Milestones - By nine years

By the age of 9 your child knows the rules of talking and is using this to mix with others and build friendships. They can tell exciting stories with a beginning, middle and end and are starting to use this in their writing. The words they know and use are helping them to think and learn.

Hear it, follow it, get it
Your 9 year old can listen to you and work out which bits of information are important. They can also read your mood to understand what you’re NOT saying, e.g. “I said dinner is on the table!” [Mum’s getting cross so we’d better go to the table now]

If they don’t understand your 9 year old can ask for the information they need from you but be patient, they will need time to think first.

Quiz me – do quizzes with your child where you say a sentence and they have to tell you what they can guess from what you say, e.g. I need my umbrella – what am I not telling you?

Words up
Your 9 year old can talk about events using time and measurement, e.g. “Next Friday we’re going to Granny’s house and the train will take one hour.” They can use words to describe actions and their effects, e.g. “If I don’t take my coat to school I’ll be cold because there is frost on the road this morning”. They are learning and using new words that are linked to different subjects, e.g. “That goal was not allowed because their team had a man offside”.

Shape spotting – when you are out and about get your child to look for unusual shapes, can they name them and say what they know about them, e.g. an octagon has 8 sides, like an octopus has 8 legs.

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Age 7 to 11 milestones

7 years > 9 years > 11 years

Milestones - By nine years

Popular: Age 7 to 11