All of a sudden you notice that your happy and friendly five-year -ld is acting cranky and oppositional and is sometimes downright defiant. You, of course, are the same loving parent or teacher, but your patience is running thin. What to do?

It’s important to remember that children’s approaches to the world between the ages of 2 and 6 change about every six months and between ages 6 and 14 about every year. This is true in their physical growth, their language development, their growth in thinking ability and school-related learning and in their social and emotional behavior.

As adults we must learn to adjust our expectations and interactions with children as the children change and grow. We can’t keep kids in the same size sneakers for ever. Our routines in the classroom that worked so well in November may fall apart in February if we don’t change classroom schedules, routines and expectations. Likewise, at home, morning and bedtime rituals that worked well last year may have become battles this year. Changes in parenting approaches are as necessary as changes in teaching approaches.

In my book Yardsticks: Children in the Classroom Ages 4-14 you will find age by age information about changes in development in general and in the classroom specifically. If you have questions about your child or about what’s happening in your classroom, you can either post a comment on the blog (which all readers would see and see my response to) or you may email me for a private response at yardsticksblog@gmail.com.