Late Childhood

Development
DR. LINDA BAÑAGA-CAMPOPOS, RGC
Late Childhood
Late childhood is the stage of development in the life
span of an individual that begins at approximately 6
years old to the age of twelve years. It coencides
with the child’s elementary school years, entering
Grade 1 at six years and graduating from Grade 6 at
age 12. This is a critical period for the development
of his achievement motivation or the need to
achieve. The child’s sense of competence gives him
the enthusiasm to learn skills, information, and
values. His success in these efforts gives him a
sense of control and sense of self-esteem.
 Late childhood is the period for learning the basic skills
in life. The child receives instruction from adults and older
children. He also learns from his experiences. His peers
and other significant people in his environment can
influence his learning.
The school-age learns to win recognition by being able
to do things. He takes pride and pleasure in being able to
accomplish a task.
Late childhood is also the stage of the child’s initiation to
roles in society. He is made aware of his responsibilities to
himself and to others.
Late childhood especially during the ages 9 to 13 is the
period for the development of personal friendship. The child
identifies with peers of his/her own sex.
Developmental tasks of Late Childhood
1. Learn physical skills necessary for group and organized games
2. Learn to get along with age-mates and members of his family and
community
3. Learn fundamental skills in reading, writing, and numeracy
4. Develop appropriate masculine or feminine social roles
5. Learn concepts/skills necessary for everyday living
6. Develop a healthy self concept
7. Develop a conscience, a sense of right and wrong, and values
according to his culture.
8. Achieve personal independence by being able to perform life skills
9. Learn to perform the different roles expected of him
10. Think rationally to adjust to situations, make decisions and solve
problems
Physical Development during Late
Childhood
Good health and good nutrition are important factors in the
child’s growth and development. The better the health and
nutrition, the taller children tend to be in comparison with
those who are poorly nourished. Filipino children were found
to suffer from mild to severe malnourishment. Lack of
education and poverty are the two most common causes of
this problem.
Emotional stress or emotional tension also affect the
physical development of the child. Parents and teachers, by
modeling stress management, can help children overcome
some of their fears and anxiety.
Motor Development during Late
Childhood
By the time a child has reached school age, he masters of a great variety of
skills, both locomotor or manipulative. Most of the games and activities during
childhood involves combinations of skills, built upon the coordination of both arms
and legs.
Vigorous activities are more effective in providing release of the child’s
abundant energy. Running, climbing, swimming, bicycle riding, and “stunting” are
some typical activities.
The development of fine motor coordination is expected during the elementary
school years. Handwriting is a finely coordinated skill, in which maturational
readiness and practice are important factors in its achievement.
The school curriculum has provisions for the motor development of the child
and awareness and commitment on the part of the teachers on the importance of
this aspect of development can help very much in the total development of the
child.
Intellectual Development during Late
Childhood

A. The Period of Concrete Operation

The child can classify concrete objects, order
then, establish correspondences between them or
perform numerical operations or measure them
from a spatial point of view. As a child matures
and have more experiences, his memory capacity
increases and he remembers the various
connections necessary to make inferences.
B. Characteristic Behavior of Children Who Have a Sense of Industry
People who have a sense of industry:
1. Enjoy learning about new things and ideas;
2. Reflect a healthy balance between doing what they have to do and what they like to
do;
3. Reflect strong curiosity about how and why things work the way they do;
4. Enjoy experimenting with new combinations, new ideas, and arriving at new
synthesis;
5. Are excited by the ideas of being a producer;
6. Like the recognition that producing things brings, and it reinforces their sense of
industry
7. Develop the habit of work and completion through steady attention and persevering
diligence;
8. Have a sense of pride in doing at least one thing well;
9. Take criticism well and use it to improve their performance; and
10. Tend to have a strong sense of persistence.
Social Development during Late
Childhood
1. The Generalized Others
 Children are able to respond to a number of individuals in the group
and integrate the various roles or set of norms of the group. This
takes place in what Mead (1934) calls the period of generalized
others.

2. Friendships
 Children begin to form friendships within the context of the peer
group. At this age, they come to understand social behavior in terms
of relationships and expectations within them. For example, 6 to 8
years old think of unkindness in terms of negative acts such as
hitting and fighting. The 9-year-old begins to think in terms of
omissions or not doing something expected of him.
Emotional Development

 Emotions are developed in the context of

social groups. In the family, children learn what it
(the family) expects and what it rejects.
Encouraging children to express themselves
regarding these values can be helpful for their
relationship, mental health and success.
Children develop healthy ways of expressing their emotions. Here are some
suggestions from the experts (Karen Bierman, in Barko, 1993)
1. Label emotions. Give children the vocabulary to describe the basic emotions — happy,
sad, mad, and scared seem to be the basic emotions in most cultures
2. Help the child interpret her emotions. Talk about your own feeling about the times you
were little and what makes you feel sad, or angry, or scared.
3. Separate mixed emotions. Get the child to talk about his feelings. After listening, ask
her questions that will make her label her emotions. Then suggest ways of dealing with
them.
4. Differentiate between emotions and actions. Explain to the child that all feelings are
natural, getting angry, sad… but not all behaviors are good.
5. Describe some simple tactics. Verbalize your feelings and show how to talk oneself out
of a mood.
6. Help children express their emotions.
Moral Development
Lawrence Kohlberg (1981), on the other hand, assumes
that moral reasoning parallels the child’s cognitive
development. Kohlberg assumes that as a person becomes
cognitively more complex, he or she reaches more complex,
higher levels of moral reasoning.
During late childhood, children begin to experience
conflicts whose resolution will affect the development of their
moral standards and sense of self-esteem. The parents and
teachers should be sensitive, creative, and rational in guiding
them so they can develop personal standards that will
improve the quality of their decision.
KEY IDEAS
1. Late childhood is the stage for the development of the child’s sense of
competence and industry.
2. The elementary school child develops a pattern of success or a
pattern of failure in his life depending on the quality of guidance and
motivation he receives from significant others in his environment.
3. The child’s social development is enhanced by his interaction with his
peers in work or in play.
4. Parents and teachers need to understand the child’s thinking to
facilitate his intellectual growth and development.
5. Helping the child to understand and to express his emotions can lead
to healthy relationships with himself and others.