Childhood is the most precious time of a person’s life, full of new discoveries and observations about the world around them. Children learn to become independent and take care of themselves. Their curious eyes explore everything around them and they absorb knowledge from their parents and their teachers. They also learn to make friends and learn how to share with one another. As children get older, they learn how to bond with others in school and become more involved with sports and learning how to be in a group setting. Middle childhood is when children are between the ages of 6 to 12 years of age. They are learning the foundations of forming friendships, learning morals, and being active members at school and at home. During middle
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According to an article on brightfutures.org it states that, “For females, most physical growth is completed by 2 years after menarche. (The mean age of menarche is 12 1/2 years.) Males begin puberty about 2 years later than females. Before puberty, there are no significant differences between boys and girls in height, weight, strength, endurance, and motor skill development. Therefore, throughout middle childhood, boys and girls can participate in physical activity on an equal basis. Late-maturing children, who have a prolonged period of pre-pubertal growth, usually have longer limbs than other children and often attain greater height”(Middle Childhood,2011). Children during this time are able to ride bikes, climb, run faster and jump higher which makes them able to play sports. Parents should encourage physical activities such as riding bikes with their children to help them refine these motor skills.
The next transitions that children experience in middle childhood are cognitive changes that prepare them for adolescence. During this time children are learning about memory, reasoning, controlling their emotions, and building their language and comprehension skills. Skuss (2003) writes that, ‘“Children apply their emerging reasoning abilities to many ‘real world’ issues, including the nature of friendship (Halle, 1999), environmental disasters (Kahn, 1997), and even the nature-nurture debate (Heyman and Gelman, 2000)” ’ (Skuss, 2003). Middle childhood is when children