From ages 6-11 you are considered early middle childhood. Around these ages you start changing your physical development by growing about 2 to 3 inches in height and 5 pounds in weight each year. A female body will mature quicker than the male body. Girls are slightly lighter and shorter than boys at ages 6-8, and then at age 9 it gets reversed. Around the middle childhood age the lower portion of the body is growing fastest, children appear to look long-legged. Girls end up having slightly more body fat and boys have more muscle. Between ages 6-8 the child should be able to do independent things like dress themselves, and tie their shoes. Children also start to develop more independence from their parents. It becomes important for a child to have friends and a social life. They pay more attention to friendships and teamwork. They feel that it is important to be liked and accepted by friends. There is also late middle childhood, which is from ages 9-12. Children at this age become more into have friendships and independence, but there is also a lot of peer pressure at this age. If children are confident with themselves they will be less likely to be bullied. But by now the child will start eating more and can start to become obese. Parents need to make sure that what their child is eating is healthy. The more obese the child gets the less active they get, and they will be picked on for being overweight. They will start to hit puberty by now, especially for girls. They will start to develop breast, and have to start wearing a training bra. Everyone will hit puberty at different times, and if a lot of the girls have hit puberty and some haven’t they could be made fun of. For the boys, they will start to get a deeper voice and some facial hair. But some boys do not get facial hair right away and still have that baby face. For middle childhood there is also