What’s Going on With My 10th Grader?
The 10th grader can drive a car, work a job, and is getting dangerously close to adulthood. Here is a look at what is going on inside the mind and heart of your 10th grader.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
- There is a heightened sensitivity to appearance and its social value.
- Boys and girls have a propensity to diet.
- Girls have developed physically into their adult bodies.
- Boys have mostly developed into their adult bodies. There might be a little growth left.
- Sexual desire is awakened, and the
temptation to be sexually active is common.
EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
The 10th grader may:
- Have a desire for more control over aspects of their life
- Test authority and question rules
- Love to try new things in an effort to discover identity
- Exhibit impulsive behavior with friends
and peers - Not respond to adult lectures, feeling
they know better what is going on than the adult does - Be more capable of taking care of others
RELATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
- Integrating both physical and emotional intimacy into relationships begins.
- Friends that share beliefs, values, and interests are sought.
- Less time may be spent with family, while more time may be spent with peers.
- Peers influence them to try risky behaviors, such as experimenting with alcohol, tobacco, etc.
- Competition with outside groups is
preferred over competition with friends. - Relationships with parents become
focused on a negotiation to get what
they want. - There is a strong desire for conformity with peers.
- Girls have a tendency to be interested in older boys.
- Popular peers, adults, and celebrities are strong influences.
SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT
- They can handle the responsibility of most service positions in the church.
- They have a greater interest in serving others and in making a difference in the world.
- There is more planning and preparation for the future.
- They have a greater ability to identify right and wrong.
- Role models are developed that inspire them either toward or away from faith.
- Their capacity for self-discipline increases.
- Summer camps and mission experiences influence them spiritually because of the peer connections that those events create.
- They begin to imagine what life would be like as an adult away from their parents, and they begin deciding whether or not their faith will be a part of that.
- There is a temptation to “have their fun now” and be responsible later.