- Become able to understand the viewpoint of others: are aware that others can have different thoughts.
- Can focus on several aspects of a problem at a time.
- Can concentrate on what they do for longer periods of time.
- Increased problem-solving ability, but not yet like an adult.
- Can think of simple plans before acting. For example, when inviting friends over to play, children can plan in advance what games they will play.
- Can begin to understand time and the days of the week; by age 10, children can place events in time sequence.
- Improved short- and long-term memory.
- Can speak and also write; by age 10, children have a vocabulary of 20,000 words and learn an average of 20 new words a day; can also understand that a word may have different meanings.
- Can communicate better and longer with others, express themselves and understand things.
- Can better understand and internalize moral rules of behavior (right/wrong; good/bad; wonderful/terrible).
- Begin to understand that what is fair is related to merit: who works harder deserves special treat.
- Are better able to empathize with other people and accept the idea of giving special consideration to those in greater need.
Social Skills
Children
- Are able to view themselves based on: how they perform in school; capacity to make friends; and their physical appearance.
- Understand they can feel two emotions at the same time (I like Jenny but I hate how she talks to me).
- Are intensely interested in peers, prefer same sex friends; develop friendships marked by give and take, mutual trust and shared experiences.
- Feel that belonging and acceptance by peers is very important. (Children may look more for peers than to adults for gratification).
- Play is no longer just fantasy play where imagination is the key element; more often children choose rules-based games where the rules are the key element and winning the game is more frequently the objective.
- Have great concern with justice and fairness; what is fair or equal is important and some children may try to get even and become verbally or physically aggressive.
- Continue to develop social skills like empathy and compassion.
- Become more able to do things by themselves and as a result, their relationship with parents changes.
Tips for Parents
- Help your children to develop a sense of competence: give them opportunities to master some skills like cooking, building models, making crafts, playing an instrument.
- Learn to gradually share the control of your child’s life with your daughter or son.
- Reinforce the understanding of right and wrong and consequences.
- Teach problem solving to your child. Use the IDEAL model to:
- Identify the problem and the feelings involved (Your child is being bullied and is afraid of going to school).
- Determine with the child possible solutions without use of violence.
- Evaluate with the child the merits of each possible solution.
- Act, choosing the best solution.
- Learn from what you and your child did to solve the problem.
- Use real-life situations (in your family or make-up a situation) and when you are on the bus, in the car or in the kitchen, play the IDEAL game with your child. A mock scenario could be: A child can’t watch TV because he or she hasn’t done homework and she/he is mad and breaks the remote control.
- Reinforce prosocial skills such as sharing, empathy, cooperation by asking a child to do things like help care for a baby, collect food for a shelter.
- Provide opportunities for your child to develop an understanding of rules by playing simple table games that rely on chance rather than on skills such as cards, dominoes, tic-tac-toe.
- Teach by speaking out loud to yourself (so your child will hear) about a problem and how to resolve it. An example: We are out of milk, bread and fruit. I’m not feeling well. I will call daddy and ask him to stop by the grocery store on his way home to get them.
- Demonstrate that behaviors and actions have consequences for everybody involved in a situation: If you do that, this will happen or when you do this, then you will get this.
Date created: 2017
`; if (document.getElementById('mainwrap') != null) { document.getElementById('mainwrap').insertAdjacentHTML('beforeend', popup); } }
FAQs
At this stage, children typically:
Expand vocabulary skills, allowing for expression of interests, thoughts and feelings—typically in great detail. Use language skills as a means of socialization. Learn to tell time. Begin to enjoy dramatic play and assume different roles.
What is the social and emotional development of a 6 8 year old? ›
At 6-8 years, you can expect sophisticated play, stronger friendships, tricky emotions, improved thinking and physical skills, and more. Support development by encouraging children to explore ideas, focusing on children's strengths, reading together, and talking about tough topics.
What are the social skills of a 6 year old? ›
They can resolve peer conflicts without the help of an adult. They are able to hear and consider another person's point of view. They like to be part of a group and they can identify with their peers. They recognize the things they have in common with their friends.
What are the cognitive milestones of an 8 year old? ›
Thinking and reasoning (cognitive development)
They don't usually know the full date and year. Can read simple sentences. Can complete simple single-digit addition and subtraction problems (such as 1 + 8, 7 + 5, 6 - 2, 4 - 3). Can tell the difference between right and left.
What is the social development of an 8 year old? ›
At this stage, children will exhibit many of these characteristics: Learn to cooperate in group settings and group games; dislike playing alone. Spend a lot of time talking with peers. Develop lasting friendships and begin to handle peer pressure.
What are the milestones for cognitive development at 6 9 years old? ›
Become able to understand the viewpoint of others: are aware that others can have different thoughts. Can focus on several aspects of a problem at a time. Can concentrate on what they do for longer periods of time. Increased problem-solving ability, but not yet like an adult.
What should I expect from my 8 year old? ›
Your 8-year old is likely starting to use logic and reason in new ways each day. They are also getting better at focusing on multiple parts of a problem at once. These skills are important as your child's schoolwork and activities may start to get more intense.
What is the social development of a 6 10 year old? ›
Socialization. The ages between 6 and 10 are a confusing and exciting time for children. They make new friends often. Most children in this age group are starting to understand and be sensitive to the feelings of others—a trait known as empathy.
What cognitive and social abilities does your child have at 6 months? ›
Social and emotional milestones at 6 months
Is usually happy and responds to the emotions of others. Starting to differentiate between familiar faces and strangers. Enjoys playing with you and others. Has fun looking at their reflection in a mirror.
What are the developmental milestones for 6 8 years old? ›
By this time, children can dress themselves, catch a ball more easily using only their hands, and tie their shoes. Having independence from family becomes more important now. Events such as starting school bring children this age into regular contact with the larger world. Friendships become more and more important.
At this age, children are becoming far less egocentric and are beginning to be able to more reliably see things from another's perspective. They are also becoming more social beings; they begin to adopt a more social 'world view', becoming more genuinely interested in others and in the world around them.
What are the cognitive skills of a 9 year old? ›
Thinking and reasoning (cognitive development)
Can read and understand longer sentences up to 12 words. Can add and subtract 2-digit numbers, can understand fractions, and are learning how to borrow and carry values. Like organization and planning, such as making plans ahead of time with friends. Think independently.
What are the developmental milestones for a 6 to 7 year old? ›
Sensory and motor development
- Can control their major muscles. They usually have good balance and like to run, jump, skip, and try other forms of physical play.
- Can catch a ball.
- Skip with ease.
- Draw a person with at least 8 parts. ...
- Can write their names.
- Dress themselves.
Second is the "Pre-operational" stage (ages 2 to 7 years), when a child can use mental representations such as symbolic thought and language. Children in this age group learn to imitate and pretend to play.
What is the cognitive test for a 7 year old? ›
We commonly use the following cognitive assessment tools: Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children - Fifth Edition (WISC-V, Australian Standard) for children aged 6 to 16 years or the. Stanford-Binet - Fifth Edition (Early SB5) for children aged 2 to 7 years.
What are the cognitive milestones for a 5 6 year old? ›
School-age children can pay attention for longer now. Your child understands simple concepts like time (today, tomorrow, yesterday), knows the seasons, recognises some words by sight and tries to sound out words. Your child might even read on their own.
