{"id":88501,"date":"2026-02-27T19:15:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T19:15:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/brain-development-milestones-in-six-year-olds-2"},"modified":"2026-02-27T19:35:35","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T19:35:35","slug":"brain-development-milestones-in-six-year-olds-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/brain-development-milestones-in-six-year-olds-2","title":{"rendered":"Brain Development Milestones in Six Year Olds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Liberia. <\/strong><\/span>Long neglected by science, \u201cmiddle childhood\u201d between the age of six and 12 years old is a transformative period preparing children for growing up, BBC reports. Here\u2019s what\u2019s going on in their heads during this turbulent time plus how to navigate it.<\/p>\n

The word Wackelzahnpuberta\u0308t \u2013 literally \u201cwobbly-tooth puberty\u201d \u2013 describes how six-year-olds start to show the bad moods characteristic of adolescence. \u201cAggressive behaviour, rebellious activism, and deep sadness are typical of the wobbly-tooth puberty,\u201d is how the German magazine Wunderkind puts it.<\/p>\n

Unlike the real deal, wobbly-tooth puberty is not driven by hormonal changes. Instead, it coincides with the start of \u201cmiddle childhood\u201d \u2013 a period of profound psychological change in which the brain lays the foundations for more mature thoughts and feelings.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a really key stage in which a child is constructing their identity, and they\u2019re trying to figure out who they are in relation to other people,\u201d says Evelyn Antony, a doctoral student in psychology at Durham University in the UK. \u201cAnd their emotional world is expanding as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whereas infancy and adolescence are now well-understood, middle childhood \u2013 which spans ages six to 12 \u2013 has been sorely neglected in scientific research. Some psychologists go as far as to describe it as our \u201cforgotten years\u201d. \u201cA lot of the research focuses on the early years, when babies are talking and walking, and then in adolescence when you have a bit more of rebellion,\u201d says Antony. \u201cBut there\u2019s less known about middle childhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

That is now changing, with new research identifying the core characteristics of children\u2019s mental metamorphosis. The transformation includes a greater capacity to reflect on their feelings and modify them when needed, along with an \u201cadvanced theory of mind\u201d that allows them to think more sophisticatedly about others\u2019 behaviours and respond appropriately. They also begin master the basics of rational enquiry and logical deduction, so that they can take more responsibility for their actions \u2013 which is why, in France, it is also known as l\u2019a\u0302ge de raison.<\/p>\n

As the concept of wobbly-tooth puberty illustrates, the onset of middle childhood may be accompanied by some growing pains, but a deeper understanding of the neurological and psychological changes involved is offering new insights on the best ways to support a child throughout the journey.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Liberia<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Liberia. Long neglected by science, \u201cmiddle childhood\u201d between the age of six and 12 years old is a transformative period preparing children for growing up, BBC reports. Here\u2019s what\u2019s going on in their heads during this turbulent time plus how to navigate it. The word Wackelzahnpuberta\u0308t \u2013 literally \u201cwobbly-tooth puberty\u201d \u2013 describes how […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":88500,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,9],"tags":[234],"class_list":["post-88501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-miscellaneous","tag-liberia"],"yoast_head":"\nBrain Development Milestones in Six Year Olds - Liberia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Long neglected by science, \u201cmiddle childhood\u201d between the age of six and 12 years old is a transformative period prepari ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/brain-development-milestones-in-six-year-olds-2\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Brain Development Milestones in Six Year Olds\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Long neglected by science, \u201cmiddle childhood\u201d between the age of six and 12 years old is a transformative period prepari ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/brain-development-milestones-in-six-year-olds-2\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Liberia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-27T19:15:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-27T19:35:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2026\/02\/sm_1772208297.788949.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"656\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"431\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/brain-development-milestones-in-six-year-olds-2#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/brain-development-milestones-in-six-year-olds-2\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Brain Development Milestones in Six Year Olds\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-27T19:15:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-27T19:35:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/brain-development-milestones-in-six-year-olds-2\"},\"wordCount\":399,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/brain-development-milestones-in-six-year-olds-2#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2026\/02\/sm_1772208297.788949.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Liberia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"miscellaneous\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/brain-development-milestones-in-six-year-olds-2#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/brain-development-milestones-in-six-year-olds-2\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/brain-development-milestones-in-six-year-olds-2\",\"name\":\"Brain Development Milestones in Six Year Olds - 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