Milestones to Expect From Your Nine-Year Old

At some point children start to display signs of independence when it comes to relationships with older members the family. While it is important for children to develop healthy relationships with other children, parents need to be guarded against any harmful peer pressure. One way to address this issue is to help the child to grow up feeling good about him or herself. Children who have good self-esteems are less likely to succumb to peer pressure. This is one of the more important developmental milestones for 9 year olds.

At this point in their lives children will start to gain a feeling of responsibility, as they are becoming more independent. Physical changes will start to become evident more so in girls than boys. Children at this stage begin to form deeper friendships especially with children of the same gender.

For the most part it is to be expected that children will have to deal with peer pressure. Children are often in a situation where they feel the need to please their friends in order to cement the relationship. Adults are well aware that nothing could be further from the truth. Adults are able to quickly detect when they are being manipulated and then do something about it. Children however are very different. Despite attempts from parents to warn their child against this, the child will only be sucked in further to succumbing to peer pressure.

It can be very painful for parents to watch their child being manipulated by the child's supposedly best friend. Nagging the child about this will only push the child further away from the parents. This can cause quite a dilemma, as parents may not know how to deal with the situation.

The best way to deal with the situation is to spend time with the child and discuss his or her friends. Explain to the child about right and wrong and very importantly the consequences of poorly made decisions. Explain to the child the pitfalls of succumbing to peer pressure on any level.

Children should be taught to never waiver on anything that they strongly believe in. Examples of this are having good manners, being respectful towards elders and their religious convictions. Parents have spent many years nurturing the child so that the child grows up to be a member of society that will make contributions to society and not become a parasite of society.

In terms of developmental milestones for 9 year olds standing on principal is one of the most important for children. It can also be one that will be tested to the limit if children are permitted to associate with the wrong kinds of children. Parents need to be both patient and resilient with regards to their child's sense of right and wrong.