A Profile of the Grade School Years

At six, children are ready for school. They are toilet-trained, fluent and about to embark on a very special road. Apart from their parents, school and friends will be the most important influences on their lives. The intense conflict of the toddler period has subsided. As the child's language skills and ability to really understand issues have developed, your life may become a bit easier. Kids now want to learn, play and absorb their new independence. They aspire to be teenagers. Often their aggression will be very visible, especially towards siblings.

Moms and dads will now be faced with a new phase of life: they are needed when their child has a problem, but they will be pushed away for friends as part of their new quest for independence. They need to realize that this process of turning to peers and away from parents is a normal and healthy part of growth and should not be taken as a personal response to them.