Developmental tasks
In middle childhood the child should have achieved:
- School adjustment and academic relationships
- Peer relationships
- Rule governed behaviour
Physical development:
- Physical growth (balanced diet is important!!!)
- Primary tooth loss between 6-12 years
- Puberty onset girls 10-14 boys 12-16
- Sleep is extremely highly important for good growth and development
Motor development:
Ages 6-7:
- Gross motor skills: hop jump climb bike (if a kid doesnt have a bike they wont learn to bike)
- Fine motor skills: tie shoelaces, brush teeth, wash selves, and use eating implements. Ages 8-12:
- Develop balance coordination and strength
Cognitive development:
Key achievements:
- Theory of mind (4 YEARS (AND BEYOND))
- the understanding that others have different mental states from you, EG understanding that people can be scared of something you arent. Marble experiment
- While simple applications of theory of mind can be present from a young age more complex applications are difficult and can be unachieved even in adulthood
- Inhibition
- Ability to stop a learned or preferred behaviour for one that is more appropriate response. Example of this is shouting in here in hide and seek when wondering where the child is
- Deception
- Just be able to present false information
- Categorisation
- overgeneral or overspecific, if they only see big brown dogs they might struggle to name black poodles
- Conservation 6-11 yrs (this can be altered/ unrelianable)
- the ability to understand that an amount of something changes even when it can look bigger (taller glass)
- also if there are 2 rows of coins and one is more spread out a child may say the spread out one has more
- A study showed if a naughty teddy altered the rows or items the child reported no difference upon alteration
- Episodic memory (2.5yrs and beyond)
- 3-4 yrs is often the earliest memories
- Called infantile amnesia
Emotional Development
- Extending emotional literacy
- Recognise broader range of emotions
- Understand bittersweet emotions
- Emotion regulation
- Calming and soothing self
- Empathy
- Socially sanctioned deception
- saying thank you for this present when the child might not like it
- Self reflection and insight (may need help to achieve)
- understand that what they do may not be perceived as good for example when they did it to be good
Social development
- Formation of coherent self concept (see below)
- Major developments in peer relations
- Separation of family in exchange for peers
- Morality
- Shades of grey and moral development
- Increased independence
- Learning to cooperate
- Social justice
- what is fair and what is not
Social development: Language
- In middle childhood, children can use long and complex sentences
- Understand other points of view and show that they agree or disagree
- Keep a conversation going by giving reasons and explaining choices
- Start a converation with adults and children they dont know
- Understand and use passive sentences
- Clarity of speech improves
- Sentence length and complexity increases
- Ability to elaborate on responses improves
Self concept
- Self concept - description and understanding of self using internal and external characteristics
- Influenced by cognitive development, exposure to experiences and feedback from parents, teachers, and peers
- Cultural influences an seld concept
- Western vs eastern
- “I am a wonderful and very smart person” (personal reference)
- I’m my mom and dad’s child, my grandma and grandpa’s grandson” (social reference)
- Self esteem - evaluative judgements of self
- This is influenced by system that one grows up in
| 4-8 Years | 8-11 Years |
|---|---|
| Singular and concrete attributes and comparisons | - percieved personality characteristics and psychological qualities rather than physical appearance - self descriptions more abstract (yellow hair vs smart) - more complex and differentiated (able to recognise stregths and weaknesses) |
| “i’m a boy”, “I have yellow hair”, “I’m bigger than my baby sister" | "I’m funny”, “I like to help people”, “I’m good at reading”, : Im better at him in reading but he is better at maths |
Self concept: Low self esteem
Children and young people with high self-esteem often:
- Have a positive image of themselves
- Are confident
- Can make friends easily and are not anxious with new people
- Can play in groups or on their own
- Will try and solve problems on their own, but if not able to will ask for help
- Can be proud of their achievements
- Can admit mistakes and learn from them
- Will try new things and adapt to change. Children and young people with low self-esteem often:
- Have a negative image of themselves, they might feel bad, ugly, unlikeable or stupid
- Lack confidence
- Find it hard to make and keep friendships, and may feel victimised by others
- Feel lonely and isolated
- Tend to avoid new things and find change hard
- Can’t deal well with failure.
- Tend to put themselves down and might say things like “I’m stupid” or “I can’t do that”
- Are not proud of what they achieve and always think they could have done better.
- Are constantly comparing themselves to their peers in a negative way.