Development During Middle Childhood

[Music] welcome to this session on development during middle childhood presented by middle childhood matters coalition Toronto in this session you'll learn about middle childhood and why it's so important the changes your child will go through and how to support your child during this transition let's get started so what is middle childhood middle childhood refers to the stage between early childhood and adolescence usually defined as ages 6 through 12 during this critical period your child will go through significant cognitive emotional and social development cognitive development refers to mental processes like thinking memory and decision making during middle childhood cognitive developments include conservation of thought the understanding that something stays the same in quantity even though its appearance changes and abstract thinking the ability to imagine things not seen or experienced and asking more questions about life and the things around them and a sense of perspective capacity to think about what they are feeling and how others perceive them emotional development during middle childhood is extremely complex and is marked by identity formation defined by your child's sense of self which develops as they explore their talents goals and life experiences and self-esteem how they evaluate their own self-worth and emotional regulation beginning to recognize that how they think can affect how they feel and a greater ability to identify express and manage their emotions and an understanding that not all emotions should be expressed externally social development refers to your child's ability to form positive relationships in middle childhood they will experience changes in these three areas family while reliant on their family relationships to function they're also becoming more emotionally independent as they enter early adolescence they appreciate a need to have more privacy and independence appear more interested in same-sex peer groups around ages 10 to 13 will begin to befriend opposite sex peers and place greater importance on peer relationships as they get older sexual questions start to arise around changes in the body related to puberty and what sex is as children reach adolescence they may show interest in dating and entering relationships [Music] as parents it is very important to remember that middle childhood can be a challenging period and that your child needs your support here are a few tips to keep in mind compliment your child for well-thought-out decisions engage in discussions on a variety of topics and current events to promote thinking and to foster a desire to learn new things create a safe space where your child can share their emotions and encourage them to come to you with their questions or problems no matter what they are [Music] you