Running Head: TYPICAL DEVELOPMENT OF A CHILD, AGE FIVE 1

Child Development of a Child, Age Five

Rebecca Jones

Edu 220: Principles of Education Psychology, Section 1001

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TYPICAL DEVELOPMENT OF A CHILD, AGE FIVE

Physical

The typical physical behaviors of the average five year old, according to the Center For

Disease Control and Prevention (2017) and the Child Development Institute (2015), are very

similar. The physical behaviors are skipping, jumping, climbing and swinging. Also, having

more control of their writing utensils and having better balance. They can do a somersault and

operate a fork and spoon. According to the University of Washington (1993), the average five

year old can dress them self and use the toilet on their own.

According to Snowman and McCown (2013, p. 49-52), the physical development of the

average five year old is that they are extremely active. They have good control of their bodies

and are yet a bit clumsy and they can understand and complete simple tasks and commands.

Snowman recommends to give children a lot of time for them to be active due to their

extreme need for activity. He also recommends giving quiet time after active time, so they calm

and slow down. He recommends providing big tools for the children to operate, for example

large crayons and markers, since they are not good at motor skills yet .(Snowman & McCown,

2013) . PBS Parents (2017) recommends that teachers and parents give five year old children a

lot of playtime and try not to rush the activities they are doing, and to encourage independence

and limit the time they have with television or a computer.

Emotional

The typical emotional behavior of the average five year old according to the Center for

Disease Control and Prevention (2017) is they can be very demanding and yet very cooperative.

Five year old children know what is real and what is make believe. They want to be independent

and will most likely agree with rules. According to PBS Parents (2017), they gain self-esteem
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from feeling capable. They can use bigger and more complex words to describe their emotions

and feelings. They will express their anger through words instead of tantrums and can self soothe

when angry by going to their rooms or removing themselves from the situation.

The typical emotional behavior of children aged five according to Snowman, are they are

able to control their emotions; can express their anger verbally. are able to discern when

someone is happy or sad. They are aware of the emotions of others. They can also be very

jealous, especially concerning their mothers and their teachers (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p.

49-52).

Snowman, recommends that five year old children should be communicated with in a

sincere way. He suggests a lot of interaction and trying to spread attention to students as equally

as possible. He also suggests showing interest in their ideas and questions (Snowman &

McCown, 2013). PBS Parents (2017) suggests that children aged five talk about their feelings

and thoughts with parents in order to normalize emotions. PBS Parents (2017) and The

University of Washington (1993) also suggest small chores for the children because they do feel

more independent. Both sources also recommend giving children lots of praise. Also, to be

positive in showing of love and be sensitive to their feelings.

Cognitive

The typical cognitive or intellectual behavior of average five year old's are, according to

the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2017), is that most can count to ten or more and

have more than a 2,000 word vocabulary. Can answer the question," Why?" They know about

everyday things, such as breakfast, lunch and dinner and money. They can print some numbers

and letters and can trace simple shapes and also draw a person with at least six body parts.
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According to the University of Washington (1993), they know their basic colors and know their

coins. They will also follow rules and instructions and accept adult help when needed. They will

also try to accomplish tasks and skills they know they are capable of completing.

The typical cognitive behavior of a five year old according to Piaget and Vygotsky, and

also according to McLeod's (McLeod, 2014) article of Piaget, considers this age group as being

in its Preoperational Stage. This stage is also Pre-logic according to Piaget, which means that

"the child cannot use logic or transform or combine separate ideas". Piaget considers the children

to have three impediments: conservation, irreversibility and egocentrism. Conservation is the

ability to separate properties, like the milk example in the textbook, if they have milk in a small

glass and they transfer that milk into a larger glass, they cannot see the milk staying the same

although in a bigger glass. The second impediment is irreversibility, which is the inability of a

young person to reverse physical or mental processes, . The third is egocentrism, in which Piaget

explains that children have an inability of understanding another person's views. They assume

that other people feel and see the same things they do. (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p.23-31)

The recommendations of PBS Parents (2017), Child Development Institute (2015) and

the University of Washington (1993) suggests that parents and teachers should nurture creativity

and engage in pretend play. The children will read aloud and thus parents and teachers should

also engage in reading aloud to help encourage them. Piaget believed that peer interactions

would be better for cognitive development more than adult interactions. He suggests group

activities because children are taught to do what adults say and that adults are superior. Since

instruction with one's peers is more equal, children at this age feel more comfortable bouncing

ideas or disagreeing with their peers than with adults. (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p. 29).
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Vygotsky, on the other hand, believed that children learn more from the advanced tools handed

down by the intellectually advanced, whether it is from someone the same age or an adult. He

believed in mediation," In which a more intellectual person interprets and can transform a child's

behavior" (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p.34).

Psychosocial/Social

The typical psychosocial or social behavior of the average five year old is also very

similar in all of the resources. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2017) says that

average five year old's want to please their friends, want to be more like their friends and is also

aware of gender and the differences. PBS Parents (2017) says they tend to want to share things

and ideas, they tend be a bit more competitive in their play which can often lead to conflicts.

They enjoy interacting with other children and prefer sex appropriate activities, e.g. girls playing

house or dress up and boys playing with trucks and pretending to be firemen. They are able to

use negotiating skills and compromising tactics to resolve conflicts. The University of

Washington (1993) also noted that the average five year old believes its mother to be the center

of his or her world. They enjoy conversing during meals. Also, they are usually calm and

friendly and prefer to play with same sex children, but will play with the opposite sex.

According to Erikson, he believed that one's personal development hinged on

successfully resolving of certain turning points in life. In average five year old children, the

stage is referred to as Initiative Versus Guilt. It is during this stage that children are very active

and use language to set up the initiative or guilt. He said if four and five year old's are given the

freedom to do as they want, when they want, within reason, and parents and teachers spend time

answering questions, then the children will lean towards initiative. If adults on the other hand,
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find the questions and the high activity a nuisance then the children will take on the feeling of

guilt when acting on their own (Snowman & McCown, 2013,p.17-22). Erikson also believed that

three factors help to formulate identity," being comfortable with our physical self, know what to

do with our life and knowing that whatever our choice, we will be encourages and reinforces by

those who play a significant role in our life". (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p.20). The Child

Development Institute (2015) recommends the encouragement of playing with other children,

letting them choose what they play with. It also recommends for parents and teachers to draw

connections between being kind and nice to good behavior that leads to friendships. Also for

teachers and parents to create a gratitude jar in the classroom and allow the children to play

creatively.

Moral/Character

The typical moral development of average five year children according to PBS Parents

(2017), is they are compassionate, they like giving hugs and making cards for parents and

teacher. They are playful and fun loving, enjoy life and adore their parents. According to the

University of Washington(1993), they know the difference between right and wrong. Most five

year old's may tell lies but not to be malicious. They have a desire to please their parents and

other adults and do not want to displease or disappoint so they tell lies.

Kohlberg believes that, "Moral reasoning proceeds through fixed stages and moral

development can be accelerated through instruction" (Snowman & McCown, 2013, p.41). He

agreed with Piaget in that children between four and seven believe the rules to be fixed and

unbreakable when made by parents, teachers and other adults they deem in power. Kohlberg

developed a system with six stages to develop one's moral dilemma. At this age, they are
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believed to be in the preconventional morality stages because children this age do not understand

and cannot comprehend the rules of society. He also said that in this stage they look out for their

best interests. The self-interest orientation stage is looking out for number one.

The recommendations from PBS Parents (2017) for children aged five to help develop

their moral character was to praise and give recognition for kind gestures and also for sharing. It

also recommends that children engage in pretend play, such as being kind and putting others

needs before their own. They also recommended role playing so the children can learn to think

from others' points of view. The biggest thing was to praise good behavior.

Conclusion

In conclusion of my research, most of the resources had the same physical, emotional,

cognitive, social and moral characteristics of the average five year old. Some professional

psychologists had different theories and more detailed stages of the average five year old. From

reading the textbook and doing research I am excited to teach Kindergarten. While every child is

different, it is good to know their basic behaviors and characteristics and know how to teach

accordingly.
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References

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017). Child development. Retrieved from

https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/facts.html

https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002016.html

Child Development Institute (2015). The ages and stages of child development. Retrieved from

https://childdevelopmentinfo.com/ages-stages/#.WR3Id_QrLrc

https://childdevelopmentinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/ages-and-stages-birth-to-

5.pdf

McLeod, S (2009 & 2014). Preoperational Stage. Retrieved from

https://www.simplypsychology.org/preoperational.html

PBS Parents. (2017). Child development tracker Ages 2- 8. Retrieved from

http://www.pbs.org/parents/child

http://www.pbs.org/parents/childdevelopmenttracker/five/socialandemotionalgrowth.html

Snowman, J. & McCown, R. (2013). ED PSYCH. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

University of Washington. (1993). Child development: Using the child development guide.

Retrieved from

http://depts.washington.edu/allcwe2/fosterparents/training/chidev/cd06.html
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TYPICAL DEVELOPMENT OF A CHILD, AGE FIVE