Key milestones act as checkpoints in a child’s development to determine
what the average child is able to do at a particular age
Key Milestones
9-10 Years
Best Friend Good for Development
Learn to Contribute
Moody
Attention Span 30-45 Minutes
Check on Content & Screen Time
Neater Handwriting
More Milestones
- At age nine, children are poised for major transition as they stand on the cusp of adolescence.
- More independent and able to handle certain responsibilities with minimal adult supervision.
- Puberty can begin anywhere from eight to 12 for girls and nine and 14 for boys.
- Body image issues may even start to arise.
- Good time to start talking about puberty, regardless of where your child is in the process.
- Have stronger and smoother muscle control, allowing them to expand their physical limits and interests.
- Experience a growth spurt. Your child may get significantly taller and gain more weight.
- Seek relationships independent of their family, including sleepovers at friends’ houses.
- Strong desire to belong to a group and establish their place within the social order of school.
- As a result, many will become vulnerable to peer pressure because they want to impress their peer group.
- Want to start participating in decisions affecting the family.
- Want to expand their social circles, they will still seek refuge with family if ever they feel insecure. At nine, children are still greatly influenced by their parents.
- Benefit from the freedom to exercise their growing independence but still seek emotional reassurance from their parents.
- Nine-year-old children are also becoming more aware of real-world dangers and disasters.
- Fears about events such as crime or storms or anxieties about a parent dying one day may replace fears they may have had as younger kids such as a fear of monsters.
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- Act unreasonable or rude when things don’t go as planned, but is as able to recognize behaviour and apologize.
- Provide age-appropriate, factual information.
- Experience loneliness when their best friend is away and having a close friendship can be good for their development.
- At school, nine-year-old children will generally work well in groups and will cooperate to work on a project or activity.
- Your child’s speech should be understood by strangers almost all of the time. Your child should also be using adult-like grammar correctly.
- Prefer to play with same-sex playmates. They may engage in less pretend play and more sports-related activities or board games.
- Keep close tabs on what your child is doing online and who she is spending time with.
- Begins to understand about being liked and seeking approval, also will start to show knows right from wrong and understands rules.
Red Flag
Know when to meet your doctor
 |  Watch out for these Redflags  |
Children usually follow the same pattern of development and it is good to have reassurance that your child is developing normally in their own unique way. Talk to a doctor or a child health nurse if you have concerns regarding child development.
Watch out for these red flags and talk to your doctor to be reassured that your child is developing in their own unique way
- All children develop at slightly different rates. If your child is a little behind in one area or another, there’s a good chance he’ll catch up soon.
- But, if your child seems to be missing important developmental milestones, it’s important to seek professional help. Early intervention is key to addressing developmental delays and learning disabilities.
- Most children are stronger in some areas academically than others. If your child is having a tough time in a particular subject, it may be appropriate to supplement school instruction with tutoring or extra homework help. If your child is truly struggling, it is possible that she has a learning disability that makes higher-level academics more challenging.
- If your child is struggling to make friends or he has trouble managing his emotions, talk to the pediatrician. Social skills deficits and mental health issues can grow worse over time if left unaddressed.
