What Characterizes Boys' Behaviors During Middle Childhood?

Risk-Takers

• During the middle childhood years, boys become increasingly curious and active, so they often engage in activities that require some risk. "The cost of a few scrapes and cuts builds character, self-confidence, resilience and self-reliance," says clinical psychologist Wendy Mogel, author of "The Blessing of a Skinned Knee." Boys in elementary school often climb trees, play with firecrackers, do stunts on their bikes, ride skateboards and scale fences, so some risk-taking is involved. Because boys at this age are natural risk-takers, parents should warn them of potential dangers and set limits as to what they are allowed to do.

Adventuresome

• Closely tied to their risk-taking behavior, boys at this age also enjoy adventures. Many want to go on campouts, play competitive sports, hike through wooded areas, swim or go on explorations. Their high energy levels keep them going day and night, so they often have difficulty working on singularly-focused projects and sustaining lengthy conversations. Some might struggle to concentrate on their schoolwork because they want to play outdoors or get wrapped up in adventuresome, role-playing video games. Connecting with boys this age is all about activity.

Confident and Secure

• Boys in elementary school and middle school are often confident and secure. "As the more compliant and people-oriented gender, girls tend to grow up less confident and more insecure than boys," says gender researcher and psychologist Carol Gilligan in "Parenting" magazine. Boys quickly learn that independence, assertiveness and a goal-minded outlook have their advantages. While girls in middle childhood are more likely to put their own interests aside to help others, and they often strive to maintain an egalitarian, team-centered outlook.

Male-Oriented

• Boys in middle childhood tend to have male-oriented interests and develop friendships with other boys. "Children become obsessed with social groups and divide along gender lines, girls playing with girls, boys with boys," says Benjamin Campbell, an anthropologist at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, according to a 2011 article in "The New York Times." Most boys this age haven't entered puberty, so their interest in the opposite sex is limited. They prefer to socialize with boys and often do so by playing team sports or engaging in hands-on activities.