Your 5 1/2-year-old: Counting | BabyCenter

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1. Child /
2. 5 years old

Your 5 1/2-year-old: CountingIn this article

• Your 5-year-old now
• Your life now

Your 5-year-old now

Your child has probably mastered "thirteen," "fourteen," and the other pesky "teen words" and can count to 20. Most 5-year-olds can recognize numbers up to ten and write them. Older 5-year-olds may be able to count to 100 and read numbers up to 20.

A 5-year-old's knowledge of relative quantities is also advancing. If you ask whether six is more or less than three, your child will probably know the answer.

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Keep math fun. Chutes and Ladders-type games in which you count spaces or roll dice are great ways to reinforce math skills. Continue to show your child how you use math every day — when you cook, shop, and build things.

Make lessons informal and hands-on. For instance, if you're baking cookies, ask your child how many eggs would be left if you used two of the five eggs in the carton. Then let him crack two eggs into a bowl and count the remainder.

Your life now

How much responsibility is your child ready for when it comes to keeping a clean room? More than you might think.

At 5, your child is old enough to make his bed, for example. Make the job easy with a quilt or coverlet that simply needs to be pulled up and smoothed out.

Don't encourage the storage of too many stuffed animals on the bed, which makes the job of keeping it neat harder. Provide a basket for them.

Your child should also be able to keep the floor clean and throw dirty clothes in a hamper. (Keep one right in the room for him to use.) Make straightening up a part of his bedtime or morning routine.

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Sources

BabyCenter's editorial team is committed to providing the most helpful and trustworthy pregnancy and parenting information in the world. When creating and updating content, we rely on credible sources: respected health organizations, professional groups of doctors and other experts, and published studies in peer-reviewed journals. We believe you should always know the source of the information you're seeing. Learn more about our editorial and medical review policies.

AAP. 2015a. Developmental milestones: 4 to 5 year olds. American Academy of Pediatrics. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/preschool/Pages/Developmental-Milestones-4-to-5-Year-Olds.aspxOpens a new window [Accessed July 2017]

AAP. 2015b. Chores and responsibility. American Academy of Pediatrics. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/family-dynamics/communication-discipline/Pages/Chores-and-Responsibility.aspxOpens a new window [Accessed July 2017]

CDC. 2016. Important milestones: Your child by five years. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/milestones-5yr.htmlOpens a new window [Accessed July 2017]

MedlinePlus (ADAM). 2015. Developmental milestones record—5 years. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002016.htmOpens a new window [Accessed July 2017]

PBS Parents. Undated. Child development tracker: Mathematics. http://www.pbs.org/parents/childdevelopmenttracker/five/mathematics.htmlOpens a new window [Accessed July 2017]

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