Middle childhood
Height increases by 2 inches/year
Total height gain is 1-2 feet
Weight increases by 2-3 kg/year
Weight almost doubles
Boys and girls differ little in size

Latency period (Freud)
Precedes heterosexual fascination that occurs in puberty
A time of tranquility
Relationships revolve around same-sex peers
This time is the “latency” period of psychosexual development

A sense of industry (Erikson)
Stage of accomplishment
Eagerness to develop skills and participate in meaningful and socially useful work
Acquisition of sense of personal and interpersonal competence
Growing sense of independence
Peer approval: a strong motivator

Sense of inferiority (Erikson)
Feelings may derive from self or social environment
Feelings may occur if child is unable or unprepared to assume the responsibilities associated with developing a sense of accomplishment
All children feel some degree of inferiority regarding skill(s) they cannot master

Concrete operations (Piaget)
Uses thought processes to experience events and actions
Develops understanding of relationships between things and ideas
Is able to make judgments on the basis of reason (“conceptual thinking”)
Masters the concept of conservation
Develops classification skills

Development of conscience and moral standards (Kohlberg)
Ages 6-7: reward and punishment guide choices
Older school age: child is able to judge an act by the intentions that prompted it
Rules and judgments become more founded on needs and desires of others
Children think in very concrete terms

Children are avid learners with a desire to know their God
Children expect punishment for misbehavior
Children may view illness or injury as punishment for a real or imagined misdeed

Children think in very concrete terms
Children are avid learners with a desire to know their God
Children expect punishment for misbehavior
Children may view illness or injury as punishment for a real or imagined misdeed

In general, children like their physical selves less as they grow older
The head is the most important part of the body (hair and eye color)
Body image is influenced by significant others
Increased awareness of “differences” may influence feelings of inferiority (e.g., hearing or visual defects)