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The developmental changes occurring during this period are
Social cognition: Ability to understand the thought, emotions, intentions and view points of oneself and other social relationships.
Social competence: Changes in social cognition contributes to improved competence in social functioning. For example the school age child is better than pre-school child in communicating messages to others based on his understanding of the situation.
A sense of competent mastery of acquiring social skills (Industry) should be developed during this school age, otherwise Inertia, a core pathology that paralyzes an individual’s productive life, may develop.
Characteristics of Children with Inertia
- They like to continue to be withdrawn and passive.
- They will have trouble in instigating actions or changing the course of events in their lives.
- They will not be likely to address challenges or problems by formulating plans of actions, evaluating and executing them.
- They will not believe that they can master the challenges they face. They are likely to be swept along by the tide of events.
Cognitive functioning: Many significant changes in cognitive functioning occur during this period. They are improvement in thinking skills, interacting with others, reinforcement in writing and drawing and intellectual skills etc.
Impulsive behaviour: The frequency of impulsive behaviour declines as the child enters formal schooling. There is also decline in the frequency of angry outbursts and starts paying more attention to the parental directions and advice.
Relationships with family and peer group: Family and peer group play a significant role in the life of the school age child. However, the influence of siblings plays a major role on the development of the child. It also depends on the other factors such as sex of the sibling, age of the siblings, spacing/ birth order of the siblings and size of the family etc.
Generally peer group is composed of same sex and children know about themselves as a result of peer interaction. Games of school age period are often competitive team activities that are structured by rules and regulations. There is a transition in the child’s concept of authority and the right of parents to exercise authority. At the same time these children demand more independence than what their parents are willing to give.
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Participants