Ages 4–5

✅Key checklist for this stage

• Check the age 4–6 boosters (DTaP 5th, polio 4th, MMR 2nd). In Korea, schools check vaccination records at entry.
• In Korea, attend the 7th (54–60 months) and 8th (66–71 months) infant health checkups and the 3rd dental checkup (54–65 months).
• Make time for at least 60 minutes a day of active play that gets them breathing hard.
• Keep screens under 1 hour a day, with content chosen by parents.
• Decide when to move from a harness seat to a booster by your child's size and the seat's limits, not by age.

🧠Development

Gross motor: hops on one foot, catches a ball, swings alone. Around age 5, some learn to jump rope or ride a bike with training wheels.

Fine motor: cuts along a line with scissors, draws a person with head, body and limbs, copies their name or some letters. Dresses and undresses mostly alone.

Language and thinking: tells about past events, makes up stories, counts, and names colors and shapes. Interest in letters comes at different times, and there's no need to rush reading at this age.

Social and emotional: chooses friends, plays games with rules, and begins to consider others' feelings. Mixing imagination and reality — which can look like 'lying' — is also common.

🧸Play and learning

At this age, learning happens through play. Pretend play, blocks, drawing and outdoor play build language, problem-solving and self-control together. Reading and talking together every day lays a better foundation for reading and vocabulary than worksheets.

WHO recommends that children aged 3–4 get at least 180 minutes a day of varied physical activity, including at least 60 minutes that gets them breathing hard. Playgrounds, walks in the park and ball games all count.

🩺Boosters, checkups and teeth

Between 4 and 6 come the DTaP 5th, polio 4th and MMR 2nd boosters, and children who received the inactivated Japanese encephalitis vaccine get a 4th dose at age 6. In Korea, schools check these records at entry, so it's easier to finish early. Check your child's exact schedule in the immunization registry.

In Korea, the last infant health checkups are at 54–60 and 66–71 months, with a dental checkup at 54–65 months. If vision hasn't been tested yet, make sure it is now — amblyopia responds best to treatment when found early.

The first permanent molars start coming in around age 6. In Korea, dental sealants for permanent molars are covered by national health insurance, so ask your dentist about timing.

🌙Sleep, meals and daily habits

Children aged 3–5 are recommended to sleep 10–13 hours a day. Most stop napping, so a consistent bedtime matters. Turning off screens an hour before bed helps.

Eat with the family at set times. Offer vegetables, fruit, whole grains and protein, with water and milk instead of sweet drinks. Gradually handing over habits like handwashing, dressing and tidying up builds confidence and school readiness.

🛡️Safety

• When your child outgrows the harness seat's limits, move to a booster seat and use it until the seat belt fits properly across the shoulder and hips. In Korea, car seats are legally required under age 6.
• Use helmets for bikes and scooters and life jackets near water. Keep supervising around water even after swimming lessons.
• Practice crossing the street holding hands, and repeatedly teach waiting for the signal and looking both ways.
• 'My body is mine' — teach that no one may touch or ask to see the parts covered by underwear, and that it's always okay to tell a parent.

💉Vaccines & checkups in this stage

• General checkup 6 — Age 42–48 months
• General checkup 7 — Age 54–60 months
• General checkup 8 — Age 66–71 months
• Dental checkup 2 — Age 42–53 months
• Dental checkup 3 — Age 54–65 months

Korea's Childhood Vaccine Schedule →   Infant and Child Health Checkups →

💬FAQ