Late Childhood

• Intermediate schoolers have more control over their bodies than they had when they were in primary school.
• Intermediate schoolers become more active and have greater liberty to choose the hobbies or sports they want to get involved in.
• Children in their late childhood stage always seem to be in a hurry, getting busy with their school work, interacting with their friends, and exploring other possible activities.
• Puberty is the period in which the body undergoes physical changes and becomes capable of sexual reproduction.
• On the average, girls are generally as much as two years ahead of boys in terms of physical maturity, determined by how close a child is to puberty.
• Early puberty may begin as early as 8 for girls and as late as 13.
• Puberty’s changes start when the brain triggers the production of sex hormones.
• 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.
• Health-care providers, teachers and parents should provide opportunities for children to build relationships with teachers and fellow classmates.
• Health-care providers, teachers and parents should model healthy relationships.
• Health-care providers, teachers and parents should design activities that allow children to work on their own and discover activities and hobbies that they enjoy.
• 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 remind children that friendships have their ups and downs and that occasional conflicts and arguments can be healthy.
• During early puberty, girls may experience breast changes such as small lumps from behind the nipple, which sometimes could be painful but eventually, the pain goes away.
• One breast may develop more slowly than the other.
• Girls may also start with their menstrual period as early as 8 and as late as 13.
• During early puberty, boys may experience genital changes such as an increase in the size of the vulva, the vagina, the uterus, and a subtle increase in testicle size.
• Boys may also start releasing semen when they are awake or even during sleep.
• Hair growth in boys during early puberty may include hair starting to grow in the armpits and pubic areas, becoming thicker, and new hair growing in these areas around the genitals.
• During late childhood, a child’s weight may increase by 2.3 to 3.2 kilograms per year, mainly due to the increase in size of skeletal and muscular systems as well as several organs.
• During late childhood, peers have an increasingly strong impact on development, and peer acceptance becomes very important to well-being.
• As children go through their late childhood, the time they spend in peer interaction increases and good peer relationships are very important.
• At this stage, children prefer to belong to same-sex peer groups.
• The family environment remains extremely important, while the community environment including the school becomes a significant factor in shaping the child’s development.
• Emotional intelligence has four main areas: developing emotional self-awareness, managing emotions (self-control), reading emotions (perspective taking), and handling emotions (resolve problems).
• Emotional intelligence involves the ability to monitor feelings of oneself and others to guide and motivate behavior.
• There are five types of peer status: popular, average, neglected, rejected, and controversial.
• A high-quality adult relationship, specifically, family relationships enable children to successfully go through this stage of development.
• Family support during late childhood is crucial as children need a supportive family when they find their interest in hobbies like riding a bike or playing a musical instrument.
• During late childhood, a wide variety of biological, psychological and social changes take place across the developmental domains.
• Popular children have skills which peers find very positive and as a result, they become the most favored in the group.
• Neglected children are those who participate less in the classroom, have negative attitudes on school tardiness and attendance, are more often reported as being lonely, and are aggressive.
• During late childhood, children show improved emotional understanding and increased ability to show or conceal emotions, utilize ways to redirect feelings, and develop genuine empathy.
• In boys, neglected children become impulsive, have problems in being attentive, and are disruptive.
• Peer size also increases and less supervision by adults is required.
• At this stage, children may become very concerned about their physical appearance, especially girls who may be concerned about their weight.
• Encourage children to participate in varied worthwhile activities until they are able to discover the ones they are interested in.
• Intermediate school children greatly enjoy the cognitive abilities they can now utilize more effectively as compared to their thinking skills during their primary years.
• Boys at this stage may become concerned about their stature and muscle size and strength.
• Develop a strong emotional attachment with your children so as to address any insecurities and social concerns.