Physical Development

• Has better large muscle than small muscle coordination.
• Rides a bicycle.
• Starts to alternate rigorous and restful activities independently.
• Favors competitive games.
• Has better eye-hand coordination.
• May ask questions about life, death, and the human body.
• Preoccupied with subject of teeth.

Emotional Development

• Gets better at putting negative feelings into words.
• May blame another for own mistake.

Social Development

• Plays with boys and girls together.
• Usually has a best friend of the same sex.
• Shows growing concern about popularity among peers.
• Seeks approval of peers as well as adults.
• Takes it upon self to enforce rules.
• Tattles on other children who are misbehaving.
• Tends to be quite critical.
• Starts to look for role-models.

Mental Development

• Rapidly develops skill in using language.
• Wants to be "first," "best," "perfect," "correct," in everything.
• Is greatly concerned with right and wrong.
• Has trouble with the concepts of honesty and dishonesty.
• Starts to use logical reasoning to solve problems.
• Enjoys dramatic play.

These guidelines are offered as a way of showing a general progression through the developmental stages rather than as fixed requirements for normal development at specific ages. It is perfectly natural for a child to attain some milestones earlier and other milestones later than the general trend.

If you have any concerns related to your child's own pattern of development, check with your health care provider.