Human Development and Family Studies
Colorado State University Cooperative Extension
Authors
Copyright/Access Information
Many families today have working mothers and fathers. During
the times parents are away from home, they need someone they can
trust to care for their children. That someone might be you!
Taking care of 4- and 5-year-olds is a very important job. It
also is a lot of fun. If you know about preschoolers, you will
know what to expect when you take care of them. You also will
be prepared to do your best work.
Children who are 4 and 5 years old are called preschoolers
because they are not yet ready for kindergarten. They may be enrolled
in a "pre-school" program like a nursery school or a
day care center. Preschoolers are no longer babies (although they
may cry at times) or toddlers (they walk, run, climb, and jump
well). Preschoolers are still growing physically, but seem to
be growing the fastest mentally. Some people think of them as
little sponges that absorb everything around them. Preschoolers
love to learn and will bombard you with questions, stories, and
facts about all the wonderful things they are discovering around
them.
The best way to describe a preschooler is LOTS OF ENERGY! They
learn constantly and use their boundless energy to explore their
own abilities and skills. Preschoolers have two main jobs:
1. to learn how to make things happen, and
2. to learn to like people and make those people like them back.
These two developmental jobs help children learn to be independent
and to explore and discover their abilities. They take responsibility
for making themselves into the kinds of people they want to be!
Four-year-olds are unsure of themselves and quite clumsy. They
often cry, whine, stumble, and fall. Five-year-olds are steadier
and a lot more sure of themselves and will not try an activity
unless they are quite sure they can do it. Five-year-olds finish
jobs and projects they start and know when to stop playing so
they can avoid feeling "worn out." Most 4-year-olds
do not know when to stop playing and often have to be told to
slow down.
At 4, preschoolers have growing control over their bodies. They
can run, skip and jump, and their balance improves every day.
They love to climb on and jump off furniture, ladders, and playground
equipment. They
delight in walking on top of low walls and fences. Many can bounce
and throw a ball. The main difference between 4 and 5 is the constant
improvement in each of these activities.
Children who are 4 and 5 have learned to use small muscles like
those in their hands. Four-year-olds can cut a line with scissors,
draw or paint designs, print some letters of the alphabet (like
those in their names), dress themselves, and catch a big ball.
Five-year-olds can copy squares, designs, letters, and numbers.
They can fasten buttons and zippers, tie shoelaces, fold paper,
and throw and catch a small ball.
The vocabularies of preschoolers are growing. They love to try
out new words, especially if they are silly or rhyming words.
They have hundreds of ideas to express in paintings, make-believe
play, and building activities.
The figures in their drawings become easy to recognize. They ask
many questions and remember words as well as melodies and rhymes
of songs.
Preschoolers are both independent and social. They have strong
needs for companionship and love being silly with friends and
family. They are proud of their toys, play pretend games, and
have fits of laughter. They
prefer playing with others, but enjoy playing by themselves at
times. They boast and brag and make lots of noise. They also call
people names and tattle on their friends. They sometimes push
and wrestle and love rough play.
Preschoolers can tell you how they feel. They feel happy when
they are praised and encouraged. They feel confident when they
help with tasks and please their parents or caregivers. They are
protective toward younger brothers, sisters, and playmates. They
understand sharing and taking turns even though they do not do
it all the time. Usually, at this age girls like to play with
girls, and boys like to play with boys. Often, 4-year-olds have
lots of fears. Dogs, men with beards, and the dark are scary to
them.
Preschoolers do not grow as fast as babies. They grow about 3
inches and gain about 4 or 5 pounds each year. They need about
12 hours of sleep a day with or without an afternoon nap. They
are independent people and love to dress, feed, and go to the
bathroom by themselves. Preschoolers want to try everything, and
need lots of activities to keep busy. Helping you do things like
fix lunch, pick up toys, or dig in the garden can be especially
fun for preschoolers.
Nicholas and Willy are normal children. The fact that they do
some things different, like catching a ball and drawing shapes,
is normal. No two preschoolers are alike. Some grow taller than
others. Some talk
more, run faster, and make friends more easily. These variations
in development are called individual differences. As you read
this section, Willy and Nicholas will help you recognize individual
differences and help you learn how preschoolers grow and develop.
When 5 years old, Willy and Nicholas loved to swing and do somersaults.
They could ride tricycles and walk up and down stairs by themselves.
Nicholas' drawings were stick figures, and Willy's were more detailed
showing houses with doors, windows, chimneys, and roofs.
Willy and Nicholas had about 2,000 words in their vocabularies
and usually used sentences of about five or six words. Nicholas
could count to 100 and Willy could count to 30. Nicholas could
draw many shapes,
knew the letters of the alphabet, and could name about 15 different
colors. Willy did not recognize colors or shapes very quickly.
She did know most of the letters of the alphabet although she
seldom got them in the right order. Willy was just as smart as
Nicholas, but Nicholas had a longer attention span. This meant
that he could concentrate on one learning activity for a longer
period of time than Willy could. Willy had too much energy and
curiosity to sit still for that long!
Nicholas and Willy could hop on one foot, skip, throw, kick, catch
balls, and understand the rules of the games. They both loved
to play in water or sand, work puzzles, paint, draw, and color.
They loved to be read to, sing, and keep time to music. Their
friends and families were important and they learned how to cooperate
when they played.
Willy seemed to have a cold all winter long and still needed a
nap in the afternoon. Nicholas was rarely sick and had given up
his afternoon nap in favor of an earlier bedtime at night. Both
Willy and Nicholas were emotional children and showed their feelings
immediately and confidently. Willy was afraid of spiders, the
dark, and monsters. She sometimes laughed one minute and burst
into tears the next. Nicholas was afraid of big dogs and the dark,
and sometimes cried when he was frustrated, frightened, or upset.
Here are more facts you should know about preschoolers:
Preschoolers develop in many ways. They become more aware of
what they can do physically with their bodies. They become more
sensitive to their parents' and friends' feelings as well as to
their own. They slowly learn to deal with their feelings and emotions.
They also learn to make friends, play, and love.
Preschoolers develop in four ways:
We can think of this development as a pie with four slices.
Preschoolers need all four slices to grow fully. If one slice
is missing, their development will be incomplete.
A preschooler grows as a whole human being. It is a mistake to
focus on only one part of a preschooler's growth. You need to
keep all four stages in mind when you are around preschoolers.
As their muscles grow, so do their emotions. As their capacity
to think grows, so does their need for companionship and friendship.
The following chart shows how average preschoolers grow and develop
from 4 to 5 years of age. Remember this is only a guide. Each
child is different, and does different things at different times.
Even Nicholas and Willy grew and developed at different speeds.
Nicholas sometimes pushed when he was in a group, but he still
loved his friends. Willy knew all kinds of silly songs and nursery
rhymes. Nicholas could hop on two feet, and Willy loved to ride
her bike with training wheels. Willy began to lose her baby teeth
at the end of her fifth year, but Nicholas did not. Nicholas was
very skinny, and Willy was on the chubby side, yet they were both
normal, healthy preschoolers.
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| Physical | Can hop, skip, turn sharp corners, run, roll, climb ladders and trees, throw balls. Can talk and eat, or talk and play at same time. Think they are too old to rest. Can use blunt scissors. Can cut on a line. Draw pictures of humans with head, body, arms, and legs. Laces shoes, but cannot tie them. Grows about 4 pounds and 3 inches yearly. |
| Intellectual | Attention span longer. Asks questions. Does dramatic play. Starts to tell the difference between fact and fantasy. Is interested in death. Begins to understand time concepts and to know seasons. Knows of sex difference. Likes dressing up and pretending to be an adult. Interested in TV. Vocabulary of 1,500 words. Likes big words. Shows interest in letters. Can count to 30. Can tell heavy from light. |
| Emotional | Likes to brag and boast. Interested in rules. Acts silly if tired. Behavior sometimes out-of-bounds. More fears. Understands danger. Shows temper. Beginning awareness of good and bad. Very noisy. |
| Social | Strong need for friends. Enjoys being silly. Name calling. Follower and tags along with older kids. Likes being in the group. Starts to grasp sharing. More independent of adults. Inability to plan ahead. Can take turns. May pick up things that do not belong to them. No property rights. May tell tall tales. |
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| Physical | Handles sled and tricycle well, maybe two-wheeler with training wheels. Hops, skips, climbs, slides, and swings. Handles most dressing. Can stand on one foot. Can walk a straight line without stepping off. Can broad jump. Attempts all kinds of physical feats. Learns to throw, kick, catch a ball. Holds pencil like adult. Dances and can keep beat. Permanent teeth starting. Cuts, pastes, and draws pictures. Handles tools. Left or right handed. |
| Intellectual | 2,200 words in vocabulary. Can give name, age, address, and birthday. Can sort size, color, and shape. Talks plainly. Recognizes some numbers and letters. Great imagination. May start to collect things. Enjoys jokes, rhymes, riddles, and nonsense songs. |
| Emotional | Learning what is right to do and say. Tends to be reliable, stable, well-adjusted. Proud of possessions. Can usually tell between true and false. Still has some fears. Wants to be treated like an adult. Can accept fair punishment. Impulsive behavior at times. |
| Social | Is tattletale. Needs adult supervision. Sometimes hits and pushes. Wants to please adults. Likes to make friends. Calm and friendly. Can give, receive, and share. Learns "fair play." Sense of humor. Role playing. Prefers other children. Becomes competitive. More dependent on peers. |
Preschoolers are busy people. They learn many skills, but still
need a lot of help from you. Sometimes they forget to put on their
hats on a cold day. Sometimes they are so busy playing they forget
about lunch. Even when they are feeling sick, they may not rest
unless you remind them.
When you take care of a preschooler, you need to be aware of their
needs. Take the following quiz to see how much you have learned
about preschoolers.
TRUE OR FALSE - "I'm a big girl/boy now, and I don't
need you to watch
me!"
The answer is FALSE. Preschoolers have grown a lot and like to
be treated as if they were older, but they still need a caregiver
to watch them closely. The world is so interesting to preschoolers,
they sometimes play with things they shouldn't. They fill the
sink too full with water or get into their mom's makeup. Sometimes
their play can be dangerous like when they follow a ball into
the street or climb too high and fall out of a tree. It is important
to always know where preschoolers are and to know what they are
doing.
At 4 and 5, children are very social. They make friends with anyone
who shows an interest in them. Friends are important to 4-year-olds
and family is important to the 5-year-old. Preschoolers like to
be in charge of their friendships, but also like the security
that comes from having a caregiver nearby. Here are ways you can
give the preschoolers you care for encouragement and security.
TRUE OR FALSE - "I can jump, run, skip, climb,
sing, ride a tricycle and make beautiful pictures."
The answer is TRUE. Preschoolers can do many wonderful things.
In fact, they spend most of every day trying out new things. Their
muscles are becoming well-coordinated, and they have learned to
control their bodies.
Preschoolers can do many things by themselves, but they may convince
caregivers they have experience doing things they do not ordinarily
do. It is important to find out their routines. Do they sleep
with the light on or have a special blanket? Do they take a nap?
Is there any food they should not have? Talk to the parents and
find out how, where, and when to let preschoolers do things for
themselves. It is a good idea to have an emergency number so you
can reach parents.
Preschoolers want to use their developing muscles and minds. They
want to help with anything that you do, so let them try even though
they may not do it well. For example, let them try to spread peanut
butter or put food on their plates. If it is a nice day, have
a picnic in the backyard and let them run and dance to stretch
their muscles. Let them pick out clothes and dress themselves.
Do not expect too much from preschoolers. Remember they are not
as good as adults at doing things. They are likely to spill, make
messes and lots of noise. Get permission from parents before you
cook anything, leave the yard, or have the children's friends
in the house to play.
TRUE OR FALSE - "Sometimes I'm happy and I laugh.
Sometimes I get mad and cry. Sometimes I get into trouble and
that means I'm a bad person!"
The answer is FALSE. Preschoolers are very emotional. Their moods
change quickly and sometimes create mischief for caregivers. Sometimes
preschoolers do things that caregivers do not like. Then it is
important to remember that it is not the child but what the child
is doing that you do not like. Each preschooler is a special,
wonderful child, and needs lots of positive encouragement. Preschoolers
are learning about their emotions. Moods and outbursts are often
over very quickly. Remember, they are trying out new things and
anger is one of them! Accept anger, crying, and the giggles as
a normal part of preschool development, and try not to make too
much of them. Because preschoolers are good at so many things,
caregivers and parents sometimes expect too much from them. Do
not forget, they are still children!
Here are ways you can help preschoolers learn about their emotions.
"Why is the grass green? Why is the sky blue? Why do people
wear socks? Why do I have to go to bed?"
Why does Willy ask so many questions? Sometimes children ask questions
to get attention. Sometimes they ask because they enjoy playing
games with words. They like to experiment and explore and want
to know why
things happen the way they do. Four-year-olds, however, rarely
have the patience to wait for a long, complicated answer. Five-year-olds
can pay attention longer. They ask, "what" and "how"
questions and listen carefully to the answers.
Remember, this section is only a guide. It tells you a little
bit about preschoolers, but you probably will have many questions
about children who are 4 and 5 that are not answered here. Ask
questions of the parents you know, read library books and magazines
about preschoolers, and maybe even ask your own mom, dad, grandparent,
or caregiver what you were like as a preschooler. You will probably
find there is more than one answer to each of your questions.
That is okay. All parents have their own way of caring for their
children. They may even care for each of their children differently.
Here are some activities that will help you learn about preschoolers.
Remember, preschoolers have short attention spans and will not
stick with any one activity for very long.
1. Design a play bag that you can take with you when you care
for preschoolers. Include things like empty food boxes so you
can set up a pretend grocery store, play money, hats, puzzles,
dolls, and games.
2. Learn several silly songs or nursery rhymes.
3. Go to a toy store and ask what 4- and 5-year-olds play with
and what they most often want to buy.
4. Make a tracing of the preschoolers' hands and feet on paper,
and let them color them in.
5. Read *Good Times with Health
and Safety* and make a check list of safety precautions for
a preschooler. Take a first aid class or a child care class.
6. Preschoolers need and want new experiences. Try some of these
ideas while you are caring for 4- and 5-year-olds.
A lot of information is available about preschoolers. Check
sources like public libraries, local book stores, special television
and radio programs, magazines, parent groups or classes, doctors
who specialize in caring for young children, and your local Cooperative
Extension office.
Order these through your local Cooperative Extension office.
Cooperative Extension Services of the Northeastern States, *What
are Children Like?* by Paul Nuttal, Committee Chairperson, University
of Connecticut and others.
Cornell University. *Resources for Parents and Others Who Care
about Children*.
Cornell University. *The World of the Five-Year-Old* by Patricia
Fender Robinson. $0.30 per copy.
The University of Arizona. *The Fourthwheeler* series by Shirley
J. O'Brien.
*Child Development: Infancy, Toddlerhood, and the Preschool Years*.
Special Report 110, June 1983, by Sue Martin, Cynthia Fitch, Christine
Klinger, and Leona Mote, Department of Home Economics, University
of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, Fayetteville, AK. In cooperation
with the Agricultural Experiment Station.
*Growing Parent & Growing Child* newsletter. Published
monthly at 22 N. Second Street, Lafayette, IN 47902. Send $15.95
for a one year subscription.
*The Newsletter of Parenting*. Published monthly by Highlights
for Children, 2300 W. Fifth Avenue, P.O. Box 2505, Columbus, OH
43216. Send $2.00 for a single copy (request a preschool-age-oriented
issue) or $15.95 for a one year subscription.
*Your Child from One to Six*, U.S. Children's Bureau, Pamphlet
No. 30, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402.
$5.00 each.
*Children and Adults* by Joseph and Laurie Braga. Packed with
games and activities that can help children become happy, confident
people. Includes experiences for children from birth to 6 years
old.
*The Parents' Encyclopedia* by Milton Levine, M.D. and Jean Seligmann.
Covers over 1000 topics on all aspects of child care from birth
to the teenage years.
*Survival Handbook for Preschool Mothers* by Helen Wheeler Smith,
1977.
*Under Five Series*, Ladybird Books, Book 5. Learning experiences
for 4- and 5-year-olds.