Milestones for children (5-12 years)
During the primary school years, developmental milestones become less formal, and the focus shifts towards monitoring children's performance outcomes in key learning areas at school.
Working closely with your child’s school and teachers is important. Teachers spend time with your child every day and can often spot delays or missed milestones. They can also suggest ways to support your child’s learning if needed.
Every child develops at their own pace, some will be stronger in certain areas than others.
Ensuring your child is developing at the right speed or skill for their age allows them to be prepared to learn effectively. Working closely and collaboratively with your child’s school and teachers is important. Teachers spend time with your child every weekday as well as with other children of a similar age and can often spot delays or missed milestones. They can also suggest ways to support your child’s learning if needed.
Gross motor skills
Gross motor skills use larger muscles to help you perform basic movements such as walking, running, and jumping. I During primary school years, children improve their:
- coordination and balance
- social skills such as communication and teamwork
- emotional skills such as winning and losing graciously
- confidence in physical activities
- exposure to sports - trying new games and activities
Children are introduced to basic movement skills in predictable scenarios in the early primary school years. They practice movement, balance and control as they learn how their body can move.
In the later primary years, children focus on the quality of these movements and adapt skills to new or more challenging settings. Children learn to perform these skills with more precision and apply movement to various games and sports in different sequences.
See Physical activity for more information.
Fine motor skills
Fine motor skills involve the coordination of small muscles in the wrist, hand, fingers, and even toes. Fine motor skills help your child manipulate or move objects and interact with the world in more detail. They include:
- holding a pencil
- tying shoelace
- cutting with scissors
- using a glue stick
- typing on a keyboard
In primary school, your child’s fine motor skills develop to allow for more accuracy, precision, skill, and speed. They also enable children to:
- express their ideas
- showcase creativity
- become more independent
- communicate knowledge
- develop new skills or hobbies
See Physical activity for more information.
Language and communication
Language skills involve the ability to document, communicate, and understand thoughts, feelings, and needs through words, speech, and texts.
In the early primary school years, children focus on the foundations including learning to read and understand texts, as well as writing and forming basic sentences.
In the later primary school years, children focus on developing the depth and breadth of their vocabulary. They develop their reading fluency and comprehension as well as develop their grammar and punctuation.