The Nine Year Old : Growth Patterns

Physical
Increased coordination
Pushes self to physical limits
Fatigues easily
Numerous injuries
Somatic complaints
Tension outlets such as nail-biting, hair-twisting, lip-pursing
Social
Highly competitive
Self-aware
Impatient
Worrier; anxious
Aloof
Complainer; fairness issues
Sees adult inconsistencies and imperfections
Critical
Can be sullen and moody
Individualistic
Language
Descriptive
Loves vocabulary and language play and information
Baby-talk sometimes re-emerges
Use of hyperbole
Age of negatives:"I hate it," "I can't," "boring," "yeah, right"
"Dirty" jokes
Graffiti
Cognitive
Industrious and self-critical
Dawn of "bigger world"
Less imaginative
Intellectual curiosity
Ability to deal with multiple variable emerges
Trouble with abstractions -- large numbers, periods of time or space

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