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Age 5
Five year olds are able to:
Take charge of bathroom responsibilities
Want to tie shoelaces, can dress with skill
Can safely cross streets
Want to help with chores
Curious about everything
Eat more than ever before.
When playing, make up rules as the child goes along. -
Age 6
6 year olds are:
Fiercely independent, a real "know it all"
Obsessed by rules.
In perpetual motion, especially at the table.
Seldom finishes food and have no table manners.
Always in motion but clumsy, can run into the wall and trip over their shadow.
They tattle to let adults know that he/she knows the rules.
May have temper tantrums again.
Worst behavior when the child is with the child's mother. -
Age 7
Seven year olds:
Complain all the time, mostly about parents.
All they think about is playing.
Feel mistreated by everyone, withdraw from trouble and complain.
Do care what others think about them. -
Age 8
8 year olds tend to:
Demand attention from parents but want parents to think the way the child does.
Overly sensitive to parents approval or disapproval.
Often fight with mother.
See every situation as black or white.
Believe all rules are black and white and has trouble playing with peers.
Boys want to play with boys and girls want to play with girls.
May cry when tired and has stomachaches when worried. -
Age 9
9 years old:
Fiddle with things and are increasingly awkward.
Friends are more important than mother.
Rebel against too many directions and direct orders.
Think all adults are stupid. -
Age 10
10 years old are considered to be "The most docile age":
They tend to accept parents wishes and generally obey.
They learn to disobey in small rebellions.
Ten year olds see rules as flexible and make excuses for all misbehavior.
With peers, they demand that friends keep promises. -
Ages 11-12
What to expect: Peer pressure is intense.
Ages 11-12:
They want guidance from parents but not lectures.
Body changes cause embarrassment and self-consciousness.
Girls' behavior becomes eradict as hormonal influences take over.
These pre-teens begin to develop strong friendships.
They are often embarrassed to be seen in public with parents.
They begin to understand how others feel.
Want to make their own decisions, choose their own friends. -
Age 13
Thirteen year olds are a big bundle of hormones, mood swings, and bodily changes. Some behaviors shown at this age are:
Importance on looks
Need to be left alone
Strong interest in sports
A desire to challenge intellectual and social authority
Abstract reasoning begins to come into play
Rudeness, use of extreme language -
Ages 14-15
According to the Parent and Child Guidance Center of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, these middle teen year behaviors can be best described using The "five I's, and six M's".
The five "I's":
Impulsive
Intense
Idealistic
Immediate (wanting everything now)
Indestructable (thinking nothing can hurt them, they can not get pregnant, they will not get into an auto accident, etc.)
The six "M's":
Moody
Messy
Monosyllabic
Mouthy
Money-oriented
ME-centered. -
Age 16
At 16 years old:
Girls have completed puberty and are menstrating, while boys are on the way to finishing puberty.
This age group is looking for the answer to the question "Who am I?"
They spend less time with family and more time with their small group of friends who share similar values and behaviors.
They continue to test rules and question authority.
16 year olds are now driving, so with this independence there is the potential for exploration of risky behaviors such as alcohol use. -
Age 17
Seventeen year olds are becoming more and more responsible and are eager to become more independent.
Their friends are very important and they tend to spend the majority of their time with them.
When home, some want to be in their room by themselves.
Many seventeen year olds have good organizational skills and are able to juggle extracurricular activities, jobs, and schoolwork. -
Age 18
Welcome to Adulthood!
Eighteen year olds do not like parents interfering with their independence.
Very concerned with physical appearance.
Begin to see that present actions may impact their future.
Able to form alternate solutions to problems.
