Most children start school at 4 which is a big milestone. They develop a chronological understanding, they start to work out the link between letters and sounds, words and pictures which is the foundation of learning to read and write.

 

Age 4

Emotional Development

By 4 children show a big desire for independence and want to do as much as possible by themselves. It’s normal for them to be cooperative one minute and overly demanding the next. However, overall, they are gaining better control over their emotions.

 

Key Milestones

• Becomes aware of other people’s
• Experiences a broad range of emotions such as jealously, excitement, anger and
• May become more focused on winning when playing

 

Social Development

Temper tantrums are becoming less frequent as they have learnt coping mechanisms, but a major life event, such as a move, a divorce or the birth of a sibling can definitely affect a 4 year olds moods and behaviours.

 

Key Milestones

• Establishes real friendships and may even have a“best friend”.
• More readily shares and takes turns with
• Still looks to a trusted adult for help when

 

Cognitive Development

Most 4-year olds are getting better at problem solving and have a good handle on how to incorporate a solution that will appease everyone.

 

Most 4-year olds can recite the alphabet and memorise shapes and colours.

 

Key Milestones

• Shows an interest in goal setting for
• Wants to make decisions on their own, such as picking out their own
• Understands the concepts of

 

Physical Development

As a 4-year-old develops physically, they not only grow taller, but continue to get a better understanding on their gross and fine motor skills. A 4-year-old is still learning how to control their body and is more likely to try new things as they succeed.

 

Key Milestones

• Gross-motor skills – will become more aware of their own place in space and be less likely to bump into others while
• Fine motor skills are improved, such as hand eye coordination which results in an ability to string beads, complete puzzles and colour inside the
• Major highlights include when a child can dress themselves, brush their teeth with supervision and usually potty

 

Age 5

Emotional Development

Most 5 year olds want to please and want to make friends and receive positive responses from adults. They still have tantrums and display emotional extremes.

They can show empathy.

 

At this age children also develop fears. Usually of animals like dogs and snakes. Girls tend to be more fearful than boys but try to be understanding and reassuring and bear in mind that most grow out of these fears quickly.

 

Key Milestones

• Separates from caregivers without excessive
• Plays and shares with other
• Listen to adults-directed task for at least 5

 

Social Development

Children start to make new friends, experience the formation of relationships (including teachers and peers) that are outside the immediate family circle and blossom as an independent person.

 

Key Milestones

• They want to please
• More likely to agree with the
• Wants to be like the other

 

Cognitive Development

This is when 5-year olds understand the difference between “right and wrong”. They understand rules and want to follow them and please adults.

 

Key Milestones

• Able to count out
• Begin to extend their oral language skills in reading and
• Likes to sing, act and

 

 

Age 6

Emotional Development

At this age children show jealousy towards siblings. They understand their own feelings. they understand the consequences of their actions. They enjoy playing alone. They can dress themselves. Children at 6 are able to use words to describe their own feelings. They can show empathy and offer to help when they see another in distress. They understand sophisticated concepts, like not hurting someone’s feelings by saying something

critical about them directly to that person. Friendships and social relationships with peers and adults become more complex and take on more of the world around them and their role in it.

 

Key Milestones

• They love to show off
• Develops improved self control
• Shows improved ability to maintain emotional

 

Social Development

At 6 children become more adept at navigating relationships with friends and family and will feel security and comfort from their relationships with those who are close to them. They frequently enjoy sharing snacks, toys, and other things with friends at school and at home. This isn’t to say rivalry and scuffles over favourite toys won’t happen, but conflicts will pass and students will increasingly gain the social skills to one day work out differences on their own, without adult intervention.

 

Key Milestones

• Pay more attention to
• Wants to be liked and accepted by peer
• Shows more independence from their

 

Cognitive Development

Children at this age may feel an increasing awareness of right and wrong and may “tell on” peers who think they are not doing the right thing. Flare ups, even close friends, may be common, but will typically fade just as quickly as they started, especially with loving guidance from teachers and parents/carers.

 

Most 6-year olds are continuing to develop longer attention spans and will be able to handle more complicated projects and tasks at school and at home. The ability to have complex thoughts really starts to develop at this age and a 6-year olds curiosity about the world around them will begin to increase.

 

Most 6-year olds will increasingly understand the difference between “real” and “imaginary”. They become more interested in doing “real” things such as taking real photographs or making real food instead of pretending to do these things.

 

Key Milestones

• Participates in simple group activities or board
• Tells the
• Copies complex shapes, such as a
• At this age they see things as black and white and will have strong opinions about
• They may see something as good and something as bad and will have trouble seeing the middle

 

Age 7

Most 7-year olds display an unending thirst for knowledge and will have an innate curiosity and excitement about things in the world. They are natural explorers, scientists and analysts and often ask questions about everything from why is the sky blue? To where do babies come from?

 

At this age they also take great pride in sharing their knowledge about things and often enjoy showing younger children skills that they themselves have mastered.

 

They will have a sense of confidence at school and they have a sense of pride in what they can do.

 

Key Milestones

• Able to ride a 2 wheeled
• Performs movement that are done in place such as twisting and
• Show off practical things like making their bed or sweeping the

 

Emotional Development

Most 7-year olds are better able to handle transitions and last-minute changes. While they may not yet be able to exercise the self-control, they will at 10 or 11, they can usually tolerate going with the flow or unexpected situations.

 

Conversely though, 7-year olds will also feel insecure about themselves and may be their own worst critics.

 

Parents and teachers can help by offering frequent encouragement and helping a child focus on what they might learn from an activity rather than what didn’t go right.

 

Key Milestones

• Describes the causes and consequences of
• Manage emotions better, especially in public
• Starts to use self – calming strategies, such as repeating phrases or taking deep breaths when feeling

 

Social Development

Many 7-year olds will still love playing with friends but may begin to enjoy spending more time alone, playing by themselves or reading. Alone time and downtime can in fact be an important part of a child’s development of a sense of self and their relations to others.

 

They will begin to care more about the opinions and thoughts of other people. The downside of this natural phase of a child’s development is an increased susceptibility to peer pressure. They will continue to develop to develop empathy and a strong sense of morals and fairness.

 

As a 7-year-old grows up and they expand their social horizons, they often become naturally attached to other adults besides their parents, such a a teacher, uncle or even a friends parent.

 

Key Milestones

• Shares knowledge with
• shows capacity to understand other actions and
• Treats peers with respect when playing games

 

Cognitive Development

Children at this age show a sense of adventure, ask a lot of questions and will love being mentors to younger siblings and other children as they show off their knowledge and skills.

 

Most 7-year olds will join in playground games with their peers. They tend to become better at sports at this age. many 7-year olds will have lost teeth and have permanent teeth.

 

Age 8

At this age there is a growth spurt, physically, and mentally.

 

Most 8-year olds show great gains in their cognitive development and tend to be able to ask questions until they have enough information to draw conclusions about what they’re learning. At this age a child’s

coordination continues to improve. They become more aware of body image and their confidence about their appearance may affect how they feel about themselves and their relationships with other peers.

 

Emotional Development

An 8-year-old may show more sophisticated and complex emotions and interactions. Most are able to mask their true thoughts or emotions to spare someone’s feelings. This is also the time when children may develop a more sophisticated sense of themselves in the world. Their interests, talents, friends and relationships with family members help them establish a clear self identity. It is also the beginning of desiring privacy. They go between self confidence to self doubt.

 

Key Milestones

• May begin to desire more
• Seek direct physical contact from caregivers when under stress but may resist physical contact at other
• becomes more balanced in coping with frustration, failure and

 

Social Development

This is the phase of social development where many children enjoy being a part of social groups. In general, 8-year-old children enjoy school and will count on and value relationships with a few close friends and classmates, and may gravitate primarily towards friendships with peers of the same gender.

 

Parents should be on the look out for problems such as school refusal, as this may indicate learning difficulties or being bullied at school.

 

This is a good age at which to discuss respecting others.

 

They may begin to experience a sense of self confidence as they express their opinions about people and things around them. They may pay more attention to news events and want to share their thoughts on current event topics.

 

8-year-old children are still developing an understanding of what is “wrong” or “right” and lying or other behaviour requiring discipline and may need to be corrected.

 

Key Milestones

• Begins to understand how someone else feels in a given situation and will be more capable of placing themselves in another person’s
• Exhibits a wide spectrum of pro-social skills including, being generous, supportive and
• Desires to adhere strictly to rules and be “fair” which can sometimes lead to conflicts during organised group

 

Cognitive Development

• year olds usually make great gains in their cognitive Most of them begin to have an understanding of money.

 

A child’s ability to think will be affected by their emotions at this age. They may have difficulty focussing when they’ve worried or may struggle to think about their options when feeling angry.

 

Key Milestones

• Able to focus on a task for an hour or
• Understands more about their place in the
• Has a greater capacity to do mental math as well as to work with abstract and larger (three digit)

 

Age 9

At age 9 children are poised for major transition as they stand on the cusp of adolescence. In many ways they can still be considered children but are becoming much more independent and able to handle certain responsibilities with minimal adult supervision.

 

Emotional Development

At 9, children are better able to handle conflict. Their growing independence will lead to them to seek relationships independent of their family, including sleep overs at friends’ houses.

 

Many 9-year olds will have a strong desire to belong to a group and establish their place within the social order at school. As a result, many will become vulnerable to peer pressure because they want to impress their peer group.

 

• year olds may also be moody and may be upset one minute and then fine the

 

9-year olds are also becoming more aware of real world danger and disasters. Fears about events such as crime or storms or anxieties about a parent dying one day may replace fears they may have had as a younger child such as fear of a monster.

 

Key Milestones

• They may insist on having their own way but are able to listen to
• May act unreasonable or rude when things don’t go as planned, but are as able to recognise behaviour and
• Seeks out peers to cope with uncomfortable emotions but are able to rely on own

 

Social Development

Social skills are particularly important this year, as peer relationships take on more importance. They are developing the ability to see that friendships have many different levels.

 

Most 9 year olds have a best friend. They may experience loneliness when their best friend is away and having a close friendship can be good for their development.

 

Key Milestones

• Communicates needs and wants in socially appropriate
• Works co-operatively towards shared
• Consistently recognises the views of other

 

Cognitive Development

• year olds have longer attention spans and can shift their interests rather At school they will generally work well in groups and will cooperate to work on a project or activity. 9-year olds face bigger academic challenges at school. Those who do well may begin to thrive while children who struggle may grow frustrated with the demands of the classroom.

 

Key Milestones

• Increased attention span but interests may change
• Learning there is a middle ground-things aren’t all right or all
• Show interests in collections and
• Need 10-11 hours of sleep per

 

Age 10

Emotional Development

At 10 years of age, children are developing a better sense of who they are in the world. Many are starting to prepare for their transition to Middle or High school and the change in their social settings.

 

Girls develop physically at a faster rate and enter puberty earlier than boys, the transition into adolescence can trigger a host of emotions; excitement, uncertainty, trepidation and even embarrassment.

 

At age 10 you can expect your child to have more emotions and may see them becoming more skilled at handling conflict and negotiating solutions with friends. At the same time, you may see some volatility in their emotions.

 

Stress can also play a huge role in mood swings at age 10, along with physical changes.

 

Key Milestones

• Admires and imitates older
• Begins to question
• Are accepting of parent/family.

 

Social Development

• year-old girls cope with cliques as an insider, an outsider, or both on a daily At 10 girls may become possessive of their friends and can be jealous of one another.

10-year-old boys may have an easier time with friendships. Boys relationships tend to be based on mutual interests rather than close personal feelings.

 

10-year olds have good ability to sense the emotions of others and to read facial and body language.

 

10-year olds feel close to their parents, siblings and extended family. They may have frequent squabbles with them and fighting especially with younger siblings.

 

Most 10-year olds are eager to fit in by wearing the right clothes, listening to the right music, or liking and disliking the same things.

 

Key Milestones

• Enjoying creating secret codes and passwords with their
• Identifies with individuals of the same
• Prefers to work in groups and enjoys cooperative

 

Cognitive Development

At 10 children are capable of expressing their thoughts on current events, books, music and other subjects. At this period in a child’s life it is packed with learning and rapid paced cognitive growth.

10-year olds will be transitioning toward greater independence in managing and organising schoolwork and homework, requiring less supervision from parents.

 

Key Milestones

• Learning to use good
• Shows interest in sports teams or
• Have an increased attention span and can often spend long periods of time working on activities they