Being 5

Your 5 year old, no longer the tiny demanding baby, past the terrible toddler 2’s AND 3’s and yet still not the capable child who welcomes independence, brushes off kisses and demands that you let them go out to play alone. Why is being 5 years old so massive?

The year our little people turn 5 is a huge milestone and not only for them. For us parents it sparks the change of everything that we were just beginning to get our heads around.

We have nourished, loved, taught, trained, nursed and held close these small beings through every aspect. We have sheltered them and watched as they learn practically everything about being human, but now, in their fifth year, we hold back the tears as we watch their tiny legs carry them off to school.

This is SCHOOL, where they will be with another adult for longer than you in any given day. Where we no longer decide what they get up to for a fair chunk of the day.

‘Let them go, be off with you’ said no parent ever.

So off they go, they are 5 (or going to be very soon). ‘I am 5’ says every child proudly, holding up their entire hand, all digits raised. It really is something special and here is why.

  • Independence
  • Capability
  • Responsibility
  • Growth
  • Understanding
  • Emotions

Inside such small little bodies, still with baby hair and speech too big for their mouths, they have an ever developing brain. Major changes are occurring. During the last few years, being a toddler, they have learnt about the world they live in, explored how things might work, had a go at controlling some of their emotions, grasped the majority of their basic language and even begun basic maths and English.

MY sweet boy, good as gold, was four. He followed the rules, hated me being upset with his behaviour, was polite and also held my hand and cuddled me A LOT!

BANG! He is off to school, he is 5! He is learning and making his own independent choices…………. And boy don’t we know it.

He has:

  • made ‘friends’ with EVERY child
  • learnt delightful knew ‘noises’ from said friends. The most pleasant of which is to imitate a foghorn for long periods of time (usually in the middle of the doctor’s waiting room)
  • kindly brought me TWO PE tops home in his bag
  • crammed an entire box of used tissues into a zipped school fleece (discovered AFTER a wash)
  • skinned 3 holes in 2 pairs of trousers, in 2 days
  • fallen over EVERY week in the playground, resulting in a ‘yellow card’ implying I must attend to the teacher for the details

Being 5 means:

I have to leave my parents, walk away by myself, sit on my own, listen carefully, be kind to other children, control my emotions, stop my lip wobbling when I am scared, hold it together, be brave, follow orders, follow the rules, know how it all works.

Being 5 means: I have time to think without my parents, time to decide alone, people to choose from, decisions to make, games to create, space for my own things, belongings to take care of, ideas to share and wonderful experiences to tell…..

And then I get to go home, still cuddle my Mum and Dad, still kiss them 1 million times before bedtime, still eat my dinner with my fingers and let Mum stroke my hair in bed. Mum and Dad can still sing me my favourite song to help me sleep and I can snuggle with my comforter. That is all ok because I am 5!

Just 5