Developmental Milestones | 5 Years

Movement

• Stands on one foot for 10 seconds or longer
• Hops, somersaults
• Swings, climbs
• May be able to skip

Hand and Finger Skills

• Copies triangle and other geometric patterns
• Draws person with body
• Prints some letters
• Dresses and undresses without assistance
• Uses fork, spoon and (sometimes) a table knife
• Usually cares for own toilet needs

Language

• Recalls part of a story
• Speaks sentences of more than five words
• Uses future tense
• Tells longer stories
• Says name and address

Cognitive Milestones

• 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)

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 Milestones

• Aware of sexuality
• Able to distinguish fantasy from reality
• Sometimes demanding, sometimes eagerly cooperative

Excerpted from Caring for Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5, Bantam 1999