Children’s development is usually a natural and effortless progression. Biologically children are born, they develop, and they grow but sometimes their growth and development is sidetracked and this interruption causes physical, social/emotional, and cognitive issues that if they are not addressed early can be problematic for a child for his whole life. Using a case study about Tonya who is an eight year old child in the first grade who is having some difficulties with school and with her peer relationships I will explain how her development is affected because of environmental and biological factors and present information about developmental theories that I would use in assisting Tonya.

Due to Tonya being retained in Kindergarten she is older and bigger than her peers, she was also observed bulling the other children and stealing food from them. At eight years old and in middle childhood Tonya’s physical growth is steady at this time but she is still undergoing some physical changes such as losing her primary teeth and developing muscle strength and greater coordination (McDevitt & Ormrod, 2010) middle childhood is also a time for increased cognitive ability that allows children to remember more, have more focused attention, and they are able to express themselves with more clarity (Nuttal, 1991). Although she is in the middle childhood stage her peers are still in early childhood so there are obviously differences in physical, social-emotional, and cognitive development which could account for some of Tonya’s social behaviors in bullying and taken advantage of her classmates. Tonya’s development according to Erikson is at a point where she should be mastering new skills and expect recognition for her accomplishments gaining a sense of industry for doing well but Tonya has had academic difficulties and a lack of parent