Child Development - The 9 Year Old

9 year-olds *

Physical ►

• better coordinated
• likes to push their physical limits; tires easily
• complains about aches, pains, injuries, and hurt feelings
• may twist hair, bite nails, or purse lips to relieve tension

Social-Emotional ►

• more individualistic
• often feels worried or anxious
• impatient
• often complains about fairness issues
• critical of self and others (including adults)
• can be sullen, moody, aloof and negative; often says "I hate it.", "It's boring.", etc.
• likes to negotiate - this is the age of "Let's make a deal."

Language ►

• loves descriptive language, word play, and new vocabulary
• sometimes reverts to baby talk
• enjoys exaggeration, "dirty" jokes, and graffiti

Cognitive ►

• industrious and intellectually curious, but less imaginative than at eight
• beginning to see the "bigger world", including issues of fairness and justice
• able to manage more than one concept at a time, such as "long ago and far away"
• has trouble understanding abstractions, or vast areas of space
• reading to learn, instead of learning to read

* Yardsticks , Chip Wood, 3rd Edition