Resources

Checkups at 11 Years

[11 Year Old Quiz]

What Can Your Child Do at Eleven?

• Your daughter has probably begun having early breast development. Your son at this age may have begun growing, but may not have other signs of sexual development yet.
• She should know the basics of sex and details about menstruation (periods) since she might be starting in the next year.
• He should have some idea as to his strengths and weaknesses and ought to be active in sports or hobbies.
• She should have at least several friends although they may change frequently.
• He should understand the rules of your home, although he may forget occasionally. When this happens, a prearranged consequence should be enforced. Do not yell or belittle him.
• She will still usually be very close to her parents and desire to be hugged, held, and protected.

What Can Your Child Eat?

• Encourage him to be physical active and to limit inactive times such as watching TV or playing video games.
• She should eat breakfast before school and have a balanced diet. Your good example of eating will be important since she now has the money and freedom to eat at the home of friends or at convenience stores.
• Discourage his frequent snacking other than with fruits or vegetables. Do not add extra salt. He should not have red meat and eggs every day.
• Increase her intake of fiber in cereals, whole-grain breads, fruits, and vegetables.
• Make sure he brushes his teeth daily.
• Give her a multivitamin with iron each day if she is a picky eater. Milk or other calcium-containing foods are important in the preteen years to prevent later osteoporosis (thin bones).

Immunizations

He should be up to date on his vaccines.

Tests to Be Done

• She should have an analysis of her urine today. This checks for kidney disease, diabetes, and bladder infections.
• A tuberculin (TB) skin test may be needed if he has been exposed to someone with TB, a chronic cough, IV drug use, HIV disease (AIDS), recent prison time, time in a developing country, or if required by school or insurance.

Accident Prevention

• Limit problems with drugs, pregnancy, suicide, or school failure by spending lots of time with her doing what she wants to do.
• Supervise him for a while when he uses electrical or power equipment before letting him use the equipment on his own.
• Set limits on time, distance, and location that she can go from home. You should always know where she is.
• Closely monitor sports especially if he is trying to compete with older children.
• She needs to know a safety plan to get out of her house in case of fire.
• Teach him to avoid crossing fast-moving streams. He should enter ponds or lakes feet first and always wear a life jacket. He should not swim without supervision.
• Air rifles and pellet guns should be treated cautiously since they have caused many deaths.
• She should wear a safety helmet at all times while riding her bicycle.
• It is unsafe for him to ride in the back of a pickup truck at any time.
• Poison Control is 1-800-POISON 1.

Emotional and Social Development

• She should have some freedom and be allowed to play with her friends as she wishes within limits. Her conversations, letters, diaries, and possessions should remain private.
• Avoid downgrading his friends. He probably sees their faults almost as clearly as you do.
• If she does well in school, praise her but also encourage her to have good morals, encouraging friends, activities outside school, and respect for others. If your child is not a very good student, encourage her to study more while also emphasizing her good qualities.
• Try to involve him in family activities.
• If you use drugs, alcohol in excess, or smoke cigarettes frequently, she is more likely to use drugs, alcohol, or tobacco herself.
• Allow him to make age appropriate decisions such as choosing his clothing and activities.
• Teach her that there are private parts of her body that even relatives should not touch. She should understand menstruation (periods).
• He should be doing chores to learn responsibility. A weekly allowance will help him develop money sense.
• Each parent should have time alone with your child.
• Encourage her to read for fun.
• You will encourage him to change his behavior more readily if you act tenderly toward him.
• Extensive TV or video games limit family interaction and discourage her creativity.
• You cannot show too much affection toward him. However, he may be reluctant to have you hug him or kiss him in public, especially in front of his friends.
• She should have a regular bedtime.
• Be involved with his schoolwork as much as possible. Involvement with the PTA will give you some say in how he is taught.
• Make every effort to attend athletic events, plays, recitals, and other special occasions that occur in her life. Few things you do for her will be so important.

Moral Development of Your Child

• Your positive example as a role model will help him adopt similar values as yourself.
• She will learn more from your example than from what you say. If you smoke and drink often, divorce easily, or have sex with many partners, she will likely repeat this in adulthood.
• Limit his exposure to undesirable influences.
• Actively set limits on the amount and type of TV programs she watches and teach her what is morally good and bad about what she sees.
• About 80-90% of the sex on TV is premarital, extramarital, or violent, and most of the marital sex is shown as unenjoyable. The consequences of extramarital sex are seldom mentioned.
• Violence as shown in movies and TV is usually self-serving or vengeful. If you do not want him to think of violence as acceptable behavior when he is angry or selfish, you need to limit his exposure to that philosophy.
• It is philosophically difficult to maintain firm moral standards without some form of religious instruction. Traditional Christianity and Judaism place value on the individual, the healthy family, and compassion toward others. The media and most other world views emphasize selfishness, irresponsible lives, and hunger for possessions. This is one of the main reasons so many children, teenagers, and young adults are confused and in trouble.
• Provide your child with religious instruction. Otherwise her values will be shaped by others with whom you may not agree. One of the greatest gifts you can give her is to join a traditional Christian church or Jewish synagogue that has a good program for children.

 

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11-YEAR-OLD QUIZ

These questions, based on research, are meant to teach your child facts that will help him have a fuller life.

Circle the Correct Answers

1. When a girl who is not married has a baby, her boyfriend usually leaves forever and does not help take care of the baby (True or False).
2. When a girl has a baby and is not married she is less likely to ever get married  (True or False).
3. For many people the person that they will be closest to their whole life is their brother or sister (True or False).
4. When someone uses drugs they are no more likely to have a car wreck than someone who is not using drugs (True or False).
5. People who use drugs are more likely to have which of the following problems:
   a) drop out of school  
   b) make poorer grades in school
   c) die as a teenager or young adult
   d) have trouble getting along with parents
   e) all of the above are more likely to happen
6. Which is the best way to do well in school?
   a) play lots of video games
   b) watch lots of good educational TV such as shows about animals or history
   c) read a lot of fun books
7. It is not important to eat breakfast before going to school (True or False).
8. People who stayed married to the same person for a long time usually live longer than people who divorce (True or False).
9. It is very important for both mother and father to spend time with their children (True or False).
10. People who drink alcohol a lot may have the following problems:
    a) they are more likely to die at a young age 
    b) they are more likely to get hurt in a car wreck
    c) they are more likely to get fired from their job
    d) they are more likely to get divorced
    e) all of these can happen
11. 11. People who smoke cigarettes may have the following problems:
    a) they will get more colds and coughs than people who don't smoke
    b) they are more likely to die of cancer, pneumonia, or heart problems
    c) they will not be able to stop smoking even though they want to stop
    d) if she is pregnant her baby may be born much smaller than he was suppose to be
    e) all of the above may happen

Answers and Explanations for Parents

1. True; Teenage fathers or young adults who have a pregnant teenage girlfriend seldom marry the girl or are able or willing to support her and the baby financially. 2. True; The 2 events that have the greatest effect on lowering a girl's chances of future marriage are to have a baby out of wedlock and drop out of school. 3. True; Because of the closeness of age compared to parents or children, brothers and sisters  often have the longest and closest relationship and this closeness should be encouraged, even in childhood. 4. False; More than 50% of the traffic deaths are associated with alcohol or drugs. 5. e); All of the problems listed are more likely to happen. 6. c); Television has never been shown to be helpful in education while reading, even fun reading, is helpful. 7. False; It is important to eat breakfast so that your child does not have a drop in her blood sugar in the midmorning time which interferes with schoolwork. 8. True; In many scientific studies married people have been shown to live longer than divorced or cohabiting persons. 9. True; The influence of both mother and father have been shown to be important in a child's life. 10. e); Early death, car wrecks, loss of job, and divorce are all more likely to happen if one uses too much alcohol. 11. e); All of these problems may happen. Colds are more common because the body's defense mechanisms are inhibited. More smoking people die of cancer, pneumonia, and heart disease.  Smoking is extremely difficult to stop, and may be the most difficult addiction to break. Smoking decreases growth of a baby in the uterus so that they are born smaller and with many more potential problems.