“And to the extent to which he feels separate from the world he seeks knowledge of it. …Past and future states of being are seen wrestling with each other, perhaps more clearly than at any other period of childhood.” (M. Spock)

Parents at Waldorf schools hear much about the Nine Year Change, a distinct developmental change characterized by the child’s more realistic or critical outlook as he begins to move away from the dreamy world of early childhood. The growing consciousness of being an individual, present in the world yet separate from it can be unsettling. Parents and teachers may find themselves the objects of exacting, even hyper-critical assessment. Once familiar situations are now reviewed and carefully weighed in light of emerging realities the child is awakening to as the world comes into sharper focus. Some people see this as a brief glimpse of adolescence.

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