Families as Context in Middle Childhood

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In middle childhood, families are an important developmental context for continuity and change; however, some aspects of family contexts may be more likely to change than others (Collins, 1990). For example, the family socioeconomic context—barring sudden unemployment or winning a lottery ticket—is more likely to stay stable across the childhood years from 4 to 13 than the school context, in which a normative transition to middle school is expected to occur around fifth or sixth grade (Crockett & Crouter, 1995). On the other hand, nonnormative events, such as family relocation, divorce, or remarriage, may also cause changes in context, such as moving to a new neighborhood or school district, which—taken together with expected transitions, such as puberty—may be particularly stressful in middle childhood or early adolescence (Crockett & Crouter, 1995).

Families are also an important context for socialization (e.g., Hofferth & Sandberg, 2001). Despite recent claims that peers overshadow parents in middle childhood (Harris, 1998), researchers have consistently documented that parents as supportive adults continue to be important in encouraging school-age children to engage in activities within safe boundaries (Middle Start Initiative, 2002). In addition, parents and siblings provide opportunities for understanding relationships (Collins, 1990). Through family relationships, school-age children learn to negotiate with others and adapt to others’ individual differences and developmental needs (Baenen, 2002; Blume & Blume, 1997).