School- Age

School-age - commonly refers to children between the ages of 6 and 12.

KEY TERMS:
Accommodation - the ability to adapt thought processes to fit what is perceived such as understanding that there can be more than one reason for other people’s
actions.
Caries - are progressive, destructive lesions or decalcification of the tooth enamel and dentin.
Class Inclusion - the ability to understand that objects can belong to more than one classification.
Conservation - the ability to appreciate that a change in shape does not necessarily mean a change in size.
Decentering - the ability to project oneself into other people’s situations and see the world from their viewpoint rather than focusing only on their own view.
Inclusion
Latchkey Children - are schoolchildren who are without adult supervision for part of each weekday.
Malocclusion - the eruption of permanent teeth and growth of the jaw do not correlate with final head growth.
Nocturnal Emissions - as seminal fluid is produced, boys begin to notice ejaculation during sleep

DEVELOPMENTAL MILESTONES

Age Gross Motor Development Fine Motor Development Play Language Development Socialization

6 Children endlessly jump, tumble, skip, Six-year-olds can easily tie their Play continues to be rough at age Six-year-olds talk in full Six-year-old children play in
and hop. They have enough shoelaces. They can cut and paste 6; however, when children sentences, using language groups, but when they are tired or
coordination to walk a straight line. well and draw a person with good discover reading as an enjoyable easily and with meaning. They under added stress, they prefer
detail. They can print, although activity that opens doors to other still define objects by their one-to-one contact.
Many can ride a bicycle. They can skip
they may routinely reverse letters. worlds, they can begin to spend use: a key is to unlock a door;
rope with practice. quiet time with books. a fork is to eat with

7 Appears quiet compared. with a They concentrate on fine motor By 7 years of age, children Most 7-year-olds can tell the Seven-year-olds are increasingly
rough-and-tumble 6-year-old. Gender skills even more than they did the require more props for play than time in hours, months of the aware of family roles and
differences usually begin to manifest year before. This has been called when they were younger, which year and can name the responsibility. Promises must be
the “eraser year” because children indicates the start of a decline in months in which holidays fall. kept, because 7-year-olds view
in play: there are “girl games,” such as
are never quite content with what imaginative play; this may them as definite, firm
dressing dolls, and “boy games,” such they have done. They set too high a continue unless a child receives commitments. These children
as pretending to be pirates. standard for themselves and then adequate encouragement to use tattle because they have a strong
have difficulty performing at that imagination. sense of justice.
level.
8 More graceful than those of younger By 8 years of age, children’s eyes By age 8, collections may become As children discover “dirty” Eight-year-olds actively seek the
children, although as their arms and are developed enough so they can increasingly structured as jokes at about age 9, they like company of other children.
legs grow, they may stumble on read regular-size type. This can children develop skills for sorting to tell them to friends or try to
 furniture or spill milk and food. They make reading a greater pleasure and cataloging. understand those told by
ride a bicycle well and enjoy sports and school more enjoyable adults. They use swear words
such as gymnastics, soccer, and to express anger or just to
show other children they are
hockey.
growing up.
9 Nine-year-olds are on the go By age 9, their writing begins to By 12 years of age, a sense of Nine-year-olds take the values of
constantly, as if they always have a look mature and less awkward. humor is apparent. Twelve their peer group very seriously.
deadline to meet. year-olds can carry on an Because they are so ready for
adult conversation, although social interaction, 9-year olds are
stories are limited because of ready for activities away from
their lack of experience. home, such as a week at camp.
10 By 10 years of age, they are more At about 10 years of age, children Although 10-year-olds enjoy
interested in perfecting their athletic become very interested in rules groups, they also enjoy privacy.
skills than they were previously. and fairness in competitive play
situations
11 At age 11, many children feel awkward Girls become increasingly
because of their growth spurt and interested in boys and vice versa
drop out of sports activities rather by 11 years of age.
than look ungainly in their attempts.
They may channel their energy into
constant motion instead: constantly
drumming fingers and tapping pencils
or feet.
12 Twelve-year-olds plunge into activities Twelve-year-olds feel more
with intensity and concentration. comfortable in social situations
than they did the year before..

DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES
 NURSING IMPLICATIONS
FREUD’S PSYCHOSEXUAL THEORY Help children have positive experiences with learning so their self- esteem continues to
Latent Stage: Child’s personality development appears to be nonactive or dormant. grow and they can prepare for the conflicts of adolescence.

ERIKSON’S PSYCHOSOCIAL THEORY Provide opportunities such as allowing child to assemble and complete a short project
Developmental task is to form a sense of Industry vs Inferiority. Child learns to do so that child feels rewarded for accomplishment.
things well.
PIAGET’S STAGES OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
The period from 5 to 7 years of age is a transitional stage where children undergo a Concrete operations includes systematic reasoning. Uses memory to learn broad
shift from the preoperational thought they used as preschoolers to concrete operational concepts and subgroups of concepts. Child is aware of reversibility. Understands
thought or the ability to reason through any problem they can actually visualize (Piaget, conservation.
1969). Children can use concrete operational thought because they learn several new Good activity for this period: collecting and classifying natural objects such as native
concepts, such as: plants, sea shells, etc. Expose child to other viewpoints by asking questions such as,
 Decentering, the ability to project oneself into other people’s situations and see the ‘’How do you think you’d feel if you were a nurse and had to tell a boy to stay in bed?’’
world from their viewpoint rather than focusing only on their own view.
 Accommodation, the ability to adapt thought processes to fit what is perceived
such as understanding that there can be more than one reason for other people’s
actions.
 Conservation, the ability to appreciate that a change in shape does not necessarily
mean a change in size.
 Class inclusion, the ability to understand that objects can belong to more than one
classification.

KOHLBERG’S STAGES OF MORAL DEVELOPMENT

School-age children begin to mature in terms of moral development as they enter a
stage of preconventional reasoning, sometimes as early as 5 years of age