Hardly any magazines will do a cover story on a child s early school years. And parents rarely complain about a child s behavior at this stage of development. The reason is that many people consider this time of childhood to be an idyllic time. When compared to the whirlwind preschool years and the turbulent teen years, the middle years are relatively calm. But don t be deceived.
Children have significant challenges to face during the middle years.
The outcome of those challenges will set the course of their mental, emotional, social, and spiritual life. The Five to Seven Shift During the middle years, children will be expected to act more independently, performing daily responsibilities, such as dressing themselves or cleaning their room. These are acts previously done by their parents. In America, five and six year olds will enter educational institutions, embarking on long educational journey toward adulthood. And developmentally, children now have the ability to perform concrete mental actions, work together as a group or team, and possess a heightened moral awareness.