Sensory processing is fully mature at this stage. Your child uses their senses with adult-like precision to observe, investigate, and learn. Scientific curiosity — asking what would happen if, then testing it — is sensory development at its most sophisticated.

There aren't many developmental changes that take place between age five and puberty. The improvements in physical performance across various disciplines are mostly due to increased strength and practice. The more your child repeats an action, the better they'll be at it.

What you can do: Encourage regular physical activity every day — sports, active outdoor play, dance, swimming. The habit of daily movement established now will pay dividends for life.

Your child's fine motor skills are precise enough for writing. They'll learn to hold a pencil the proper way — and remember that penmanship and precision are learned through practice. Give your five-year-old plenty of opportunities to write and make letters.

What you can do: Provide writing opportunities daily. Letters to grandparents, labelling drawings, making lists. Functional writing is always more motivating than worksheets.

Balance and coordination are fully developed at this stage and now improve through sport-specific practice and instruction. Enrolling your child in a sport, dance, or gymnastics program provides the structured repetition that takes coordination from competent to skilled.

Your five-year-old is using curiosity to do serious learning — they may go through the contents of a room sorting objects into categories. At five, some mysteries of music are unlocked: your child may grasp concepts of rhythm, tempo, and tone. They'll develop specific interests and a hunger to learn about those subjects over others. A five-year-old has a much longer attention span — enough to follow a story across multiple reading sessions.

What you can do: Follow their interests with enthusiasm. If they're obsessed with dinosaurs, get dinosaur books, do a dinosaur project. Depth of learning about one subject is more valuable than surface learning about many.

Clear off the fridge! Your child may have an increased interest in making art this year. You'll see greater levels of detail in their pictures. Five-year-olds start using art they create to tell stories. The pictures might tell about an event that actually happened, or about something completely imagined.

What you can do: Save their artwork and date it. Ask them to tell you the story behind each piece. The narrative-making that accompanies art creation is as valuable as the artwork itself.

If I have three apples, and I give one to you, how many do I have left?" Your five-year-old will soon be able to answer that question. Take every opportunity to play little arithmetic games. Using coins or other objects of varying value, you can teach that many things of smaller value equal one thing of larger value. A five-year-old mind is also capable of solving tougher puzzles and is starting to think well in three dimensions.

What you can do: Play arithmetic through cooking — "We need 4 cups. I've added 2. How many more?" Math embedded in real life is learned faster than math on paper.

By now, your child knows up to 5,000 words. Proper use of grammar is becoming more common. This year they'll likely be reading independently, and may get through whole picture books by themselves. They use writing to communicate. Your child is getting better with numbers — counting to 10, and understanding where each whole number belongs on the number line.

What you can do: Visit the library regularly. Let them choose their own books. Independent reading motivation is one of the most valuable things to cultivate at this age.

Social development at this stage centres on navigating complex friendships, group dynamics, and conflict resolution. Your child is learning that cooperation requires compromise, that friendships require effort, and that how you treat others matters. Guided conversations about social situations are enormously valuable now.

At five, your child can understand another person's experiences based on hearing about them — even without having had a similar experience. They've developed ability to control their voice effectively. Pronunciation is near perfect (barring a speech impediment, for which speech therapy is recommended). They can tell stories about their experiences including key events and sufficient detail.

What you can do: Have them tell you stories. Ask for the beginning, middle, and end. This narrative structure is the foundation of both writing and reading comprehension.

Your five-year-old is learning new ways to express themselves. They may start weaving music into their activities — using made-up songs to narrate play. They may use play-acting and made-up skits to put their thoughts, feelings, and ideas out into the world.

What you can do: Make a "stage" — even just a marked area with a curtain made from a sheet. Perform for each other. This play-acting builds confidence, narrative thinking, and emotional expression.

Emotional security at this stage comes from stable routines, trusted relationships, and a growing sense of competence and contribution. Your child is becoming aware of a wider world and may have new anxieties about it. Open conversations, predictable home routines, and your calm presence remain their most important sources of security.