Social Development of Children Ages 7-12, Essay Example

Child development is a psychological and biological process of growth involving changes in the child. The process normally occurs between birth and adolescence age where changes are drastic and observable. A child at the age of 7-12 years enters a very crucial age where he starts a progress, reducing dependency and developing autonomy (Bronfenbrenner 32-87).

The age of 7-12 years is referred commonly to as concrete operational stage. It is in this stage that the thought process of the child is more rational, becomes more mature and develops qualities of an adult. During the same stage, a child develops a belief in animism (Laura 32-87). The child reduces egocentric thoughts during Concrete Operational stage because of his ability to rationalize events. His remnants ways of thinking are mostly adult-characteristics oriented. Researchers including Piaget argue that it is a stage involving the formation of thoughtful images on objects. For instance, a child visualizes as if blocks spread out are more, than when they are being arranged in a small pile (Kail 17-54).

This stage also permits children to develop thorough reasoning developing an understanding of beyond reality and creating a world of possibilities (Smith 23-78). The child can as well operate logically and understand information and symbols perfectly well (Laura 32-87). These symbols might not refer to the reality in the world but a development in the child’s mind. The major focus during this period is on verbal assertions. The child has a capability of evaluating logical validity even without referring to the reality and situations in the real-world circumstances (Smith 23-78).

Major characteristic behavior during this period includes organized behavior and thought. The child has ability of performing multiple classification tasks at once, comprehend the conservations principle and use logical sequence to order objects. He also has a capacity if solving problems concretely without having to depend on emotional support (Laura 32-87).

Works Cited

Bronfenbrenner, U. The Ecology of Human Development: Experiments by Nature and Design. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1979 123-140.

Kail, R. Children and Their Development. New York, NY: Prentice Hall, 2006 17-54.

Laura, E. Child Development. United States of America: Pearson Education, Inc. 2009 32-87.

Smith, P. Understanding Children’s Development. Oxford, England: Blackwell, 2000 23-78.