Care

• Continue shots and health checkups, including dental visits
• Hug your child often and talk about everyday people, places and things
Age 4 – 5 Years
What You Can Expect of Your Child
• Sometimes demanding, sometimes eagerly cooperative
• Wants to be like her friends
• Agrees to rules and wants others to follow rules
• Can count 10 or more objects and name four colors
• Recalls part of a story
• Speaks sentences of more than five words
• Stands on one foot for 10 seconds or longer
• Hops, somersaults
• Prints some letters
• Dresses and undresses without assistance
• Uses fork, spoon and sometimes a knife
What You Can Do to Support Development
• Continue to hug your child often and read together every day
• Have longer conversations with him; use words that match his
growing vocabulary
• Set and enforce limits and explain why there are rules
• Provide different kinds of toys, materials and games that spark creativity
• Provide plenty of opportunity for your child to play with other children
in safe, supervised settings
• Provide safe space where he can run, jump and exercise with
adult supervision
• Continue shots and health checkups, including dental visits
Age 6 – 8 Years
What You Can Expect of Your Child
• Friends become more important; want to be liked by other children
• Growth rate slows and can be uneven
• Better understanding of right and wrong; developing conscience
• Small muscle development increases coordination; better able to tie
own shoes, use writing materials, play musical instruments and use
eating utensils
• Learning to read and write
• Understand and concerned about how others feel
• Increasing vocabulary and use of language
• Enjoys fantasy play and make-believe
What You Can Do to Support Development
• Continue to hug your child and compliment her for doing things well
• Be sure she has access to books; continue to read together
• Provide writing materials, art supplies and music; share her
enthusiasm for creative interests
• Give her more responsibility; ask for help with simple household
chores and be sure she follows through
• Provide opportunities to experience a variety of physical activities that
help develop large muscles – running, riding a bike, dancing or
playing sports
• Talk to her about things she likes and what she does
• Continue regular health and dental checkups
Age 9 – 11 Years
What You Can Expect of Your Child
• Friends are very important; often join clubs or form groups of best
friends with similar interests
• Experience peer pressure; interested in conforming or belonging
• Able to read and write; interest in fantasy stories and fiction
• Body is maturing physically; girls maturing more quickly than boys
• Develop special interests in hobbies, sports, creative activities
• Language becomes more adult-like
• Wants more independence from family; tests limits and rules
What You Can Do to Support Development
• Continue to show affection for your child and talk about his interests
and activities
• Give him more complex responsibilities that require follow through;
reward a job completed well
• Encourage him to join groups and clubs that offer opportunities to
practice skills or explore new interests
• Take an interest in his friends and get to know their families
• Make your expectations clear and, when discipline is necessary, be
consistent and fair
• Provide for quiet time and space for homework or just being alone
• Continue regular health and dental checkups ■
Compiled by Success by 6 Hamilton County from resources including the American
Academy of Pediatrics and local early childhood professionals.
DEVELOPMENT
www.cscbroward.org | Facebook: www.facebook.com/cscbroward 47