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)

Early Childhood Development: Your Inquisitive and Active 4 Year Old

November 14, 2022 Madeleine Vieira

You may be excited to spend time with your four-year-old because they’re just so darn fun! Whether you’re doing art projects together, playing age-appropriate games, or enjoying outdoor pastimes like catch, you’ve noticed how active, chatty, and interested in the world your four-year-old is.

Early Childhood Development: Your 4 Year Old Preschooler and What to Expect

Vocabulary Development

You may have noticed that your child loves to talk! Some children are naturally chatty and enjoy having back-and-forth conversations or telling stories.(1) You might find your conversations are getting more interesting (and funny!) as well, as on average, a four-year-old will know roughly 1,500 words!(6) Your exchanges may include longer, more complicated and varied phrases, which is fun for both of you!

Early Childhood: Your Creative and Playful 3 Year Old

October 17, 2022 Madeleine Vieira

Three-year-olds are such curious, playful, imaginative individuals!

Seeing your child grow right before your very eyes is wonderful and exciting. And watching them interact with you and others is such a gift.

Conversations have started to feel more interesting as your preschooler can say longer sentences and have more back-and-forth interaction with you. They also continue to come into their own, engaging in problem-solving and imaginative play.

Early Childhood Development: Your Young Preschooler at 3 Years Old

Vocabulary Development

Speech is yet another thing that children develop at their own pace. But a child between the ages of 3 and 4 will typically be able to say between 500 and 900 words!(2) By now, they’ll be able to talk in longer sentences of roughly 4 to 5 words, leading to real conversations with you.(4)

Toddler Development: Your Chatty and Curious 31 to 36 Month-Old

September 19, 2022 Madeleine Vieira

How fast children grow! Your child is already almost three years old. You may be wondering where the time goes.

At this stage, you probably can’t get your toddler to stop asking questions and asserting his independence! And with good reason. There are many things your toddler can do by himself at this age and the wide world fascinates him.

Watch in amazement as your toddler tackles so many tasks all on his own! He can ride a tricycle, put on his shoes, brush his teeth and say his name.

You’ve done such a great job helping him grow. And the learning will only continue. The world delights and surprises him at every turn.

Let’s see what else you can expect from your 31- to 36-month-old and how you can encourage his healthy development.

Toddler Development: Your Stubborn and Capable 25 to 30 Month Old

August 16, 2022 Madeleine Vieira

Toddler reading a book to her stuffed bear in a field

Toddlers have a reputation for being stubborn, independent, defiant and frustrating—in addition to being to being painfully cute, of course. And for good reason! At this age, your child is going through tremendous cognitive growth. They’re realizing they’re an individual who can make an impact on their environment—and all that curiosity can lead to magical discoveries. (As well as a little mischief!)

Your 25-month-old will start to play pretend, stand on their tiptoes, blow you a kiss, and find new ways to surprise you each and every day!