School-Age Child Growth & Development

School Age

6-12 years

School Age Physical Growth

• Growth:

  • Height 2 inches/year, weight 5 ½   pounds per year

• Toward the end of middle childhood, between 8 – 13 years:

  • “Growth spurt” typically occurs

• Occurs 2 years earlier for girls

• Children of the same age can be very different heights!:

  • Expectations of behavior should be consistent with age, NOT appearance

• Systems:

  • Brain growth is completed by 10 years

  • Have all permanent teeth, respiratory, cardiac and immune systems are matured

School Age Physical Growth Cont.

• Sexual development / Puberty:

  • Time of dramatic change with the development of secondary sexual characteristics 

• Tanner Stages of sexual development (1 – 5)

  • 5 is fully developed

• Girls:

  • Thelarche – breast buds, pubic hair

  • Menarche – onset of menstruation

• Boys:

  • Pubic hair, testicles/scrotal  enlargement, penile enlargement; voice changes,

  • Gynecomastia (male breast enlargement)

  • Nocturnal emissions

• Children need to be educated about the changes to their bodies prior to those changes happening:

  • “Sex Education”

School Age Gross Motor Development

• Coordination, balance, rhythm improve

• Participation in sports and a variety of activities

• May become awkward as bodies grow faster than able to compensate

School Age Fine Motor Development

• Improved eye-hand coordination and balance

• Takes pride in activities requiring dexterity:

  • Playing a musical instrument

  • Sewing

  • Building models

School Age Cognitive Development (Piaget)

• Concrete Operational:

  • Learn by manipulating objects, begin to think more flexibly, increased attention span and better problem-solving abilities

• Reversibility:

  • Can mentally retrace a process

  • Anticipate the result of their actions

• Conservation:

  • Properties of objects don’t change

• Classification of objects

• Metalinguistic awareness

  • Understand nuances of words/language;

  • Humor and metaphors

• Language:

  • Vocabulary expands to 8,000 to 14,000 words

  • Reading efficiency improves

School Age Psychosocial Development (Erikson)

• Industry versus Inferiority

• Success in personal/social/athletic tasks and outside activities is their “work”

• Self-esteem and peer group identification is important

• Prefer activities with friends over family

  • Family influence starts to diminish

  • Conflicts may develop

• Hospital Fears:

  • Pain

  • Death

  • Changes to their body (disability)

School Age Psychosexual Development (Freud)

• Latency Stage

  • Focused on other things so sexual interest is not as prevalent

• Time of tranquility in sexual development

• Focused on activities that develop social/cognitive skills

School Age Moral Development (Kohlberg)

• Stage 3:

  • Younger school age (6-10)

  • Follow the rules to be viewed as “beinggood”

  • Behavior is right or wrong

  • Understand the impact of their actionson others and can empathize with others.

• Stage 4:

  • Older school age (11-12 years)

  • “Law and order”

  • Have rules and expect them to be followed

  • Action can be judged on intent, rather than just outcomes

School Age Health Promotion

• Nutrition:

  • Obesity

  • Eating disorders can begin at this age

• Dental care:

  • Braces are a focus

• Sleep:

  • Younger: 12 hours

  • Older: 10 hours

• Activities:

  • Sports, board gams, television, video games, computers, bikes, skating, hobbies

• Tobacco, alcohol and drug education

School Age Promoting Appropriate Discipline

• Children want and expect limits on behavior

• Firm, consistent limits and clear expectations increase security and reinforce that they are cared about

• Children become accountable for their actions

• Effective discipline separates the deed from the doer. Punishment can be mutually decided.

• Positive acknowledgment of positive behaviors is effective in promoting good behaviors

• Stealing, lying, cheating may occur at this age with peer pressure and presents a challenge

School Age Safety Concerns

• Car, bike, pedestrian and sports safety

• Water safety

• School refusal:

  • Usually underlying problem:

    • Bullying, anxiety, depression

• Bullying:

  • 20% of middle school kids

• Suicide

• Self-care children

• Fire and burns

• Gun