Youngsters enter a new stage of their lives at the age of five, coinciding with the rapid growth in their physical, mental and social skills, becoming more inclined towards independence and increased physical activity, and learning to think in more sophisticated ways.
There is no doubt that your love and family duty will motivate you to take into account these changes and to promote the growth of your children by supporting them at this stage with appropriate resources.
The stages of progress and development vary between children, and each of them has different interests, capacities and personalities. Moving from pre-school to primary school for the first time poses new challenges in their lives, and therefore they must be prepared to keep pace with these different steps by supporting them and encouraging them to develop their skills and hobbies.
However, encouraging healthy growth for school-age children also poses many challenges for parents, as this age stage is accompanied by increased growth in behavioral tendencies, such as lack of discipline in eating; Long and difficult hours of study and distance learning; And societal pressure and the pressure of their friends. Suitable nutrition for children of this important age includes consuming enough nutritious foods from all food groups, such as whole grains, meat, legumes, vegetables, fruits and dairy products.
Commenting on this topic, Professor Aisha Salem Al-Dhaheri, Professor of Therapeutic Nutrition and Deputy Dean of the College of Food and Agriculture - United Arab Emirates University, considers that “what children eat daily during this critical period is essential to meet their nutritional needs required for their optimum growth and development.” .
How can we know that children are enjoying healthy development?
One of the most important physical signs of healthy growth for children in their fifth year is good vision at 20/20, and that the first puberty teeth begin to appear during that year.
Other common developmental milestones for children between 5 and 12 years old include increased height and weight gain.
With regard to the growth of their brains and perception, it is important to remember that the areas of the brain involved in learning, memory, motor skills and other functions are formed in the fifth, and continue to develop until the age of 12 years.
By the age of five, the brain of a rapidly growing child has reached 90% of its size upon puberty.
Some of the major cognitive milestones in children five years old, which parents should pay attention to, include the child's ability to write certain letters or numbers; Count 10 or more things; The ability to draw a shape that includes at least six parts of the body, and to copy some engineering shapes.
How does a child's social and emotional development occur?
Children who feel good about themselves are more able to resist the negative pressures caused by their friends and make better choices. The age group from 5 to 12 years is an important stage, as children begin to gain a sense of responsibility in conjunction with the growing tendencies to independence and self-confidence in all areas of life.
At this point, children usually like to please friends and seek to be like them; They love to sing, dance and act; They are likely to agree to new rules and instructions; They can see what is real by pretending; Some may be demanding, while others may be helpful.
At the age of five, the child's brain is developing rapidly, reaching 90% of its size upon adulthood.
The transition from pre-school to “elementary” poses new challenges.