A phase is a time frame in a kid's life when you can leverage distinctive opportunities to influence their future!
Age 8 & 9 is the phase when...
Phase 4 - Age 8 & 9
1.
Fairness matters most, differences get noticed, and your enthusiastic kid thinks, "ANYTHING SOUNDS LIKE FUN!"
2.
These concrete thinkers are prime for enforcing the law in every situation - rules are rules, gifts should be distributed equally and consequences should be consistent. Even though life should be fair in this phase, it is ok that people are different. Expect a new world of adjectives in this phase as your kid begins to tell you about their growing social world. Kids in this phase are a beautiful blend of capable and dependent. They aren't especially needy, but they are still kids - impressionable, eager, excited and excited about what you are excited about.
3.
They develop skills and competencies that equip their future. The question they are asking in this phase is: "Do I have what it takes?" How they resolve this question provides them with critical knowledge and resources. It shapes their perception of personal ability, comparative value and resilience. Through this phase, kids want to be seen by adults and peers and want to know how their abilities compare with peers. So the best way to resolve this relational question is to engage their interest. How you do this practically is by praising their persistence and efforts and this will broaden their competence.
4.
They are motivated by fun. This is a season of discovering how the world works and how to have fun in it. Kids in this phase want to laugh and play and learn and connect, that is why you have to engage their interests.
5.
They begin to categorize information and enjoy games with codes and puzzles. They start to understand different points of view.