LifespanDevelopment Chapter 5

Middle and Late Childhood Overview

Age Range

• Approximately ages 6 to 11.

Motor Skills Development

• Children exhibit enhanced control over gross (large muscle) and fine (small muscle) motor skills, enabling them to perform a wider range of physical activities.

Cognitive Development

• Brain maturation during these years contributes significantly to improved reasoning, critical thinking, and flexibility in thought processes.

• This cognitive sophistication allows children to understand complex concepts and solve problems efficiently.

Peer Relationships

• As children enter middle childhood, peers become increasingly central to their lives, often influencing family dynamics, self-image, and social skills.

Physical Development

Overall Physical Growth

• Growth Rate: There is a comparatively slower growth rate in middle childhood; typically, children gain an average of 5-7 pounds and 2-3 inches in height per year (CDC, 2000).

• Growth Spurt Initiation: Growth spurts begin earlier for girls (around age 9) compared to boys (around age 11), affecting their developmental trajectories.

• Motor Skills: Children show improved abilities in gross motor skills such as riding a bike, playing sports, and engaging in outdoor recreational activities, as well as fine motor skills which involve tasks like writing and using utensils.

• Gender Differences: Generally, boys tend to excel in gross motor skills, displaying higher levels of physical activity, while girls often excel in fine motor skills, which are critical for daily tasks and academic performance.

Brain Growth

• Growth Spurts: Significant brain development occurs in two distinct phases:

  • Ages 6-8: Improvements in fine motor skills and enhanced eye-hand coordination are particularly evident during this phase.

  • Ages 10-12: Greater development of the frontal lobes leads to improved logical reasoning, planning abilities, and memory retention.

• Myelination: This is a key factor in brain growth, as it enhances information processing speed and reaction time. By ages 6 to 12, there is nearly complete myelination in the brain's association areas (Johnson, 2005).

• Memory Improvement: The increased myelination of the hippocampus during middle childhood significantly boosts memory functioning and the capacity to learn new information (Rolls, 2000).

Sports and Physical Activity

• Participation Trends: Engagement in organized sports is common during middle childhood, providing not only opportunities for social skill enhancement but also emotional growth through teamwork and competition.

• Participation Barriers: Factors such as gender, socioeconomic status, and locality affect the ability and opportunity for children to participate in sports. It is commonly observed that girls have lower participation rates, influenced by societal norms and access. (Sabo & Veliz, 2008).

• Reasons for Dropping Out: The primary reason for dropping out of sports, reported across genders, is loss of enjoyment (38% of girls, 39% of boys) (Table 5.1).

• Coaching Influence: Well-prepared and supportive coaches contribute to lower drop-out rates since they can foster a positive and inclusive environment (Fraser-Thomas et al., 2005).

Childhood Obesity

• Prevalence: There has been a significant increase in childhood obesity; 13.9% of children aged 2-5 years and 18.4% of children aged 6-11 years are classified as obese (Hales et al., 2017).

• Causes: This rise is attributed to decreased participation in physical activities, increased screen time, and misunderstandings regarding weight status by parents. This phenomenon is referred to as 'oblivobesity.'

• Health Implications: Childhood obesity is linked to several health problems like hypertension, insulin resistance, depression, cognitive impairment, and adverse effects on academic performance (Lu, 2016).

• Parental Perception: A significant number of parents may fail to recognize when their children are overweight, leading to a lack of necessary interventions (Black et al., 2015).

Cognitive Development

Piaget’s Concrete Operational Stage

• Age Range: Children aged between 7 to 11 years enter the Concrete Operational Stage, where they develop the ability to think logically about concrete events and understand cause-and-effect relationships.

• Cognitive Skills: During this stage, children improve their grasp of various concepts such as time, size, volume, and classification skills, which are crucial for academic achievement.

• Classification and Identity: Children come to understand that objects maintain their identities despite changes in form (for example, the mass of clay remains the same regardless of how it’s shaped).

• Conservation: They also develop the ability to recognize that the quantity of a substance remains constant, regardless of changes in its shape or the container in which it is held.

Memory and Attention

• Working Memory: The capacity of working memory increases, allowing children to filter out irrelevant information more effectively which helps in learning and problem-solving.

• Attention Skills: Children show enhanced selective attention, enabling them to switch tasks more effectively (Carlson et al., 2013).

• Memory Strategies: As children grow, they increasingly utilize memory strategies such as rehearsal, visualization, or organizational tactics to enhance learning (Bjorklund, 2005).

Knowledge Base and Metacognition

• Knowledge Expansion: Through various experiences, children expand their knowledge base leading to more refined categories for learning and improved concept assimilation.

• Metacognition: Children begin to monitor and adapt their cognitive strategies based on a developing self-awareness of their understanding (Bruning et al., 2004).

Socioemotional Development

Erikson’s Theory

• Stage of Development: The central conflict during this period is between Industry and Inferiority; children are motivated to achieve competence in various tasks and develop work ethics.

• Self-Esteem and Self-Concept: During middle childhood, children develop more realistic views of their capabilities, influencing their self-worth and confidence levels.

• Self-Efficacy: Beliefs regarding their abilities play an essential role in determining children's motivation to try new tasks and their persistence in facing challenges (Bandura).

Peer Relationships

• Friendship Dynamics: Children transition from egocentric friendships, which are often opportunistic, to relationships based on mutual trust, support, and shared interests (Selman, 1980).

• Sociometric Assessment: Popular children are typically well-liked and socially accepted in their peer groups, while those who experience rejection may face bullying and decreased self-confidence (Asher & Hymel, 1981).

• Long-term Consequences: Patterns of popularity and peer relationships during childhood can hold predictive value for adult relationships and health outcomes (Prinstein, 2017).

Impact of Bullying

• Definition: Bullying is characterized by unwanted aggressive behavior that involves a power imbalance, recurring over time (Stopbullying.gov).

• Types of Bullying: The forms of bullying can include verbal, social, physical, and increasingly, cyberbullying, each having different implications for the victims.

• Effects on Victims: Victims of bullying are at a higher risk for developing health issues, experiencing lower self-esteem, mental health problems, and demonstrating reluctance to attend school.

Family Dynamics and Living Arrangements

• Family Tasks: Families provide critical support for various developmental tasks, including nurturing friendships, academic learning, and sexual socialization (Berger, 2014).

• Changes in Family Structures: There has been a marked increase in single-parent and blended family households, and such varied family dynamics significantly affect children's development.

• Impact of Divorce and Cohabitation on Children: Studies indicate that children subjected to divorce or parental cohabitation may experience behavioral challenges and emotional distress stemming from unstable family environments (Weaver & Schofield, 2015).

Conclusion

Middle and late childhood represents a critical period for physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development. This developmental stage is profoundly influenced by relationships with peers, family dynamics, and the evolving cultural and societal contexts in which children grow.