Social Development and Social Relationships in Middle Childhood

Abstract

Abstract This chapter provides a broad overview of the social lives of children during middle childhood, the period between ages 5–6 and 11–12 years. Middle childhood has been described as a time of skill consolidation between two periods of striking developmental change and has been the focus of less research attention than these other developmental periods. Our review suggests, however, that middle childhood is a time of considerable change, when social competencies, essential for the development of close and harmonious social relationships, are practiced and refined. Middle childhood also is a period when children's social worlds expand and when children spend increasing amounts of time outside the direct supervision of parents or other care givers. As such, self‐regulation and control and the ability to read and understand the expectations of new social settings are essential for successful functioning. Finally, middle childhood is a time when children first become seriously involved in work–school work in industrialized countries and paid work or family work in other societies—and children's social competencies will be central to their success in these endeavors.