Language Development

Language is a tool that children

can use to plan their actions,
remember information, solve
problems, and organize their
behavior (Siegler & Alibali,
2005). Children in the middle
childhood years tend to fully
understand right and wrong, as
well as problem solving, due to
the language being spoken to
them or the language that they
use.
Between the ages of 6 and 10,
children, understand the
meaning of about 10,000 words
or more. They also use more
conversational strategies. They
also tend to communicate clearly
in more demanding situations,
such as talking on the phone
(Berk, 2013)

Physical
Development
Between the ages of 10 and 11,
girls tend to grow faster than
boys. This is due to her
pubertal growth and this takes
place two years earlier than
boys.

In regards to motor skills and
development, children between
the ages of 7 and 12 begin to,
increase throwing and kicking
speed, increase vertical jumping
from 4 inches to 12 inches and
increase their running speed to
more than 18 feet per second
(Berk, 2013).



MIDDLE
CHILDHOOD




Cognitive Development
Vygotsky studied conceptual
development, which is compared
to something called the defining-
features in which he gave a
number of blocks that differed in
color, size and shape. Children
ages 6 years and older who were
given this sorting task typically
chose a single quality as the
defining feature. For example,
they might choose color as
necessary and sufficient for
membership in a group, and put
all the red blocks together, all
the green blocks together, and so
on (Siegler & Alibali, 2005).

During middle childhood,
thought becomes logical,
organized and flexible. They
begin to form reasoning of
adults, than that of young
children (Berk, 2013).

Atypical Development
Atypical development for a child in
their middle childhood years, could
include low test scores or physical
development that is on the same
level as other children in their age
group.


Childhood is the most
beautiful of all life's seasons.
~Author Unknown


How can parents
help?
Parents can encourage language by
engaging in frequent conversations
with their children. Parents can also
help by supporting childrens efforts
towards writing stories. They can
build cognitive, as well as language
growth by taking their children to the
park, museum, community settings,
libraries and zoos (Berk, 2013).
In regards to physical growth,
parents can make sure to keep their
children healthy by engaging in
sports like activities and providing a
healthy diet.