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Major motor skills Fine motor skills Language Vision and hearing Social achievements and play When to be concerned
Language
Children!s riting skills develop, usually beginning ith their name. "eading skills are developing, and they can talk #luently and con#idently.
hen to !e concerned
Some children are slo er to reach these age%appropriate milestones, but ill o#ten catch up. &thers have not been e'posed to certain skills and so ouldn!t be e'pected to develop them. For e'ample, a child ho only ears !slip%on! shoes or shoes ith velcro straps is unlikely to learn to tie shoelaces by age seven.
More in"ormation
For more in#ormation on developmental milestones in childhood, including recommended health check%ups and childhood immunisation,
May focus on only one part of a situation. for example, a child of this age may believe that a tall, narrow bottle of soda contains more soda than a short, wide bottle with an equal amount because one is taller than the other.
- Cognitive milestone #or the *%. years age range. #$%& 4he best teacher is e'perience ith care#ul observation. 2n the e'ample o# the glasses, ask your child hich one hold more ater, and then e'periment to see hich glass can hold more. 4hrough these e'periences your child ill learn to look and think care#ully.
May believe that objects have feelings. for example, a child of this age might feel sorry for a car that has a lot of passengers in it.
- Cognitive milestone #or the *%. years age range. #$%& 4his childhood capacity #or empathy helps children to enter into the orld o# stories. When you read ith your child, be sure to talk about ho the people 5and objects67 in the story might #eel.
ollows two!step directions. for example, if you say to your child, "go to the #itchen and get me a trash bag," he will be able to remember and fulfill that direction.
- Cognitive milestone #or the *%. years age range. #$%& :iving your child responsibility ithin the home is an ideal ay to develop ability ith multi%step directions. ;our child ill #eel important #or contributing and proud o# being able to complete all parts o# the direction. 2# your child does not understand t o% part directions ith prepositions, you should discuss this ith your pediatrician.
'ome is still very important and is the foundation for your child to become responsible
- Social < 0motional milestone #or the *%. years age range. #$%& When a child begins #ormal schooling 5particularly in public or private schools7 it is tempting to think that home is less important. 8o ever, it remains the center o# nurture and is primarily here your child ill gro in character % hich ill directly a##ect his enjoyment o# and success in school. 8o ever, i# your child has a strong #ear o# separation #rom parents, you should discuss this ith your pediatrician.
Increasing separation and independence from parents are healthy steps in your child(s development
- Social < 0motional milestone #or the *%. years age range. #$%& (epending on personality, some children ill be ready #or separation 5like going by himsel# to :randma!s or a #riend!s house7 earlier than others. 2n most case, it ill be a gradual process, beginning ith a short period o# time, to give the child con#idence being alone in the ne environment.
May enjoy being with you and at home more at age + than he did at age ,
- Social < 0motional milestone #or the *%. years age range. #$%& -s children have more time outside the home, they o#ten more highly pri3e the time at home ith #amily. 8o ever, by age , your child ill probably be more #ocused on his peers.
'ow other children perceive your child will affect his self!image
- Social < 0motional milestone #or the *%. years age range. #$%& Children are sensitive to one another, even at a young age. 2t is important to give your child a strong sense o# values at home so that he can respond to peers! perceptions in appropriate ays.
#$%& Children learn to tell stories by hearing stories. (on!t be surprised i# you begin to hear invented stories about the characters #rom your child!s #avorite book. 4hat is a great sign that he is interacting ith the stories. ;ou can also ask him to retell storylines #rom #avorite books A you ill probably be ama3ed at the details he remembers6
*egins to write letters of the alphabet and some words he uses and hears often
- Literacy milestone #or the *%? years age range. #$%& 2t is important to balance encouragement ith structure as your child is learning to rite letters. 8e may have creative ays o# shaping his letters, just as he has inventive spelling. 1oth o# these are #ine and normal. 8o ever, as you help him to learn conventional spelling, it is also important to learn ho to #orm the letters properly so that the habits he #orms at home help him in school. Wipe clean books are an e'cellent tool to teach letter riting, as they usually include arro s ith numbers to sho hich motion comes #irst, and the child can rite directly on top o# the model.
Is capable of measuring ingredients and using simple #itchen utensils such as an eggbeater, grater, and vegetable peeler
- Fine Motor milestone #or the *%. years age range. #$%& =ractice basic skills until they are mastered be#ore allo ing your child to try advanced tasks. -s your child builds skill and con#idence in the kitchen, you ill have a helper and constant companion.
Uses a pencil to ma#e shapes 1li#e a square2 and then to ma#e letters, words, and sentences
- Fine Motor milestone #or the *%. years age range. #$%& 2# your child does not yet hold a pencil properly, this is the time to teach him. Forming good habits no ill help him #or years to come. Many children #ind tracing help#ul to learn to rite letters and numbers. Wipe%o## books enable your child to do this repeatedly and, hen ready, move to riting independently. 2# your child continues to #ind holding a pencil di##icult, you should discuss this ith your pediatrician.
&raws people, houses and trees with more detail than before 1for example3 at least 4 body parts when he draws a person2
- Fine Motor milestone #or the *%. years age range. #$%& Children develop dra ing ability ith encouragement. ;ou can ask your child about his dra ing and its speci#ic parts. 4his ill help him to be more precise in his dra ings. 2# he has dra n a person, you can ask him hat is missing and encourage him to add the missing elements, but take care that your comments donBt sound like criticisms.
5erforms a series of motions in order to do a complicated motor activity li#e pumping himself on a swing, s#ipping, jumping rope, or swimming stro#es
- :ross Motor milestone #or the *%. years age range. #$%& Comple' motor activities re/uire instruction, encouragement, and practice. Without good instruction, a child may learn to s im a k ardly but not learn techni/ues that ill make it #un and easy. Without encouragement, a child may be discouraged by the challenge o# an activity. Without practice, even good instruction and encouragement ill #all short.
&evelops more visual!motor coordination and can catch bounced or thrown balls more easily
- :ross Motor milestone #or the *%. years age range. #$%& ;ou!ve al ays anted to say, @Feep your eye on the ball6@ and no is the time. Like all skills, practice is the key to mastery. 4o make it easier at #irst, you may ant to use a balloon 5 hich is easy to catch because it moves slo ly7 to give him greater success and build con#idence.
/ecogni0es opposites, defines objects by their use, and uses relatively good sentence structure
- Speech < Language milestone #or the *%. years age range. #$%& ;ou don!t need to teach grammar lessons 5yet7 to help your child understand parts o# speech and use proper structure. Modeling is the best teacher) speak properly to your child and read lots o# books together. 2# your child does not use plurals or past tense properly hen speaking 5despite good modeling7 you should discuss this ith your pediatrician.
$nows all the letters and their sounds, and numbers to 677
- Cognitive milestone #or the *%. years age range.
#$%& Much o# hat your child ill learn in the #irst years o# elementary school ill be related to reading, riting, and math. Learning the letter names and sounds 5and letter combination sounds7 is the #oundation o# learning to read. 4he best ay to rein#orce these skills is in the conte't o# books your child loves.