What each age is working on: the ministry's stages from infancy to high school

In 2009 a Ministry of Education panel, the 子どもの徳育に関する懇談会 (kodomo no tokuiku ni kansuru kondankai, panel on children's moral and social development), wrote down what children are like at each stage, from babyhood to high school, and what the adults around them should put weight on. MEXT now keeps the report in the National Diet Library's web archive. It is still the ministry's plainest stage-by-stage description, and it is the one this site links from each school year.

Read it as a map of what a year group tends to be working on, not as a test of your child. The report says so itself:

子どもはひとりひとり異なる資質や特性を有しており、その成長には個人差がある

(every child has different qualities and traits, and growth differs from child to child), while the order of development has common features.

The stages at a glance

Stage in the report	School years	What the report puts weight on
乳幼児期 (nyūyōjiki, infancy and early childhood)	0歳 to 年長	Attachment, basic trust in people, daily habits, play with other children
小学校低学年 (lower elementary)	小1–小2	Right and wrong, keeping the group's rules, being moved by nature and beauty
小学校高学年, which the report starts at age 9	about 小3–小4 to 小6	Abstract thinking, other people's viewpoints, self-esteem, a role in the group, real-world experience
青年前期 (seinen zenki, early adolescence)	中1–中3	Looking at oneself, living with others, the meaning of laws and rules
青年中期 (seinen chūki, middle adolescence)	高1–高3	Choosing a path, gratitude, acting as a member of society

Infancy to 年長: trust first

The report says a baby begins to form a daily rhythm, expresses wants by crying, smiling and babbling, and builds an emotional bond (愛着, aichaku, attachment) through continuing care from a parent or another specific adult. Skin contact is said to play a large part. In the preschool years children widen their world, take on eating, toileting and sleeping habits, and through play with other children notice that others have different viewpoints.

What it puts weight on for this stage:

愛着の形成

(forming attachment), basic trust in people, basic daily habits, a sense of self-worth through both expressing oneself and accepting others, and play with other children.

小1 and 小2: right and wrong, and the "小1 problem"

At this age, the report says, children still carry traits of the preschool years and learn right and wrong largely by keeping what adults say. Language and understanding grow, and so does interest in nature.

It also names a pattern: some children start school without enough practice in getting along, and find group life hard. The report calls this

いわゆる「小1プロブレム」

(the so-called 小1 problem). The weight for this stage: a basic sense of what one must not do and of keeping the group's rules, and a heart moved by nature and beautiful things.

From about age nine: the "9歳の壁"

The report places the upper elementary years from age nine. A child turns nine during 小3 or 小4. Children can now look at things, and at themselves, with some distance. At the same time:

発達の個人差も顕著になる（いわゆる「9歳の壁」）。

(differences between children become marked: the so-called "wall at nine"). The report adds that this is when children begin to feel good about themselves and, because the differences are large, also when a child can find that hard and come to feel inferior to others. Children make their own rules in play, and closed friendship groups can form (the report uses the term ギャングエイジ, "gang age").

What it puts weight on: abstract thinking and understanding other people's viewpoints, self-esteem, respect and care for others, a sense of one's role and responsibility in a group, and experiences that connect a child to the real world.

Junior high: puberty

For 中学生 the report says children enter puberty (思春期, shishunki), notice an inner world of their own, struggle with the gap between how they see themselves and the facts, and begin to search for their own way. Friendships matter more than relationships with adults. Rebellion against parents and less talk at home are common. The report also notes that this is when the share of children not attending school (不登校, futōkō) rises sharply.

What it puts weight on: looking at oneself and one's own issues head-on, cooperating with others and living independently, and understanding why laws and rules exist.

High school: the last step to adulthood

The report calls high school the final transition from a parent's protection to taking part in society as an adult. Children leave puberty's turmoil behind and think seriously about how to live. The weight: choosing one's own path, gratitude for others' support, and acting as a member of society.

What the report asks of the home

Of the report's ten proposals, three are about home:

提言1　家庭で子どもに愛情を持って接し、生活上の基本的なしつけを行うこと

(treat the child with affection at home and teach basic daily discipline); reading picture books aloud and enjoying classics from early childhood (提言7); and protecting children from harmful information while teaching information ethics (提言8).

What to do now

• Find your child's row in the table and read that section only. It tells you what the year group is working on, not whether your child is "behind".
• At the 個人面談 (kojin mendan, the one-to-one teacher meeting), ask how your child is with friends and with the class rules this year. Those are the report's themes for most stages.
• In 小3–小4, expect children to start comparing themselves with others. If your child's confidence drops, tell the 担任 (tannin, homeroom teacher) what you see at home.
• In junior high, keep a daily habit of talk, even short. The report names less talk at home as typical of this age, not as a sign that something is wrong.
• If you are worried about how your child is developing, ask the school which counsellor or ward service to talk to. This report is not a screening tool.