During this period, roughly covering ages 3 to 5, a child’s personality, interests, and social orientation begin to come into focus, but parents should keep in mind that personality traits, personal preferences, and intellectual and academic ability are not “locked in” for life during this (or any other) stage. At this age, many children will have their first formal learning experiences—including learning to socialize with others without a parent present. In some cases, parents may have to deal with a child’s aggression toward others, or with helping them deal with other children’s aggression toward them. Caregivers can take advantage of children’s openness to learning at this age by continuing to read to them often and conversing with them on a wide range of topics while introducing new words and ideas to them.

What are the key milestones of early childhood development?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics, by the end of early childhood, at about age 5, children can be expected to display most of the following social and cognitive skills, although each child develops differently and may achieve some milestones earlier or later than others and still be considered to be experiencing healthy development:

Social Development

• Prefers playing with others to playing alone.
• Wants to please friends, and be like their friends.
• More likely to understand and follow rules.
• Likes to sing, dance, and act.
• Is aware of gender.
• Can tell what’s real and what’s make-believe.
• Displays, and seeks, more independence in and out of the home.
• Is sometimes demanding and sometimes very cooperative.

Cognitive Development and Communication Skills

• Speaks clearly.
• Tells a simple story using full sentences.
• Uses future tense; for example, “Grandma will be here.”
• Can say their name and address.
• Can count 10 or more things.
• Can draw a person with at least 6 body parts.
• Can print many letters or numbers, and reproduce geometric shapes.
• Knows about things used every day, like money and food.