Communication Development: By 5 Years

Here is some information about how children's communication skills usually develop by the age of 5. Below are some activity suggestions to encourage communication from 5 years. Use the language that you are most familiar and comfortable with. 

By 5 years, what should my child be able to say and do?

• understand and use more concept words, such as 'tallest', 'same', 'bigger', 'medium'
• respond to instructions while busy doing something else
• generally use complete, well-formed sentences 
• should still be developing some aspects of more complex language structure, such as using irregular past tense; for example, they may say "runned" for 'ran'
• take turns in much longer conversations 
• ask the meanings of words, and try to use new words
• retell stories they have heard in the right order, using some story phrases; for example, "once upon a time", "the end"
• ask for help appropriately; for example, "excuse me can I have....?"
• adapt their talking to a listener's level of understanding; for example, when talking to a baby sister
• identify first sounds in words; for example, "puku starts with p"
• be starting to link letter names with letter sounds; for example, 's' = 'ssss'
• recognise some familiar written words
• write their own name
• be understood by unfamiliar adults all of the time. A few sounds may still be developing; for example, th, r, l and some consonant blends, such as string, cloud, spider, tree

What are some tips to help my child's communication development at 5 years?

• look for opportunities to increase the number of different words your child uses, particularly around new experiences. Try to use a wide range of naming and describing words
• make your own books with your child – write the story together
• play games that help with taking turns and concentrating; for example, 'What's the time, Mr Wolf?', hide and seek, snakes and ladders, memory match
• give your child plenty of opportunities to play with other children. This is a great way to develop talking and social skills