Reflection On Issues Of Middle Childhood

Reflection 2: Critical Evaluation on Issues of Middle Childhood With much of the physical development of a child occurring in early childhood, middle childhood entails more cognitive and socio-emotional development. At this stage, children are entering school and beginning the formal process of learning. This means that they are now able to think, process, and store information in more complex and organized ways (Kuther, 2017). With this, there are controversial issues pertaining the correct treatment of children during this stage of their life. In the article, “Schools Ban Childish Behavior, But are They Going Too Far?” written by Andrea Peterson, she addresses the issues of bullying and the anti-bullying campaigns that middle schools have implemented in order to prevent this issue. The article states that many schools throughout the country are attempting to eradicate all “normal” childhood behavior with the one goal to make childhood nicer. While Peterson argues that middle schools may be …show more content…
Bullying refers to the social, verbal, or physical interaction between children in which one attempts to abuse the others involved. Bullying is a widespread issue throughout many countries with rates of victimization being roughly fifteen to twenty five percent of all children. Children who suffer from bullying in middle childhood will have consequences such as anxiety and depression that will continue on to adulthood, even after the bullying ends (Kuther, 2017). In the article, Peterson argues that anti-bullying campaigns may not give children the essential skills to cope with the problems of the everyday world. With this, she states, “Isn’t seventh grade supposed to be miserable” (Peterson, 2003). However, this widespread issue needs to be under control because even the effects that seem small at the time can be detrimental to a child’s development and remain with them the rest of their life (Kuther,