The six-seven-year-old is the first time he goes on a journey through school life. The family is no longer the main and only factor affecting his life. At school, the process of socialization is accelerating, and all areas of development are expanding and deepening. At the same time, the set of requirements for the child's skills, both physical and intellectual, sharply increases.
Body shape
In children aged 5 to 7 years, a gradual increase in height and weight occurs, but the main changes occur in the proportions of the body and its individual parts. The forehead and abdomen become more flat, the arms and legs are thinner, the nose is clearly outlined, the shoulders become squarer, and the waist line is more pronounced. As for the teeth, at the age of 6 years the first large molar tooth erupts.
Small motor skills
Between the ages of 5 and 7, children receive more and more manual skills, such as using beads, buttons, pencils, pens, crayons and brushes. In school, they learn to write all the letters of the alphabet, if they have not learned this before, and are trained to more accurately draw pictures.
Understanding
Five-year-olds can not correctly assess their speed and strength. For example, they want to pick up things that are too heavy for them. They need special instructions about street traffic, because they can not understand that cars drive faster than they think. By the age of seven, children have a sense of speed. However, the most frequent cause of death in this age group is still traffic accidents. Consciousness manifests itself in children and up to 5 years, but at the age of 5 to 7 it becomes more noticeable.
Basic Skills
At school, children have to learn the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic. The ease with which they do this has a significant impact on self-esteem and self-esteem, which will remain for many years. Therefore, training is extremely important. When a child goes to school, the stage of pre-operational thinking ends and the stage of concrete operations begins (the development of logical thinking). However, they are not yet able to perceive abstract concepts. Limitation of thinking in the stage of specific operations is clearly visible if you ask a five-year-old child to explain the meaning of the proverb: "You can lead a horse to drinking, but you can not make it drink." At first the child may look puzzled. He will say that the horse is not thirsty or that the horse will drink when it wants. Children are sure that the horse will not be forced to drink, if she does not want it. The development of logical thinking is one of the main achievements for children of primary school age. The passage of this stage leads to the following - the emergence of abstract thinking. At this age, inexplicable childhood fears, such as fear that there is a monster under the bed, must pass. Also, imaginary friends should disappear and the belief in Father Frost be questioned.
Socialization
Socialization is the process of the child's comprehension of social norms of behavior that include social values, social attitudes and beliefs. The child concept of friendship develops from a concrete and immediate level to an abstract level, with elements of trust, loyalty, and affection, even if there is no other child in the room. Visiting the school gives the child the opportunity to observe and quickly develop complex communication skills. Egocentrism almost completely disappears. The school is a powerful tool of socialization. This is facilitated by various types of joint activities, such as working in a group, participating in performances, sports competitions and games, as well as working in pairs and in a team. Such important life skills as patience, the ability to cooperate and the quality of the leader, are formed precisely in school.
At home
When children return from school in the afternoon, they can be in an upbeat, excited mood, full of impressions of their achievements for the day. But they can come and tired, irritable, demand some snacks, if the dinner is not ready. One of the reasons that children are usually hungry at this time is that the child's eating is still regulated by the parents, not by a physiological need. After periods of brain activity, children need rest, so games at this age are still an important component of the development process.
Food
Most of the television advertising aimed at children contains information about toys and games, flour products, sweets, chocolate and sweet carbonated drinks. Children are actively persuaded that there is only what they see in advertising. At this age, children see the difference between conventional programs and advertising, but they still can not understand that advertising exists only so that people can make money. Nowadays, children get more fat, sugar and salt from their food than the previous generation. They are less engaged in physical education and lead a more motionless way of life. This is confirmed by many studies conducted since the 80s of the last century. Light snacks and ready-to-cook foods can be one-third or even most of the ration of children of this age.
■ Enjoy studying at school.
■ Learn by example and participate with the family in clubs, youth groups or visiting Sunday schools.
Have developed cognitive skills.
■ The ability to play with peers, brothers and sisters is greatly improved.
■ Gradual development of protective mechanisms.