In this guide
Understanding developmental milestones helps parents know what to expect at each age and how to support their child’s growth. It also helps you recognise when your child may need extra support. Here is a practical guide to the key milestones for children aged 2 to 5 years, along with how good early years teachers in Lekki schools respond to each stage.
Age 2–3: The Toddler Years
At this age, children are developing rapidly across all domains.
Language and Communication:
- Vocabulary expands from about 50 words at age 2 to several hundred by age 3
- Begins combining two to three words into short phrases (“more milk,” “mummy go”)
- Understands simple instructions and questions
- Enjoys listening to short stories and songs
Motor Skills:
- Walks, runs, and climbs confidently
- Begins jumping with both feet
- Can build a tower of six or more blocks
- Turns pages in a book (sometimes several at once)
- Begins scribbling with crayons
Social and Emotional:
- Plays alongside other children (parallel play) but may not interact much
- Shows signs of independence – “I do it myself!”
- May have tantrums when frustrated or over-tired
- Begins to show empathy – may comfort another child who is upset
How teachers support this stage: Teachers provide a rich language environment, offer choices to support growing independence, and respond calmly to tantrums with patience and reassurance.
Age 3–4: The Preschool Years
This is a period of tremendous growth in imagination, language, and social skills.
Language and Communication:
- Uses sentences of four to six words
- Asks many questions – “why,” “what,” “how”
- Can tell a simple story or recount an event
- Begins to understand basic concepts – colours, shapes, sizes, positions
Motor Skills:
- Walks up and down stairs alternating feet
- Pedals a tricycle
- Catches a large ball
- Holds a pencil with a more mature grip
- Cuts with child-safe scissors along a line
Social and Emotional:
- Begins cooperative play – sharing toys, taking turns with support
- Develops friendships and shows preferences for certain playmates
- Understands and follows simple rules in games
- Shows a wide range of emotions and is learning to name them
Cognitive:
- Engages in pretend play with increasingly complex scenarios
- Understands the concept of counting and may count to ten
- Begins to recognise letters and numbers
- Can complete simple puzzles of four to six pieces
How teachers support this stage: Teachers create opportunities for cooperative play, extend children’s language through conversations and questions, and introduce early literacy and numeracy concepts through play-based activities.
Age 4–5: Preparing for Primary School
By this age, children are developing the skills they will need for formal schooling.
Language and Communication:
- Uses complex sentences and can hold extended conversations
- Follows three-step instructions
- Recognises letters and their sounds (especially in a phonics-based programme)
- May begin reading simple words and sentences
- Writes their own name and some letters
Motor Skills:
- Hops and stands on one foot for several seconds
- Skips and jumps with coordination
- Uses a pencil with good control, draws shapes and simple pictures
- Dresses and undresses independently
- Uses utensils competently
Social and Emotional:
- Plays cooperatively in groups and navigates social situations with growing skill
- Understands and follows classroom routines and rules
- Manages emotions with decreasing frequency of meltdowns
- Shows independence and takes pride in accomplishments
Cognitive:
- Counts to twenty or beyond
- Recognises numbers and begins simple addition and subtraction
- Understands concepts of time – yesterday, today, tomorrow
- Shows sustained attention during preferred activities
- Asks thoughtful questions and shows curiosity about the world
How teachers support this stage: Teachers provide structured group activities to build classroom readiness, introduce systematic phonics and numeracy, and support social-emotional development through class discussions, problem-solving, and guided peer interactions.
When to Seek Support
Every child develops at their own pace, and the ranges above are guidelines, not strict deadlines. However, consider speaking with your paediatrician or a school SEN team if your child:
- Is not using any words by 18 months
- Is not combining words into phrases by age 3
- Does not engage in pretend play by age 3
- Loses skills they previously had (regression)
- Shows extreme difficulty separating from you at school age
- Has significant difficulty with motor skills compared to peers
- Does not seem to hear or respond to their name consistently
Early intervention makes a significant difference. If you have concerns, it is always better to seek advice early rather than wait and see.
How PPS Supports Each Stage
At Pleasant Places School, our early years teachers are trained to observe and respond to each child’s developmental stage. Our play-based curriculum is designed to meet children where they are and gently challenge them to grow. We communicate regularly with parents about milestones and work together to support every child’s unique developmental journey.
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