Even as the child gets older play is important. It’s still how the child learns and builds social, emotional and thinking skills.

The child’s play is more complex now, filled with lots of fantasy and drama. At this age children take on more standard gender roles in pretend play – for example, girls tend to pretend play as mothers and boys as fathers.

the child is becoming more social and prefers to play with friends rather than on her own. She might find it hard to share her special toys, but she can share – most of the time, at least!

Games with rules sometimes challenge the 5-6 year-old, and he might even accuse others of cheating when he doesn’t win.

the child can express her feelings, although she might need help and time to identify and talk about tricky emotions like frustration or jealousy. She has much better control over her feelings too and she might have fewer unexpected outbursts of anger and sadness.

Although children of this age love to be independent, he still needs lots of your love and attention. 

Connecting with the family

 is the most important thing in his life. He wants your approval, is proud of his achievements – and probably does not take well to criticism or discipline.