child development milestones – 6 to 8 years

ChildDevelopmentMilestones–6to8years

The majority of children will achieve these development milestones by the time they arebetween 6 to 8 years. All children develop at different rates. Some children are slower thanothers(developmentallydelayed)butcatchupwithtime.Otherchildren,however,mayhaveanunderlyingproblemthatcausestheirdevelopmenttobedelayed,andtheymaynotcatchup.Itisimportantforthesechildrentogetasmuchtreatment(earlyintervention)aspossible.Soifyouareconcernedaboutanyaspectofyourchild’sdevelopment,seeyourchildhealthnurseordoctorforhelpassoonasyoucan.Ifindoubt,itisbettertohaveyourconcernscheckedthanto‘waitandsee’.

ü Anaveragechildcan… û Signsofpossibleproblemsinclude… Grossmotor ¨ Ridingatwo-wheelerbike(withouttrainerwheelsbyseven) ¨ Notabletojump,skip,hopruninacoordinatedway

¨ Becomingskilledwithhopscotchandropeskipping ¨ Bumpingintoobjects(suchasfurnitureandpeople),trippingandfallingover

¨ Gettingskilledwithasmall-sizedball(andcancatchitonehand) ¨ Uncoordinatedwithballskills

¨ Runningupanddownstairs ¨ Notabletorideabikewithouttrainerwheelsaftertheageofeightyears

¨ Enjoyingparticipationinteamgames ¨ Getstiredeasilywitheveryactivity

¨ Graduallybecomingawareofownbodyandmovement,andcomparingtofriends

Finemotor ¨ Holdingandusingpencileasily ¨ Findsitdifficultandtiringtograspandusepencil

¨ Usingfingerstowriteanddrawratherthanthewholearm ¨

¨ Learningtowritewithinthelines ¨ Difficultwritinginlines

¨ Graduallymakingletterssmaller,morewell-spacedandwelllined-up ¨ Lettersstilllarge,notbecomingsmaller

¨ Abletocutoutirregularshapes,glueaccuratelyandusesticky-tape ¨ Difficultyusingscissors

¨ Demonstrateindependentdressingskillsincludingshoelaces(usuallybytheendoffirstgrade) ¨ Unabletotieshoelacesanddressselfindependentlybyendofschooling

year¨ Abletobrushandcombhair ¨

¨ Independentinallotheraspectsofself-carebytheageofsevenyears ¨ Reliesgreatlyoncaregiverforbathing,groomingandfeeding

¨ Awareofleftandright ¨ Confusionbetweenleftandright(beyondfirstgrade)

Talkingandunderstanding ¨ Understandingsimilarities,opposites ¨ Concernsfromteachersaboutexpressiveabilities

¨ Communicatingeffectivelyinclassroomandplaygroundsocialsettings ¨ Frustrationintheclassroomorplaygroundduetonotbeingabletoexpressselfproperly

¨ Troublefindingtherightword

¨ Grammaticallyincorrectsentences

¨ Lackofawarenessofwhatthelisteneralreadyknows

¨ Understandingwithintheclassroom ¨ Concernsfromteacheraboutunderstanding

¨ Understandingconversationamongstotherchildren ¨ Childreportsconfusioninconversationwithfriendsorintheclassroom

¨ Understandingmorecomplexgrammar ¨ Difficultieswithlearningtoread

Social ¨ Participatinginwellestablished,rule-basedgroupfames ¨ Prefersplayingalone

¨ Resolvingconflictswithoutseekingadultintervention ¨ Noproblem-solvingskillsiffrustrated,ordoesn’tgettheirownway

¨ Understandingtheindividualstrengthsandinterestsofotherchildren ¨ Lackofinterestinotherchildrenorplay

¨ Persistingself-centredfocus(problemsarealwayssomebodyelse’sfault)

Intellectual ¨ Abletotellrightandleft,daysofweek ¨ Strugglewithearlycurriculumexpectations

¨ Abletorepeatthreedigitsbackwards ¨ Teacherconcerns(e.g.thesuggestionofrepeatingfirstgrade)

¨ Abletocountbackwardsfrom20 ¨ Childisfrustratedaboutlearningortheclassroom

¨ Understandtimeandhowtotellthetime

Youthriveisprovidingthisasgeneralinformationonlyanditshouldnotberelieduponasprofessionalormedicaladvice.Youshouldseekprofessionalandmedicaladviceforparticularhealthconcernsormanifestations.OurbesteffortshavebeenusedtoensurethisinformationisconsideredcorrectandcurrentinaccordancewithacceptedbestpracticeinQueenslandasatthedateofproduction.

OriginallyproducedbyChildDevelopmentNetwork.