Middle Childhood

Middle Childhood

Middle childhood ushers in a way of thinking that seems somehow more familiar, more similar to the way parents think. Thinking itself is no longer magical, since children 6-7 years to 11 years have a fairly good grasp of reality. Yet thinking in middle childhood can be rich in fantasy or adventure, filled with stories of mythical superheroes, science fiction, and even some elaborate fantasy play. This shift in thinking appears because children this age begin to reason. They are able to plan, organize, imagine solutions logically, and begin to grasp consequences. In tandem with this, they are increasingly competent in activities of daily life and are able to take much more responsibility for self care and obligations.
Children this age are also building a clearer sense of self and form friendships that are satisfying and important to them.
All these expanding competencies occur on a comparatively quiet stage. Children in middle childhood have expanded confidence in their capabilities and are less likely to be frustrated. They are also free from the turbulent changes of puberty and adolescence. As a result, many parents find this a very calm and engaging time, in which they can truly get to know their child and share in exploring his or her many gifts and qualities.

silhouette 2 girls on swings

On Line Games: Why Cyber Playing Can Lead to Cyber Meltdowns in Children

On-Line Games Are Designed To Keep Us Playing
They get progressively harder as we continue to play. They are designed to keep us feeling challenged and interested, getting a little more demanding as we build skill. This is part of the fun of playing on line and it keeps us coming back. It works well for adults and older teens, but it has an unintended effect on children.

It's The Opposite of Children’s Natural Play Cycles
Children’s real life play (the play . . .

Please sign in or become a member to view this content.

Telling Jokes: A big development in middle childhood

Has your five or six year old asked things like . . . 

“Why did the man get a drink?
“Because he was thirsty.” Followed by gales of forced laughter? That’s how it starts.
Why Jokes Emerge During this Period
Jokes and humor are incredibly popular in middle childhood. These emerge as a result of several changes in thinking. The ability to decenter and consider different points of view or different aspects of an event allow children to recognize and appreciate unexpected twists, which is what successful jokes rely on. In addition, children this age begin to have what we . . .

Please sign in or become a member to view this content.

Thinking begins to change ….


Developmentalists generally agree that the way children manage and understand information changes rather dramatically after age 6.
Most parents are pretty aware of this too; children just seem more mature in the way they reason. It is clearly much more than simply having learned more facts and more words. There are different ideas about what exactly causes the change. Neurological development, growth of memory and changes in the way information is processed all seem to be involved.

One clear change is that children this age . . .

Please sign in or become a member to view this content.

Why Collecting Things Is So Popular Now

colorful stamps in albumHave you noticed how children in elementary school often have collections of stuff? Rock collections, stamp collections, coin collections, all sorts of trading and theme cards, dolls from around the world, and even books from a series are incredibly popular.

Collecting tends to be very popular during middle childhood. This is largely due to an interesting and very observable change in categorization strategies. While younger children are keenly figuring out what things belong in what category and are learning words for these things– animal, toy, food, vehicle — children 6 or 7 years to around 11 years are fascinated by relationships among categories and in different kinds of hierarchical structures. This is a new way of thinking that reflects expanding abilities to use logic in grouping things together and recognize variability. While children this age are continuing to amass information, as they did when they were younger, during middle childhood they really begin to conceptually manipulate the facts they have learned.

The thinking and social abilities involved in collecting

Dinosaurs and dogs are both animals, but one is mammal and the other reptile. Dogs are related to wolves and coyotes, and both are part of a larger group called canines. Dogs and dinosaurs are grouped together as, say vertebrate animals, and they are therefore different from non-vertebrates and from plants or minerals. Yet dogs and dinosaurs also differ from one another in other ways. Thinking like this shows flexibility and logic since relationships vary by circumstance.
This fascination with principles of categorizing and classifying is clearly seen in collecting. Children this age delight in collecting, organizing and trading. While little children sometimes like to gather favorite things, like stuffed animals or stickers or different kinds of legos, they do not organize their collections or think about them as older children do.
Not only do they collect, but school age children love to talk about their collections with other children; trading items, sharing facts, exploring and telling about new additions. This reflects expanding social abilities. During middle childhood, children are opening to others and creating friendships based on shared interests and compatibility, creating with their peers new kinds of social relationships that are important and meaningful. Friendships based on shared interests are very important and different from friendships of younger children., which often turn on proximity and familiarity. Through these friendships, school age children are expanding their sense of self and building a rich range of social skills related to sharing, cooperating, negotiating and connecting. Collections provide a tangible means for doing this.
So collecting has both cognitive and social aspects to it. Happily, collections needn’t be expensive — lots of items2 girls gathering stones by river are free or very low cost. (Nature freely provides rock and bug collections.)

Applying the information

If your child shows an interest in collecting, you may want to encourage it. Gently, not getting in the way or taking over, by Scaffolding Skillfully. You can help make it possible for your child to gather things. You may want to let her do tasks to earn spending money if it is needed. You can help your child learn to gather information about the things he collects by searching in books and libraries, using on-line search engines, going to shows, museums, exhibits or sporting events. You can make it easy for her interact with friends, in person or by sharing photos or even texting, whatever ways suit your child’s age and your guidelines. An added bonus to collecting is that it is likely to increase time spent thinking and socializing and reduce time spent merely staring at electronic devices.

A New Ability: Making Plans

Have you noticed your school age child likes to make plans? At least sometimes. This is new. Effective planning relies on the capacity to decenter, think flexibly, and take into account several factors of an event or situation. Studies of planning usually look at how well children can plan to quickly get through a maze. Mazes are drawn on paper or are small models children can look at and then figure out how to go through them. Findings from these studies consistently indicate that 7 to10-year-olds are vastly more successful than 4 to 6-year-olds.

The same . . .

Please sign in or become a member to view this content.