Developmental Issues

There are many issues that children in late childhood go through but there are two common problems that they face from ages 9-12 including puberty and bullying. Both of these physical and emotional problems can create developmental issues long term and are more serious to a child's mental and physical health than many think, including parents. It is time to get parents more involved with their children who are going through bullying and the changes from puberty because it is an emotional rollercoaster during the late childhood stage. I was bullied myself in late childhood and it has effected my self esteem and confidence still to this day. My parents didn't pay much attention to this problem I was facing when I was begging for help and guidance. It is time for the current and future generations to know the serious causes of bullying and changes in the body and how to collaborate with your adolescent during this time to avoid conflict and potential issues.

Below are ways to help your child through the emotional and physical development during late childhood.

Puberty

Puberty is the biggest physical development change in the child's life during late childhood. Puberty is a rapid growth and physical change of the body for boys and girls. Girls will encounter changes in breasts, the appearance of hair, and start menstruating. Boys will also experience more body hair, changes in voice, larger scrotum, and ejaculation will start to happen while asleep.

For both boys and girls this is a time of increase in sexuality and hormones. Almost all of children during puberty will start experimenting with masturbation and a heightened preoccupation with physical appearance. There will be an increase in social interactions with the opposite sex and there will start to be sexual attraction and may begin around this stage. This is also a time where emotions are changing and getting more sensitive in girls and testosterone levels in boys increase. Due to these factors of puberty, this can cause conflict between the child and the parent. In late childhood, the child will start to become more independent and peers start becoming more important than parents when trying to fit in. Pre-teens will start to think more abstractly and rationally, asserting themselves and their own opinions rather than parental control (The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, 2012).

Parents can alleviate this issue of conflict and distance between their child and them by listening, the number one way to build trust and a healthy relationship. The earlier a parent starts communication, the easier it will be to know what their child is going through and keeping them open to telling the truth throughout their older years (The Nemours Foundation, 2016).

Ways to collaborate with your child during puberty:

• Listen
• Talk to your kids early and often about puberty
• Put yourself in your child's shoes
• Pick your battles (try to understand why they do things)
• Set expectations
• Inform the child on potential peer pressure and know your child's friends and their parents

Santrock. J.W. (2016). Essentials of Lifespan Development. (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill

The Nemours Foundation. (2016). A parent's guide to surviving the teen years. Retrieved from http://kidshealth.org/en/parents/adolescence.html#

The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada. (2012). Late childhood (9-12). Retrieved fromhttp://www.sexualityandu.ca/health-care-professionals/sexuality-and-child-development/late-childhood-9-12

Bullying

Bullying is a common problem for many children in the late childhood stage. During this time for children, the importance of peer relationships changes dramatically. This is a time where they turn to their peers for their problems, feelings, doubt, and increasing time spent with them. The reliance on peers creates more pressure for attaining social status and getting acceptance from other peers are increasingly important. The pressure to gain acceptance is related to teasing and bullying to maintain superiority over other students through ridiculing (Espelage, 2016).

Bullying causes many long term socioemotional issues in children including depression and anxiety, feelings of sadness and loneliness, changes in sleeping and eating patterns, and loss of interest in activities they enjoy. Bullying has effected many children more than people think and it could potentially lead to suicidal thoughts and decreased academic achievement (National Crime Prevention Council, 2016).

Parents can take steps to helping their children with bullying:

• Giving their children positive feedback for good behavior to increase self-esteem
• Ask your children about their day and listen to what they are saying and the problems they have
• Take bullying seriously and help
• Encourage children to help others being bullied
• Do not bully your children or bully others in front of them, showing it is "okay."
• Parental Monitoring

Espelage, D. (2016). Bullying in early adolescence: The role of the peer group. Retrieved fromhttps://www.counseling.org/resources/library/Selected%20Topics/Bullying/Bullying_%20Early_Adolescence.html

National Crime Prevention Council. (2016). What parents can do. Retrieved from http://www.ncpc.org/topics/bullying/what-parents-can-do

Audience

This blog is targeted to parents who are going through a hard time with raising their adolescents. I feel adults should be the main focus when it comes to knowing the important components of development for late childhood as they transition to adolescence. Many parents struggle with how to handle their children in late childhood because they are going through physical and emotional changes, not knowing how to handle it or raise them during this time. This will teach parents how to resolve conflicts between them and their child through the changes along with understand why their child’s behavior and how the family system can effect it. I feel the best way to address late childhood development to these parents who are struggling is to make a blog to them who are trying to reach out for help and this is something they can refer back to easily with tips when they are going through a tough conflict with their children.