Chapter 13 Middle Childhood
and Adolescence
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Growth Patterns
Middle childhood: 6 to 12 years
 Height & Weight
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– Boys and girls grow about 2 inches a year
– Adolescent growth spurt
– Average weight gain is 5 to 7 pounds per year
– Individual differences are normal in middle
childhood
 Weight may vary by 30 to 35 pounds
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Nutrition
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4 to 6 year olds need
1,800 calories
7 to 10 years olds
need 2,000 calories
Recommended: fruits,
vegetables, fish,
poultry, whole grains
Limit: fats, sugars,
and starches
Nutrition at schools.
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Gender Differences
Boys are slightly taller and
heavier than girls through 9
or 10
 Girls then begin adolescent
growth spurt
 Boys begins adolescent
growth spurt at age 13 or 14
 Muscular strength increases
for both girls and boys

– Around age 11 boys begin to
develop more muscle tissue
than girls.
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Childhood Obesity
Definition of obesity: body weight in excess of 20% of norm
Obesity is the second leading cause of death in the US
 60% of American adults are overweight
 30% of American children are overweight, while 16% are
obese
 35-40% of African American and Hispanic American children
are overweight, while 24% of AA and HA children are obese
 Despite emphasis on fitness and health, obesity has
increased across ages, races, and genders
 Most overweight children become overweight adults
 40% of normal weight children become obese adults.
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Childhood Obesity
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Research suggests that overweight
children are often rejected by peers
Perform poorly in sports
Tend to like their bodies less than
children of normal weight
More likely to be depressed and
anxious than peers of normal weight
Hypertension, Type II diabetes,
asthma, sleeping problems are all
associated with obesity.
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Causes of Obesity

Heredity
– Burn calories vs. turn extra calories into fat
– Identical twins
– Inherited rate of matabolism

Adipose tissue (fat cells)
– Children who have more adipose tissue tend to become hungry
quicker, even though they are the same weight
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Modeling by parents
– Exercise habits
– Encourage overeating
– wrong foods
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Stressors and emotional reactions promote overeating.
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Causes of Obesity Cont.
PE taken out of schools
 Wrong food in schools
 Role of TV:
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– 25% of kids watch 4+ hrs a day
– Kids who watch TV more than 25 hours a
week are more overweight
– Consumption of snack foods
– Commercials promoting eating junk food
– Sedentary activity.
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Daily Activities
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Daily Activities
•
Sleep
School
TV
8 hours
8 hours
4 hours
Dinner,
homework,
exercise,
etc.
4 hours
4 hours of TV = ¼ of waking hours
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Treating Childhood Obesity
Proportion sizes,
 2. food in schools, (breakfast programs)
 3. increase PE in schools,
 4. reduce TV/computer/phone hours (screen
time)
 5. increase exercise,
 6. proper nutrition
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1.
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The Link Between Schooling and
Development
School becomes the focus
 School is a cultural framework that
provides opprotunities for children and
adolescents to make social connections
and experiences
 Parents provide emotional support for
children to support their need for growing
interacitons with the world outside family
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The Link Between Shooling and
Development
Behaviour problems and loss of confidence
may result if a parent and/or teacher
expectations do not match a student’s
level of intellectual, social, emotional, or
physical development.
 School is the cultural framework for social,
emotional, intellectual, and moral/spiritual
development.
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The Theory of Intellectual
Development
By the time a child finishes kindergarten
(age 6) his/her brain has developed 75
percent of its capacity.
 The neural pathyways and different
centres in the brain are already well
developed.
 Intellectual deveopment continues
throughout middle childhood and
adolescence.
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Intellectual Development Theory
Jean Piaget – 4 stages: sensorimotor,
properational, concrete operational and formal
operational.
 The stage between age seven and twelve is the
period of concrete operations.
 Age 12-14 Piaget propesed that a person enters
the stage of formal operations and become
capable of logic, deductive reasoning and
abstract thinking.
 Some experts do not agree with Piaget and
indicate that cognitive development is much
more complex than the tidy stages he describes.15
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Theory of Multiple Intelligences
(MI)
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Exercise & Fitness
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Exercise reduces risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes,
and cancer
Psychological benefits: better self-image, better coping
skills
Cardiac and muscular fitness is developed by
participation in continuous exercise, such as running,
walking, swimming, bicycling, or jumping rope
Nearly 2/3 of American children fail to meet the
standards set by the President’s Council of Physical
Fitness
– Strength
– Flexibility
– Cardiovascular Endurance.
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Childhood Disabilities
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Intellectual Functioning
– Mental retardation
Learning Disabilities
– Dyslexia (reading disability)
– Dyscalculia (mathematics disability)
– Disorder of written expression
Speech disorders
– Articulation disorder
– Voice disorders
– Fluency disorders
Physical disabilities
– Visual impairment
– Hearing impairment
– Paralysis
Social and Emotional Disorders
– Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity
disorder
– Autism
– Conduct disorder
– Childhood depression
– Childhood anxiety.
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Learning Disabilities
A learning disability is characterizes by
inadequate development of specific academic,
language, and speech skills
 Dyslexia: a reading disorder characterized by
problems such as letter reversals, mirror
reading, slow reading, and reduced
comprehension
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– Estimated to affect 5% to 17.5% of American
children
– More common in boys than girls.
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Causes of Dyslexia
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Genetic factors
– 25-60% of children who have
dyslexia, have one parent
who also has dyslexia
– 40% of siblings of children
with dyslexia also have
dyslexia
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“Faulty wiring” in left side
of brain
– Angular gyrus: translates
visual input into audio
information.
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Treating Dyslexia
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Early treatment focuses on remediation
– Structured exercises to help kids become
aware of how to blend sounds to form words
– Identifying word pairs that rhyme and don’t
rhyme
– Combining modalities such as vision & hearing
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More recent treatment focuses on
accommodation
– More time to take tests
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ADHD
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Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
– Child shows developmentally inappropriate or
excessive inattention, impulsivity and/or hyperactivity
– Onset occurs by age 7
– Behavior pattern must have persisted at least 6
months
– Impairs ability to function in school
Difficulty getting along with others
 Disruptive and non-compliant behavior often
elicits punishment
 More common in boys than girls
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ADHD
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Prevalence is 3-7% of school age
children
Diagnosed by history, self-report,
and observation from significant
others
Deficits in executive functioning
in those who present with
hyperactivity and impulsivity
– Inability to self-monitor and selfcontrol
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Some go on to develop
Oppositional Defiant Disorder
(ODD) and Conduct Disorder
(CD).
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Challenges of ADHD
Organizational problems
 Problems with Transitions
 Acting as if rules don’t apply to them
 Adopting negative attitudes out of frustration
 Experiencing isolation from peers
 Poor grades, different learning styles
 Impulsive behavior
 Difficulty sustaining attention
 Disruption of sleep or apitite.
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Causes of ADHD
Runs in families
 Co-exist with anxiety, depression and tic
disorders
 Less blood flow to the frontal lobes
 Defect in thyroid system or RAS
 Encephalitis
 Family history alcoholism, smoking,
depression
 Frequent early ear infections as a marker.
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Treatment of ADHD
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Combination of medication and behavioral therapy
Stimulants are most common medication
– Ritalin, Adderall, Concerta ETC.
Behavioral interventions aimed at increasing structure at
home and school
– Parents and teachers are active participants
 E.g.) “chunking” assignments
 E.g.) cues to promote self-awareness
– Parent training, family therapy, support groups
Some children outgrow ADHD
– 50% to 65% of children with ADHD continue to have
symptoms into adulthood.
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Education for Children with
Disabilities
Should children with learning disabilities be
placed in regular classrooms?
 Segregated classes
 Mainstreaming: children with disabilities are
placed in classrooms that have been adapted to
fit their needs
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– Intended to counter negative effects of special needs
classes
– 40% of day spent in regular classrooms
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Research findings are mixed
– High functioning
– Lower functioning..
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Social Emotional Develpment
Friendships become very important
 School is where most social interactions
take place.
 PEER GROUP – made up of others of the
same age, influence friendships, behaviour
and how other chioices are made.
 Strong attachment to a caregiver early on
influences ability to make friends and
withstand peer pressure.
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Social and Emotional
Development
Parents, teachers, coaches and youth
workers are powerful role models for kids
to learn how to get along with others and
resolve conflicts appropriately.
 Social skills and self confidence are interrelated
 Emotional Literacy / Emotional Intelligence
- Ability to treat others with empathy and
repect.
- This can improve congnitive intelligence.
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MORAL/SPIRITUAL
DEVELOPMENT
Learning right from wrong
 Internalization is the goal so that by
adulthood, inner satisfaction, rather than
an external reward or punishment is what
motivates people to choose right over
wrong.
 Spiritual development – development
through a person’s entire life.
 Spiritual development grow and regress
through times of trial and questioning.
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MORAL AND SPIRITUAL
DEVELOPMENT
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We can grow spiritually by practising our
faith,(mass and church services) or trying
to discover what we believe through
mentors, adivisors (chaplains, priests,
rabbis etc) and through prayer and
meditation.
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KOHLBERG’S STAGES OF
MORAL DEVELOPMENT PG. 322
1.
 2.
 3.
 4.
 5.
 6.
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OBEDIENCE AND PUNISHMENT
INDIVIDUALISM
APPROVAL
LAW AND ORDER
SOCIAL CONTRACT
PRINCIPLED CONCIENCE
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GILLIGAN’S THEORY OF MORAL
DEVELOPMENT
COMPARISON OF HOW MEN AND WOMEN
VIEW MORAL DILEMMAS
 PG. 323.
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THE TRANSITION TO
ADULTHOOD
ADOLESCENCE – the stage between childhood
and adulthood. (chart pg.424)
 Issues: Relationship issues, mental health
issues, learning problems, drugs and alcohol,
family problems (parents and siblings) bullying,
depression, suicide, teen promiscuity and teen
pregnancy, social group identification.
Finding your identity and place/role/career
(This can change even throughout the adult
years.)
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