Middle Childhood Case Study

The reading for week nine was Hutchison (2015) chapter five which discussed middle childhood. This chapter goes over the developmental stages of children from the ages of six through eleven (Hutchison, 2015, pg. 181). During this period, children continue to grow, albeit at different rates. Many children even begin to experience puberty at the later end of this stage. The rate of this can occur differently based on both the race and the gender of the child; generally American girls enter puberty before boys (Hutchison, 2015, pg. 183). From a cognitive standpoint, children in middle childhood have more of a grasp of complex ideas and are generally able to verbalize these ideas. Piaget theorized that children at the end of this age range enter

While they may begin early childhood with the belief that morality is relative and can depend on what is important to the individual, they transition to the belief that moral behavior is dependent on the individual being a good person and having strong relationships with other individuals (Hutchison, 2015, pg. 187). As children at this age develop better ways of identifying and coping with difficult emotions, they are also more likely to experience difficult emotions like depression and grief. These can be caused by a number of factors and if they are not actively nurtured and supported by their environment, such emotions can lead to the child experiencing delays in their emotional development (Hutchison, 2015, pgs. 190-191). In the social worlds of these children, bullying can become an important issue both physically and emotionally. The child’s ability to cope with bullying is often dependent on their communal and familial connections. Furthermore, their community itself may play a role in decreasing incidences of bullying or allowing an environment where bullying can fester (Hutchison, 2015, pg. 193). The Hutchison (2015) chapter conveys many of the challenges and risks associated with middle childhood that social workers may encounter when working with this