Middle Childhood

Elementary Aged Children

• Ages 6-10
• Become self-sufficient and independent
• Interested in new activities
• Friend circles expand
• Attend more to their own needs

Physical Development 

• They have steady physical growth
• Interested in growth and others'
• Good control of large muscles

Height

• Boys are taller than girls
• Grow about two to three inches a year
• Less top heavy 

Weight

• At 6 about 47 pounds
• Gain about five to seven pounds a year
• Girls weigh more than boys 

Gross-Motor Skills

• Growth contributes to these skills
• Height and weight help with coordination
• Movements more refined and fluid
• Girls surpass boys and outperform

Fine-Motor Skills

• Better control of small muscles
• Writing is much better
• Visual perception is better
• Improved finger dexterity

Health Concerns

• Lowest illness rates are between 5 and 12 years
• Some develop hearing and vision problems

Hearing 

• Well developed by middle childhood
• Ear infections are a health problem
• By 11, they have auditory of adults

Vision

• Age 6, ready to read
• Many are farsighted
• The more they read, they have more chances to become nearsighted 

Teeth

•  During this time, they start losing teeth
• By age 12, all 20 primary teeth are replaced by permanent teeth
•  They become self conscious
• Tooth decay is a large risk

Obesity  

• It's characterized by excessive body fat
• If they weigh 20% more than other of the same sex, age, and build, they're obese
• Many are obese because they're inactive physically    

Cognitive Development

• They start thinking mentally a lot
• Use logic
• Desire to achieve is important 

Attention and Memory

• Memory is more controlled
• Attention improves
• Focus on detail
• Rehearsal is important  

Mental Operations

• They go through changes in reasoning and thinking
• Perceptions are ore accurate
• They have concrete operations
• Meaning-they use logic, but it's based on what they've experienced or seen

• Conservation
•  change in position or shape of substances does not change the quantity
• Seriation
•  Ability to arrange items in an increasing or decreasing order based on weight, volume, and size
• Classification 
• Ability to group objects by common attributes like color, shape, size, pattern, or function 

Language 

• Communication skills improve
• Use both oral and written expression
• Cognitive development is linked to humor 

Social-Emotional Development

• Grow in self-understanding
• Social relationships become more complex
• Family is an important role

Self-Concept

• Social comparison is used
• Process where people define themselves in terms of the qualities skills, and attributes they see in others

• Can describe strengths and weaknesses
• Self-esteem is belief of being a worthwhile person
• This changes in middle school while as preschoolers have high levels of self-esteem
• When encouraged they have a higher self-esteem 

Understanding Others

• They advance in understanding others 
• Develop empathy
• Show compassion or awareness of others' distress and wanting to help 

Friendships

• Friendships are more important
• Choosing friends becomes a selective process  
• Gender influences
• Some children are liked by others, some aren't
•  Without friendships they don't receive important benefits with peers

Peer Group Activities

• Play a large role
• Earlier in life, many groups are single-sex 
• Boys tease a lot
• They start liking to play together
• Girls Enjoy
• Jump rope and jungle gym
• Boys Enjoy 
• Basketball, football, and baseball
•  Girls aren't open and have more select relationships and share secrets

Games With Rules

• Rules are important
• Negotiation skills and cooperating are important skills learned in games with rules
• Children don't play so many games in more recent years 

Team Sports 

• Girls and boys like soccer, football, softball, swimming, gymnastics, and basketball
• Most common is baseball
•  They learn teamwork skills, get along, get enjoyment, and start having a healthy lifestyle
• No sports are safe
• Adult-organized teams are most safe 

Moral Development     

• Process of acquiring the standards of behavior considered acceptable by society
• Morality involves understanding
• Learn moral behavior by interacting with others
• They're more aware of the world around them
• They start internalizing rules of conduct