Middle Childhood

Development
(7-11 Years old)

Elaine Maninang

Middle childhood is the stage of development in the life span of an individual that
begins at approximately 7 years old to the age of eleven years.

It coincides with the childs elementary school years.

Aspects of Development

Motor
Cognitive
Social and Emotional
Moral

Motor
Development

Motor
Developmental
Tasks:
Develop both
gross and fine
motor skills

Fine motor skills involve

the use of small bodily
movements.
Writing tends to be large
at first, and legibility
gradually increases.
Drawings show gains in
organization, detail, and
representation of depth.

Gross motor
skills involve the use of
large bodily
movements
Running, jumping,
hopping, and ball skills
become more refined.
Motor skills improve in
the capacities of
flexibility, balance,
agility, and force.

For
some children,
adjusting to
ones
physical
changes

Puberty is the point in the development of a man

at which the individual becomes physically
capable of sexual reproduction

Changes in the Body

Primary Sex
Characteristics:
Sex Organs
Female:
Menstruation
Ovulation
Menarche -the first
menstrual period

Male:
Production of Sperms

Secondary Sex
Characteristics:
Female:
Breast
Pubic hair
Auxiliary
Change in voice and skin
Increase width of pelvis
Male:
Pubic hair
Auxiliary
Facial hair
Change in voice and skin
Broadening of shoulders

Three Stages of Puberty

Prepubescent- Secondary characteristics begin
their development
Pubescent- Menarche for girls, Wet dreams for
boys
Postpubescent Secondary sex characteristics
become well-developed

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Cognitive
Development

Cognitive
Developmental
Task:

Learn
fundamental
skills in reading,
Writing,
and
numeracy

The Period of
Concrete Operation
- Piaget (1954)
considered the
concrete stage a major
turning point in the
child's cognitive
development, because
it marks the beginning
of logical or
operational thought.

Reversibilityawareness that
actions can be
reversed.
Decentering- They
can focus on multiple
parts of a problem at
once

Children become
less egocentric

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Becomes better at
conservation tasks.
Conservation- the child
understands that
although the
appearance of
something changes,
the thing itself does not.
Increasing memory
capacity

Social and Emotional

Development

Social and Emotional Developmental Tasks:

Learn to get along with agemates

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Achieve
personal
independence

Develop
attitudes
towards
social
groups
and
institutions

Begin to
develop
appropriate
masculine or
feminine roles

Learn to perform
the different
roles expected
of him

Develop
Interests
And
Creativity

Industry vs.
Inferiority

Fourth stage of Erik Erikson's Theory

of Psychosocial Development

Success leads to a sense of

competence, while failure
results in feelings of
inferiority.

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Latency Stage

(Sixth year to puberty)

Erik Eriksons Psychosexual Development

The sexual energy is still

present, but it is directed
into other areas

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Moral
Development

Moral
Developmental Tasks:
Learn concepts and
skills
necessary
for everyday
living

Develop a
self-concept

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Develop a conscience, a
sense of right and wrong,
and values according to
his culture

Good-Boy, Nice-Girl Orientation

Stage 3 of Lawrence Kohlers Theory of Moral Development

A person judges an action based on the societal roles and social

expectations before him. This is also known as the interpersonal
relationships phase

Conclusion:

Latency Stage

stage 6, Industry vs. Inferiority in

The period of concrete operations
In level two, stage 3 Good-Boy,
Nice-Girl Orientation

It is a stage of physical
development, sometimes puberty

It is also named as elementary

school age.
The age of concepts discovery
The age of developmenting selfesteem
The age of adjusting to changes
The age of having interests and
personality development

Reference:
Developmental Psychology
http://www.kkhsou.in/main/education/late_childhood.html
http://psychology.about.com/od/piagetstheory/p/concreteop.htm
http://www.cliffsnotes.com/sciences/psychology/development-psychology/physical-cognitivedevelopment-age-711/physical-development-age-711
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