ›

Behavioral Changes at 5-6 Years

At the age of 5-6, children become more independent and start to assert their preferences and make decisions about simple things like what clothes to wear or what to eat for lunch [2]. However, this transition can also be demanding and challenging, especially when starting school.

Vocabulary and language development in children at 4-5 years

At this age, children begin to learn and use more: connecting words, like 'so' and 'but' words that explain complicated emotions, like 'confused', 'upset' and 'delighted' words that explain things going on in their brains, like 'don't know' and 'remember'

The brain is now developing executive function skills that are essential for learning and getting along with others. Although it takes time for these skills to fully develop, your child is starting to be able to: notice when their body is responding to stress and can sometimes cope with those feelings on their own.

Piaget's stage that coincides with early childhood is the Preoperational Stage. According to Piaget, this stage occurs from the age of 2 to 7 years. In the preoperational stage, children use symbols to represent words, images, and ideas, which is why children in this stage engage in pretend play.

Be able to count up to 100 and count a few numbers backwards. Be able to do some basic maths such as adding '1 apple to 2 apples makes 3 apples' and will be able to tell when numbers are higher than other number. Be able to give their full name and know their age, birthday and where they live.

Kindergarten (Age 5)

write some letters, numbers, and words. recognize some familiar words in print. predict what will happen next in a story. identify initial, final, and medial (middle) sounds in short words.

They are able to make decisions and enjoy taking on challenges. They have a better understanding of social rules and may experience new emotions such as shame, guilt, and pride. They are getting better at taking the emotions of others into consideration. For example, their empathy may lead them to console a friend.