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AGES: 6 through 12 years
THEORY
Piaget (cognitive development) -- The Concrete Operations stage is characterized by an ability to use logical, coherent, concrete operations for thinking and problem solving. The new concepts of permanence and conservation develop as the child learns that volume, weight, and numbers may remain the same despite changes in outward appearances. The child uses past experiences and models, and continues to build upon them, to support a framework for explaining occurrences.
Erickson (personal-social development) -- Industry vs. Inferiority describes the child attempting to meet the expectations of family, peers, and the school successfully. It is important for the child to learn how to deal with failure or frustration without decreasing self-esteem or developing a sense of inferiority.
Freud (psychosexual stages) -- During the school-age years or latency stage, the child typically represses sexual concerns, thereby freeing the energy necessary to concentrate upon intellectual and social-personal tasks.
Kohlberg (moral development) -- Advanced Conventional Morality develops as the child gradually moves from trying to please specific people to upholding rules and laws and generalizing morals learned from specific situations to more global rules of behavior.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
School-age children typically exhibit fairly smooth and strong gross motor skills. However, wide variance may occur among children in respect to coordination (especially eye-hand), endurance, balance, and physical tolerance. Fine motor skills may also vary widely and influence a child's ability to write neatly, dress appropriately, and perform certain chores, such as making beds or doing dishes.
Observable differences in height, weight, and build of children may be marked. It is important to remember that genetic background, as well as nutrition and exercise , may influence growth. A great deal of variance also occurs with the age at which children begin to develop secondary sexual characteristics (girls -- breast development, underarm and pubic hair growth; boys -- distribution and growth of axillary, chest, pubic hair; and testicular and penile growth).
LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
Early school-age children should be able to consistently use simple, but structurally complete, sentences that average 5 to 7 words. As the child progresses through the elementary years, syntax and pronunciation approximates normal. Increased usage of more complex sentences develops as the child grows. Hearing or intelligence deficits, which may negatively impact language development, are typically noted as a result of delayed language at earlier ages. Two other factors, the need to communicate and the degree of stimulation, may affect language acquisition into the school-age years.
Expressive language is important to prevent children from feeling stymied both emotionally and socially. Children who are unable to express themselves adequately may be more prone to exhibiting aggressive behavior or temper tantrums.
Receptive language skills, necessary to understand long or complex instructions (typically parallel expressive skills), should also be developing. A 6-year-old normally can follow a series of 3 commands in a row. By about 10 years old, most children can follow 5 commands in a row. Children with a receptive language deficit may try to cover it up with backtalk or clowning around and will rarely expose themselves to potential ridicule by asking for clarification.
BEHAVIOR
Frequent physical complaints (such as sore throats , tummy aches, limb pain) may simply be a child's expression of enhanced body awareness. Although frequently no physical evidence for such complaints can be found, the complaints need to be investigated, both to rule out substantial conditions and to assure the child that the parent is concerned about his or her well-being (maintaining trust).
Peer acceptance becomes increasingly important during the school-age years. Behaviors that are important to be part of the group need to be negotiated with parents to allow the child to have some conformity and group standing without crossing beyond the boundaries of acceptable behavior within the family's standards.
Friendships at this age tend to be primarily with members of the same sex. In fact, early school-age children typically denounce or talk about how "strange" or "awful" members of the opposite sex are. This lack of appreciation of the opposite sex steadily diminishes as the child approaches adolescence.
Lying, cheating, or stealing are all examples of behaviors that school-age children may "try on" in learning how to negotiate the many expectations and rules placed upon them by family, friends, the school, and society in general. Such behaviors challenge parents to deal with the misdeed privately (avoiding peer ridicule), applying a punishment that is meaningfully related to the behavior, and modeling reparation and forgiveness.
An ability to maintain attention is important for success both at school and at home. 6-year-olds should be able to focus upon an appropriate task for at least 15 minutes. By the age of 9, a child should be able to focus attention for about an hour.
SAFETY Safety is important for school-age children. Characteristics of school-age children that may place them at increased risk for accidents include increased motor skills, a need for strenuous physical activity , a need for peer approval, and increased daring and adventurous behaviors. Children should be taught to play sports in appropriate, safe, supervised areas, with proper equipment and rules. Bicycles, skateboards, in-line skates, and other types of recreational sports equipment should fit the child appropriately. They should be used only in accordance with generally recognized traffic and pedestrian rules, and in conjunction with accompanying safety equipment (such as a bicycle helmet, knee, elbow, wrist pads/braces, and helmets for skating). Sports equipment should not be used in darkness or in extreme weather conditions. Swimming and water safety lessons can deter drowning. Safety instruction regarding matches, fires, lighters, barbecues, camp fires, and cooking on stoves or open fires can prevent major burns . Continued emphasis upon wearing seat belts remains the single intervention most capable of preventing major injury or death due to a motor vehicle accident. Children should be encouraged to role play responses aimed at adults or other children who might say wearing seat belts is optional or unnecessary.
PARENTING TIPS
If physical development appears to be outside the norm, consult your child's pediatric health care provider. If language skills appear to be lagging, request a speech and language evaluation. Maintain close communication with teachers, other school personnel, and parents of friends to be aware of potential problems as they arise. Encourage children to express themselves openly and talk about concerns without fear of reprisal. While encouraging children to participate in a variety of social and physical experiences, parents should be careful not to over schedule their children's free time. Free play or simple, quiet time is important for the child not to feel constantly pushed to perform. Children today are exposed through the media and their peers to a vast array of issues dealing with violence, sexuality, and substance abuse . Parents are encouraged to discuss these issues openly with their children to share concerns or correct misconceptions. Setting limits may be necessary to allow children to be exposed to such issues only when they are developmentally ready to do so. |
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