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• Begins to take off and put on clothes.
• Identify with and benign to imitate same sex parents or guardians.
• Physically demonstrates feelings such as kissing and hugging to show love and hitting to show anger.
• Be curious and explore own body and other's body.

• Help children feel good about their entire body.
• Name all body parts accurately.
• Touch and comfort children often to help them understand love.
• Teach children they can say NO to uncomfortable touch.
• Avoid shame and guilt about body parts and their functions.

• Develop fine motor skills enabling them to tie shoelaces, button shirts, and use scissors.
• Interact and learn about the world through play activities.
• Understand the concept of privacy.
• Feel curiosity about bodies, may play doctor.

• Help children understand the concept of privacy and that talk of sexuality is private and occurs at home.
• Teach correct names of the major body parts and their basic functions.
• Explain how babies "get into" the mothers uterus.
• Encourage children to come to them or other trusted adults for information about sexuality.

• Lose their baby teeth.
• Spend more time with the peer group and turn to peers for information.
• Feel concerned with being normal and curiosity about differences.
• Become more modest and want privacy.
• Need love and support, but feel less willing to ask for it.
• Prefer same-sex friends.
• Look to peers, media, and other sources for information about sex.

• Continue to provide information about sexuality even if your child does not ask for it.
• Inform children about the changes that will place when they begin puberty. (Though most 6-8 year olds do not experience these changes, the age at which some begin to show signs of puberty, such as pubic hair, breast buds, and hair under arms is gradually decreasing so that children need this information sooner).

• Enter puberty.
• Want to blend in and not stand out from their peers in any way.
• Become self-conscious and self-centered. 
• Care greatly about relationships with peers, friendships, dating, and crushes and give peers more importance than family.
• Struggle with family relationships and desire privacy and separation from family. (They test limits and push for independence).
• Feel shy about asking questions of caregivers, especially regarding sexuality and may act like they already know the answers.

• Help young people understand puberty and the changes they are going through and that these changes are normal.
• Respect young people's privacy while encouraging open communication.
• Help young people understand that, while they are maturing physically, they still have lots of emotional and cognitive growth ahead and that sexual intercourse is not healthy, appropriate or wise at this time in their lives.

• Continue to be influenced by their peers. (The power of peer pressure lessens after early adolescence).
• Have the capacity to develop long-lasting mutual and healthy relationships.
• Understand their own feelings and have the ability to analyze why they feel a certain way.
• Begin to place less value on appearance and more on personality.
• Choose to express their sexuality in ways that may or may not include sexual intercourse. (Parents have a big influence).

• Clearly articulate your family and religious values regarding sexual intercourse.
• Express that we all have a variety of options for experiencing intimacy and expressing love.
• Reinforce teens' ability to make decisions while providing information on which they can base those decisions.
• Help youth identify various physical and verbal responses to avoid/get away from sexual situations that make them feel uncomfortable.