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A Five-Year-Old Getting Ready for School

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Age five is a big year, as your child transitions from a preschooler to an older, more mature, school age child who is getting ready to start kindergarten.
A five-year-old getting ready for school.

A five-year-old getting ready for school.

Photo (c) Wendy Shiao
Your child's nutrition is important to his overall health, especially to help avoid childhood obesity. The best nutrition advice to keep your child healthy includes encouraging him to:
  • Eat a variety of foods
  • Balance the food he eats with exercise and physical activity
  • Choose a diet with plenty of grain products, fruits and vegetables
  • Choose a diet high in fiber and low in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol
  • Choose a diet moderate in sugars and salt
  • Choose a diet that provides enough calcium and iron to meet their growing body's requirements
You can also help promote good nutrition by setting a good example. Healthy eating habits and regular exercise should be a regular part of your family's life.

What You Need To Know About Your Five-Year-Old

  • This is a time of growing independence and children at this age want to be considered more responsible. To help foster this sense of responsibility, now is a good time to begin giving your child an allowance. The amount is not very important, but is usually 50 cents to $1.00 per year in age and should be used for special things that your child wants.
  • This is a good age to start some chores.
  • Teach stranger awareness.
  • According the latest car seat guidelines, children should sit in a forward-facing car seat with harness straps as long as possible and until they reach the weight and height limits of their car seat and can then move to a belt-positioning booster seat.
  • Teach your child how to dial 911 (if available in your area).
  • At the 5-year-old checkup, you can expect a complete physical exam, a review of feeding and sleep schedules, measurement of your child's height, weight and blood pressure. Your child will also receive his vaccines, including the DTaP, MMR, IPV, and Varivax booster (if he hasn't had chickenpox), if he hasn't had them already. A screening vision test and hearing test will also likely be done.

  • Common School Age Problems

Five-Year-Old School Age Topics

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