Passage #27-30Middle childhood is a time for developing skills that will be needed in their society. Children who achieve27 . The peril during this period is that feelings of inadequacy and inferiority will develop, too. Parents andteachers 28 or being overly critical of a child's efforts. Children who are "encouraged and praised" developbelief in their competence. Entering elementary school, children in the age group of 7-10 begin to think about the futureand their place in the world. Working with other students and wanting their friendship and acceptance become moreimportant. This leads to more independence from parents and family. As students, they develop the mental and verbalskills 29 . They become less self-centered and show more concern for others. For children ages 9-11 friendshipsand peer relationships increase in strength, complexity, and importance. This results in greater peer pressure. They30 . To meet this challenge, they increase their attention span and learn to see other points of view.