4 Middle Childhood: Growth and Development Permission granted to reproduce for educational use...

4Middle

Childhood: Growth and

Development

Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.© Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.

Middle Childhood: Growth and Development• First years of school are crucial for

children• Development follows predictable

patterns• Information about development is based

on averages• Slight variations are normal, but

developmental delays should be identified and treated continued


Middle Childhood: Growth and Development

Stage/Age Erickson’s Psychosocial

Theory

Piaget’s Cognitive

Theory

Infancy Trust vs. mistrust

Sensorimotor

Toddler Autonomy vs. shame and doubt

Preoperational

Early childhood

Initiative vs. guilt

Middle childhood

Industry vs. inferiority

Concrete operational

continued


Middle Childhood: Growth and Development

Stage/Age Erickson’s Psychosocial

Theory

Piaget’s Cognitive

Theory

Adolescence Ego identity vs. ego diffusion

Formal operational

Young adulthood

Intimacy vs. isolation

Middle adulthood

Generativity vs. self-absorbtion

Older adulthood

Integrity vs. despair


Objective

• Explain the importance of readiness for learning for children entering kindergarten.

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Beginning School

• Most children start school around age 5• In a kindergarten class, there may be

significant differences between the oldest and youngest students

• Early school years are crucial to brain development and school success

• Full-day kindergartens may provide a smoother transition to first grade

continued


Beginning School

• Kindergarten readiness skills include– gross-motor skills– fine-motor skills– self-help skills– cognitive skills– social-emotional skills


For Discussion

• What do you remember most about your activities in kindergarten? How did these affect your feelings about school?

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Objective

• Trace the growth pattern of children during middle childhood.

© Stuart Monk/Shutterstock


Children Ages Five to Seven• Children of this age

– are talkative– are imaginative– love to explore– crave adult approval– can be sensitive– can be cooperative yet competitive


Objective

• Analyze the physical and cognitive skills required to master a task.

© Anatoliy Samara/Shutterstock


Physical Growth and Development• Growth in height and weight slows

during this period, with an average of– 23 inches per year– 45 pounds per year

• Bodies look longer and leaner• Baby teeth are replaced by permanent

teeth


Gross-Motor Skills

• Better developed than fine-motor skills• Physical skills makes them feel

independent• Full of energy to run, jump, skip, hop• Activities improve balance and

coordination• Fearlessness may result in accidents• Visual-motor coordination improves


Fine-Motor Skills

• Hand-eye coordination improves• Dexterity improves• Writing skills are a combination of

cognitive and physical development• Cutting, coloring, building, and playing

electronic games all develop fine-motor skills

• Self-care depends on fine-motor development


Objective

• Link children’s thinking skills at various ages to Piaget’s stages of development.

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Cognitive Development

• Children are– eager to learn– excited about starting school– curious and excited for independence

• They also– have limited attention spans– learn better through experience


For Discussion

• How are physical development and cognitive development related at this age?



Thinking Skills

• At age five, children are unable to understand conservation

• They begin to understand around age seven

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continued


Thinking Skills

• Children at this age begin to understand– sequences of steps– a mix of words, logic, and humor

• Imagination is still vivid– Allows them to express anxiety and conflict


Language and Reading

• Children identify letters as symbols• Begin to recognize the sounds they

make• Start with letter combinations, then

word combinations• By the end of second grade, many are

competent readers• Children with difficulties at this stage

need extra help


Objective

• Develop a list of the social skills children must learn.

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Social-Emotional Development• Children develop feelings of

competence by learning new skills• Self-confidence grows• They can feel inferior to other children


Peer Relationships

• Peers become more important• Choice of friends may change often• Form closer one-on-one and group

relationships• Girls usually play with girls, boys

usually play with boys


Family Relationships

• Children want to please their parents• They respond well to expectations and

rules• Sibling relationships may vary from

helpful to arguments


For Discussion

• Why do you think siblings of this age argue often?



Objective

• Explain how the development of self-concept during this period is related to Erikson’s psychosocial theory.

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Self-Concept

• Childhood is a critical time for developing self-concept– Positive: act in ways that enhance abilities;

feel capable and worthwhile– Negative: adopt self-defeating behaviors

• Sense of competence results in self-confidence


Moral Development

• Children this age can– tell the difference between right and

wrong– understand and abide by rules– wait for their turn– share toys– express anger and jealousy in competition


Children Ages Eight and Nine• Second through fourth grades

– Increased skills– Greater knowledge– Better judgment– Increased independence

• Eight-year-olds are more easygoing than nine-year-olds


Physical Growth and Development• More individual variation than at

younger ages• Some may begin puberty at eight or

nine• Steady growth continues

– Girls have slightly larger gains than boys


Motor Skills

• Increased strength• Better body control• Physical activities

help build stamina and confidence

• Hand-eye coordination continues to improve © Cheryl Ann

Quigley/Shutterstock



• Learning becomes more complex• May experience a downturn in interest

and enthusiasm in learning• Those who fall behind have a harder

time catching up later as the pace of learning increases


Thinking Skills

• Longer attention spans• Improved memory• More complex thinking, including

– seriation– classification– conservation– transitivity



• Children now focus on meaning– Identify main points– Summarize– Make predictions

© Rob Marmiom/Shutterstock


Social-Emotional Development• Eight- and nine-year-olds mature

rapidly• They can complete more complex

tasks, which gives them self-confidence• They begin to be sensitive to criticism


Peer Relationships

• Want to be part of a group• Have a best friend• Look for acceptance and loyalty• Begin to show empathy and caring• Exclusion from groups may result in

bullying problems



• Focus shifts outside the family• Children may ignore or argue with

parents• Often in conflict with siblings• Need consistent rules and limits


For Reflection

• Do you recall your family relationships at this age? How had they changed from when you were younger? Why do you think this was the case?

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Self-Concept

• Children at this stage want to feel– a sense of belonging– that they are competent

• They are still full of doubts• May criticize others to look better

in comparison


Moral Development

• Generally remain in Kohlberg’s preconventional level

• May follow rules if they see a benefit to themselves

• Are concerned about fairness


Children Ages 10 to 12

• Move from elementary to middle school

• Fifth, sixth, and seventh grade

• Often called preadolescents or preteens

© Tracy Whiteside/Shutterstock


Physical Growth and Development• May show early signs of puberty• Growth can be uneven• Girls develop ahead of boys• Can be a time of uncertainty or

growing self-confidence


Motor Skills

• Muscle strength and reaction time improve

• May now participate in activities that require complex skills

• Fine-motor skills are improved enough to complete complicated projects



• Children must adapt to– multiple teachers– more independent learning– additional homework

• Teaching relies more on verbal explanation– Listening skills– Note taking



• Preteens– know about 40,000 words– use more complex sentences– understand grammar– are often proficient readers


Social-Emotional Development• Preteens

– struggle with new feelings and expectations

– see themselves as becoming independent– can develop strong bonds with adults


Peer Relationships

• Crave acceptance, enjoy groups for a sense of belonging

© Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock continued


Peer Relationships

• By age 12, interest in the opposite gender

• Opinions of peers are highly valued• Respond enthusiastically to projects to

help others



• Preteens may defy parents’ authority• Teens need parents’ time,

understanding, and wisdom• Communication is important• Sibling relationships may be strained


Self-Concept

• Preteens feel self-sufficient• May not see their own limitations• Often confide in friends rather than

family• Have a strong fear of rejection


Objective

• Identify the change in moral development that occurs about the end of this period.

© Jaren Jai Wicklund/Shutterstock


For Reflection

• How did your social-emotional development at age 12 differ from your social-emotional development at age 10?

© Archipoch/Shutterstock


Moral Development

• Some may still be in Kohlberg’s preconventional stage

• Others are now in the conventional stage– They make decisions based on the desire

to be perceived as “good” or “bad”

• May begin questioning parents’ values


Key Points• Ages 5-7: steady growth, enthusiastic

learning, building positive self-esteem• Ages 8-9: gain more motor control,

show less enthusiasm for learning, find friends more important

• Ages 10-12: may enter puberty, capable of complex thought, fitting in is very important


Review• Explain the meaning of conservation.Something can remain the same even if

it appears different.

• ____ is the ability to place objects in order by a characteristic, such as smallest to largest.

Seriation

continued


Review• What is transitivity?the ability to understand that

relationships between two objects can extend to a third object

• What are executive strategies?skills used to solve problems

4 Middle Childhood: Growth and Development Permission granted to reproduce for educational use...

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