Families For Life | Parenting Moments - 5 to 6 Years
At this age, your child will have increased regular contact with the larger world and friendships become more important to him. Physical, social and cognitive skills develop rapidly at this period and it is a significant time for him to develop confidence in all of these areas of his life.
Your child is likely to be able to fluently express himself verbally and his spoken sentences are longer and more complex. He may also enjoy telling stories and jokes to make people laugh. At this age, he is beginning to get enough of a view of the world and is able to understand that differences can exist side by side and that different families value different things.
Your child’s explorations are increasingly inquiry-driven. He likes to figure out how things work and why things are the way they are. He investigates, makes guesses in addition to just trying out things, and tests his explorations against his guesses. At this age, your child begins to “see” the logic and patterns behind the surface of things. He is fascinated with quantities, measurements, and magnitudes.
By now, your child will demonstrate improved motor skills, agility, and balance. This allows him to stand on tip-toe or on one foot for a few seconds, do two footed jumps, walk backwards, and kick a stationary ball and so on. His self-help skills and eye-hand coordination are also improving. He enjoys a wide range of dramatic plays and discussions with his playmates, possible scenarios and who is to do what.
Your 5 to 6 year olds is also becoming more independent and in control of his behaviour. He can now be reasoned with as he is beginning to understand what it means to be fair and to follow rules in a game. He can even create his own rules for games. He will become more aware of emotions, both his own as well as those of others. He may even begin to understand more sophisticated concepts, such as how to be careful about not hurting someone’s feelings with his actions or words.
Explore more
- 5-6 years: child development
- Introduction to parenting moments
- Parenting moments - birth to 2 years
- Parenting moments - 3 to 4 years
Contributed by:
Early Childhood Development Agency