Developmental Milestones: 55-60 Months

Developmental Milestones: 55-60 Months

6 Feb 2018 | 5 min Read

Babychakra

Author | 1369 Articles

Developmental milestones checklist for 4.5 years old kids

Before you realize, the quiet child of four has now become a dynamo of energy, drive, imperiousness, aggressiveness and cherishable behavior. It may remind you of the phase you went through during the ‘Terrible twos’. It is a part of normal developmental milestones for your preschooler to be full of creativity and ideas. All this behavior and thinking is going to build a secure foundation for the early school days.

 

What are the physical and motor milestones developed during this phase?

 

kid balance bike

 

Children learn through play and that is exactly what your 4 year old might be doing. At this age, his gross motor activities should be running, hopping, throwing, climbing and kicking balls.

Here is a list of gross motor skills for preschoolers that your 4 year old must be doing day in and out:

  • Walks and runs forward and backward easily
  • He is able to balance and ride a bicycle
  • He is able to take a ‘U’ turn on bicycle
  • Jumps over small objects up to 1-1.5 ft tall
  • He is able to swing himself
  • Stands on the tips of toes and is able to run on it
  • Climbs trees and ladders

 

Here is list of fine motor skills

  • Writes all alphabets and digits
  • Apart from using fork and spoon, he is now able to use table knife
  • Dresses himself i.e. buttoning clothes as well as tying shoe lace
  • Manages his toilet needs during the day; and if trained well, during night as well

 

How can I improve my baby’s physical and motor skills?

 

kid playing

 

Here is a list of gross motor activities, that you can introduce him to boost his gross motor skills

  • Take him to a park or garden regularly and allow him to play and enjoy with all the rides like swing, see-saw, slides etc.
  • Take him along with you, while you are jogging or walking ask him to cycle along with you
  • Play running race, sack race etc.
  • Play with a larger sized ball, you can play either football, cricket or throw-ball
  • Take him to a beach once a week to let him play in mud or sand

 

These are the fine motor activities that will help to boost fine muscle movements in children this age:

  • Provide him with larger puzzles (about 35-50 pieces)
  • Provide him different drawing books, coloring books and puzzle books
  • Play dress up games
  • Pretend play with toys or puppets
  • Praise him, whenever he manages his own toilet needs at night or during sleeping hours

 

What are the cognitive and language development milestones maturing during this phase?

 

Cognitive development in children of 4.5 years age includes

  • Greater attention span
  • The child follows combination of 2-3 commands like switch off the TV, then brush your teeth and go to bed
  • He knows his name, age, address and contact number
  • He knows about most of the things of daily routine like food, electronic appliances, vehicles, money etc.
  • He can explain action taking place in the photo
  • He knows and recognizes common signs like ‘Stop’
  • He is inquisitive, asks questions like why? How? When? Etc.

 

Language developmental milestones during this phase include the following where the child:

  • Speaks much clearly with better sentence formation
  • Knows and speaks about 2000 words
  • Can remember and tell longer stories
  • Remembers longer nursery rhymes and can sing it easily without mistakes

 

What can I do to enhance my baby’s cognitive and language milestones?

 

girl playing piano

 

Your inquisitive and curious child is becoming better at carrying conversations. His vocabulary along with his thought process is growing, thus he is able to express his ideas better.

Here is a list of activities that helps in enhancing cognitive and language skills for toddlers:

  • Read long stories or story books with him
  • Ask him to either tell some part of the story or moral of the story
  • Sing songs (you can pick songs of different languages)
  • Recite nursery rhymes
  • Dance with him or jump around
  • Play simple music with simple instruments
  • Allow him to play with clay or dough and ask him to make different animals or shapes
  • Do some cooking with your child and take his help to promote healthy eating or healthy foods; while cooking teach him quantities and times like use half-a-spoon of salt, keep it on stove for 30 minutes or half-an-hour etc.
  • Encourage your child to talk about his daily routine, what happened in his school or play house, what is happening around or what has happened sometime back
  • Play games with him, which involve sharing and taking turns and praise him when he shares happily

 

Which social development milestones appear in a 4.5 years old preschooler?

 

children playing together

 

Here are the social development milestones for a 4.5 years old preschooler

  • Talks about his daily routine
  • Can feel rivalry with same sex parent
  • Loves to play with peers and follows rules of the game
  • Wants to be like or behaves like his friend
  • Sense of humor develops and may laugh on funny incidences
  • Can stay away from parents, without getting angry or distressed
  • If he doesn’t have anybody to play with, may have imaginary playmates
  • Becomes much more independent, for example he can travel to neighbor next door
  • Changeability of mood can be seen like sometimes cooperative and sometimes demanding

 

Disclaimer: The information in the article is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor.

Also read: Developmental Needs Of Toddlers 

 

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