The Schooler and

the Family

Gracy Espino
School-Age Children
This stage is also known as the
 middle and late childhood
This extends from about 6 – 12 years of age, approximately
corresponding to the elementary school years.
SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN DEVELOPMENT (BIOLOGICAL)
 School-age child development describes the expected
physical, emotional, and mental abilities

PHYSICAL:
Child may be 43 inches tall and weigh about 43 lbs at
the start of the school age years
May reach 59 inches and weigh about 90 pounds by age
12
• Genetic background, nutrition and exercise may
affect a child's growth
Bones, muscles, and fat continue to grow
Strength, balance, and coordination improves
Sense of body image begins developing around age 6
SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN DEVELOPMENT
(BIOLOGICAL)
PHYSICAL:
Secondary sex characteristics for girls include:
• Breast development
• Underarm and pubic hair growth
Secondary sex characteristics for girls include:
• Growth of underarm, chest, and pubic hair
• Growth of testicles and penis
EMOTIONAL & SOCIAL CHANGES:
Acceptance becomes important to your child.
• Influenced more by friends than family
• Needs to keep up with other kids and
belong to a group
• Friends can be a source of support during
these years.
Eager to learn new things on his/her own at
school
• Learns to get along with more people and
understand social customs
EMOTIONAL & SOCIAL CHANGES:

MENTAL CHANGES
Begin to think logically
Make sense of what is happening around him
May develop fears of the unknown
• Afraid of the dark; Fear robbers, injuries, or death
Ability to understand ideas and improve memory
• Follow complex directions/rules and solve problems
Name numbers and letters easily
• Start to read
• Vocabulary and ability to pronounce words improves
significantly
Developmental Milestone
6 – 7 years olds
Enjoys many activities and
stays busy
Likes to paint and draw
May lose first tooth
Vision is as sharp as an
adults’s vision
Jumps rope
Rides a bike
10 – 12 years olds
 Remainder of adult teeth will develop
 Likes to sew and paint
8 – 9 years olds
More graceful with
movements and abilities
Jumps, skips and chases
Dresses and grooms self
completely
Can use tools e.g.
hammer, screwdriver
 COGNITIVE Development
• Use language as a communication tool
• Elementary school children master the fundamental skills of
reading, writing, arithmetic.

Concrete Operational
Classifies and sorts
Enjoys collecting
Concrete logic and problem solving
Inductive thinking
Accurate perception of events: can remember events from
months, or years earlier
More effective coping skills
Understands how his behavior affects other
6 – 7 year-olds:
Understands concept of
numbers
Knows daytime and nighttime
Knows right and left hands
Can copy complex shapes, such
as a diamond
Can tell time
Can understand commands with
three separate instructions
Can explain objects and their
use
Can repeat three numbers
backwards
Can read age-appropriate books
and/or materials
8 – 9 year olds:
Can count backwards
Knows the date
Reads more and enjoys reading
Understands fractions
Understands concept of space
Draws and paints
Can name months and days of
week, in order
Enjoys collecting objects
10 – 12 years olds:
 Writes stories
 Reads well
 Enjoys using the telephone
 Psychosocial Development
INDUSTRY VS INFERIORITY
Primary task relate to learning
skills/activities.
They are interested in learning how to do
things well.
Virtue: Competence
“Am I successful or worthless?”
Afraid of failure
Embarrassed by poor grades
 Social and Moral Development
LAWRENCE KOHLBERG
Children are formally exposed to the larger world and its culture.
They also learn how to make friends

Pre-conventional Stage 2: 4-7 y/o

Rewards. Your behavior is determined primarily by what will
earn you a reward. You are motivated to act based on what will
earn them something they desire
Individualism
Carries out actions to satisfy own needs
Do something for another if that person does something for the
child
Conventional Stage 3: 7-10 y/o
Social Approval. This is sometimes called the good boy/girl
stage. Your behavior is guided by what is approved by others or
by social conformity. Need to be good in own eyes and of others
Conventional Stage 4: 10-12 y/o
The Law. Your behavior at this stage are determined by laws
and rules. In all moral questions the law or rule is the final
say, the ultimate authority
Maintenance of social order, fixed rules and authority
Child finds following rules satisfying
Follows rules of authority figures as well as parents
Child may be left alone for short periods, depending on
their maturity
 Self-concept Development
According to Erikson's theory of psychosocial stages, the
developmental goal of school-age children is to fulfill a
sense of competency.
Between ages 5-12, children shape their sense of self
based on their ability to perform and master skills that are
valued by the important people in their life or themselves.

School-age children are becoming increasingly independent. For

the first time, children are able to make choices based on their
past experiences and knowledge rather than from options
provided by an adult. Children are beginning to develop their
own identities, establish unique personalities, and enjoy a
variety of interests and likes. As a school-age staff member,
part of your role is to support their autonomy.
Maturity and autonomy are closely linked to a positive self-
concept because it is all about how children feel about
themselves. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics,
there are key characteristics that help children establish
healthy self-esteems. A positive self-concept and healthy self-
esteem are necessary for children to establish their
independence as they grow into adolescence.

Key Characteristics:
• Sense of security
• Sense of belongingness
• Sense of trust
• Sense of personal competence and pride
• Sense of making real choices and decisions
• Sense of self-discipline and self-control
• Sense of accepting mistakes and failure
• Self of family self-esteem
 Promotion of Health
Promoting safety:
1. Motor vehicle accidents
1. Use seatbelt in a car
2. Teach street crossing safety
3. Teach bicycle safety
2. Community
1. Avoid unsafe areas
2. Do not go with strangers
3. Child should say “no”
4. Rules for safer sex (late school age)
3. Burns
1. Teach safety with fire
2. Teach safety with beginning cooking skills
3. Teach safety with sun exposure
4. Do not climb electric pole
1. Falls
1. teach precautions about riding in the skateboard, scooter, and
skating
2. Sport injuries
1. Teach to wear appropriate equipment for sport
2. Stress not to play to a point of exhoustion
3. Drowning
1. Teach the child to swim
4. Drugs
1. Help child to avoid all recreational drugs and takes prescription
2. Avoid tobacco and alcohol (be a role model)
Promoting nutritional health of a school-age child
 establishing of healthy eating pattern
Fostering industry
Recommended dietary reference intakes
Nutritional health with a vegetarian diet
COPING WITH CONCERNS
RELATED TO NORMAL GD
Promoting development of a school-age child in daily activities
Dress
Sleep
Exercise
Hygiene
Care of teeth
COMMON HEALTH PROBLEMS OF THE SCHOOL-AGE CHILDREN
 Dental caries
Malocclusion
CONCERN AND PROBLEMS IF THE SCHOOL-AGE PERIOD
ADHD(attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder)
Problem associated with language development
Sex education
Stealing
Violence or terrorism
Recreational drug use
Children of alcoholic parents
obesity
Common fears and anxiety of a school-age
Anxiety related to Beginning school
School refusal or Phobia
Latchkey children
PREVENTION of INJURY
The most common causes of injuries in this age group are car
crashes, bicycle crashes, fires and bone fractures (greenstick).

How to Prevent:
 Make sure the child wears a seat belt
 The child should always wear helmet when riding a bicycle
 Never let your child play in or near the a street
 Teach him or her to always stop at the curb and to never
cross the street without an adult
 Keep all matches and cigarette lighters out of reach and out
of sight of children
The Adolescent and
the Family
Adolescence
 Is a period of transition between childhood and adulthood.
 Entered approximately at 10 to 12 years and ending at 18
to 20/21 years of age.
 A time of rapid physical, cognitive, social and emotional
maturing as the boy prepares for manhood and the girl
prepares for womanhood
 Adolescence is generally regarded as the psychologic, social
and maturational process initiated by the pubertal changes.
 It involves three stages:
1. Early adolescence (11-14yrs)
2. Middle adolescence (15-17yrs)
3. Late adolescence (18-20yrs)
 Growth
and
Development
GIRLS BOYS
BREASTS PUBIC HAIR
PUBIC HAIR AXILLARY HAIR
AXILLARY HAIR
INCREASED WIDTH AND BODY HAIR
DEPTH OF PELVIS
VOICE CHANGE

Biological Development
 Psychosocial Development
IDENTITY VS ROLE CONFUSION (12-18 yrs)
Identify future career goals
Incorporate physical changes into identity

Stage is marked by dramatic physiological changes associated

with sexual maturation that leads to marked preoccupation
with appearance and body image. Identity development takes
place in this stage as the youth seeks autonomy, group
identity, and to answer the question, “Who am I?” Failure to
develop a sense of self identity can lead to isolation and
inability to develop lasting attachments in future.
 Cognitive Development
Formal operations: precursors in early adolescence, more
developed in middle and late adolescence, as follows:
* Think hypothetically: calculate consequences of thoughts and
actions without experiencing them; consider a number of
possibilities and plan behavior accordingly
* Think logically: identify and reject hypotheses or possible
outcomes based on logic
* Think hypothetically, abstractly, logically
* Think about thought: leads to introspection and self-analysis
* Insight, perspective taking: understand and consider others’
perspectives, and perspectives of social systems
* Systematic problem solving: can attack a problem, consider
multiple solutions, plan a course of action
* Cognitive development is uneven, and impacted by emotionality
Moral development - Internalized set of moral
principles
 strong pressure to violate the old beliefs
 their decision involving moral dilemmas must be based on
an internalized set of moral principles
 late adolescence is characterized by serious questioning of
existing moral values and their relevance to society and the
individual
Spiritual development- Deep spiritual concerns
 adolescent are capable of understanding abstract concepts
and of interpreting analogies and symbols
 they are able to empathize, philosophize, and think logically
 tendency towards introspection and emotional intensity
often makes it difficult for others to know what they are
thinking
 may reveal deep spiritual concerns
Social development
 adolescents want to grow up and to be free of parental retrain
restraints
 they are fearful as they try to comprehend the responsibilities
that are linked with independence
 acceptance by peers, a few close friends, and the secure love of
a supportive family are requisites for interpersonal maturation
Identity Vs Role Confusion: Gained through the discovery of oneself
and in the course of finding meaning to their personhood, they
may also experience identity crisis as a result of the transition
from childhood to adulthood.
* Some adolescents may feel confused and are unsure whether an
activity is age-appropriate for them. Crisis at this stage may also
be brought about by expectations from themselves and from
people around them
Health Promotion
Health Examinations
• As recommended by the primary care provider
Protective measures
• Immunizations as recommended, such as adult tetanus-diptheria
vaccine, MMR, Pneumococcal, human papilloma virus, And
Hepatitis B vaccine
• Screening for tuberculosis
• Periodic vision and hearing screenings
• Regular dental assesments
• Obtaining and providing accurate information about sexual issues
• Assesing for mental health status
Adolescent Safety
• Adolescents taking responsibility for using motor vehicles safety
• Making certain that proper precautions are taken during all athletic
activities
• Parents keeping lines of communication open and being alert to
signs of substance abuse and emotional disturbances in the
adolescent

Nutrition and Exercise

• Importance of health snacks and appropriate patterns of food
intake and exercise.
• Factors that may lead to nutritional problems
• Engaging in regular vigorous exercise, at least three times a week
for one hour each time.
Social Interactions
• Enouraging and facilitating adolescent success in school
• Encouraging adolescent to establish relationship that promote
discussion of feelings, concerns, and fears.
• Parents encouraging adolescent peer group activities that
promote appropriate moral and spiritual values.
• Parents acting as role models for appropriate social interactions
• Parents providing a comfortable home environment for
apporpriate adolescent peer group activities
• Expecting adolescents to participate in and contribute to family
activities