Notes on age five.
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How is my five year old's brain growing, and why does this year matter so much?
By five, your child's brain is nearly full grown, but inside, the wiring is still being chosen. The rule of the choosing is simple: what your child practises, the brain keeps. This year, the ordinary days are doing the building.
Practice resilience
- Can a five year old really learn self-control?
- My five year old gives up the moment something gets hard. Is that normal?
- Is my child ready for school? Everyone talks about letters and numbers.
- My five year old still has meltdowns. Shouldn't tantrums be over by now?
- Why does my child only calm down when I stay calm?
- Why does my five year old suddenly care so much about what is fair?
Tell stories
- Every story my five year old tells is and then, and then, and then. Is that okay?
- Does my five year old know right from wrong yet?
- Does telling stories now really matter for reading later?
- When does my child understand that other people think differently?
- Can my five year old tell what someone else is really feeling?
- What does telling stories together build that watching and listening alone do not?
- When do my child's stories get a beginning, a middle and an end?