Seventh Grade (11-13)
Physical Development
Parents and teachers need to understand how their kids and student's bodies are changing before they try to comfort and educate the adolescents. Within these ages puberty has picked up and their muscles are increasing at much faster rates. The adolescents are gaining more weight and growing hair. Adolescents in these ages will be more aware of their sexuality and their appearances. This may lead to self esteem issues and confidence failures. Adolescents will be stressing on how fast they are changing and if their peers are judging them.
What Can you do?
As a parent it is your job to comfort your child but also educate them about what is happening to their bodies. Adolescents will be more involved with sports and parents need to allow for the adolscents choice of which activity they want to do. If your kid does not like sports, still have them lead an active lifestyle. Be a good example for your kids by leading an active lifestyle staying away from fatty foods and having confidence in yourself.
As an educator it is your job to teach your students about their ever changing bodies. Their bodies will have acheing joints, let them move around the classroom as much as you see fit. Encourage them to go out for sports or extra curriculars. When in the professional setting of health class or gym class, educate them about their bodies and encourage them not to judge others for maturing early and/or later.
Cognitive development
Changes in thinking:
During ages 11-12, children learn to think about abstract concepts. One main achievement students in this age group will obtain is children display logical thinking, can serrate (arrange in a series) without trial and error, are able to conserve number, mass, and volume, and demonstrate a more strategic and methodical approach to problems.
Changes in reasoning:
During this period children develop logical thought, deductive reasoning abilities, and improved memory and executive function skills. Throughout the course of formal operations, children learn to use deductive logic, meaning they can be given a general principle which they can apply to a specific situation. For example, if told that objects drop to the ground at the same rate, they will be able to predict the outcome of a marble and tennis ball being dropped.
Changes in decision making :
During this stage of development is when many of these children are beginning puberty. within this time The majority of the changes take place in the frontal lobe, which is “control center” for executive functions, including the ability to think, plan, maintain short-term memory, organize thoughts, control impulses, problem solve, and execute tasks. Along with these changes, are changes in the way the brain processes rewards and pleasure, intensifying the feeling associated with each. An unfortunate by-product to this shift is an increase in risky, sensation seeking behaviors over the teen years.
What can you do to help? :
One main thing you can do to help your child through this stage of development is to help guide them to proper decisions while still giving them the freedom to develop an identity of their own. this is the stage of their life where they are starting to find out who they want to be and what they want to do in life. For example, while it may not be the most desirable thing for you, letting your child dye their hair a different color may be a battle not worth fighting, but you may decide that them staying out past midnight to see a concert is where you would draw the line. it is about setting boundaries while still giving your child the freedom to find out who they want to be.
Resources:
Social Development
Characteristics
Children in this age group are at a difficult and critical point of time in their development as they are just beginning having to deal with hormonal changes. In other words they are starting to enter puberty.
At this point in time most children also highly value the opinions of their peers and will desire to have control over their lives.
Some characteristics that are common...
Impulsive
experience emotional extremes
experiment with behavior, appearance, self-image
oftentimes express their emotions with actions rather than words
What you can do to help
Children at this age require a great deal of support, even if they do not wish to admit it. But, they also require the space to make decisions for them selves, at least ones that will not harm them like:
how they look
what they wear
who they hang out with
It is common for kids at this point in time to start dabbling in behaviors that may be riskier that others like self-harm and drugs. To combat this make sure that you are available to talk with them about their struggles and what they are seeing their friends struggling with. Make sure that your child has a support system that they can rely on in "sticky" situations.
Resources
Social Development
https://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/seventh-grade-worst-year-ever/
Personal Development
Every child,s personal development is unique to them, although they all seem to develop at a sequence you can most likely predict, at the 7th grade level these changes can happen at very different rates.
What can you do?
As a parent or guardian of a 7th grader you most important job is too remember this is a hard time for here personal development, they are learning who they are as well as you are learning who they will be, so support and help them along this journey.
Tips to successful 7th grade personal development:
-Give them autonomy, not independence
-control your stress before dealing with their's
-don't try to fix everything at once
-give them needed space/time
-talk as much as possible, communication is key
Resources
https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/family/story/parents-teachers-make-7th-grade-worst-55077648