Today’s post – Milestones Beyond Crawling, Talking and Walking: Milestones By Age Five – is made possible with support from the Association of University Centers on Disabilities through a cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” program. All opinions are my own. This post contains an affiliate link.
Ask me when each of my children first walked and I can recall it all very clearly, even after so many years. J, 20 now, walked at nine months old, Em at one year old (her birthday party actually), and Anabelle at 14 months. At each doctor visit I was always asked about certain milestones, laughing, crawling, and sitting up. Eventually those questions all but disappeared – I figured I had scored an A in parenting. I had no idea that these questions should have continued, in fact there’s an entire list of milestones by age five. Now that I know, I’m sharing these milestones by age five with you – along with an easy and yummy recipe for testing one of these important developmental milestones with your child.
Milestones By Age Five
Somewhere after walking and talking I stopped looking at milestones, until Anabelle came along. Since she was a preemie there were some concerns over delays in her hitting the milestones. We were told by age two she should be all caught up, but her school had some concerns and we took her for evaluation at Early Steps. Seems she was fine after all, and her delayed speech actually had more to do with her ears having fluid as well as her own attitude in when she wanted to answer someone. I was relieved, but also anxious, had we missed any important milestones with Em?
Em recently turned five years old and has been in preschool since she was 18 months old. Fortunately because of school there’s extra eyes on her development. Including hitting all the milestones by age five. Developmental milestones aren’t set in stone, they are just a guideline of things most children can do by a certain age. Once your child has reached their 5th birthday, you can take a look at the checklist, and discuss any concerns about development at your next pediatric visit.
Practicing Fork and Knife Skills – Milestones By Age Five
Developmental milestones by age five include tracking of social, emotional, language and communication, cognitive (learning, thinking, problem-solving), as well as movement and physical development. One of the milestones I realize we have yet to hit is using a fork along with a table knife. It dawned on me that anytime we serve Em, her food is pre-cut, and if we happen to be out at a restaurant we always remove the knife from her setting. I recall her using a plastic knife before, assuring me she knew how because they had practiced at school. How did I miss this important milestone – a checklist of milestones by age five surely would have kept us on track.
Realizing how important this milestone was, I ordered Em a new cutlery set which included a table knife appropriate for her age. Anabelle wants to learn to use a knife just like her big sister, but we are still working on her scissor cutting skills (another milestone). Wanting to ease Em into the use of a fork and knife I decided making something easy like French Toast would work as an introduction. But she totally was way ahead of me, and decided to test out her skills on the strawberries too – she even cut up strawberries on her sister’s plate!
Quick and Easy French Toast Milestone Measure
Ingredients
-Challah Bread or French Bread
-Milk
-Egg
-Cinnamon Sugar
-Cooking Spray
-Strawberries
Directions
1. Cut bread into 1 inch thick pieces
2. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar into bowl of milk and dip bread lightly on both sides
3. Lay bread to side over slotted rack to rest for one minute
4. Beat eggs in separate bowl
5. Dip bread into egg bowl lightly coating both sides thoroughly
6. Lay bread to side over slotted rack to rest for one minute and excess egg to drip off
7. Spray your pan with cooking spray and place dipped bread on pan
8. Cook on medium for a few minutes on each side until golden brown
9. Remove from heat and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar
10. Garnish with strawberries and serve.
Measuring your child’s milestone development can be fun. Em loves to help out in the kitchen, and really appreciates food she helps cook. She loved this French Toast and we’ll be using it to help practice her fork and knife skill going forward. Be sure to order a free Parent Kit, which includes a Milestone Moments booklet with checklists for ages 2 months to 5 years and a growth chart. The Parent kit is available in English or Spanish. Or you can download the CDC’s Milestones Tracker App on iTunes for free. Learn the Signs. Act Early. and stay informed on your child’s development for discussing any concerns with your child’s pediatrician.
Learn the Signs. Act Early. and join the conversation online #MilestoneMonday
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Comments (48)
Such important information. I always said a child will due things in their own time but, I was fortunate I didn’t hv to worry. They were all quick to do everything. My grandaughter had a stroke inside of r daughter before she was born so I’ve learned so much
Oh wow! How is she doing?
that’s some hard work. :/
Awesome, Em! Thank you for allowing us to serve you with Kiddobloom utensils. With much love, Kiddobloom
Lots to learn. Thanks for the recipe too
What a good read. I am a believer in they will do things when they are ready but i dont feel its bad to take advices of the doctor.
I never knew there were so much more milestones to worry about. Really important that you shared this.
I was always so excited every time my kid hit a milestone. I never worried about him hitting the milestones, I just enjoyed watching as he learned each one and got excited about having learned something new.
wow i never knew there where all these milestones all the way to 5 yrs old
wow i had no idea there were all these milestones
Wow! So many milestones. My children are grown now but it is nice to have these for my grandchildren. And this recipe looks delicious! Thanks!
Thanks for the great post. There is a lot of things going on before age 5.
Great guide!
This is such a great post, thanks for sharing! I have three kiddos ages 8, 4, and 3 so I know that each can move at their own pace and hit milestones at different times. I was actually surprised by how quickly my 3 year old has been hitting hers, but I realize this is most likely from the influence of her older siblings. 🙂
True! I never really noticed it as my oldest is 5… But when I signed her up for Kinder… We have never taught her to tie shoes ? mine are 5 3 and 1 so I’ve done slip one or zip ups always! So that’s our summer goal!
This was a great article to read. My grandchildren are a little past five now and I think they are right on. Thank you so much for sharing this
I hated to work when my kids were little as I worked long hours and missed most milestones.
Great accomplishment! Using the fork and knife perfectly!
My son appeared to have a speech problem when he was little and we were really concerned. Turned out, he was just a late talker. Now at 18, he’s very talkative and loves participating in debates. I believe kids will do things when they are ready.
My grandson’s wife has a 3 year old who is way behind in his milestones. I know every child is different but have been concerned for him for a while. He cannot speak plain at all except for some words. Can’t dress himself or feed himself except with hands. She’s supposed to take him to a doctor that can hopefully recommend to a specialist.
Thank you for the great article.
Great guidelines! Milestones are so important to keep an eye on, but not to get super stressed over. I think many parents tend to stop noticing developmental milestones when their kiddos get through the toddler stage.
This was so great to read! I kind of stopped following milestones a while ago. I didn’t realize using a fork and knife were milestone. I’ll definitely order some children’s cutlery and start working on this with my little ones!
Great blog entry. Thank you.
There are so many milestones to be celebrated by our children as they grow. It is truly a blessing to behold
I was always so excited every time my kid hit a milestone. Im never concerned if she doesnt hit it right away they’ll do something when their ready but i agree its good to keep an eye on it anyways
Good information about milestones and I’m glad your pediciatrician is keeping an eye on it too. Love the ease of the french toast recipe. YUM!
Having twins really gives you a new perspective on child development. Having one boy and one girl magnifies the problem when one is still figuring out the belly crawl and the other is already walking against the couch.
This was so informative! Thanks for sharing some insight 🙂
What an important post to read! My Granddaughter is almost 3.
Lots of milestones for sure. It is amazing truly wha a child has mastered or has a good grasp of by age five. I like how you show this, it was interesting.
I really never thought of specifics as each child is different, just as long as the main milestones were being hit. Ofcourse physical handicaps were exceptions. These are awesome pointers though.
Developmental milestones! OMG….when my daughter was first born, I swore I wouldn’t “look up” all the milestones. I know each child develops differently, and no kid lives in a textbook. But I noticed things didn’t seem quite right – as a mom, you have to go with your gut. I kept asking the pediatrician about her, and he kept giving me this song & dance about me “just being a nervous first-time mom.” Right. But by the time she was 9 months old, and still couldn’t turn over in the crib by herself, he had to admit there was something wrong. (There were other signs, too….). We made the rounds of pediatric neurologists and finally got a diagnosis of (mild) Cerebral Palsy. So disheartened after this, we never had another child.
Have fun hitting those milestones.My “children” to are now in their 30’s and we are waiting for the grandchildren to happen
thesea re good but sometimes the lists freak me out, you know? like im failing or something…
Do you have a newsletter? If so I cant find where to sign up
what a great guide
Take pictures too! and write down how you feel, amazingly you will forget.
great suggestions
very delicious
I try to write things down but with 6 kids I forgot too often! Thanks for the ideas
Thanks for the info and recipe
This is so precious! I love keeping track of milestones! 🙂
My best friend’s 7 month old is trying to master the pincer movement, fine motor control of his thumb and fingers to pick up small items ….it’s so interesting to watch as they acquire each new development. Nice post, I enjoyed it!
Most milestones are pretty much naural but things like tying shoes, using utensils and such all have to be learned either at home or daycare. It is tougher for some but they do mange. I used to work in the schools and it amazed me how some had everything mastered and some had to catch up but inthe end, they all learned.
Its so funny the things we find easy that the kiddo’s really struggle with!! How quickly we forget that original struggle!!
This is so sweet! One that was big at my house was learning how to use the stairs! For the longest time my daughter had to scoot down on her bum!
Milestones are so awesome to watch our littles achieve, but too many mom’s I feel are too overly worried about them and too overly proud of early hit milestones. All babies are different and I don’t believe they should be pushed to achieve what their brother or sister or friend did at whichever age. I’m a mom of three and all three of my kiddos were so vastly different. Relax and enjoy them as they achieve each one.