Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/on-the-rocky-road-to-friendship-emerging-peer-relationships/5009559/
When adults think about the school age years, their first thoughts are usually about friends. Best friends, friends who left you out, friends who let you in, and friends that gave you trouble are a major part of childhood experience during the school age years. Emerging friendships and the sense of social competence that making and keeping friends gives children have enormous impact on the person one becomes. A closer look at why peer relations are so important requires that we understand the developmental needs of these important years.Setting the Stage
Between kindergarten and junior high, school agers pass through three different stages of development. Each stage is distinct - characterized by abilities, attitudes, and priorities that are qualitatively different from the stages that have passed and those yet to come. The first stage, from about age 5 to age 7 or 8, is called the early childhood stage. The second stage, from about age 8 to age 10 or 11, is called the middle childhood stage. And the third stage, from about age 11 to age 14 or 15, is called early adolescence. As children and youth move through these stages, their interests, ...