My Development
Body Growth
Physical growth during the school years continues at the slow, regular pace of early childhood. Between ages 6 and 12 all 20 primary teeth are lost and replaced by permanent ones.
Girls are shorter and lighter on average until age 9 and they trends reverse.
Improved balance, agility, force, grip, strength, throwing, jumping, and flexibility.
(Berk, 2013, p. 227)
Anecdote-Height: In about 5-6th grade I was one of the tallest of my friends. My best from Emily at the time had a father who was at least 6’ 3" yet I towered over her. I remember all talking about it in their kitchen and he said that Emily would catch up and tower over me. He wasn't wrong. I stayed close to the same height I was at the time 5'0" (I'm now 5'3") and Emily is now close to 5'10". During this time I was also taller than many of my male friends, all of whom are taller than me now.
Psychological affects on Nutrition: During middle childhood, my father was experiencing a lot of complications with due to his Multiple Sclerosis (diagnosed when I was 3). When I was 7-8 years old my father began to throw-up as a symptom of his MS. This brought me a great amount of anxiety and fear around throwing up. I remember at that time being afraid of throwing up, almost every day, and ended up coming home from school sick several times because of this (first and last day of third grade). Although I don’t' remember not eating, my mother said that they experienced difficulty getting me to eat because of my fears around getting sick. Although I never lost weight due to my fears, my anxiety may have affected my nutritional intake.
Psychological Illnesses: As stated with my father's illness, during middle childhood I experienced a lot of anxiety that manifested as stomach aches and fear of throwing up. When I was approximately 8 years old, I started going to counseling to work through my anxiety. After I completed counseling, I never had issues with stomachache's again.
Physical Illnesses:
Osgood Schlatters disease: When I was 10 years old, I began to have pain in both of my knees. Upon meeting with my doctor, I was diagnosed with Osgood Schlatters disease which is a painful lump below the kneecap in children and adolescents experiencing growth spurts during puberty. The pain lasted until about 7th grade where it subsided. Osgood Schlatters created issues for me with dance as well as my participation in field day (one of my favorite times of the year). During field day I was typically called upon as a sprinter because of my speed, and I remember letting my team down because of the pain I had which hindered my performance.
Eyesight: When I was approximately 7 years old I got my first pair of glasses. Before getting glasses, I remember sitting in my 2nd grade classroom trying to read the board (I remember some of the words on the board were “astronaut” and “Sally Ride” and I had to ask my friends for help. They year I got glasses and was diagnosed with amblyopia (lazy eye) and nystagmus (my eyes involuntarily shake). When I first got glasses they gave me bifocals to help with the amblyopia. In 4th grade, I had to wear a patch over my right eye to strengthen my left out. Although I was made fun of for wearing a patch, I owned my nicknames “Patch girl” and “Cyclops” and never felt any sadness, embarrassment, or isolation because of having to wear the patch. However I did, and still do experience frustrations regarding my nystagmus which hinders my eye sight when reading music, driving, or having to read the board in class.
Nutrition: School-age children need a well-balanced, plentiful diet to provide energy for learning and increased physical activity. With their increasing focus on friendships and new activities, many children spend little time at the table, and the percentage who eat dinner with their families drops sharply between ages 9 and 14.
Illnesses: Children experience a somewhat higher rate of illness during the first two years of elementary school than later because of exposure to sick chicken and an immune system that is still developing.
(Berk, 2013, p.227-230 ).
My Development
Physical Development
My Development
During the school years, running, jumping, hopping, and ball skill become more refined.
Gross Motor Development:
Flexibility: Compared with preschoolers, school-age children are physical more pliable and elastic, a difference evident as they swing bats, kick balls, jump over hurdles, and execute tumbling routines
Balance: Improved balance supports many athletic skills including running, skipping, throwing, kicking, and the rapid change of direction required in team sports.
Agility: Quicker and more accurate movements are evident in the fancy footwork of dance and cheerleading and in the forward, backward, and sideways motions used to dodge opponents in tag and soccer.
Force: Older youngsters can throw and kick a ball harder and propel themselves father off the ground when running and jumping.
Fine-Motor Development: Fine-motor development also improve over the school years. By age 6 most children can print the alphabet, their first and last names, and numbers from 1-10 with reasonable clarity. Around 9-10 years, the third dimension is clearly evident through overlapping objects, diagonal placement, and converging lines.
(Berk, 2013, p.230-231).
Anecdote-Improved Balance: I took ballet lessons for approximately 6 years during the early of early/middle childhood and I was also involved in cheerleading. Around the age of 9-10, I was finally given the opportunity to take point class. To get into point class we had to be able to balance for a certain amount of time on each leg to show that we were strong enough to hold ourselves in point shoes. I started point that year.
Fine Moor development: Although I typically earned an unsatisfactory grade in handwriting, I had the ability to write and draw during middle childhood. I believe my fine motor skills were better used in music than they were in my writing and drawing.
Anecdote: Improved Fine Motor Skills: In 5th grade (age 9-10) I started playing the violin through the orchestra at my school. Not only does violin require reading and understanding music, it required agility in the fingers on my left-hand, and coordination to match the bowing in the right wrist/arm.
Health Issues
Motor Development & Play
Middle Childhood
