Elementary School Children (5-12)
What to Expect
Physical Development
Elementary school children vary in height and weight. Puberty may begin to affect the children towards the end of this spectrum. It affects the skeletal, muscular, reproductive, and almost all other bodily systems.
Moral Development
Children in this age range are usually in the preconventional stage. These children tend to focus on punishment and rewards.
Language Development
Children in this age range begin to use expressive language and negative statements. As they get older, they begin to form compound sentences.
Cognitive Development
Children in this age range can reason deductively. Ages 7-11 re not thought to be able to think abstractly, but are capable of conservation, seriation, and classification. Children the are 12 years old can answer "how" and "why" and can think about thinking.
Psychological Development
The children are thought to be dealing with the feelings of industry vs inferiority. The children may feel the need to win approval from society.