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1. Child Development 101:
The Middle School Years
Presented by: Dr. Dawn-Elise Snipes
Executive Director, AllCEUs
AllCEUs.com Unlimited CEUs and Specialty Certifications $59

2. Objectives
 Review developmental tasks children accomplish
at this stage
 Examine how children’s thinking patterns are
different than that of both toddlers and
adolescents
 Explore ways to assist children in enhancing their
self esteem
 Introduce Kholberg’s theory of moral development

3. Kholberg’s Theory of Moral Development
 Level 1 - Pre-conventional morality 0-9 years
 No personal code of morality.
 Moral code is shaped by the standards of adults and the
benefits and consequences of compliance
Stage 1. Obedience and Punishment Avoidance
 If a person is punished, they must have done wrong.
 Centrated, egocentric, dichotomous thinking
(Preoperational thought)
Stage 2. Individualism and Exchange.
 Recognize that there can be multiple “right” views.
 Different individuals have different viewpoints. (Concrete
operational thought)

4. Kholberg’s Theory of Moral Development
 Level 2 - Conventional morality (9+ years)
 Internalized moral standards of valued adult role
models.
 Authority is internalized but not questioned
 Reasoning is based on the norms of the peer group
Stage 3. Good Interpersonal Relationships.
 Desire to be seen as being a good person by others.
Stage 4. Maintaining the Social Order.
 Awareness of the wider rules of society
 Judgments concern upholding the law and to avoiding guilt.

5. Piaget’s Theory of Cognitive Development
 Ages 7-11 Concrete Operational
 Children are beginning to be able to evaluate things on more than
one characteristic
 Able to use inductive reasoning, drawing general conclusions from
personal experiences and specific facts
 Struggle with DEductive reasoning, or using a general principle to
predict an event
 Abstract and hypothetical thinking is not yet developed
Starting to be able to see (albeit not necessarily agree
with) other people’s perspectives

6. Piaget
 Formal Operational
 Abstract thinking and hypothesizing begin
 Inductive reasoning: My experiences lead me to predict….
 Deductive reasoning: Based on a general principle, I can
expect/predict
 The data against which hypotheses are based for 11-14
year olds is quite limited
School:
 Algebra
 Science labs
• Overgeneralization
• Stereotyping
• Centration
• Emotional reasoning

7. Piaget
 Formal Operational
 The data against which hypotheses are based for 11-14
year olds is quite limited
Social
 My experiences with this group lead me to expect ___ from
anyone like them (Stereotyping activity)
 General rules (Rules list activity)
 No good deed goes unpunished
 Karma
Emotional reasoning and blaming
• Overgeneralization
• Stereotyping
• Centration
• Emotional reasoning

8. Maslow
 Biological Needs –Preventing Vulnerabilities/Emotional
Regulation
 Sleep
 Developing an effective, independent sleep routine
 Nutrition
 Building blocks for healthy body and brain
 Mindfulness of eating for hunger and attending to nutritional
cravings (dehydration, iron, calcium etc…)
 Awareness of the impact of stimulants and sugar
 Sunlight
 Sets circadian rhythms
 Vitamin D

9. Maslow
 Biological Needs
 Medical care
 Exercise
Stress relief
Self-esteem “I did that”
Raise serotonin levels
Develop healthy movement habits

10. Maslow
 Safety (External and Internal)
 From physical harm
Reduce trauma from low grade-chronic stress
Re-parenting: Address brain changes caused by chronic
stress or trauma (HPA-Axis / Adrenal Fatigue)
 From emotional harm
Mindfulness
Distress tolerance
Interpersonal Effectiveness/Communication skills
http://www.dbtselfhelp.com/html/dbt_skills_list.html
Cognitive
• Starting to look at
more than one
category
• Deductive
reasoning and
hypothetical
reasoning is
difficult
• Beginning to be
less egocentric

11. Maslow
 Safety (External and Internal)
Explore attributions
 Global vs. Specific
 Internal vs. External
 Stable vs. Changeable
Introduce and explore the concept of locus of control
(Scenario Activity—What can you control/change?)
Do self-esteem exercises
Continue the concept of Acceptance and Commitment
 Accept what is and who you are
 Commit your energies to becoming the best you that you can
be (Group values activity)

12. Maslow
 Love, Belonging and Self-Esteem
 Identity vs. Role Confusion (12-18 Years)
 Search for a sense of self and personal identity, through
exploration of personal values, beliefs and goals relating to many
roles:
 (Middle School) Interpersonal
 Fidelity involves being able to accept others, even when there
may be ideological differences.
 Social Influences
 Pubertal self-help - re. physical changes
 Social support - protection against turmoil
 Identity formation - mirror
 Values clarification - sounding board

13. Maslow
 Love, Belonging and Self-Esteem
 Identity vs. Role Confusion (12-18 Years)
 Failure to establish a sense of identity may cause the individual to
be unsure about themselves or their place in society.
 External validation
 Fears of isolation, rejection, failure
 Pressuring someone into an identity can result in
 Rebellion in the form of establishing a negative identity—or the
opposite of what is expected.
 Expected that he/she will follow in parental footsteps
 Attempts to merge the expected identity with the preferred
identity
 “Superwoman”

14. TIPS—Parenting and Reparenting
 Become a student of your child (or your inner child)
 Insist on respect and show respect (to yourself)
 Be direct, but not too direct
 Be available when he or she is ready
 Schedule (uggh---eye roll) bonding time
 Ask why. Engage in role/value related discussions to
model perspective taking, encourage openness (with
yourself)
 Pay attention to what your child (you) loves to do.
 Identify what your child is (you are) good at, and create
many chances to hone skills in this area.

15. TIPS
 Keep computers, laptops, televisions in common areas.
 Model and engage children in DBT skills.
 Mealtime mindfulness
 Guide children through distress tolerance skills
(ACCEPTS/Improve on the wall)
 Discuss the concept of Radical Acceptance
 Accepting that reality is what it is.
 Accepting that the event or situation causing you pain has a cause.
 Accepting life can be worth living even with painful events in it.
 Schedule time for nondigital fun.

16. TIPS
 Talk about sexting. Explain the legal and emotional
fallout from sexting to your kids.
 Let them experience (accept responsibility for) real-life
consequences.
 Teach kids to make it right with others when they make
mistakes.
 Discipline BEHAVIORS, explore the rationale, forgive
quickly. (including yourself)
 Be careful when kids confess. Watch your reactions (pay
attention to your internal critic) closely.

17. Summary
 Middle school children are starting to explore identity
 They are becoming more able to take other’s
perspectives
 They desire to be a good person in other’s eyes
 Fears of isolation, rejection and failure are
paramount.
 The world/people are still relatively unpredictable
 Their reasoning is still often faulty due to
inexperience and lack of data
 They often still fall into traps of
overgeneralization/stereotyping and all-or-nothing
thinking

18. Summary cont
 Middle schoolers are better able to understand
the concept or radical acceptance
 Middle schoolers are growing as fast as toddlers.
Increased vulnerabilities include
Awkwardness/physical changes
Hormone fluctuations
Needing more sleep
Weight changes/insatiable hunger

19. Summary cont
 Much of their reasoning is still often emotion focused.
Help them become more fact focused
 Distress tolerance skills are also of paramount
importance at this stage because middle school
through high school is often characterized by high
emotionality.
 Adults who experienced setbacks during middle
school years
 May need to grieve a lost childhood
 Can more easily develop the emotional and self-esteem
skills they missed