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Age Characteristics of Early Childhood

The document summarizes key physical, social, emotional, and cognitive characteristics of children at different age levels: - Preschool and kindergarten aged children (3-5 years old) are very active, need rest, and may lack fine motor skills. They form friendships easily but they change quickly. They express emotions openly. - Primary school aged children (6-8 years old) are still very active but can tire easily. They have better control of large muscles than fine skills. They form closer friendships and like organized games. They are sensitive and want to please teachers. - Elementary school aged children (9-10 years old) become leaner and stronger but obesity can be an issue. Peer

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Amber Mattison
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92 views2 pages

Age Characteristics of Early Childhood

The document summarizes key physical, social, emotional, and cognitive characteristics of children at different age levels: - Preschool and kindergarten aged children (3-5 years old) are very active, need rest, and may lack fine motor skills. They form friendships easily but they change quickly. They express emotions openly. - Primary school aged children (6-8 years old) are still very active but can tire easily. They have better control of large muscles than fine skills. They form closer friendships and like organized games. They are sensitive and want to please teachers. - Elementary school aged children (9-10 years old) become leaner and stronger but obesity can be an issue. Peer

Uploaded by

Amber Mattison
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Amber Mattison

Chapter 3: Age Level Characteristics


Preschool and Kindergarten (3-5 years old)
Physical Characteristics
 Extremely active- they have good control of their bodies and enjoy activities
 They need frequent rest periods due to an inclination of bursts of activity- they don’t
realize they need to slow down.
 They may be quite clumsy, or physically incapable of certain skills (buttoning coats) due
to large muscles being more developed than those in the fingers and hands.
 Find it difficult to focus eyes- hand-eye coordination may be imperfect.
 Bones that protect brain is still soft.
 Gender differences in physical development and motor skill proficiency are not
noticeable.
Social Characteristics
 May have one or two best friends-friendships change rapidly. Favorite friends tend to be
of the same gender.
 Play activities are important part of their development.
 Definite preferences for gender of play peers.
 Awareness of gender roles and gender typing is evident.
Emotional Characteristics
 Express their emotions freely and openly. Frequently have anger outbursts.
 Jealousy among classmates is common.
Cognitive Characteristics
 Begin to develop Theory of Mind- ability of children to be aware of the difference
between thinking about something and experiencing it.
 Skillful with language-like to talk.
 Don’t accurately assess their competence for particular tasks.
Primary Grades (6-8 years old)
Physical Characteristics
 Still extremely active- energy is often released into the form of nervous habits.
 Still need rest periods- become fatigued easily.
 Large muscle control is still superior to fine coordination.
 Many have difficulty on small prints or objects because of shallow shape of the eye.
 Extreme in their physical activities-excellent control of their bodies and develop
considerable confidence-often underestimate the danger involved.
 Bone growth is not yet complete-bones and ligaments can’t stand heavy pressure.
Amber Mattison

Social Characteristics
 More selective in their choice of friends and are likely to have more or less permanent
best friends.
 Like organized games in small groups- overconcerned with rules.
 Quarrels are still frequent.
Emotional Characteristics
 Sensitive to criticism and ridicule- have difficulty adjusting to failure.
 Eager to please the teacher.
 Sensitive to the feelings of others.
Cognitive Characteristics
 Understand that there are different ways to know things and that some ways are better
than others.
 Understand that learning and recall are caused by particular cognitive processes that they
can control.
Elementary School (9 and 10 years old)
Physical Characteristics
 Become leaner and stronger.
 Obesity can become a problem.
 Gender differences in motor skill performance are apparent.
Social Characteristics
 Peer group becomes powerful and begins to replace adults as source of behavior
standards and recognition of achievement.
 More selective and gender-based friendships.
 Play makes numerous contributions to development.
Emotional Characteristics
 Develop a more global, integrated, and complex self-image.
 Disruptive family relationships, social rejections, and school failure may lead to
delinquent behavior.
Cognitive Characteristics
 Can think logically- such thinking is constrained and inconsistent.
 Simple memory skills- often perform about as well as adolescents or adults. More
complex memory skills- performance is more limited.

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