Case Study of a

Child Age 11
Jason Atilano-Lopez
EDU 220-1002
 Typical Physical Developments
• Increasingly aware of body.
• Possibility of acting on sexual desires
increases.
• Males are ahead of females in muscular
development and endurance.
• Bigger appetite and more sleep required.
• Complain of growing pain or muscle cramps.
(University of Washington, 1993) (Child Development Basics, 2019)
 Typical Physical Development Level
According to Snowman
• Physical growth is rapid and uneven for children at this age.
• Pubertal development is evident in practically all girls and in
many boys.
• Early maturing boys - favorable, higher self esteem.
• Late maturing boys - lower self, strong feelings of inadequacy.
• Early maturing girls - likely to have lower self esteem, eating
disorders.
• Late maturing girls – sociable and carefree.

(Snowman, J., & McCown, R. R., 2015)

 Physical Developments of 11-Year-Old
• The 11-year-old boy that I observed did exhibit a
few of the physical developments that are listed.
He did have a huge appetite that would always
leave him asking for more food. He began using
new inappropriate vocabulary that he learned
from hearing peers in school. I also noticed that
he is carefree and does not think about
consequences that his actions may cause.
 Recommendations For Physical
Development
• Meet the families of your child’s friends.
• Talk with your child about what you expect from their
behavior when no adults are present, make the rules clear
for them.
• Don’t nag boys about food or them seeming lazy.
• Use discipline to help guide the actions of your child.
• Answer questions about bodily changes openly and
honestly.

(University of Washington, 1993) (Child Development Basics, 2019)

 Typical Emotional Development
• Anger is common, child does not like being told what to do.
• Child is often moody and exaggerates own positions.
• Child experiences more peer pressure by those around him.
• Stronger and far more complex peer friendships.
• Having friends or a friend is a very critical part of this development.

(University of Washington,1993)
 Typical Emotional Development
According to Snowman
• Feelings such as anxiety and depression start to become a problem in this
age.
• Both negative and positive emotions are very intense.
• Self consciousness also becomes very important in their life.
• Child is also self-centered; they are not understood by others.

(Snowman, J., & McCown, R. R., 2015)

 Emotional Developments of 11-year-old
• The 11-year-old child that I observed did have
many peers that he did consider friends, but they
would peer pressure him into causing trouble for
their own excitement. He did get in trouble many
times in school and even outside of school due to
the influences that he has on him. Most of his
behavior and actions originated from his feelings
of being accepted and the need to satisfy his
peers. His feelings of being accepted by others
may be caused by a low self-esteem, acting the
way he did may have helped his self-esteem out.
 Recommendations For Emotional
Development
• Do not overreact to child exaggerated positions.
• Talk to child about their friends and challenges they may
later face.
• Teach child difference between right and wrong.
• Assure child is not in risky friendships or being
pressured by others.
• Spend time as a family, develop more open environment.

(University of Washington, 1993)

(Child Development Institution 2015)
 Typical Cognitive Development
• Child has increased ability to use logic, may also challenge adult
knowledge.
• Child becomes interested in earning their own money.
• Increased interest in their surroundings and community.
• Able to clearly understand that peers may have different views and beliefs.
• Their attention span also increases.
(University of Washington, 1993) (Child Development Basics, 2019)
Typical Cognitive Developments
According to Piaget and Vygotsky
• According to Piaget, middle school is where students start
to go through the “Formal Operational Stage”.
• “When children do reach the point of being able to
generalize and engage in mental trial and error by
thinking up hypotheses and testing them in their heads,
they are at the stage of formal operations.” (Snowman, J.,
& McCown, R. R., 2015, pg. 43.)
• Vygotsky believed that the socials interactions and culture
are tools that affect cognitive development in everyone.
(Snowman, J., & McCown, R. R., 2015)
 Cognitive Development of 11-year-old
• The child that I observed did challenge adult
knowledge many times. He would always
question everything and think that the way he
handles situations are the correct way. As of
now his cognitive development is being shaped
by three different groups of people, his parents,
his teachers, and his peers from school. He
would also have time where he is just thinking
to himself, maybe he thinks about how he can
change his behavior to satisfy his teachers and
parents as well.
 Recommendations For Cognitive
Development
• Support interest's child may have, extracurricular activities or
others.
• Child is not attempting to challenge adult authority; he is only
questioning it.
• Encourage child to be a part of a community group.
• Give detailed explanation about rules and why they must be
followed.
• Help child develop responsibility by providing several tasks at
home.
(University of Washington, 1993) (Child Development Basics 2019)
 Typical Social Developments
• Very critical of adults/parents and unbearable to
share the house with.
• Child wants unreasonable independence that may
not make much sense at all.
• Child may have interest to join a club or sports
team.
• Egocentrism is also very common.
(University of Washington, 1993)
(Snowman, J., & McCown, R. R., 2015)
 Typical Social Development According to
Erikson
• According to Erikson, children between the ages six to
eleven are in the “Industry Versus Inferiority” stage.
• In this stage, behavior of the student is conquered by
intellectual curiosity and performance. “He now learns to
win recognition by producing things…He develops a sense
of industry.” (Snowman, J., & McCown, R. R., 2015, pg. 29)
• If students get praised for what they do, the result would be
industry, but if the child does not get praised or gets treated
badly, the result is inferiority.

(Snowman, J., & McCown, R. R.,2015)

 Social Development of 11-year-old
• The stage which Erikson describes does make a lot of sense for the child
that I observed. He is not really interested in school and does not have
much respect or nice things to say about his teachers. Maybe a teacher of
his made him get the feeling of inferiority. He has never excelled in any
grade level and has usually been behind of many students in his grade.
Maybe he gets he develops industry with his classmates rather than with
his teachers, as he gets praised by some of his classmates when he causes
any sort of trouble. He also gives many adults a hard time, even when he
is not familiar with them.
 Recommendations for Social
Development
• Be as tolerant as possible with the child.
• Set strict limits for the child but try to offer a little independence if or
when possible.
• Make sure equipment and essentials are provided if student joins
extracurricular activity.
• Be involved in the activities that child takes interest in.
(University of Washington, 1993) (Child Development Institute, 2015)
 Typical Moral/Character Development
• Has a very strong need to conform to peer-group morals.
• Confuses right from wrong, depending on how others view
their actions.
• Advised to always be honest, kind and respectful of other
people.
• Very dependent on influences that child may have whether
at home or from friends in school.

(University of Washington, 1993)

(Child Development Basics, 2019)
Typical Moral Development According to
Kohlberg
• Kohlberg believed that there is a fixed sequence of stages for
moral reasoning.
• The level that an 11-year-old would fall into is “Conventional
Morality”.
• According to Kohlberg, there are two stages in Conventional
Morality. Stage 3 is, “good boy – nice girl orientation, your
parents would be proud of you if you are honest.” (Snowman, J.,
& McCown, R. R., 2015, pg. 61)
• Stage 4 is, “law-and-order orientation, Its against the law, and if
we don’t obey laws our whole society might fall apart.” (pg. 61)
(Snowman, J., & McCown, R. R., 2015)
 Moral Development of 11-year-old
• The child that I observed does not really enjoy
following the rules, he would get in trouble in school for
mis behaving and breaking classroom rules. His parents
give him plenty of advice at home and try to make him
change his behavior, but his influences in school appear
to be stronger than other influences. He is confusing
right from wrong due to him being peer pressured by
others to behave bad. He does not act out much when
there are relatives at home. It is extremely easy for him
to give in to peer pressure, as he thinks he is doing
something good since some praise him.
 Recommendations For Moral
Development
• Recognize the child’s need to be a part of a peer group that
is not related to the family.
• Help child recognize the morals of the group, making sure
they are good morals, but do not judge the group.
• Help the child understand that real life choices do have real
life consequences, not only applying to school.

(University of Washington, 1993)

(Child Development Institute, 2015)
 References
Child Development Institute (2015). The ages and stages of child development. Retrieved
from https://childdevelopmentinfo.com/ages-stages/#.WR3Id_QrLrc
Child Development Basics. (2019, February 6). Retrieved from
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/facts.html.
Snowman, J., & McCown, R. R. (2015). Psychology applied to teaching. Belmont, CT:
Cengage Learning.
University of Washington. (1993). Child development: Using the child development
guide. Retrieved from http://depts.washington.edu/allcwe2/fosterparents/training/
chidev/cd06.htm