Developmental Milestones in Preschoolers

The preschool period lasts between three and five years of age. As the nurse, you’ll collaborate with the registered nurse, or RN, to support the preschool child’s physical growth, as well as their mental and social development.

Physical development of the preschool child involves a slow and steady increase in their height and weight, and an acceleration of their motor skills.

During this time, the preschool child loses some of the chubby appearance that’s characteristic of the toddler period. At the same time, they begin to hone their fine motor skills, like using scissors, dressing themselves, and tying their shoelaces.

They also begin developing left- or right-handed dominance, showing a preference during certain activities like coloring or throwing a ball.

Their gross motor skills also improve as balance and coordination increases. They begin to walk and run with a steadier gait which helps them participate in more coordinated activities like playing independently on swings and jumping rope.

Mental development also accelerates during this period. They begin to use language to better express themselves and start to use words to express how they feel.

By the end of this period, the preschool child typically has a vocabulary of more than 2000 words and can easily create six-word sentences.

They also start to understand and follow directions when playing games and they can complete a task with more than one step.

Next, symbolic functioning begins to emerge, which is their ability to remember, understand, and replicate objects that are not readily in front of them.

This is often expressed in pretend play, which involves using an object to symbolize something else, like pretending a cardboard box is a boat or that their arms are wings.

During this time, they can easily switch between pretend play and reality. Another developmental characteristic of the preschool child is egocentrism.

This is where they begin to explore their world with a new sense of independence but remain restricted by their limited experiences.

This leads to the misconception that their point of view is the only point of view. They tend to believe that everything that happens relates to them, and they believe that everyone sees the world exactly how they do.

For example, when playing hide-and-seek, they may hide in an obvious spot where they can easily be seen by others, while believing they can’t be seen.

Social development of the preschool child involves developing relationships with peers. They begin to engage in parallel play, where they play independently alongside a group of peers, like playing with a doll while other children play with blocks; and associative play, where they play with similar toys as their peers, without coordinating their activities.

During this stage, it’s normal for the preschool child to be easily upset and sensitive at times; for example, they may become aggressive when someone takes away one of their toys, or when they’re told playtime is over.

Alright, as a quick recap… The preschool-age period lasts between three and five years of age. As the nurse, you’ll collaborate with the registered nurse, or RN, to support the child’s physical growth, as well as their mental and social development.