Early Childhood Development: Your Helpful and Social 5 Year Old

December 15, 2022 Madeleine Vieira

Group of preschooler children looking down into camera

Your five-year-old is coming into their own and soaking up everything like a sponge! They might enjoy potty humor and love to tell wild, imaginative stories, but they also want to contribute in real ways to your family. Whether they’re following your instructions on how to set the table or pulling weeds from the garden, they love to help out in meaningful ways.

Early Childhood Development: Your 5-Year-Old Preschooler and What to Expect

Vocabulary Development

Your child’s vocabulary is still growing and growing! On average, a five-year-old will know roughly 2,000 words.(2) The back-and-forth conversations are also getting longer, and typically five-year-olds say sentences that are at least five words long.(2) And boy do five-year-olds love to share their opinions! (1) Ask them questions, listen closely to their thoughtful explanations, and encourage them to tell stories. At this age, children also have longer attention spans, so they can follow multi-step instructions and do more complex projects.(1)

The Do’s and Don’ts of Feeding a Preschooler

December 5, 2022 Madeleine Vieira

You’re tired of the fights at mealtime. You don’t feel good about serving plain pasta with butter for dinner again. But you also don’t want to argue every time you sit down to eat. You just want your child to eat a nutritious meal without all the theatrics and protests.

Mealtimes with young children can be incredibly frustrating. They have short attention spans, they reject the food you’re serving, and they won’t eat much (or at all, for that matter!)

Sound familiar?

Many parents go through difficult phases with their young children rejecting food. Could sensory differences be one reason why?

Is My Child Learning in Preschool? Yes, Your Child is Learning When They Play

November 21, 2022 Madeleine Vieira

Children learn many valuable skills during the preschool years. They’re learning how to communicate with and listen to others and how to follow directions. They’re developing fine and gross motor skills, and engaging with other children in cooperative play.

The point of preschool is to teach children important skills that will lay the groundwork for their future success. Skills like reading, writing, school readiness, and social skills like how to cooperate with others are all explored in preschool.(1)

What is My Preschooler Thinking About? How Does My Preschooler’s Brain Work?

November 7, 2022 Madeleine Vieira

Girl wearing glasses with math equations on blackboard behind her

The brain is the most complex and fascinating organ in the human body. There are so many parts working together to allow your preschooler to walk, talk, play, and feel.

The left side of the brain, for example, is responsible for speech and logical thinking. It’s literal and logical and loves order and organization.(3) When your preschooler is working on a puzzle, for example, it’s a great left brain exercise!(11)

The right side of the brain is responsible for spatial thinking, reading nonverbal cues, and processing emotions. (3,4) Rather than being detail-oriented like the left brain, it cares about the big picture. Think of it as the more emotional and experiential of the two hemispheres.(3) Playing a matching game with your child is a great right brain exercise!(11)

When children are very young, they’re right-hemisphere dominant, especially in their first three years of life. (3) Have you noticed how young children are so good at being focused in the present moment? They’re taken with the most ordinary things — the color of the fall leaves on the ground, a lady bug crawling on a bench, a tremendously smooth rock. Everything seems to delight and surprise them. Until, of course, a wave of very big emotions crashes over them and the tears or tantrums start.

When children become emotionally flooded, their right brains are working in overdrive.(3) Their more logical left brain isn’t working in sync with the right hemisphere.(3)