Child Development: Age 6 - 10

By this time children add about two to three inches in height and about five pounds in weight each year, usually boys get slightly larger than girls. ‘Baby fat’ drops off even more and organs become more packed in and the child will lose their pot belly look and their spine will straighten out. The general growth curve of the child slows down during this age and time period. Also during this age the brain grows from 70 percent to 90 percent of its adult weight. It also undergoes much reshaping and refining. The child normally develops a dominant cerebral hemisphere which means a stronger hand preference reflecting a greater capacity of one side of the brain over another. The brain has much more development and refining during this time. The cerebellum is at the rear and base of the brain and aids in the balance and control of body movement. The reticular formation is in the brain stem and maintains alertness and consciousness. The part of the brain that has two cortical hemispheres and lots of fibers that connect the two hemispheres is the corpus callosum. Extreme emotional deprivation can interfere with a chemical production and cause chosocial dwarfism which appears at about age two – fifteen. Typically the child would be short and have an underdeveloped skeletal size. Childhood injuries often happen around these ages and are said to be caused by complete accidents or a child not being as attentive as they possibly should, or the child thinking they are invincible. A child’s fine and gross motor skills should be more defined. Walking and running smoother, throwing and catching a ball becomes much easier for them. Running also becomes faster. Fine motor skills would include cutting with child scissors on their own, fastening and unfastening large buttons, they begin using their own utensils more effectively and properly. Children develop a more visible and understandable picture instead of scribbles and nonsense. Parents might decide to put their child into an