| “In fact, sevens can be extremely moody, sulking and sometimes depressed. They are often content to spend long periods in their rooms, alone by choice, reading or listening to music or playing with animals or dolls.” | I remember this age quite vividly and this describes me to a T. I also got to witness these behaviors in both of my little cousins when they were seven, as well as the kids I care for now at camp. Why is seven such a strange age? What is happening biologically and/or socially to cause this inward, self-absorbed behavior? |
| “I’m bored!” is a common complaint of the eight year old. Adult translation: This is too hard! Look beyond these words to what they are showing you in their work. Redirection and encouragement go a long way; criticism can be devastating.” | In college, I nannied for a family that had an eight and eleven year old. The eight year olds favorite response to everything that we were doing was “I’m bored!”. I never thought about the possibility that maybe we were doing an activity that was developmentally inappropriate for him. I definitely noticed that if his sister or another family member gave him anything that even resembled criticism it would spark a colossal melt down. I always assumed these behaviors were a personality trait and not something going on developmentally or with multiple children of age eight. |
| “The enthusiasm of eight often turns into dark brooding and worrying at nine—worrying about world events, about the health of parents, about moving away, about losing best friends, about changing schools.” | When I was nine, and starting the fourth grade, my family moved to a nearby town for the opportunity of a better education for my brother and I. This was a year that I was obsessed with keeping a diary and documented in detail my worries of moving away, being the new kid in school, making new friends, losing old ones, etc. I also remember that year being an election year and it was the first time that I remember worrying about issues outside of my everyday life. If I could look back at those diaries now I can imagine the entries would probably be very dark and depressing. |
