Eight Years Old: Dramatic

​Please keep in mind as you read the following lists of developmentally appropriate behaviors, that no two children are alike.  Some children might exhibit all the age-related characteristics, some might exhibit most, and there are some children who might not exhibit more than one or two. 

When using the list below, it is important to also consider your child’s adjusted age if applicable, environmental, and situational factors, the child’s temperament, and if the child is in a period of equilibrium or disequilibrium. ​

​An 8-year old usually but not always:
Physical Behavior

• is high energy, speedy, walks quickly, talks quickly, eats quickly, reads quickly
• can shift easily from one activity to the next
• likes rough and tumble play and loud games
• is better coordinated
• wants to expand boundaries of personal space
• is careless, sloppy, and accident prone

Emotional Development

• is more self-aware
• can express himself through emotions such as amazement and curiosity
• loves to talk
• can be very dramatic
• often exaggerates
• is demanding
• is evaluative
• hard on self regarding mistakes
• extremely sensitive to perceived criticism from others
• can shift blame quickly to others when he attacks someone (verbally or physically)
• can tell time better but may be more careless than the more anxious seven-year-old stage
• eagerly meets challenges
• can over-estimate abilities
• often boasts and then comes up with alibis
• hungry for praise (may put himself down in order to get it)
• likes to bargain

Intellectual Development

• daydreams
• tends to miss instructions and may frequently say “What?”
• not a good self-starter, but once started, needs some freedom to do it his own way
• the beginning of abstract thinking
• can apply simple logic to arrive at conclusions
• can reason deductively
• can classify

Parents

• curious about all that is going on in the family
• wants to be sure parents’ relationship is working
• is quick to pick up parents’ attitudes and values

Mother

• has a more intense relationship
• is highly possessive
• is very in-tune with her
• wants all her attention, including constant conversations
• wants her to play board games with him
• wants to please Mother
• wants to help her satisfy her needs

Father

• the relationship is not as intense as with mother
• may be less openly affectionate
• may mind father better than previously
• may mind father better than minds mother

Siblings

• wants his fair share and all privileges that other siblings have
• needs specific instructions and lots of praise when caring for and playing with younger siblings
• can be too strict if caring for a younger sibling
• may take out frustrations toward others on siblings

Friends/Relationships

• has more friends than previously
• some eight-year-olds have many friends, others only one or two
• wants a good two-way relationship
• is more willing to cooperate and conform
• may pick on any child considered to be an outsider
• plays more with same sex children
• beginning of “secret clubs”
• cares about relationships
• heightened curiosity in learning how relationships around him function
• can approach strangers with more confidence

Eating

• increased appetite
• will eat more new foods

Clothes

• sloppy
• throws clothes on floor
• is increasingly interested in brand names and in being in style

Health

• tends to be healthier
• when sick, recovers rapidly
• when upset, may get stomach aches
• when overly excited, may get headaches
• may have numerous eye complaints

Collections

• extremely interested in and concerned about possessions and collections
• likes to acquire, barter, arrange, classify, and gloat about possessions
• loves money

Sex

• increased interest in babies
• increased curiosity about life, sex and marriage
• shifted interest in the opposite sex
• boys can recognize and admire “pretty girls”; girls can recognize and admire “handsome boys”
• some sex play may occur
• boys especially may become interested in dirty jokes and smutty talk

Suggestions for parenting your 8-year old

• Give specific, descriptive praise often
• Provide protection from trying to do too much
• Provide protection from excessive self-criticism
• Mother can try to spend a specific dedicated time each day where she is fully engaged

Much of the following information is based on the studies by The Gesell Institute of Human Development, with the primary source being Your One Year Old, by Louise Bates Ames, Ph.D. Also included is information from Pick Up Your Socks by Elizabeth Crary. This information Can be found at the centerforparentingeducation.org