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    9 year-olds *

    Physical ►

    • better coordinated
    • likes to push their physical limits; tires easily
    • complains about aches, pains, injuries, and hurt feelings
    • may twist hair, bite nails, or purse lips to relieve tension

    Social-Emotional ►

    • more individualistic
    • often feels worried or anxious
    • impatient
    • often complains about fairness issues
    • critical of self and others (including adults)
    • can be sullen, moody, aloof and negative; often says "I hate it.", "It's boring.", etc.
    • likes to negotiate - this is the age of "Let's make a deal."

    Language ►

    • loves descriptive language, word play, and new vocabulary
    • sometimes reverts to baby talk
    • enjoys exaggeration, "dirty" jokes, and graffiti

    Cognitive ►

    • industrious and intellectually curious, but less imaginative than at eight
    • beginning to see the "bigger world", including issues of fairness and justice
    • able to manage more than one concept at a time, such as "long ago and far away"
    • has trouble understanding abstractions, or vast areas of space
    • reading to learn, instead of learning to read

    * Yardsticks , Chip Wood, 3rd Edition