The Six Year Old Child - Interpersonal Relations 

The six year old child often has difficulty getting along with others. He is defiant toward his mother, bossy toward his younger sibling, teased by his older sibling, and rude to his grandparents. He gets along best with his father and will be more cooperative if Dad takes the lead in bed and bath time occasionally. He especially likes any kind of outing or project with Dad. This companionship with Dad also helps to take a little bit of the heat off the seemingly endless struggle between the six year old and his mother.

Some six year olds are extremely aggressive with other children. They kick, punch, pinch, and fight with kids at school and in the neighborhood. Others are very frightened by physical aggressiveness and may be bullied or picked on by other children. Aggressive children benefit from hearing stories about other children who get in trouble or lose friends because they are too mean. Shy children should be protected from teasing and bullying by other kids. Two is still the best number for playing with friends but the six year old is beginning to show more of an interest in groups. Each child wants to be first, wants to be the best, and wants to win, so diplomacy is needed to keep everyone happy. Six year old children can be very rough in their play, quarreling, pushing, kicking, pulling hair, and threatening to go home. Adult supervision is definitely needed.

The six year old craves affection from her parents and teacher. It helps a parent to see the child's obnoxious behavior as a developmental stage (which it is) rather than a lifelong personality trait. Gentleness, a sense of humor, and compromise will head off conflict and emotional outbursts.

Article by:

Kimberly Keith, MEd, LPC

A Licensed Professional Counselor with 10 years' experience in counseling parents and children.

Reprinted with permission from:

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