Important Milestones: By the End of Five Years (60 Months)

 

Social

• Wants to please friends

• Wants to be like her friends

• More likely to agree to rules

• Likes to sing, dance, and act

• Shows more independence and may even visit a next-door neighbor by herself

 

Emotional

• Aware of gender

• Able to distinguish fantasy from reality

• Sometimes demanding, sometimes eagerly cooperative

 

Cognitive

• Can count 10 or more objects

• Correctly names at least four colors

• Better understands the concept of time

• Knows about things used every day in the home (money, food, appliances)

 

Speech Sounds (Articulation)

• 75%-90% intelligible to unfamiliar communication partners 

• f, v, l and l blends produced correctly in spontaneous speech

 

Language

• Recalls part of a story

• Speaks sentences of more than five words

• Uses future tense

• Tells longer stories

• Says name and address

 

Movement

• Stands on one foot for 10 seconds or longer

• Hops, somersaults

• Swings, climbs

• May be able to skip

 

Fine Motor Skills (Hand and Finger Skills)

• Copies triangle and other shapes

• Draws person with body

• Prints some letters

• Dresses and undresses without help

• Uses fork, spoon, and (sometimes) a table knife

• Usually cares for own toilet needs

 

Developmental Health Watch

• Acts extremely fearful or timid

• Acts extremely aggressively

• Is unable to separate from parents without major protest

• Is easily distracted and unable to concentrate on any single activity for more than five minutes

• Shows little interest in playing with other children

• Refuses to respond to people in general, or responds only superficially

• Rarely uses fantasy or imitation in play

• Seems unhappy or sad much of the time

• Doesn't engage in a variety of activities

• Avoids or seems aloof with other children and adults

• Doesn't express a wide range of emotions

• Has trouble eating, sleeping, or using the toilet

• Can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality

• Seems unusually passive

• Cannot understand two-part commands using prepositions ("Put the doll on the bed, and get the ball under the couch.")

• Can't correctly give her first and last name

• Doesn't use plurals or past tense properly when speaking

• Doesn't talk about her daily activities and experiences

• Cannot build a tower of six to eight blocks

• Seems uncomfortable holding a crayon

• Has trouble taking off clothing

• Cannot brush her teeth efficiently

• Cannot wash and dry her hands

• Experiences a dramatic loss of skills he or she once had

​

 

For more information see content sources: