THE ELEMENTARY AND PRETEEN YEARS: Ages 6-12

A Time for Social Growth

It seems like only yesterday you were arranging play dates for your little one. Now, school project due dates, game schedules and other extracurricular activities are tracked on your refrigerator.

Along with your child's growing list of activities comes a growing list of friends. He seeks a sense of belonging and acceptance from peers, and these friendships are a vital part of his development. They are friendships that will be important later in life, too, as they provide the roadmap for future relationships, teaching him to resolve conflict and get along with others across group lines.

Now that your child has moved beyond simply noticing the similarities and differences he shares with others, he is learning how such characteristics - and people's attitudes about them - have the power to make him and others feel included or excluded.

While parental influence plays a critical role in how children view and respond to difference, the elementary and preteen years mark a period when various outside sources also are competing for influence. This is the time when the values you emphasized early on - and the behaviors you modeled all along - are put into action.