How fast time flies! At age 5 years 7 months old already, your little one is almost ready for school. He has a proper little personality now, matched with boundless energy and curiosity. What can you expect from your 5 years 7 months old child this month?
In this article, we cover the common milestones that a 5 years 7 months old child should be achieving, but please remember, every child is a unique individual. This means that your child may meet milestones sooner or later than his peers – and this is just fine. If you are worried about any aspect of your child’s development however, you should consult a paediatrician without delay.
5 Years 7 Months Old Development And Milestones: Is Your Child On Track?
Physical Development
By now, your 5 years 7 months old child might have already shown interest in certain sports or physical activities. Physically, he/she would have lost all that toddler chubbiness and his body has adult proportions. Your child remains very active, and adequate physical activity is important to ensure his healthy overall development.
A sense of body image starts building around this time, too. At this stage, your child’s median height and weight* should be as follows:
- Boys
– Height: 113 cm (44.5 inches)
– Weight: 19.8 kg (43.7 lb)
- Girls
– Height: 112. 1 cm (44.1 inches)
– Weight: 19.4 kg (42.7 lb)
Here are a few milestones you should look out for. Your child,
- Understands the clear physical difference between a boy and a girl.
- Performs all motor-skilled based activities- like picking up, throwing, carrying, balancing – without any help.
- Runs, skips, jumps and hops with agility and skill
- Can confidently balance on one foot.
- Is able to hold a pencil using a three-finger grasp.
- Can thread beads onto a string.
Tips
- Around this time, your child might start losing (or already has lost) some milk teeth. Dental care remains very important.
- If you haven’t already, enroll your child in physical activity classes, like swimming or dancing. Such activities are great to further hone your child’s physical development and agility, and also teach skills like confidence and perseverance.
- Teach your child to get dressed and undress alone. Things like pulling up zippers and doing up buttons and clasps encourage fine motor skills development. Plus, this will encourage your child to be independent.
- Avoid giving your child screen time as much as you possibly can, especially if this compromises the amount of physical activity he gets. Restrict total daily screen time to one hour or less.
When to talk to your Doctor?
If your child cannot:
- Balance on one foot for at least a few seconds
- Stumbles and falls very often while running or being active
- Cannot properly grasp a pen or pencil
Cognitive Development
Your 5 years 7 months old child’s brain is nothing less than a wonder land. You’ll notice a clear improvement in your child’s cognitive abilities, such as how he now reasons (rather than throws a tantrum) when he wants something, or can even solve basic maths problem, like adding 1 and 2.
At almost 6 years old, your child’s questions would have also evolved in complexity, showing his desire to keep learning about the world. He can also concentrate on an activity better than ever, whether this is reading a book or solving a puzzle. You might also notice that your child tells you little lies. But according to research, this is a sign of your child’s growing intelligence.
Here are some other cognitive developments to look out for this month:
- Your child can confidently and correctly put a simple puzzle together
- He can look at a simple picture and replicate it
- Your child can focus on a task for at least 10-15 minutes
- He has an opinion on certain matters
Tips
- Respect your child’s growing sense of individuality and don’t belittle his opinions or ideas. Instead, encourage discussion around these matters so that you encourage your child’s critical thinking capacity.
- If you do give your child screen-time, choose educational programmes and apps over violent games or cartoons. Always monitor your child’s screen-time.
- Boost your child’s school-readiness by setting the foundation for fun yet effective learning through: books, simple math challenges, visits to the museum or other places of interest.
When to talk to your Doctor?
If your child:
- Cannot complete a simple puzzle
- Cannot count up to at least 20
- Does not show interest in asking questions or learning about something new
Social and Emotional Development
Your 5 years 7 months old child is able to control his emotions better than a year ago. Tantrums should have disappeared by now, but your child might still cry or whine when he wants something.
By this age, your child loves playing with his peers and might even have a best friend or two. Your little one loves your company too, so make the most of it before those typically broody teenage years swing by!
He is very friendly in general, even speaking to people he doesn’t know. This is why it’s important to talk your little one about “stranger danger” and how he should never speak to strangers.
You might notice the following characteristics of your child’s social and emotional development this month:
- He will show more independence, wanting to do many things on his own
- Kids of this age may show a preference to playing with friends of their gender
- Your child might show bossiness, especially when playing with younger children
- He will verbalise his emotions, rather than display them through physical actions
- Will generally be helpful around the house, wanting to please you
Tips
- Help your child understand and label more complex emotions such as confusion and even jealousy. Guide your little one on how best to deal with these
- When your child does something nice for you or a someone else, be liberal with your praise
- Continue to teach your child good manners and how to behave in public
- While your little one might prefer to play with children of the same gender, make it a point to include children of both genders in playdates and birthday parties
- If your child does something wrong, avoid harsh punishments. Instead, talk to him about the behaviour in question, explain why it was unacceptable, and dole out age-appropriate consequences.
When to talk to your Doctor
If your child:
- Has severe separation anxiety
- Is consistently aggressive when playing with other children (verbally and/or physically)
- Dislikes playing with other children
Speech and Language Development
By 5 years 7 months old, your child will talk like a little version of yourself or your spouse, with a side of sass. Be very mindful of the words and language you use, including how you speak to and about others. Your child at this age mimics your behaviour and speech.
If you speak in two or more languages at home, your child should also be quite fluent in these by now. While he might still stumble sometimes with grammar and tense, in general, your 5 years 7 months old child speaks very well and coherently.
Take note of these other speech and language characteristics. Your child:
- Speaks in complete sentences, using up to 7-8 words
- Reads simple books out loud
- Writes short sentences
- Expresses emotion through tone and modulation of voice
Tips
- Communicate with your child as much as possible. The more you do this, the more his communication and language skills will develop.
- Encourage your child to keep reading as this is one of the best ways to strengthen language skills
- Get your child a kid’s version of a dictionary and teach him how to use it.
- With growing language skills, kids get increasingly better at describing what has happened, what they feel, and what they think. Encourage your child to express such events.
When to talk to your Doctor
If your child:
- Is unusually shy to speak to friends or other people
- Starts to stammer
- Refuses outright to talk to others
Health and Nutrition
This is the golden period of growing and developing in every aspect- physically, mentally and emotionally. A healthy, balanced diet will aid in this. However, kids of this age don’t always know what’s good for them, including food! As such, you might find yourself struggling to keep your little one away from junk food. Not to worry, persistence is key in all things parenting!
Your 5 years 7 months old child will definitely have food preferences by now and will strongly state when he/she doesn’t like the taste of something. While some kids are adventurous with food, others stick to what they know and like to eat. This is quite normal.
Your child needs approximately anywhere between 1500 and 1800 calories to fuel him/her through the day. This is, of course, depending on growth and activity level. Typically, the calorie intake for boys and girls of this age are as follows:
- Boys: 1,715 Kcal/day
- Girls: 1,607 Kcal/day
Their daily nutrition should be composed of the following nutritional elements:
Protein
Your child needs two servings of protein (in total, around 32.4g) each day. One serving equals one to three tablespoons of lean meat, chicken, turkey or fish, four to five tablespoons of legumes, dry beans and peas, or one egg.
Fruits
Your child needs three (100g) cups of fruits everyday. One cup of fruit equals one cup of fresh, frozen, or canned fruit, half (1/2) cup dried fruit, half (1/2) of a large apple, one eight- or nine-inch banana, or one medium grapefruit.
If your child wants to drink fruit juice, make sure it’s 100 percent juice without added sugars. Do give fresh fruit whenever possible as dried and canned fruit have very high sugar content.
Vegetables
At this stage, your child requires two cups (100g each) of vegetables every day. One cup of vegetables equals one cup of cooked or raw vegetables, two cups of raw leafy greens, one large tomato, or two medium carrots.
Provide a variety of vegetables through the week. Make sure to include dark green, red and orange hued vegetable, beans and peas, and starchy tubers like sweet potato. If selecting canned or frozen vegetables, look for options lower in sodium.
Grains
Introduce a minimum of four ounces of grains in your child’s meals each day. One ounce of grains equals one slice of bread, one cup of ready-to-eat cereal, or half (1/2) cup of cooked pasta or cooked cereal.
Choose whole grains, such as whole-wheat bread, oatmeal, popcorn, quinoa, or brown or wild rice. Limit or eliminate refined grains such as white bread, pasta and rice.
Milk/Dairy
Your child should drink a minimum of 17 to 20 ounces of milk a day (around 2-3 cups). You may also substitute one cup of milk with one cup of yogurt or soy milk , 1½ ounces of natural cheese (around the size of four stacked dice), or two ounces of processed cheese (around the size of five stacked dice).
In a nutshell, here’s what you child needs every day (refer above for what the amounts look like):
- Fruits: three cup for boys; three cups for girls
- Vegetables: two cups for boys; two cups for girls
- Grains: four ounces for boys; four ounces for girls
- Proteins: 32.4g for boys; 32.4g for girls
- Milk: 17-20 ounces for boys; 17-20 ounces for girls
- Water: 1500 ml for boys; 1500 ml for girls (around six cups)
|
|---|
| Daily Nutrient/ Ingredient |
Recommended portion size |
Meal ideas |
| Calories |
1,200-2,000, depending on growth and activity level |
A tuna sandwich with cheese, A bowl of cereals with milk or Chicken soup |
| Proteins |
0.5 cup |
Grilled chicken, a bowl of lentils or 1 boiled egg |
| Fruits |
1-1.5 cups |
Chopped mixed fruits with museli, or mixed fruits in yogurt |
| Vegetables |
1.5-2.5 cups |
Daily atleast 2-3 different vegetables. Include fibre and iron rich like spinach, carrots, beetroots etc |
| Grains |
3/4th cup |
Daily 3/4th cup of rice/noodle is beneficial |
| Dairy |
2.5 cups |
1 full glass of milk + cheese/butter/yogurt through the day |
Vaccinations and Common Illnesses
By this age, most of your child’s vaccinations have been given with none due this month. Speak to a doctor about the flu vaccine for your child.
- Your child’s immune system is still developing. As such, he’s still prone to common illnesses like colds. You can boost your little one’s immunity by encouraging them to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, while drinking adequate water through the day.
- Remember, your child is unique and special. You cannot expect your child to be just like you or someone else that you consider to be ideal. Supporting him in his growth. And don’t forget to relax, breathe and enjoy this roller-coaster ride called “parenting”.
Republished with permission from theAsianparent Singapore
Sources: WebMD, MayoClinic
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