Five-year-olds are still learning to regulate their emotions, so meltdowns happen from time to time.

Still, your child is moving toward becoming more mature, and is able to do big kid things like brushing their own teeth.

By their 5th birthday, many children will have started some schooling and they are likely to engage with other children and the adults in their lives with interest.

is when your child’s mature sets of incisors (the middle bottom and middle top teeth) start to come in.

The teeth will be wiggly for a few days or weeks before they fall out, and they often fall out while your child is eating.

There may be a little blood, but the bleeding should be minimal.

At this age, your child should also be fully toilet trained.

Most children this age can clean up after themselves in the bathroom as well.

Don’t be surprised if your child still has accidents, though.

Kids this age may still wet the bed.

• Be able to count up to 100 and count a few numbers backwards.
• Be able to do some basic maths such as adding ‘1 apple to 2 apples makes 3 apples’ and will be able to tell when numbers are higher than other number.

• Be able to give their full name and know their age, birthday and where they live.
• Be able to start making up rhymes and enjoy simple jokes.
• Have an average vocabulary of over 5,000 words.
• Be able to read up to ten easy and familiar words, such as ‘cat’ and ‘dog’, and read some simple books. They may be able to copy short words and write some familiar words without help.

• Be able to tie their shoes
• Be able to hop on both legs, skip, jump with both feet, walk steadily on low walls or beams, catch a ball with their hands rather than their arms, and may be able to ride a bike with or without stabilisers.

Your child is likely to be more relaxed about being away from you, particularly if it’s to play with a friend. By now, your child will be learning about the value of friends and will feel good when their friends are happy.

They might start to behave in a way that supports friendship, such as by saying ‘sorry’ and agreeing to rules.

But even children who are happy to be away from their parents for short periods can feel anxious about starting preschool or school.

While your pre-schooler might sometimes seem demanding, you’ll probably notice that they throw fewer temper tantrums as their ability to communicate improves.

One of the things you may notice at this age is just how much fun it is to chat with your 5-year-old. Yes, they still say the cutest things, but they also have a lot of interesting thoughts and opinions to share. “They are very capable of participating in conversations and may ask questions to gain information,”

Additionally, your 5-year-old is growing and maturing when it comes to making friends and engaging with people outside their immediate family.

At this age, children more consciously make and choose friends on their own.

They are also able to engage in play that involves directions, expectations, and cooperation, which is another important prerequisite for the type of activities they will engage in once they begin elementary school. A 5-year-old can also do simple chores, such as putting their plate and cup in the sink after a meal.

But as much as your child is becoming more able to adhere to rules and become a team player, they are still very much capable of testing limits, especially with their parents.

Regressing in behaviour—and even having the occasional meltdown—is typical at this age, and it’s important to remember that your child is young and still learning.

It can be frustrating for parents to see children behaving ‘like babies’ in their eyes, but by acknowledging the feelings and supporting the child, their emotional capabilities will grow and the child will have more ways of handling tough situations.

As your child moves from preschool age to school-age, they are growing a bit more slowly, and their round cheeks and chunky thighs may start to thin out a bit.

Your child is no longer a teetering toddler or pre-schooler. Their movements are becoming more synchronized and their hand-eye coordination is getting more refined.

Five-year-olds have gotten a lot more coordinated and are ready for action.

At home, your 5-year-old will find things like dressing, going to the toilet, taking a bath and cleaning their teeth (under supervision) are all becoming easier. They will use forks and spoons confidently and may use knives for simple tasks.

Gross motor skill development allows them to throw and catch smaller balls, run, jump and skip, and even do more complex movements like gymnastics and swimming real strokes. They should also be able to hop on one foot.

As for fine motor skills, your child should be able to do things like feed themselves easily, and may even be able to use a child-safe knife to do things like spread butter on bread. They also have some ability to dress themselves, such as by buttoning large buttons.

Your child’s writing skills are also improving, which is readying them for exciting things like printing their own name.

They should have established hand dominance and be exhibiting a mature pencil grasp.

But all children are different, and you shouldn’t expect your child to have a “textbook” pencil grasp at this age.

They will also be improving in their fine motor skills, such as using paper clips or child-safe scissors, writing letters and their name and drawing pictures of people with 8 to 10 body parts.