age group characteristics: key to understanding kids

hy are age group char-acteristics the key tounderstandingkids? You mightanswer with,“Because that’s the

way God made them.” Luke 2:52 says,

“And Jesus grew in wisdom andstature, and in favor with God andmen.” This Scripture suggests thatGod created people to progressthrough certain developmentalstages that affect every area ofgrowth—physical, emotional,social, intellectual and spiritual. The more we understand thesestages, the better we can minister tothe needs of each child at camp.

Several researchers, primarilyErik Erickson and Jean Piaget, havecontributed to developmental phi-losophy. Erickson’s research deter-mined that children move througheight life stages, experiencing devel-opmental growth from early infancythrough adolescence and young-adulthood into adulthood.

Piaget, a Swiss psychologist,identified four general levels of qual-itative reasoning. We all go throughthese levels from birth to our youngadult years. The age group charac-teristics chart (see inside) is basedprimarily on the research ofErickson, Piaget and other develop-mental learning theorists.

Programs and curriculumshould involve children at theskill and understanding levelsthey are capable of handling tohelp them in their developmentalprocesses. But to gain the greatestdegree of learning, they need thehelp, instruction and encourage-ment of adults.

Adults working with childrenand teenagers should be aware ofage group characteristics that helpthem see the developmentalprocess at work. Note the progres-sion in the charts showing thedevelopmental process from agelevel to age level.

Cultural InfluencesWhile the behavior of children isgreatly influenced by their innate,God-given developmental stages,sociocultural factors also affecttheir behavior.

Children grow up in a varietyof family situations. Because of thehigh divorce rate, many childrenspend a portion of their growing-up years with a single parent orface the challenge of a blendedfamily. Others live with grandpar-ents, relatives or family friends.Some are adopted by single adults;some are born through geneticengineering. Many are born tounwed teenagers; some ofthese kids live in poverty.

In schools, familiesand society, children arelikely to experienceabuse, violence andsexual exploitation,and be tempted withillegal drugs, alcoholand other riskybehaviors.

In his book, A SympatheticUnderstanding of theChild: Birth to Sixteen(Allyn & Bacon, 1994),David Elkind concludesthat over the past 50 years,sociocultural changes have hada dramatic impact upon children.

A century ago, people viewedchildren as innocent, needing adultprotection and security. This child-hood innocence was reinforced bythe schools and media. Childhoodwas a special, magical time to be savored and enjoyed. Children’sliterature was protective andreflected family values.

However, since the 1960s, our perception of children haschanged. Children are viewed ascompetent, ready to handle thechallenges of life. This shift is pri-marily related to changes in adultlifestyles, not changes in thenature of childhood.

Evolving family structures,media and children’s literaturecontinually expose children to theadult world and its problems.

Age Group Characteristics:Key to Understanding Kidsby Virginia Patterson, Ed.D.

W

Focusing on the

Foundations of Christian

Camping

Often, children are left to fendfor themselves—or they areexpected to help adultssolve adults’ problems.

As the adult percep-tion of childhoodchanges, the demandfor children to becompetent is over-whelming. Preschool-age children are

enrolled in all kinds ofschools—ballet, swim-

ming, sports, music, language and drama. They are dressed in designerclothes and put on display.And there are long waiting liststo get kids into the right kinder-gartens or private schools.

The media depicts children ascompetent, often outwitting adultsor helping parents with their prob-lems. Children’s literature includesstories about relatives who haveAIDS, children who have been sex-ually abused and parents who arealcoholics or drug addicts.

Caring for KidsIn light of these factors, what cancamp staff do to help kids adoptChristian values and behaviors tocope with the world in whichthey live?

First and foremost, let thembe children! Encourage sit-uations where theycan succeed.When theysucceed,they willgain self-confi-dence.Let themtake ini-tiativeand dotheir ownprojects.Support creativity.Recognize strengths.

Children need adult friendswho will give them encouragement,praise and positive feedback. In thecamp setting, we should talk tokids, listen to them, look at themand compliment them.

As camp staff, we can alsoreinforce hope in children.

ExplainGod’s planand purpose. Sharethe goal that motivated the apostlePaul in Philippians 3:7–17: “Ipress on toward the goal to winthe prize for which God has calledme heavenward in Christ Jesus”(verse 14). Paul offers himself as amodel to be imitated and recom-mends that his readers patterntheir lives after those who arereaching toward this goal.

Camp leaders, too,have the wonderful

opportunity tomodel Christ forthose whom Godbrings undertheir care. -

Editor’s note: We are grateful

to PresidentEmerita of Pioneer

Clubs VirginiaPatterson, Ed.D., for

updating this report, whichshe originally produced with the

assistance of Sara Robertson andEva Lee Henderson.

All Scripture quotations taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 byBiblica. Used by permission of ZondervanBible Publishers.

Children need adultfriends who will give them

encouragement, praise and positive feedback.

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Phone: (719) 260-9400

Fax: (719) 260-6398

E-mail: info@ccca.org

Web: www.ccca.org

Age GroupCharacter-istics: Key

to Under-standing Kids(CCCA Focus

Series 12); copy-right © 1985, 1994,

2001, 2008, 2010 by CCCA. FocusSeries resources may not bereproduced without permission.

Other helpful Focus Series resources include A SurvivalGuide for New Counselors andUnderstanding the Way Campers Learn.

The more than 20 titles in theFocus Series may be combined togive you the best possible price. A quantity discount is available fororders of more than 50 copies.Downloadable PDFs of selectedtitles are also available at areduced rate.

Prices subject to change withoutnotice. For more information, acurrent list of CCCA resources,and prices, please contact us.

Photos: Index Open

12

As the adult perception of childhoodchanges, the demand for children to be competent

is overwhelming.