What is middle childhood?
1. Physical Development:
- Children experience a steady and continuous growth in height, weight, and muscle strength.
- Their coordination and motor skills improve significantly, allowing them to engage in more physical activities and sports.
- Permanent teeth start to replace baby teeth.
2. Cognitive Development:
- They develop an increased ability to reason logically and think abstractly.
- Conservation, an understanding that certain physical characteristics remain constant despite changes in appearance, becomes well-established.
- Reading, writing, and math skills improve through formal education in school.
- They grasp complex social concepts like friendship, trust, and fairness.
3. Emotional Development:
- Children's emotional range expands, and they become better at identifying and expressing their emotions.
- Self-awareness and self-concept start to develop as children compare themselves to their peers.
- Emotional regulation improves, reducing the intensity and frequency of emotional outbursts.
4. Social Development:
- Peer relationships play a prominent role in middle childhood as children actively seek out the company of classmates, friends, and peers with similar interests.
- The influence of the family starts to share space with friendships as children learn about cooperation, problem-solving, and negotiation with peers.
- Children also develop a stronger sense of identity and autonomy and are more invested in group activities, games, and extracurriculars.
Middle childhood is crucial for children's growth and development. Experiences during this time lay the foundation for later adolescent and adult life, affecting physical and mental health, academic success, and social well-being.