What to expect from children (6 to 12 years)

Children in this age group are becoming more independent, learning new skills, doing well in school, and forming friendships. They develop quickly in self-care, physical abilities, language, learning, social, and emotional skills. At the start, they might still seem like little kids, but by the end, they are much more like the people they will be when they grow up.

All of these things happen quickly as kids grow from 6 to 12 years old.

What is typical childhood development?

Physical skills development:

At 6-7 years old, kids get better at riding bikes and skateboards. They can throw, catch, kick, jump rope, and play hopscotch better. They run, jump, and climb faster as they get older, but might still get bumps and bruises. Some kids like team sports. By 10-12 years old, they understand team roles better, help more with chores, and might focus on one or two sports. They need about 10 hours of sleep each day.

Language skills development:

By 6-7 years, kids can talk well about what they want and need. They learn new words fast and like to share their thoughts. Sometimes they use words wrong or say silly things, but most of what they say makes sense. At 8-9 years, they can have back-and-forth talks and add to what others say. As they get older, they use longer sentences, tell detailed stories, and have more complex talks. They think logically about real things but cannot understand complex ideas yet.

Learning skills development:

After preschool, kids learn how to learn in school. Doing well in school becomes important for feeling good about themselves. At 6-7 years, they spend a lot of time learning to read. They start with familiar stories and use pictures to help with new words. At 8-9 years, they read longer books and start to understand what they read better. In later years, they learn to read different types of books and articles.

Kids start learning to spell, use capital letters, and punctuation at 6-7 years. Their sentences get longer over time. Later, they learn to write paragraphs and essays.

In math, 6-7 year-olds start counting higher, tell time, and do simple adding and subtracting. At 8-9 years, they learn about multiplication, division, and fractions. Older kids start learning more advanced math like geometry and algebra.

Social skills development:

At 6-7 years, kids play alone and with friends. They know how to share and work together. Sometimes they might be mean or jealous, but this is normal as they figure out who they are. At 8-9 years, they mix friend groups and might start to like people of the opposite gender. As they get older, friends become more important, but they still care about their family. This is when kids start to understand what’s right and wrong.

Emotional skills development:

At 6-7 years, kids understand others’ feelings better. Their moods might change quickly, especially when stressed. They worry about big things like wars or money. They try hard to control their temper and thoughts. At 8-9 years, they understand others’ emotions better and can control their own feelings more. At 10-11 years, kids feel more confident and think to themselves to control emotions. Around 12 years old, they might question rules more and try to handle strong feelings on their own.

Where can I find more information if I have concerns about my child's development?

Every child grows differently, and some kids learn faster than others. If one area is slow, it’s not always a problem.

If you’re worried about your child, you can find more information at “I worry about my child, but how do I know what is going on?” [website link].

You can also learn more by using your phone camera on the QR code below or by clicking here.