Development of children 4-5 years old: recommendations of a psychologist

Psychologists and educators describe the period from 4 to 5 years as one of the most favorable for the development of useful skills and acquaintance with the outside world. Become an assistant to your child on this interesting path. And how to develop a child at the age of 4 and 5 to avoid the difficulties inherent in children of middle preschool age, read our article.

What does a 4-5-year-old child know and know?Despite the fact that the development of children occurs individually and under the influence of many factors (abilities, social environment, involvement of parents), by the age of 4-5, the child already knows quite a lot.

Exactly:

• exhibits role-based interactions. He clearly separates his own role from the game one. He changes them with pleasure, trying on new images. Games in the profession, imitation of adults, imitation of animal habits go to a new level: a child demonstrates an understanding of the nuances of behavior, can ridiculously copy another person or the singing of a favorite artist;
• draws pictures with small details. If earlier the image of the little man resembled a cucumber with four sticks, now the drawing acquires technical perfection. In addition to the physiological details (nose, mouth, ears) the painted man has emotions, a clear and diverse background, accessories;

Read also: Early child development: advantages and disadvantages

• cuts out small details from paper, makes applications, collects herbariums. Such an activity not only develops creativity, but also trains fine motor skills — a reserve for calligraphic handwriting and activation of mental potential in the future;
• collects complex structures. For example, from Lego parts. Moreover, the lesson is equally fascinating for both boys and girls. At this age, it is no longer interesting to play with sets of large parts. There is a desire to create new designs, to invent game situations according to their own design;
• he moves well and harmoniously, dances, shows interest in sports. Just by the age of 4-5, children are taken to all kinds of clubs — ballet, dancing, martial arts, team sports. This is the optimal time to start: small and large motor skills of the body are already ready to perform actions with complex coordination, memorization of complex movements, active physical activity;
• shows imagination, easily coping with tasks like inventing a fairy tale or describing what a particular object looks like. A sufficiently developed imagination allows children to expand the range of games, to dream, to perceive the world through the prism of their fantasies, to be interesting interlocutors;
• arranges items by sensory attribute. The child easily lays out clothes by size (mom's, dad's, his), sorts cans with different liters, lays out clothespins by color, and small items on the dressing table — by height. Becomes a real au pair, realizing the usefulness of his work;
• uses arbitrary memorization along with meaningful. Children 4-5 years old are perfectly oriented in the storylines of their favorite cartoons, remember the highlights and phrases, the names of the characters. They play board games perfectly, in which you need to use the skill of quick memorization;
• builds, sculpts, constructs according to simple schemes. Spatial imagination begins to develop — the ability to predict the location of objects, which helps in the construction of various structures from Lego parts, cubes, sand, clay;
• demonstrates sustained attention. If earlier watching a half-hour video or cartoon tired the child, now he watches full-length paintings for 60-90 minutes with stable interest until the end;
• he talks better and better. The speech development of a child of 4 and 5 years old acquires an intensive character. Speech becomes the subject of the child's activity: he knows how to control his voice, attract attention to himself, express emotions with intonation. Every day the vocabulary is enriched with new terms and verbal constructions. However, lexical errors are also not uncommon, which sometimes amuse adults;
• builds communication without reference to the current situation. Discusses events that happened in the past, talks about the future, remembers people he once saw. Interesting fact: four-year-olds are characterized by the so-called Piaget phenomenon.

It consists in the fact that children of this age are not able to evaluate objects by two or more characteristics. For example, if you cut three yellow circles and five blue ones out of paper, show them to a child and ask how many yellow circles, he will answer "three". But if the question is formulated according to two criteria ("Which circles are more yellow or paper?"), the answer will not change — "three". Consider this point when developing a child at 4 years old. 

Sharp corners in the upbringing of a 4-5-year-old childTo build a line of education and successfully cope with the difficulties of this age period, take into account some psychological features:

Respect the rights of the child, do not prevent his natural separation from his parents and the desire to express his own opinion.

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2. Let's give a good example of behavior in various life situations, demonstrate an ethical approach to conflict resolution. Remember, at the age of 4-5, children learn empathy, support and mutual assistance. And they learn from the example of their immediate environment.
3. Do not judge for excessive imagination and some detachment from the real world. The fact that a child lives in his fantasies is completely normal. 
4. Excessive emotionality and a developed imagination can provoke fears. Be close and try to surround the child with care, explain to him that his fears are only in his head, but in reality he is completely safe.
5. The child needs communication with peers, do not deprive him of this opportunity. But this does not mean that you will have to spend half a day on playgrounds. It is also possible to socialize a child with the help of productive activities. Sign him up for clubs, classes in preparation for school, in the sports section.
6. Do not blame the child for losing interest in certain games or toys. A decrease in interest in familiar objects is a byproduct of the development of curiosity.
7. Don't worry when you hear questions like "Where did I come from?" or "What is sex?". Sooner or later you will have to explain this to the child. It is better to prepare for a conversation "about it" in advance. To help — cognitive literature compiled by psychologists. It describes these physiological processes competently and in the right words.
8. Consider the vulnerability and sensitivity of the child. Choose your words, learn self-control. Understand that your child has already passed the age of "he still doesn't understand anything." Understands, is impressed and sometimes makes the wrong conclusions. 

Recommendations for the development of a child from 4 to 5 years oldThe main recommendation for the development of a child at this age is his active involvement in gaming activities.

But it should not be haphazard, but meaningful, subject to certain rules.

In his book "Age psychology. The development of a child from birth to 17 years" Candidate of Psychological Sciences I. Y. Kulagina writes:

"The game contributes to the formation of not only communication with peers, but also arbitrary behavior of the child. The mechanism of controlling one's behavior — obeying the rules — develops precisely in the game, and then appears in other activities." 

Therefore, we advise parents to pay as much attention to games as possible. Let's look at several game classes from the position of their influence on certain aspects of development.

Auditory memoryTell the child a number row of 6-8 digits and ask him to repeat it without changing the order of the digits. 

Critical thinkingRead the text with some nonsense (you can come up with yourself directly during the reading)

. For example, "a dog ran down the street with wet paws and wings" or "Seryozha put the sun book in his briefcase and went to school." Let the kid find the absurdities and try to guess which word you replaced. 

Arbitrary attentionName a part of your body and point at it with your finger.

Let the child repeat after you. After 3-5 titles, put your finger to your nose and say "eye", thus confusing the child. His task is to correctly name the parts of the body that you point your finger at, despite the verbal confusion.

Increased attention spanSuitable for a children's team.

One child — the presenter — sits in a circle and closes his eyes. The other children have to switch places, and the presenter guesses who moved where.

Auditory perceptionThe good old "Broken phone", when the presenter makes a word, says it in the ear of the first player, and he transmits what he has heard along the chain.

The team wins if the word voiced by the last player matches the one said by the presenter.

Active attentionOne player draws a figure and everyone closes their eyes.

The second player draws some detail to it. Everyone opens their eyes and guesses what has changed. After involving all the players and acquiring a lot of details with a drawing, it becomes more and more difficult to find a new one every time.

ObservationAsk the child to find a certain number of objects in the room for a few seconds (for example, blue things), and then close his eyes and list them. 

Concentration of attentionComparing two pictures (searching for differences) can be complicated by setting the time to complete the task and penalties for incorrect indication of details.

ReactionThe host claps his hands once, and the players must take, for example, the frog pose.

Claps twice — the stork's stand. Claps three times — to make a "swallow". The winner is the one who never makes a mistake. 

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Regular games and educational classes will soon bear fruit. Every day your child will demonstrate more and more mastered skills and prepare well for school, where perseverance, attention and the ability to follow the established rules are very important.