Nine Years
Development
Physical
- Acquires greater small muscle coordination
- Has increasing dexterity
- Usually does not have much gain in height and weight from previous year
- Favors active, highly-charged games and sports
- Wants to excel in sports and recreational skills
- Becomes more interested in clothing and appearance
- Loves bathroom humor
Emotional
- Becomes self-absorbed and introspective
- Tends to be critical of self
- Takes comfort in knowing others experience similar troubling feelings
Social
- Has ideas and interests independent from parents
- Does not like anything “different”
- Wants to talk, dress, and act just like friends
- Is involved in informal clubs and small groups of the same sex
- Begins to just sit and talk with friends MENTAL
- Uses reference books with increasing skills
- Becomes immersed in a hobby or project, then drops it for another
- May be a perfectionist
- Generally follows instructions
- Is developing personal standards of right and wrong
- Is highly concerned about fairness
Parenting
- Read to your child every night
- Limit the amount and monitor the quality of television
- Provide a quiet, well-lit place for homework
- Be available for supervision
- May want to start an outside group activity (soccer team, dance class, Girl Scouts, church group, etc.)
- Get to know your child’s friends and their parents
- Provide supervision for your child after school. This is the best protection against future problems.