When your child turns 9, you may feel like you have a little adult on your hands.
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Milestones for 9 year olds
When your child turns 9, you may feel like you have a little adult on your hands.
While it seems only yesterday that they were taking their first steps, your little one is now growing physically and intelligently toward their teen years. This sudden spurt of growth in every aspect might leave you as parents feeling a little overwhelmed about what to expect from your child at this age and how best to support them in their continued development. In this article, we deep dive into all the important milestones every 9-year-old will go through, how you can support your child this year, how to limit dangers and when you should be concerned about their development, and what to do.
Education resources
Important language and cognitive milestones
Language and cognitive growth will continue to flourish this year, and it may feel gratifying for you as a parent to begin to have mature conversations with your child. This may help to bring you closer to your child and strengthen family bonds. Read on below for some of the main language and cognitive milestones for your 9-year-old:
A focus on adult speech
You can say goodbye to the baby talk of yesteryear. Your 9-year-old will now be able to speak with you, never like before. Your child can now talk like most adults without complex conversations and subject matters. They will also find it much easier to express their emotions verbally to those around them, limiting the need for explosive toddler tantrums. This growth is best encouraged by spending lots of time reading with your child and having regular conversations throughout the day on many different subjects.
An improvement in their literacy abilities
By your child’s ninth year, you’ll notice a big difference in the quality of their English homework compared to before. Children can now express themselves far more through the written word at this age. Many 9-year-olds can now write in a sophisticated way that expresses their feelings and thoughts through a pen.
They may also develop more interest in reading and filling up the space on their bookshelf. We recommend encouraging your child to read different books, from fiction to non-fiction. This helps to expand their mind and thinking, which is vital at this important developmental stage.
Schoolwork may also be changing for your child, with higher levels of expectation placed on them when it comes to homework. For example, a 9-year-old may now be required to bring in different kinds of book reports and essays, which require more time and research. In the beginning, this might feel difficult and overwhelming for your child, so always be on hand to support them with these activities.
The ability to focus for longer periods
Reading more complex books will require a longer attention span, which should be developing in your child at this age. You will notice that your little one can dedicate much more concentrated time to their interests, whether a sports game or their new favorite movie franchise. Don’t expect many of these interests to hang around forever, though. You will surely find that your child experiences many fleeting interests over the year. While this might feel hard to keep up with as a parent, it’s an important step in allowing your child to develop into an individual personality and experience personal growth.
Improved mathematical abilities
9-year-old children also develop the ability to tackle more complicated mathematical sums and equations than in previous years. They might start learning fractions, graphs, and angles in school. This requires a step towards logical and analytical thinking, which will continue to be necessary as they grow through teen and adult life.
Spacial awareness
Children at this age can understand the concept of space in ways they may not have been able to previously. This includes having the ability to visualize how an object could theoretically look or how it may appear from different perspectives. This will help them build more complex lego sets or play games requiring a level of spacial awareness to succeed.
Important physical milestones
You may feel like your 9-year-old just never stops growing. What is more impressive, however, is how much more refined their motor skills become during this time frame. Read on below for some of the main physical milestones for your 9-year-old:
A refinement of motor abilities
You may notice that tasks your child has previously struggled with or taken longer to complete are now easily done. This can include anything from neat penmanship to dressing themselves each morning. This is mainly due to an increased finger ability that allows them to carry out many tasks like any adult. You might find your child thrives with this and is drawn to activities where they flex their new motor abilities, like building and painting.
Boosted graceful motor abilities
This year your little one will be stronger and more coordinated with their physical activities than ever. They can now improve upon core skills like running and jumping, completing them with more grace and sophistication than ever. Your child may find this ease of movement leads them to enjoy activities more, making them more likely to pick up a new hobby like swimming. With improved graceful motor skills, the sport will be more enjoyable for your child than ever before and will allow them to continue refining their performances.
Important emotional and social milestones
9-year-olds are likely to start developing a lot of big feelings this year, especially with the opinions and thoughts of their peers matter more to them than ever. Read on below for some of the main emotional and social milestones for your 9-year-old:
A rise in anxiety
While your little one may be abandoning more childish fears, there is likely to be a new set of worries growing for them that, left unaddressed, can cause regular anxiety. As children grow older, they understand the world around them more and become witnesses to its dangers and injustices. A child of this age might start to worry more about the dangers of violent crime, climate change, and the death of loved ones. While these are common worries as your child begins to find their place in the world, any early signs of an anxiety disorder, for example, excessive emotions and physical symptoms, should be discussed with a pediatrician. At this time, your child will need your support more than ever, so remember to exercise patience and understanding when discussing your little one’s anxieties.
Feeling a need for justice in the world
You might start to notice your 9-year-old child develops more of a moral compass this year, bearing witness to the many injustices of the world. This can manifest in an interest in saving endangered animals or helping to support a local charity. These humanitarian traits should be encouraged and praised during these early years.
Development of an identity
Identity and allegiance to certain friendship groups will feel more important to your child now than ever. They may feel more drawn to group activities or clubs to feel like they are part of a community and expand their social reach. Whenever feelings of upset and anxiety arise, however, it is always mom and dad that children still run back to at this age.
Growing interactions with the opposite sex
While before, your child may have stuck with playmates specifically of their sex. During this year, you may find that they start to branch out and take an interest in others. Your child may also start to feel romantic feelings at this age and could even get their first crush, even though they might not always feel comfortable expressing this.
Other milestones to consider for your 9-year-old
Read on below for some other important milestones you might notice your toddler approaching within their ninth year:
Development of empathy
Your 9-year-old will start seeing things from other people’s perspectives, not just their own, and begin understanding empathy. This marks a step towards maturity and developing a more well-rounded sense of self for your child.
The start of mood swings
While your child might not be in the full thrall of hormonal teenagehood, you may start to notice a rise in mood swings when you can’t guess their feelings from one hour to the next. Puberty arises at different times for every child. Those who are early to develop may start to experience hormonal shifts during this year. This can be a turbulent time of life for a child and requires as much support from parents as possible, even though this can feel trying at times. If you start noticing the signs of puberty developing in your 9-year-old, make sure to sit down with them to discuss the changes they will undergo, both physical and emotional. Exercise empathy and understanding, addressing all questions in a way they can understand.
Acts in a socially acceptable way
You’ll find that your child has much more awareness of how the world views them and how it is socially acceptable to act in public. Thankfully, this should lead to a reduction in public temper tantrums. You may also find your child holds more mature conversations with those outside the family unit they are less familiar.
The best way to help your 9-year-old achieve
The ultimate way to help support your child during this year of their growth is to provide a life with routines and activities that encourage development. Make time for physical activity, reading, and socialization throughout their daily routine, finding a fine balance between promoting growing independence and providing comforting support.
Helping to keep your 9-year-old safe
With growing independence, your child might spend more time without you this year. Read on below for common dangers and how to avoid them:
A safe car seat
Depending on your child’s height, they may still need a car seat to remain safe and secure for trips on the road. Even if this isn’t necessary, they should always be seated in the back with a secure seat belt.
Helmets for bike rides
Your child may now enjoy bike rides and getting active on scooters. To prevent injury, always make sure your child wears securely fitted helmets and other protective gear depending on their chosen sport
Allowing more independence and freedom
When you aren’t with your child, always make sure they are in the presence of at least one responsible adult and have talks with them about ‘stranger danger regularly’.
When you should be concerned about the development of your child
While all 9-year-olds will progress at their rate to some extent, you may be concerned about your child’s progress if you cannot relate to the milestones in this article. If so, we recommend reaching out to your pediatrician to further discuss your child’s development.
