Age-Level Characteristics of Children and Young Teens

While each child’s developmental path is unique, there are common patterns. These descriptions are designed to support congregational leaders, parents, and caregivers as together we seek to help children come to know and love God. They leave much unsaid—and are certainly no substitute for getting to know your group firsthand. But we do hope they will give you some insight into what you can anticipate from children in these age groups.

This printable summary of the Spiritual Characteristics of Children and Teens may also be helpful to you. Share the summary with your leaders or order free copies of the guide.

Preschool

The children in your group may differ from each other in the ways they learn best, but there are some ways in which little ones grow and develop that make them very much alike.

​​​See: Intellectual, Social and Spiritual Characteristics of Preschoolers. ​​

Kindergarten-Grade 1

The movement of a child into the school-age years can pull at parental heartstrings like few other things can. Entering school—either part-time or all day—marks a tremendous change in the lives of these little ones, a change that’s felt not only in the home but in church as well.

​​See: Intellectual, Social and Spiritual Characteristics of Kindergartners and First-Graders.

Grade 2-3

As you prepare to lead second- and third-graders, remind yourself of who these delightful children are. Having survived learning the basics of reading and writing, children in this age group are (usually!) eager learners. And their thought processes are also advancing, enabling them, for example, to grasp a simple chronology of Bible stories.

​​See: Intellectual, Social and Spiritual Characteristics of Second- and Third-Graders. 

Grade 4-5

Once you get to know the children in your group, you’ll be amazed at how different they are! No two of these imagebearers are alike. Still, most children in this age group are beginning to establish a sense of who they are. And some of this identity comes through joining groups of one kind or another.

Being aware of these patterns of development can help you understand and minister to the unique persons God has placed in your care for these few weeks and months.

​​See: Intellectual, Social and Spiritual Characteristics of Fourth- and Fifth-Graders. 

Young Teens

As you lead sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-graders, you’ll soon get to know what they’re like. But even veteran leaders find it hard to analyze and categorize this age group. One reason is that kids in middle school or junior high are in transition from childhood to adulthood. Somewhere, ­probably at widely different points on the developmental continuum, you’ll find each of your students taking halting lunges forward and painful steps backward.

The preteens in your group can vary from those who are thinking about romantic relationships to those who aren't experiencing those ideas or feelings at all. The ­differences in physical maturation alone can be stunning. And physical changes are matched by intellectual, social, and spiritual changes that are every bit as dramatic.

​See: Intellectual, Social and Spiritual Characteristics of Young Teens.