Developmental Information

Overview of Developmental Milestones and Changes

Before we discuss details of providing services to school-age children, it’s important to first understand the main characteristics, behaviors, and developmental milestones of this age group (ages 6 - 12 years old). Knowing what is going on with your school-age patrons in terms of physical and emotional growth will greatly assist you in building rapport, anticipating their needs and interest, designing programs, and supporting their developmental process.

As school-age children have developed the necessary skills and control of their bodies and emotions to function more independently, they are ready to begin a new, important time of learning and growth. They will continue to go through major changes physically, mentally, and emotionally, but as they interact more with the world outside their homes, they are more and more influenced by teachers, friends, and society at large. Although there is no hard and fast rule for how and when children grow and develop, here are some general milestones to expect.

Physical Development

Physical development includes the brain, muscles, and senses. These developments are most easily recognized by the gross-motor and fine-motor skills children are gaining. Gross-motor skills involve large muscle use, general strength, and endurance. Fine-motor skills involve small muscles and can enhance the child’s perception skills. As these muscle groups develop, children are more in control of their bodies and are capable of increasingly complex movements. Keep in mind that as children go through growth spurts, they can become clumsy or even regress as their bodies develop and practice these skills.  These changes are normal and can be expected, and highlight why all abilities and skill levels should be accommodated in programming.

Cognitive (Brain) Development

At the same time, their brains are developing the ability to concentrate, recall important things, and pay attention for longer periods of time. You can present more complicated topics, ideas, and perspectives during this time, and children will be able to engage and ask questions to learn more. These developments are not achieved on a straight timeline, however, and can be highly varied between individual children.

Emotional Development

Emotionally, school-age children start to develop a better appreciation of other people’s feelings and how to work together with other people. They are able to establish and maintain relationships and friendships and strengthen their cooperative skills. Their communication skills are developing and are growing towards more positive self-esteem and independence. They are learning to manage their emotions and learning how to cope with stress or challenging situations.

More in-depth descriptions of behavioral and developmental changes are detailed in the workbook, as well as a reflection activity on your own growth during this time.

A Note About Tweens

Older children in this age range, from around 10-12 years, are referred to as “tweens.” Their needs are discussed more specifically in the Youth Services: Tweens and Teens Course. As with younger children, development happens at varied rates, so some school-age children might exhibit teen/tween characteristics and behavior earlier than expected.

The tween years are marked by significant development in a child’s physical growth, in their awareness of what other people think, and in a variety of social changes. Friends and their influence become more important as tweens become more independent from their families and start to explore boundaries. However, parental support and guidance is still important to them. With the changes they see in their bodies, tweens become self-conscious about their appearance and the social hierarchy, and they are trying on different self-identities while they explore who and how they want to be. Emotionally, they become more sensitive to their own and other people’s emotions and they can experience intense emotional swings as well. Tweens tend to have concrete, black-and-white thinking and their thinking centers more and more on themselves, which is normal for this age.