Development Processes in Middle Childhood - Essay Example

? Development Processes in Middle Childhood Development Processes in Middle Childhood This paper will discuss the psychosocial development in middle childhood according to chapters 11, 12 and 13 of Berger’s book ‘the developing person through life span’. Chapter 11 discusses in detail the biosocial developmental procedures evident in children aged 7-11 years. Chapter 12 tackles the cognitive processes that characterize middle childhood. Chapter 13 describes the psychosocial development in middle childhood with respect to peers, culture, and parents. The paper will focus on assessing the development of Christopher, an 11-year old after observing his development. The assessment relies on the theory offered in each chapter. Berger describes different growth aspects that occur in an individual’s life span. Chapters 11, 12, and 13 of the book ‘the developing person through the life span’ highlight the main processes that occur in middle childhood. The author concentrates on highlighting the growth of children aged 7-11. She presents a lengthy description of the biosocial, cognitive, and psychosocial development processes in these school-going children. This paper will analyze development process of Christopher, an 11-year old child. In the biosocial domain, Christopher is a normal child weighing 95 pounds. According to chapter 11 of the Berger’s book, there he has been gaining approximately 5-7lbs since the age of seven. This boy is currently 58 inches in height. It becomes possible to approximate the increase of height each year, according to Berger (2011). Christopher has likely been gaining at least two inches each year since the entry of middle childhood at the age of seven. From his height and weight, it was possible to calculate his body mass index. This was necessary in order to determine whether he is prone to developing obesity. Berger describes that children at this age, children become prone to obesity due to poor lifestyles and lack of vigorous exercise. However, Christopher is an active child with a BMI that lies in the healthy range and is safe from the risk of obesity. However, Christopher has mild asthma attacks but the parents are making sure that he gets quality treatment. Christopher understands the effect of allergens and avoids exposure to allergens. Christopher has thin hair that is beginning to grow on his legs and this is an evidence of the approaching puberty. Like other children in the middle childhood, Christopher presents an advanced ability of his brain functions. Because of the advanced neural ability, he has developed a level of self-control evident in the way he rationally reacts to certain situations. He can perform majority of the chores and tasks accorded to him by his parents. This becomes evident that he has attained the ability to perform tasks automatically. Berger mentions that children in this age bracket develop this ability. Being an active child with great interest in sports, he has developed multiple advanced motor skills. The indulgence in sports enhances the coordination of his brain frontal lobes. Christopher registers high grades in school and this aspect shows that he has a developed intelligence capacity. This is one of the many concepts of assessing intelligence (Berger, 2011). Evidently, Christopher has developed multiple cognitive processes. He can apply logic when handling tasks. The fact that he opted for 20 dollars than 10 $1 indicates that he used logic to realize that 20 dollars was worth much more. Piaget described the development of cognitive processes in children aged 7-11 years. He mentioned the features that define cognition at this age. These include a firm operational thought that enables a child to apply logic when reasoning about experiences and perceptions. This is the case with Christopher. In addition, the child exhibits capacity to organize and group ideas or things according to a similarity. The other aspect involves transitive reference that enables the child to observe linkages between facts. Moreover, children in this age bracket have clues on interpreting series. The information processing theory applies to children at this age because they can perceive, analyze, and respond in different situations. Three parts of the brain come into work to effect information process. These include the sensory memory that perceives all stimuli and the short memory that analyzes the stimuli and represents the active mental capacity. After processing, information transfer from the short memory to long-term memory occurs. Retrieval of information from this memory can occur even after long periods. Research reveals that memory increases annually to limitless levels after middle childhood. Christopher presents that the theory is true in children of his age. He presented short-term memory in remembering three items mentioned to him. The fact that he remembered the three nouns mentioned thirty minutes later indicates competence of long-term memory. The chapter also highlights the status of language development in children (Berger, 2011). By middle childhood, children portray fluency and grammar competence of their language and some have a good mastery of a good language. This applies to Christopher who has grown up in a bilingual setting. Christopher exhibits competence in English and Spanish. The cultural set-up has influenced his abilities in language development. Berger identifies culture and social set-up as major factors that affect language competency. In addition, Christopher presents the ability to adjust his language code in different contexts. He switches from the formal way of addressing his teachers to an informal conversation with his peers. Chapter 13 tackles psychosocial development in middle childhood. This chapter relies on the theories developed by Erikson concerning psychosocial development. Berger (2011) highlights that during middle childhood, children portray the capacity to master numerous skills and place self-assessments for themselves depending on their competence. This is the case for Christopher. The child describes his competencies in football and confesses that he judge himself as one of the best dancers among his peers. Just like Freud mentions about school-going children, Christopher dedicates his time to a group of his friends. He admits that he values the time spend in vigorous play with his friends. In addition, he asserts that the catholic Faith has impact in his life. In a way, he feels that his family’s religion serves to provide him with moral support. According to Berger (2011), this is typical of children in this age bracket. As Berger (2011) explains, the family structure and organization has immense effects on children in this age. They expect to receive material provisions, motivation in learning and development of self-respect, harmony, and stability from the family. This is the case with Christopher, who mentions family as one of the most crucial things in life. He comes from a Hispanic family that is nuclear in structure. He mentions that his family gives him support especially materially and emotionally. He has already realized that Hispanics are different from the mainstream population. From socially directed questions, it was evident that his family played a crucial role for him. He has several friends and seems to have an attachment with them. He spends much of his time after school with these friends. It was noting that he has had the same best friend since he was eight. Moreover, he has developed a sense of morality. From close observation, religion and family have contributed greatly to this. In reference to Christopher, he presents normal growth in each of the three aspects. The three chapters discussed provide useful information on understanding the development processes in children aged 7-11 years. These children portray advanced brain growth and neural connections that enable them to present vigorous motor skills. They have an effective information processing theory. In the psychosocial aspect, they value friendships, have morality and a greater understanding of society. References Berger, K. S. (2011). Developing person through the life span. S.l.: Worth Pub. Read More