Growth and Development

of a SCHOOL-AGE child

WHAT IS SCHOOL AGE?

Commonly refers to children between

the ages of 6 and 12.
Represent a time of slow physical
growth, cognitive growth and
development continue to proceed at
rapid rates.
School-age child is more subtle and
marked by mood swings.

GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF A SCHOOL-AGE CHILD

Physical Growth
Average weight: 3 to 5 lb (1.3 to 2.2 kg)
Average height: 1 to 2 in (2.5 to 5 cm)
Brain growth is complete
Posture becomes more erect
Fine motor coordination becomes refined

The eye globe reaches its final shape.

Lymphatic tissues continues to grow up
until about age 9.
Left ventricle of the heart enlarges.
Maturation of respiratory system.

SEXUAL MATURATION

Timing of the onset of puberty varies

widely between 10 and 14 years of
age.
Sexual and physical concerns.
Concerns of Girls:
Prepubertal girls are usually taller by
2 in (5 cm) or more than.
Hips are becoming broader.

Girls are usually conscious of breast

development.
Early preparation for menstruation.
Girls need to know that vaginal
secretions will begin to be present.

Concerns of Boys:
Aware of increasing genital size
Having pubic hair
Seminal fluid is produced

TEETH

Deciduous teeth are lost permanent

teeth erupt during the school-age
period.
Average child gains 28 teeth between 6
and 12 years of age.

ERUPTION PATTERN OF PERMANENT

TEETH

DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONE

Gross Motor Development

Age
Gross Motor
6
Children endlessly jump,
tumble, skip and hop.
7
Spends time in quiet play.
8
Graceful than those of younger
children. They enjoy riding
bicycles well and enjoy sports
such gymnastics, soccer, and
hockey.

Age
Gross Motor
9
Consider as a gang age, they
enjoy playing basketball,
volleyball and baseball.
10 Ready for competitive games.
11 Active but awkward and clumsy.
12 Enjoy participating in sports
events.

Fine Motor Development

Age
6

Fine Motor
Learns how to tie shoelaces.
Draw a person with good
detail.
Children never quite to be
content with what they have
done.

Age
8
9
10
11
12

Fine motor
Reading as a good pleasure
and school more enjoyable.
Writing begins to look mature.
Challenging science and
mathematics. This may be the
time that the child is turned on
to reading.

Play
Age
6
7
8
9

Playing habits
Play continues to be rough.
Require more props for play.
Collections may become
increasingly structured,
developing skills for sorting
and cataloging.

Age
10
11
12

Playing habits
Interested in competitive play
situations. Begin to discover
internet and how to talk in
chat rooms.

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
Age

Development

Six year old

Talks in full sentence,

using language easily and
with meaning.

Seven years old

Can tell time in hours but

has trouble with concepts
such as half past and
quarter to.

Nine years old

They like to use words that

are used by adults and tell
it to their friends.

Age
Twelve years old

Development
They can carry on adult
conversation and their
sense of humor is
apparent

EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

They now have the ability to trust

others and with a sense of respect for
their own worth
They can accomplish small tasks
independently
They have practiced or mimicked adult
roles
They discovered that learning is fun
and an adventure

DEVELOPMENTAL TASK
INDUSTRY VERSUS INFERIORITY
Home as a setting to learn Industry:
Parents of a school-age child need to
take a step forward in development of
along with their child. For the first time,
they realize that their child is
dependent on role models other than
themselves.

DEVELOPMENTAL TASK
SCHOOL AS A SETTING TO LEARN
INDUSTRY
Adjusting to and achieving in school are
two of the major tasks for this group
age. Schools are increasingly assuming
responsibility for education about sex,
safety, avoidance of substances of
abuse and preparation for family living.

DEVELOPMENTAL TASK
PROBLEM SOLVING
An important part of developing a sense
of industry is learning how to solve
problems. Parents and Teachers can
help children develop this skill by
encouraging practice

DEVELOPMENTAL TASK
LEARNING TO LIVE WITH OTHERS
School-age children are sometimes so
interested in tasks and in
accomplishing physical projects that
they forget that they must work with
people to achieve these goals.

SOCIALIZATION
Age

Development

They play in groups, but when they

are tired or under added stress,
they prefer one-to-one contact

They are increasingly aware of

family roles and responsibility

They actively seek the company of

other children

They take the values of their peer

group seriously; they are ready for
activities away at home, such as a
week at camp.

SOCIALIZATION
Age

Development

10

Although they enjoy being in

groups, they also enjoy privacy

11

Girls become increasingly

interested in boys and vice-versa

12

They feel more comfortable in

social situations than they did the
year before

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Children can use concrete operational
thought because they learn several
new concepts such as:
-DECENTERING:
The ability to project the self into other
peoples situations and see the world
from their viewpoint rather than
focusing only on their view.

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
-ACCOMODATION:
The ability to adapt thought processes to
fit what is perceived (i.e. understanding
that there can be more than one reason
for other peoples action.
-CONSERVATION:
The ability to appreciate that a change in
shape does not necessarily means a
change in size

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
-CLASS INCLUSION:
The ability to understand that objects
can belong to more than one
classification

MORAL AND SPIRITUAL

DEVELOPMENT

School-age children begin to mature in

terms of moral development as they enter a
stage of preconventional reasoning,
sometimes as early as 5 years of age.
School-age children begin to learn about
rituals and meaning behind their religious
practice, so that the distinction between
right and wrong becomes more important to
them than it was when they were
preschoolers.

COMMON HEALTH PROBLEMS

Dental Caries:
Caries are progressive, destructive lesions or
decalcifications of the tooth enamel and
dentine. Neglected caries result in poor
chewing and therefore poor digestion,
abscess and pain, and sometimes
osteomyelitis (bone infection). Dental caries
are largely preventable with proper brushing
and use of fluoridated water or fluoride
application.

COMMON HEALTH PROBLEMS

Malocclusion:
The upper jaw in children matures rapidly in early
childhood along with skull growth; the lower jaw
forms more slowly, which forces teeth to make a
prolonged series of changes until they reach
their final adult alignment and position.
Malocclusion may be either crossbite (sideways)
or anterior or posterior. Children with
malocclusion should be evaluated by an
orthodontist to see if orthodontic braces or other
therapy is necessary.

PROMOTING DEVELOPMENT IN DAILY ACTIVITIES

Dress
-Although they can fully dress themselves,
they are not as good as taking care of their
clothes until later in the school age-years.
Sleep
-Sleep needs vary among individual
children. Younger school-agers generally
require 10 to 12 hrs of sleep each night,
and older ones require about 8 to 10 hours

PROMOTING DEVELOPMENT IN DAILY ACTIVITIES

Exercise
-School-age children need daily exercise.
Although they go to school all day, they do
not automatically receive much exercise
because school is basically a sit-down activity.
Hygiene
-Children of 6 or 7 years of age still need help in
regulating the bath water temperature and in
cleaning their ears and fingernails.

PROMOTING DEVELOPMENT IN DAILY ACTIVITIES

Hygiene
-by age 8, they are generally capable of
bathing themselves but may not do it
well because they are too busy to take
the time or they do not find bathing
important as their parents do.
Care of teeth
-With proper dental care, the average
child today can expect to grow up
cavity-free.

CONCERNS AND PROBLEMS OF THIS PERIOD

Language Development
-The common speech problem of the
preschool years is broken fluency; the
most common problem of a school-age
is articulation
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
(ADHD)

COMMON FEARS AND ANXIETIES

Anxiety related to beginning school
-adjusting to school is a big task for 6-year-olds.
Even if they attended pre-school, grade-school
is different: the rules are firmer, and the
elective feeling is gone.
Social phobia
-is a fear of attending school. It is a type of
social phobia similar to agoraphobia (fear of
going outside the home)

LATCHKEY CHILDREN

Are school children who are without

adult supervision for part each
weekday. The term alludes to the fact
that they generally carry a key so they
can let themselves into their home
after school.

SEX EDUCATION

It is important that school-age children

be educated about pubertal changes
and responsible sexual practices so
they are well prepared for these. Also,
preteens should have adults they can
turn to for answers to questions about
sex.

STEALING

During early school-age, most children

go through a period in which they steal
loose change from their mothers purse
or fathers dresser. This usually
happens at around 7 years of age,
when children are first learning how to
make change and discovering the
importance of money.

VIOLENCE OR TERRORISM

Children basically view their world as

safe, so it is a shock to them when
violence such as school shooting or
international terrorists enter their lives

BULLYING

A frequent reason that school-agers

cite for feeling so violent that they turn
guns on fellow classmates is that they
were ridiculed or bullied to the point
they could no longer take the abuse.

RECREATIONAL DRUG USE

Once considered a college or highschool problem, illegal drugs are

available to children as early as
elementary school and certainly by the
time they reach 7th and 8th grades

CHILDREN OF ALCOHOLIC PARENTS

Such children are at a greater risk for

having emotional problems. Alcoholism
may have a genetic cause, so children
of alcoholics are more likely to become
alcoholics.

OBESITY

As many as 50% of school-age children

are obese by body-mass index
guidelines for ideal weight. Some of
these children have been overweight
since infancy; their prepubertal natural
weight gain makes them obese.

CONCERNS OF THE PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED OR

CHRONICALLY ILL

One of the biggest problems facing a

school-age child with a long-term
illness or physical challenge is a time
lost from school. This threatens not
only academic achievements but also
the childs relationships with his or her
peers.

NUTRITION AND THE CHALLENGED SCHOOL-AGE

CHILD

Food preparation and dishwashing time

are times for socializing in most
households. The school-age child who
cannot be involved in these activities
because of a physical challenge needs
extra time during the day to make up
for these lost socializing experiences.