Middle Childhood

(9 to 11 years old)

There are at least two physical developmental milestones that typically
developing children should attain during middle childhood. One physical
developmental milestone is that a child will become more aware of his or her
body as puberty approaches. During this time a child will start to have a
certain image about their own bodies. Another physical developmental is a
childs growth. During this time, the childs legs will begin to grow so that the
child may seem to be experiencing an instant growth spurt. (Berk, L.E.,
2013).

There are at least two language developmental milestones that typically
developing children should achieve during middle childhood. One
developmental milestone for a nine year old is when they begin to expand their vocabulary by using
bigger or more detailed words. The second milestone is when the child can explain their point of view
more clearly as well as understand another persons point of view with more detail. The child in this stage
will begin to hold conversations with more maturity than before while using grown up words more
effectively (Coplan, J., 1993).

During middle childhood, there will be at least two social emotional milestones that needs to be reached
to show atypical development in the child. the child will have become more capable of doing things on
their own and shows pride in his or her accomplishments. the child becomes more competent and
confident in their abilities than in earlier stages. the child is less clingy at this stage and can interact
successfully with their peers and teachers without having an emotional outburst.

There are at least two cognitive developmental milestones that typically developing children should
achieve during middle childhood. By the time a child is eleven years old, he or she has an accurate
perception of events with rational, logical thought; concrete thinking; and reflect upon themselves and
attributes. For example the child would be able to tell about an event while including the meaning of the
events and how the event may have affected them. At this age children can also have more effective
coping skills and better understands how his behavior has affected others (Von Hofsten, C., 2007).

In middle childhood, a child can reach one developmental milestone in moral reasoning/self-
regulation by think hypothetically. At this stage, a child will calculate consequences of thoughts and
actions without experiencing them by considering a number of possibilities and plan behavior to the best
possibility. Another milestone is gaining more self-control when a situation presents itself between doing
what is right and doing what the child wants.

There is one of many signs that may signal atypical development during middle childhood. This signal can
be the socializing of the child with his peers in different environments. This is the time in a childs life
when he or she begins to become more independent beyond his home. The child will begin to make new
friends and make bonds with peers in their own age group. If your child is becoming anti-social or having
trouble making friends, the parent should discuss this with their doctor.

One strategy that a family can use to influence their childrens learning and development is by giving their
child more responsibilities at home. This would give the child more self-esteem in completing tasks on
their own and encourage them to do other things on their own in the future. The middle childhood period
also offers an opportunity for families to introduce information on health encouragement and disease
prevention, including discussions on the consequences of smoking and the use of alcohol, drugs, and
inhalants. (Fogel, A., 2001).

One social factor that influences the middle childhood stage of development is the type of a attention a
child may receive from their peers. One culture factor that influences the middle childhood stage of
development is racial diversity.