Meeting the needs of the 6 to 8 year old (1113)

Children age six to eight come in all shapes and sizes! Although we immediately think of these children as having lost their baby teeth, there are many other things happening to children in this age range. If you know and understand these processes, you will be better able to work with children of this age. You need to consider their cognitive (or thinking), physical, social, and emotional development.

Cognitive Development. It's important for the six to eight year old to know that they are very much in the here and now. They are "concrete" thinkers, who need to base their learning on real experiences with real objects.

Children 6-8 are also eager to learn. With a gentle nudge from adults, they will try new things, although they can become quite opinionated. Most of them can read words, but remember that reading is a mystery that some of them haven't solved. Some children can read many things and may consume a book or more a week.

Physical Development. Children between the ages of 6 and 8 are developing their large muscles by learning to gallop, skip, climb, wrestle, and hop. Children need to be able to use these large muscles both to develop them and to use up the tremendous amount of energy characteristic of this age group.

They are also refining the use of their small muscles. One example of this is the amount of control they have with a pencil when they write their name. Children need practice using pencils, scissors, knives, vegetable peelers, and other small utensils to develop their small muscles. But don't expect them to start off with these fine motor skills; they need practice.

Social Development. Children become increasingly social between the ages of 6 and 8. They begin to develop friendships, usually with children of the same gender. When working with children, it's important to consider their increasing need and desire to be with others. Plan activities they can do together.

Don't be surprised when there are disagreements and squabbles. Children need to test out who they are and how they interact with other children. Remember, however, that they are in the process of learning social skills and will sometimes need adult help to resolve problems.

Emotional Development. Children in the 6- to 8-year-old stage are firming up emotional tendencies that began in their younger years. They want to please adults and know that they are liked. This means that what adults say to children and how they say it is very important. Find ways to tell children when they have done a good job. Make sure you talk about the behavior or action, and not about how good they are. When things aren't going well, this helps children know that it is their behavior that you don't accept, not them.

The most important people in the lives of 6- to 8-year-olds are their parents and teachers. Because children this age are still so dependent on adults, they will try to please them and are usually quite cooperative.

For more information on this subject, Please visit the College of Agricultural Sciences Publications Web site.

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