LATE CHILDHOOD

Late childhood is generally defined as ages 9 through 12. Others may call this stage as preteens.
The gradual and physical changes happening in children at this stage especially with their familiarity with
school work and other possible activities.

Children in their late childhood stage always seem to be in a hurry - they get so busy with their school
work, interacting with their friends, exploring other possible activities. This may also be the stage when
puberty may begin.

EARLY PUBERTY

On the average, girls are generally as much as (2) years ahead of boys in terms of physical
maturity, although these developments may be determined by how close a child is to puberty. Some girls
may also start with their menstrual period as early as 8 and some as late as 13. Puberty’s changes start
when the brain triggers the production of sex hormones.

Here are some changes that may happen to both girls and boys during early puberty:

Girls Boys
Breast  Small lumps from  May also have swelling
behind the nipple may on their chest but tends
occur, which sometime to go away within a year
could be painful but or two.
eventually, the pain
goes away.
 It is normal for one
breast to develop more
slowly than the other.
Genitals  The vulva starts in  Subtle increase in
increase a bit. testicle size.
 The vagina gets longer.  Penis and scrotum start
 The uterus gets bigger. to grow.
 Semen may be released
when he is awake or
even during sleep.
Hair Growth  Hair may start to grow  Hair will start to grow
in the armpits and pubic and become thicker.
areas.  New hair will also grow
in the armpits and pubic
area around the
genitals.
 May start developing
chest and facial hair.

Height, Weight and Muscle Development

 During late childhood, a child’s weight on average, may be 2.3 to 3.2 kilograms per year. Weight
increase was mainly due to the increase in size of skeletal and muscular systems as well as several
organs. Children during this stage may experience growth spurts – sudden boosts in height and weight,
which are usually accompanied by increase in appetite and food intake. Increase in body fats also occurs
in preparation for the growth that occurs during adolescence. The body fat increase occurs earlier in girls
and is greater in quantity.

Girls appear to be “chubby” while boys tend to have more lean.

Motor Skills

During this stage, movements or the muscles and bones become more coordinated. At the age
of 10 or 11 years, most children will have learn to play sports like swimming, basketball, volleyball and
running. This physical skills become a source of pleasure and great achievement to the children. In
activities that use large muscle activities, boys tend to be more nimble than girls.

Although a significant increase in physical activity may occur in this stage, children in their late
childhood is far from being physically mature. They become overwhelmed when sitting or standing too
long than when running, jumping or playing actively.

From the age of 8, children show greater coordination in writing. Their fine motor skills develop
gradually which may be evidenced by the size of the letters and numbers.

Insecurities

At this stage, children may become very concerned about their physical appearance. Girls
especially, may become concerned about their weight and decide to eat less. Boys nay become aware of
their muscle size and strength.

Since this stage can bring about insecurities, parents and teachers must be very conscious about
their dealings with these children. Appropriate activities must be designed so that children will be guided
into the right direction. Children must be given opportunities to engage themselves in worthwhile
activities that:

 Promote healthy growth,

 Give them a feeling of accomplishment, and
 Reduce the risk of certain disease.

Implications to child-care, education and parenting

During this stage, children are more physically active however, they still have a lot of physical
maturity to undergo. Here are some points to consider for health-care providers, teachers and parents.

 Provide ample opportunities at home and in school for physical exercises and sports.
 Encourage children to participate in varied worthwhile activities until they are able to
discover the ones they are interested in.
 Develop a strong emotional attachment with your children so as to address any
insecurities and social concerns.
  Since children in this stage have more control over over their eating habits, provide them
with healthier food choices.

According to Jean Piaget, concrete operational thinkers can now organize thoughts effectively,
although, they can apply what they have learned to situations and events that they can manipulate. Thus
their reasoning and logical thinking are is still very limited. But with proper guidance from parents,
teachers and the rest of the community, these children can easily succeed in their intellectual endeavors.

Initial Cognitive Characteristics

Intermediate school children greatly enjoy the cognitive abilities that they can now utilize more
effectively as compared to their thinking skills during their primary years. They develop special interest in
collections, hobbies and sports. They are even capable of understanding concepts without having direct
hands-on experiences.

Reading development

Children in this stage, is marked by a wide application of word attack. Because of the presence of
previous knowledge, they now have a wide vocabulary which enables them to understand the meanings
of unknown words through context clues – this is the “reading to learn” stage in the reading
development.

Creativity

‘’CREATIVITY is not the finding of a thing, but making something out of it after it is found.”

-James Russell Lowell

Children at this stage are open to explore new things. They are usually ate their best when the
work is done in small pieces. Creativity in children in encouraged when the activites:

 Encourage different responses from each child;

 Value process over product;
 Reduce stress and anxiety in children;
 Support to share ideas, not only with the teacher/parent but also with other children.

The impact of media

“television viewing is a highly complex, cognitive activity during which children are actively involved in
learning.”

(Anderson and Collins, 1988)

The Impact of the use of television and other media like the computer has gained popularity
because students are given more opportunity to:

 Communicate effectively in speech and in writing;

 Work collaboratively;
  Analyze problems, set goals, and formulate strategies for achieving those goals; and
 Seek out information or skill on their own, as needed, to meet their goals.

Implications to child care, education and parenting

Children have varying intelligence profiles. These profiles may be based on influences on
learning and achievement. Parents, child-care providers and teachers should be able to recognize
these through:

 Being an eager participant in children’s growth and development;

 Understanding how to use the children’s natural curiosity to help make the appropriate
developmental leaps in their skills and abilities; and
 Creating an atmosphere where risks can be taken and discoveries made while children
remain safe.

Understanding self-competence, self-identity and self-concept

One of the most widely recognized characteristics of this period of development is the acquisition of
self-competence. The child should have a growing sense of competence. Varied opportunities must
be provided in order for children to develop a sense of perservance. They should be offered chances
to both fail and succeed, along with sincere feedback and support. During the childhood, children
can now describe themselves with internal and psychological characteristics ans traits. It enables
them to (a) judge others intentions, purposes and actions, (b) give importance to social attitudes and
behaviors and (c) increase skepticism of others claims.

Emotional development

The same with other areas of development, children in this stage, show improved emotional
understanding, increased understanding that more than that more than one emotion can be
experienced in a single experience. Another milestone in this stage is the development of the children’s
emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence has four main areas:

 Developing emotional self-awareness

 Managing emotions (self-control)
 Reading emotions (perspective taking)
 Handling emotions (resolve problems)

Implications to child care, education and parenting

Primary school children’s socio emotional competency should be viewed in the context of the
child’s developmental age. Health care providers, teachers and parents should be able to:

 Gain understanding of their child’s socio-emotional strengths and weaknesses by

 Encouraging children to talk about their feelings without doing it forcefully
 Provide opportunities for children to build relationships with teachers and fellow classmates;
 Remind children that friendship have their ups and downs and that occasional conflicts and
arguments can be healthy.
 Model healthy relationship.