Child Development 3-12 Part 2: Ages 6 to 9

1. Child Development 3-12Part 2: Ages 6 to 9 Oklahoma Cooperative Extension ServiceCore In-Service February 12, 2010 9:00-11:00 a.m. Debbie Richardson, Ph.D. Parenting Assistant Extension Specialist Human Development & Family Science Oklahoma State University

2. Introduction • Welcome • Centra instructions • Overview of in-service • Resource materials

3. In-Service Objective Extension Educators will be able to describe growth, tasks, behaviors, and abilities of 6 to 9 year-old children including physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development.

4. Domains of Development • Physical • Cognitive • Social • Emotional • Ages 5-7, skills in all domains are emerging • Ages 6-8, beginning to consolidate growth in all domains • Learning fundamental communication, math and problem-solving skills • Expanding social and community awareness

5. Physical Development Ages 6-9

6. Growth • Rate of physical growth is slower – occurs in spurts • Often 3-6 growth spurts a year, each lasting about 8 weeks • Height: Generally 2” to 2.5”/year • Weight: Average 5-7 lbs./year • Loss of front primary teeth and emergence of permanent teeth about age 6-7 – replace about 4 teeth per year • Eyes reach maturity in size and function • Brain growth slows - has almost reached adult size • Head circumference increases about 1” • Gradual growth of face • Infection-fighting lymphoid tissues (i.e., tonsils, adenoids)

7. Individual Development • Significant differences in appearance including height, weight and build • Heredity, nutrition, normal developmental variation and physical activity can all affect rate of growth & development • AAP recommends well-child visits at 5, 6, 8, and 10 years

8. Motor Abilities & Skills • Fine and large motor skills • Muscle coordination and control are still uneven and incomplete • Muscular strength, hand-eye coordination, and stamina continue to progress rapidly allowing older children the ability to perform increasingly complex physical tasks (e.g., dance, sports, musical instruments) • Skills/abilities influenced by growth, age, level of practice performing tasks, and individual child’s innate abilities

9. By age 5-6 Large motor Fine motor Stand on one foot for 10 seconds or longer Hop Somersault Swing Skip Copy geometric patterns and print some letters Draw a person with a body Use fork, spoon, and sometimes table knife properly Able to take care of basic hygiene (e.g., bathing, teeth, toliet)

10. By age 8-9 • More graceful with movements and abilities • Master eye-hand coordination • Manipulative skills increase • Dresses and grooms self completely • Can use tools more effectively • Good printing and writing

11. Sleep • Need about 9-11 hours per night • Increasing demands from school, sports, other activities • TV, computers, video games, caffeine can lead to difficulty falling asleep, nightmares and disruptions • Sleep problems, disorders common • Poor/inadequate sleep can lead to mood swings, behavioral problems, cognitive problems that impact ability to learn in school • Consistent sleep schedule and bedtime routine • Quiet, private time • Bedroom – dark, cool and quiet, no TV or computers • Avoid caffeine

12. Cognitive Development Ages 6-9

13. Cognitive Development - Piaget Preoperational Stage: 2-7 yrs Concrete Operational Stage: 7-12 yrs • Thought processes (operations) become organized and integrated with one another – allow logical thought • Ability to classify objects in multiple ways, order objects in a logical sequence • Make rational judgments and perform operations about concrete or observable phenomena • Abstract thinking, yet still limited (no hypothetical or complex abstractions)

14. Cognitive Development - Piaget • Better understanding of time and space, but not yet able to correctly place events in time sequence • Some reversibility - quantities moved can be restored (e.g., 3+4 = 7 and 7-4 = 3), understand changes in form of object • Deductive reasoning – ability to draw conclusions from given facts & info • Relativism – realize other’s thoughts & perspectives differ from own, can be wrong themselves, their own and other’s thoughts/feelings do not reflect reality

15. The Evolving Brain • Continued brain development underlies changes in cognitive skills • Different parts of the brain start to function more effectively as a coordinated system • Newly developed functions enable children to coordinate their thinking and their behaviors more effectively • Pre-frontal cortex is still immature – the part responsible for good judgment and control of impulses

16. Metacognition • Process of thinking about thinking • Automatic awareness of own knowledge and ability to understand, control, and manipulate their cognitive processes • Begins to think about own behavior and see consequences for actions • Can think through actions and trace back events that happened to explain situations

17. Thinking • Dramatic increase in real-world knowledge – expanding experiences outside homes, in schools and communities • Fantasy thinking gives way to logical thinking, distinguish between real & pretend, understand cause-and-effect • Occasionally revert to pre-logical thinking patterns under stress - normal and results from a healthy, active imagination • Increase in speed and capacity of memory processing allows handling more complex problems; can consider 2 or more aspects of a problem

18. Thinking • Learn to control attention and concentrate for longer periods of time - can obtain and use information more efficiently • Practicing and paying attention can improve remembering new things • About age 6, begin to internalize strict moral rules of behavior (right or wrong) - Can understand and apply rules, make judgments, and want rules strictly followed • Able to develop simple plans before acting, to achieve goals, more reliable without adult supervision

19. Attention and Learning • Rarely can sit for longer than 15-20 minutes for an activity • Attention span gets longer with age • May begin projects but finish few…more about exploring • Best learn through activities • Can talk through problems to solve them – requires more adult time and child’s sustained attention

20. Language • Continually increasing vocabulary • By age 8, can understand about 20,000 words • Speak with more precision • Begin to understand a word may have different meanings • Begin to read and write

21. By age 5-6 • Recall parts of a story, tell longer stories • Speak sentences of more than 5 words • Use future tense • Recite address correctly • Count 10 or more objects • Correctly name at least 4 colors • Know about common items such as money, food, appliances • Most learn to read by age 6-7, but some as early as 4-5 • Simple math, addition & subtraction

22. By age 8-9 (3rd/4thgrades) • Can count backward and understand fractions • Reading a paragraph extends beyond deciphering words to understanding content • Writing extends beyond correct spelling and penmanship to composing a sentence and start paragraphs • Enjoy playing strategy games • Enjoy word play (e.g., puns, insults) to exercise and show off growing cognitive & language abilities • Mostly think in present terms, but may think about the future

23. Social & Emotional Development Ages 6-9

24. Psychosocial Development Erikson • Initiative Vs. Guilt (Purpose) About 3 ½ to 6 years Feel free to act, create, express self creatively, and take risks. • Industry Vs. Inferiority 7-11 years Busily learn to be competent and productive or feel inferior and unable to do anything well. Tries to develop a sense of self-worth by refining skills.

25. Expanding Social World • Spend more time outside their homes, in school, with peers, and in activities with other adults and without adults present • Have increased freedom and autonomy to explore the world • Become less dependent on family and less self-centered • Greater physical and cognitive capacities make it possible to be more responsible for tasks at home and school • Very energetic, like to make things, take risks, and are interested in accomplishing a task • Need to develop a sense of mastery or competence by performing tasks without adult help

26. Expanding Social World • Changes from fantasy play where imagination is key element to rules-based games with objective to win a competition regulated by rules • More capable of playing a larger number of children for longer periods of time and sticking to rules of a game • Belonging and acceptance by peers becomes very important concern; no longer look to only adults for gratification • Very concerned with justice and fairness • Develop and show social skills (i.e., empathy, compassion) by observing effect of their own and others’ behaviors toward others

27. Emotions • Usually able to articulate thoughts and feelings • Although no less articulate than girls, many boys are not as expressive mainly due to socialization to be masculine • By age 9, most boys have successfully learned to repress feelings except anger – tend to be more physically oriented in self-expression • Common fears include monsters, the dark, the unknown, school, failure, death, family problems, and rejection

28. 6 Year-Olds • Emotions up and down • Thrives on approval • Possessive with belongings; not yet able to distinguish “mine” & “yours” • Responds negatively at first then cooperates • Has trouble compromising • Difficulty making choices • Likes to help with routines • Plays best with one friend rather than large group • Needs to be reminded of instructions • Money and rewards of greater interest

29. 7 Year-Olds • Plays easily with others • Wants to be part of a group • May be self-absorbed, moody, • Becoming more aware of self and others • Sensitive to others’ feelings; may feel others dislike them, are critical or poking fun • Dislikes individual praise • Does not listen or take correction well • Responds well to rewards • Procrastinates, easily distracted, short memory, tunes out; loses interest suddenly • Very competitive and does not know how to lose • Lies because of immaturity • Immature sense of ownership • Fights with words • More modest about body

30. 8 Year-Olds • More outgoing and self-confident • More self-aware and self-judging; dislikes being teased about shortcomings • Can respond rapidly to instructions • Prefers hint/cue rather than a direct order; responds to glance • Asks for praise; wants time, attention, affection, approval • Tells tales with some truth • Dramatic, impatient, demanding • Likes to argue, compete, criticize • Easily disappointed if people don’t behave as wished • Talks a lot and gossips • Cannot lose gracefully • Interested in & concerned about possessions

31. 9 Year-Olds • Quieter; more self-control; can spend more time alone • Increasingly self-confident, independent, responsible, dependable, cooperative • Likes to please • Likes organized activities; likes to be chosen • Friendships are more solid • Sometimes temperamental • May resist/rebel authority and being told what to do • Great interest in fairness • Group standards more important than parental standards • Demanding /critical of others and self • Self-involved; may not hear when spoken to; may appear absent-minded or indifferent • Shows anger at parents but is loyal to family, friends • Takes criticism or commands better if carefully phrased

32. Related Issues Ages 6-9

33. Peers & Friendships • Develop ability to communicate • Understand others’ points of view • Enable functioning as part of a group • Learn social rules • Develop personality through interaction • Opportunities for give and take, negotiation of differences, shared experiences, mutual trust • Naturally curious about relationships between genders, but peer group usually consists of same-sex friendships and typically deny interest in opposite sex

34. Self-Concept • Shift in self-esteem – continue to develop a sense of self and how perceived by others • Measure own worth in a more objective way based on social acceptance and own sense of competence • Parents who demonstrate close relationship, acceptance, define clear limits for activities and behaviors, and respect child’s stage of development and unique individuality help build high self-esteem • Higher self-esteem → can better develop ways to resist risk factors for aggression, violence, and other negative behaviors

35. Stress • Growth & development • School • Peers • Schedule • Problems at home • Pressure to conform to expectations from family, teachers, other adults

36. Relationships with Parents • Change as children’s competence and autonomy increase • Parents need to share their control over children’s lives with the children themselves • Parents need to change parenting strategies to incorporate: • reasoning • reinforcement of children’s understanding of right & wrong • problem-solving & prosocial skills • use of humor

37. Discussion & Questions

38. Wrap-up • Watch video clip and review resource materials • In-service evaluation • Next Session on Ages 10-12: Friday, Feb. 19, 9–11am