Middle childhood development is the concrete operational stage, when the focus is on logical thinking, intelligence and psychosocial development. Contrary to the usual concept, middle childhood is as special a stage of childhood development as toddlers and teenagers. Show The American Academy of Pediatrics defines middle childhood from onset of sixth year to completion of tenth year of life. Development in middle childhood is the outcome of interaction between the milestones achieved and ongoing learning experiences. Motor skills, language proficiency and cognitive capabilities attained in the previous years are further mastered during the formative years of middle childhood. Children in their middle childhood years begin to understand the rules of society and its moral bindings. Middle childhood development helps children to cope with the increasing demands of the classroom curriculum. Learning disabilities and behavior problems surface at this stage that need medical attention. Middle childhood development leads to logical thinkingJean Piaget’s has described middle childhood development as the concrete operational stage, when the focus is on developing logical thinking. The thinking process during middle childhood years gets more logical, flexible, and organized than it was during early childhood development. Children during this phase of development are “critical thinkers” with the ability to reason, remember, repeat, reorganize, relate, and reflect. Enhanced logical thinking are easily noticed in their social relationships; strive for scholastic, cultural and sports excellence. Its reflections are also seen in their creativity, which gets significantly refined during middle childhood. Aspects of middle childhood developmentLogic Constructive application of the information gathered involves child’s newly developed capability to accommodate and assimilate the thoughts. Decentration Reversibility Causality Liked what you read just now? Pay it forward! Have Questions? Ask the Expert and have Your Answers for Free Intelligence developmentMiddle childhood development shows a sharp rise in child’s capacity to understand the world. Children in this phase begin to think rationally, and use resources effectively when faced with challenges; and that is intelligence. The components of intelligence that increase during middle childhood. Fluid Intelligence: Crystallized Intelligence: Metacognition:
Development of information processing
Attention spanThe attention span increases during middle childhood development as a result of more controlled an adaptable thought process of children at this age. Consequently, children develop the capabilities to -
Inability to control attention span Inability to control attention is seen in children with ADHD. Memory strategiesMemory strategies are the deliberate mental activities used to store and retain information. Working memory plays an important role in learning during middle childhood. General intelligence is highly correlated with working memory capacity. Memory capacity shows a steady developmental increase during middle childhood years as:
Child's scholastic performance as related to memory spanMemory strategies require time and effort in order to show desired results. Memory
span improves from the age of During middle childhood, children arrange the vast amount of information in their memories into increasingly elaborate, hierarchically structured networks. Strategies to improve memory:
Communication capabilitiesCommunicative language development includes expressive and receptive skills, and it parallels child’s cognitive skills. Communication capabilities reflect child's intelligence and psychosocial development. Interactive language-rich environment of school going children increases their communicative capabilities. Communicative skills development during middle childhood
Warm, responsive parenting during middle childhood development helps children develop self-regulatory skills and achieve their desired objectives. Have Questions? Ask the Expert and have Your Answers for Free Related pages of interest are indexed in the right column Back To Liked what you read just now? Pay it forward! Can't find
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