Middle Childhood Period of Development

During middle childhood, physical development becomes very visible and obvious. At this stage
in life, children are in a transition period between being kids and becoming teenagers. Growth
spurts are very common at this point in time, and they should experience improvements in many
areas, including refinement of perceptual motor skills and physical health, including nutrition
and exercise. (Zembar & Blume, 2010). At the ages between 6 and 8, kids become a lot more
independent thanks to their becoming physically bigger, but also having better motor skills for
physical activity. They can dress themselves, catch a ball more easily using only their hands,
and tie their shoes(Cdc.gov, n.d.).

Increased skills for middle childhood are not limited to only physical changes, but cognitive as
well. Being able to do things by themselves can lead to them wanting to do more things on their
own, which can make them want more independence from parents and family, start to think
about the future, understand more about his or her place in the world, pay more attention to
friendships, teamwork, and want to be liked and accepted by friends (Cdc.gov, n.d.).

During this stage many kids start communicating with more nonverbal language, like posture
and tone of voice (Morin, n.d.). This is important as it adds a level of communication. In
addition, Teenagers are far more likely than school-age children to practice what they want to
say in an expected situation, review what they did say, and figure out how they could say it
better (Berk, 2013). Children are more aware of their language abilities and the fact that they
can relay a message with proper language skills.

Two social-emotional and moral reasoning/self-regulation milestones children in this

developmental stage should achieve are; that they begin to make more complex friendships,
become more aware of the changes in their body, they begin to seek fairness with in the family
structure, and they are now capable of acting deliberately and with reason.

One sign that could show atypical behavior would be a lack of a growth spurt. Others could be a
lack of a desire to talk to others, or a feeling that there arent great gains made in terms of being
able to express themselves. Of course, a parent knows a child best. If there is any doubt that the
milestones of development are not being met, parents should take their child to a doctor who can
better assess the situation. A doctor can conduct developmental screening, which is used to tell
if children are learning basic skills when they should, or if they might have delays (Cdc.gov,
n.d.). With this information, children will be much better equipped with knowledge as to how to
help them better. A second sign of atypical development is when the child is not yet able to read,
write, express his/her self, and is not able to form friendships. This may be a sign of for concern.

A social factor at this developmental stage are the kinds of activities children are exposed to
outside of their home and school life. If they are not allowed the time and space to make friends
and build relationships.
A cultural factor that may influence development at this stage would be poverty and parental
illiteracy. Children may fall behind in school due to these factors.

One play based strategy families can use is to enroll the child into karate, soccer, football, or any
other recreational activity. A second strategy would be to allow the child to learn to play an
instruments, and parents can possibly learn to play the same instrument to show support.

Reference

Berk, L. E. (2013). Child development (9th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education.

Cdc.gov. (n.d.). CDC - Child Development, Facts - NCBDDD. Retrieved from

https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/facts.html
Cdc.gov. (n.d.). CDC - Child Development, Middle Childhood (6-8 years old) NCBDDD.
Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/positiveparenting/middle.html

Morin, A. (n.d.). Developmental Milestones for Typical Middle-Schoolers. Retrieved from

https://www.understood.org/en/learning-attention-issues/signs-symptoms/developmental-
milestones/developmental-milestones-for-typical-middle-schoolers

Zembar, M. and Blume, L. (2010). Developmental Milestones in Middle Childhood. Retrieved

from https://www.education.com/reference/article/developmental-milestones-middle-childhood/