Freud referred to this period as the latency period, in which the passions of the early psychosexual stages calm down, go underground so to speak, only to re-emerge in adolescence.

Latency-aged children devote their energy to the mastery of skills, particularly those taught in school. Erikson's stage of Industry vs. Inferiority also speaks to this observation, suggesting that the latency years are focused on mastery, with powerful implications for a child's basic sense of competence.

The little girls' clapping game rhyme below dates back as far as the U.S. Civil war. More or less unchanged, this game is found in multiple countries and across the United States. The remarkable stability of these games reflects the importance of rules for school age children and contrasts dramatically with the ever-changing nature of adolescent slang.

Between 15 to 30 percent of children are repeatedly victimized by bullies, according to some estimates. Children who are shy, unassertive, and passive, with low self-esteem and an anxious temperament are particularly vulnerable to bullies.

Overprotective parents actually increase their children's risk of being targeted by bullies by hampering their independence and self-confidence and enhancing their sense of passivity and dependency.

While such children should never be blamed for the being victims, they can benefit from interventions that increase their social skills, assertiveness, and initiative.