Primary Schoolers Quick Guide
6 to 7 Years Old

Primary Schoolers Quick Guide 6 to 7 Years Old

• Your six year old child can:
  • spend much of the first year of school getting used to the rules and regulations of this new environment
  • be shy and prone to crying - can be clingy
  • learn to do tasks such as tying their own shoe laces
  • be introduced to basic reading and writing skills
• Your seven year old child can:
  • still be getting used to the school environment
  • play with small groups of children - often the same sex
  • continue to develop reading and writing skills as well as basic maths
  • like to have a friend 'come over' after school
  • be less likely to cry.
• Your eight year old child can:
  • be interested in learning about things around them
  • take more interest in some subjects over others
  • be influenced more by peers
  • enjoy having friends to 'sleepovers' regularly
  • prefer to play with same sex friends.
• Your nine year old child can:
  • have an increased awareness of the 'self' in relation to the group
  • want to change to fit in better with peers
  • start to become critical of clothing and behaviour of parents
  • tease and discuss 'boyfriend/girlfriends' issues
  • be more concerned with hair, dress and weight
  • begin to physically develop (particularly girls).
• Your 10 year old child can:
  • experience an increased influence of the peer group
  • be concerned about being embarrassed
  • interact more with the opposite sex
  • develop firmer and longer lasting relationships with friends
  • want more independence and be preoccupied with socialising.
• Your 11 year old child can:
  • experience an increased influence of peers
  • be more aware of their own identity and their place in the world
  • be concerned with social acceptance
  • show more interest in the opposite sex
  • want to be treated like an adult
  • become critical of themselves and others.
• Your 12 year old child can:
  • dislike being referred to as a child
  • experience major physical and emotional changes and also experience an awakening of sexual awareness
  • experience self consciousness and awkwardness
  • want to assert their independence
  • be already physically developing
    • by the age of 12 many girls have or will start to experience rapid physical growth
    • boys generally develop two years later than girls
    • girls can start puberty as young as eight or nine and as old as 16 or 17
    • boys usually start to develop between 12 and 14 but can also be late maturers.
• The 12 year old child is on the threshold of adolescence which can be described as time of dreams, fears, romance and despair.

Parenting tips & parenting articles copyright & courtesy
Department for Community Devlp, Australia.

Primary Schoolers Middle Childhood :: Primary Schoolers Quick Guide 6 to 7 Years Old
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