middle childhood
Chapter 5: Middle Childhood
Historical Perspective on Middle Childhood
Age Range:
Subject to debate.
In the United States: Begins at ages 5-6 and ends at ages 10-12.
20th century shift: This period came to be viewed as "school age" with education as a societal priority.
Different treatments in other countries can include:
Forced enlistment as soldiers.
Play economic roles for families.
Middle Childhood in the Multigenerational Family
Social World Expansion:
Child's social world expands dramatically during middle childhood.
Family Influence:
Family remains an extremely significant influence on development.
Children are shaped by:
Events in their lives.
Individuals in their own and their extended family's lives.
Familial, cultural, and historical influences.
Physical Development
Variability Among Children:
They may vary greatly in development during this stage.
Puberty:
May begin around this period:
Mean age of menarche is 12.
Breast development and testicular enlargement can begin as early as age 10.
Outward visible development can impact:
Self-perception.
Treatment and views from peers and adults.
Cognitive Development
Major Theorists & Their Theories:
Freud (1938/1973):
Latency Phase: Sexual instincts become less dominant; further development of the superego.
Erikson (1950):
Industry vs. Inferiority: Capacity to cooperate and create develops; leads to feelings of mastery or incompetence.
Piaget (1936/1952):
Concrete Operational Stage: Logical reasoning begins but remains concrete; includes learning the principle of conservation.
Kohlberg (1969):
Changes in moral reasoning from punishment/reward to formal law and external opinions.
Selman (1980):
Self-reflective Perspective Taking: Ability to see one's actions, thoughts, and emotions from another's perspective.
Role of Education:
Significant role in cognitive development.
In the United States, children spend a majority of their awake hours in school.
Rich phase of neuromaturation where identification and diagnosis of special needs peaks.
Gender can also influence experiences in learning environments.
Cultural Identity Development
Social Group Membership:
Children begin to understand social group membership in more complex ways.
Family's Influence:
Families help shape:
Cultural awareness.
Appreciation of heritage.
Coping strategies for potential exclusion, discrimination, and racism.
Challenges in Cultural Identity:
Integrating dual or multiple identities into a consistent personal identity.
Blending contradictory values, standards, or traditions.
Assimilation into surrounding culture.
Emotional Development
Key Abilities:
Mental organization and articulation of emotional experiences.
Cognitive control of emotional arousal, allowing focus on goal-directed actions.
Ability to delay gratification through cognitive evaluation.
Understanding the concept of planning and approaching tasks incrementally.
Using social comparison while being influenced by internalized feelings such as self-pride or shame.
Capacity to tolerate conflicting feelings with increasingly effective defense mechanisms.
Emotional Intelligence:
Development of emotional intelligence is critical as it relates to moral reasoning and conduct.
Trauma and violence can be significant obstacles to emotional intelligence development.
Emotional Style Components:
Outlook, attention, sensitivity to context, social intuition, resilience, and self-awareness.
Social Development
Self-Competence:
Acquiring self-competence is widely recognized as a developmental task during this stage.
Erikson's Theory:
Industry vs. Inferiority refers to the drive to acquire new skills and do meaningful “work.”
Diverse Experiences:
Experiences differ greatly based on family structure, socioeconomic status, and individual personality differences.
Identity Development:
Heavily dependent on social networks influenced by privilege and exclusion.
Character Education:
Direct teaching of moral and social values deemed universal in a community (e.g., kindness, respect, honesty).
Bullying:
Direct Bullying: Physical abuse.
Indirect Bullying: Verbal, psychological, or relational bullying tactics.
Zone of Proximal Development:
Theoretical space between a child’s current development level and potential level achieved through appropriate models and social experiences.
The Peer Group
Peer Influence:
Peers significantly shape school achievement and psychosocial well-being.
Learning about conflict, cooperation, and leadership is fostered through peer interactions.
Complex peer interactions become vital to social competence and acceptance, predicting psychological adjustment.
Children from non-dominant groups often experience dissonance between family, school, and peer environments.
Friendship and Intimacy
Perspective Taking:
Children develop the ability to consider others’ perspectives, enhancing their friendships.
Friendship Characteristics:
Capacity for more intimate and complex friendships develops.
Close friendships facilitate empathy and trust; friendships transition from playmates to confidants.
Team Play
Social Dynamics in Play:
Aggressive behavior during peer activities decreases while rule-based play increases.
Children enhance their understanding of multiple participant roles in play activities.
Positive outcomes may lead to lifelong physical activity, interdependence, and cooperation skills, promoting comprehension of division of labor.
Gender Identity and Gender Roles
Gender Identity:
Most children have established their gender identity by this stage.
Gender dysphoria often continues into adolescence.
Theoretical Perspectives on Gender Roles:
Various theories explain the identification with gender roles:
Anthropological orientation: Illustrates how gender shapes familial and societal systems influencing individual development profoundly.
Cognitive theory: Suggests self-perception emerges at the individual level.
Behavioral perspective: Proposes that behaviors precede self-perception in the development of gender identity.
Gender schema theory: Combines behavioral and cognitive theories, emphasizing social influences and cognition reinforcing gendered behaviors.
Feminist psychodynamic theory: Proposes that girls often deepen their attachment to female caregivers throughout childhood.
Technology and Social Development
Potential Benefits of Technology:
Enhances cognitive development and provides social connection opportunities.
Children can develop and maintain relationships regardless of geographical barriers and explore identity safely.
Risks:
Cyberbullying poses significant threats to children during this period.
Spiritual Development
Definition:
Spiritual development involves becoming aware of potential and possibility, the intersection of one's life with others, and connecting personal ideals with narratives that promote hope, purpose, and compassion.
Connection to Moral Development:
Spiritual and moral development are interconnected.
Family's Role:
Significant in fostering religious (community-anchored) and spiritual (personal relationship with the sacred) development.
Directly modeled behaviors and indirectly contributes through attachment styles and coping strategies.
Middle Childhood and Formal Schooling
Educational Disparities:
Large global gaps exist in educational opportunities, impacting child development.
School Environment Navigation:
Children enter a new environment evaluated based on performance, influencing personality, dreams, and aspirations.
Peer difficulties can exacerbate academic challenges.
Types of Intelligence in Schooling
Different Types of Intelligence:
Linguistic
Logical/Mathematical
Visual/Spatial
Bodily Kinesthetic
Intrapersonal
Bilingualism and Educational Challenges
Bilingual Children:
One in five U.S. students speaks a language other than English at home, which can lead to struggles in school.
Children perform best when proficient in both languages.
Immigrant and refugee children often face mental health challenges that may manifest as academic failure.
A supportive school and home environment are imperative.
Special Challenges in Middle Childhood
Diverse Family Structures:
Family dynamics and structures are increasingly diverse, impacting child development.
Poverty
Statistics:
In 2015, 44% of children in middle childhood lived in low-income families; 21% lived in poor families.
Risk Factors:
Family’s resource acquisition impacts positive development; emotional health and parenting practices of caregivers suffer.
Inadequate resources at family, school, and neighborhood levels raise the risk of experiencing trauma.
Duration and depth of childhood poverty significantly affect outcomes.
Family and Community Violence
Types of Maltreatment:
Physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, emotional maltreatment.
Contributing Factors:
Various characteristics: parental, child, family, community, and cultural.
Impact of maltreatment can vary according to type and the child's age.
Physical, Cognitive, Emotional, and Behavioral Challenges
Legislation:
Reference to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act as significant for identifying and addressing challenges within middle childhood.
Common Challenges:
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Emotional/Behavioral Disorders
Family disruption and its impact.
Risk Factors and Protective Factors in Middle Childhood
Influence on Resilience:
Various factors impact resilience during this period.
Risk Factors:
Violence, social exclusion, and persistent poverty.
Protective Factors:
Nurturing relationships and exposure to adaptive coping strategies.