'Wobbly-Tooth Puberty' “换牙期青春期”
How children's brains change at six-years-old. 六岁儿童的大脑如何变化。
How children's brains change at six-years-old. 六岁儿童的大脑如何变化。
The author recalls his first act of rebellion around age six. After feeling shy and left out at a birthday party with unfamiliar children, he returned home in a "foulest of moods". 作者回忆起他六岁左右的第一次叛逆行为。在一场都是陌生孩子的生日派对上感到害羞和被冷落后，他带着“最坏的心情”回到了家。
When his mother asked him to do something, he snapped back: "It's alright for you, lazing about, while I had to go to that party!" and stormed off, leaving her speechless. 当妈妈让他做什么事时，他厉声回答：“你倒是舒服，懒洋洋地待着，我却要去参加那个派对！”然后怒气冲冲地走开，让她目瞪口呆。
This emotional outburst wasn't just bad behavior. It's a classic example of what Germans call Wackelzahnpubertät — "wobbly-tooth puberty." It marks the start of "middle childhood," a time of profound psychological change, not hormonal chaos. 这次情绪爆发不仅仅是不良行为。这是一个经典的例子，德国人称之为Wackelzahnpubertät——“换牙期青春期”。它标志着“童年中期”的开始，这是一个深刻的心理变化时期，而非荷尔蒙作祟。
The author suspects his bad mood was caused by his first taste of self-consciousness and loneliness. As children become more aware of others' mental lives, they can develop a "liking gap." 作者怀疑他的坏心情源于他第一次尝到自我意识和孤独的滋味。随着孩子们越来越能意识到他人的内心世界，他们可能会产生一种“喜爱差距”。
This is a tendency to underestimate how much another person likes us. This new, sophisticated social reasoning has a downside: it can lead to worry and self-doubt, especially in new social situations. 这是一种低估他人对我们喜爱程度的倾向。这种新的、复杂的社会推理能力有一个缺点：它可能导致担忧和自我怀疑，尤其是在新的社交场合中。
Adults can help children navigate these feelings through "emotion coaching." This isn't about fixing problems, but about guiding them through managing their emotions. 成年人可以通过“情绪辅导”来帮助孩子处理这些感受。这并非要解决问题，而是引导他们学会管理自己的情绪。
It involves listening without judgment, validating their feelings, and suggesting positive ways to move on. For example, helping a child reinterpret an upsetting event (cognitive reappraisal) can arm them against future stress. 这包括不带评判地倾听，认可他们的感受，并建议积极的前进方式。例如，帮助孩子重新解读一个令人不快的事件（认知重评），可以让他们在未来更好地应对压力。
Analogy: A Social Radio. Imagine your brain is a radio trying to tune into a friend's station. The "Liking Gap" is like getting static. You think their signal is weak or unfriendly, so you worry they don't like you. But in reality, their station might be broadcasting a strong, friendly "I like you!" signal all along. Your new social awareness skills just haven't learned to tune in perfectly yet! 打个比方：社交收音机。 想象你的大脑是一台收音机，正在努力调到朋友的频道。“喜爱差距”就像收到了静电噪音。你觉得对方的信号很弱或不友好，所以担心他们不喜欢你。但实际上，他们的频道可能一直在播放着一个强烈的、友好的“我喜欢你！”的信号。只是你新获得的社交意识技能还没学会如何完美地调准频道！
Middle childhood (ages 6-12) has been called the "forgotten years" by science, but it's a transformative period. The changes are driven by profound psychological and neurological developments, not hormones. 童年中期（6-12岁）被科学界称为“被遗忘的岁月”，但它是一个变革性的时期。这些变化是由深刻的心理和神经发展驱动的，而不是荷尔蒙。
The brain is laying foundations for mature thoughts and feelings. Children construct their identity, their emotional world expands, and they master rational inquiry. In France, this stage is called l'âge de raison — the "age of reason." 大脑正在为成熟的思想和情感奠定基础。孩子们构建自己的身份，他们的情感世界在扩张，并且他们开始掌握理性探究。在法国，这个阶段被称为 l'âge de raison——“理性时代”。
A key development is emotional regulation. While toddlers have big feelings, they don't know how to manage them. In middle childhood, the brain gets better at this. Naming an emotion engages the prefrontal cortex (for abstract thought) and soothes the amygdala (the raw emotion center). 一个关键的发展是情绪调节。幼儿虽然有强烈的情感，但不知道如何管理。在童年中期，大脑在这方面变得更强。说出一种情绪可以激活前额叶皮层（负责抽象思维），并安抚杏仁核（原始情绪中心）。
Children also learn "cognitive reappraisal" — altering their interpretation of an event to change its emotional impact. For example, instead of thinking "I'm stupid," they might see frustration as a sign to try a new strategy. 孩子们还学习“认知重评”——改变他们对事件的解释，以改变其情绪影响。例如，他们可能不再想“我真笨”，而是将挫败感视为尝试新策略的信号。
By age five, most children have a basic "theory of mind": they understand that others can have different knowledge than they do (proven by the 'Sally-Anne' test). 到五岁时，大多数孩子都具备了基本的“心智理论”：他们明白他人可能拥有与自己不同的知识（由“莎莉-安妮”测试证明）。
In middle childhood, this becomes recursive. They can understand what one person thinks about another person's thoughts. This skill sees a "steep increase" between ages five and seven. This is crucial for navigating complex social situations, like gossip or friendships. 在童年中期，这种能力变得具有递归性。他们能理解一个人对另一个人的想法的看法。这项技能在五到七岁之间出现“急剧增长”。这对于处理复杂的社交情境，如八卦或友谊，至关重要。
Research using fMRI scans and games like 'Cyberball' (a ball-passing game where a player can be excluded) shows a shift. 使用功能性磁共振成像（fMRI）扫描和像“网络传球”这样的游戏（一个可以排挤某个玩家的传球游戏）进行的研究显示了一种转变。
As they get older, children become more sensitive to injustice. They are more likely to pass the ball to the excluded player. Brain scans suggest this is linked to a reduced focus on themselves and an increased ability to take another's perspective—to feel for the "bullied bot". 随着年龄增长，孩子们对不公正变得更加敏感。他们更有可能将球传给被排挤的玩家。脑部扫描表明，这与对自身关注的减少以及换位思考能力的增强有关——他们能感受到那个“被欺负的机器人”的感受。
Analogy: Mental Detective Goggles. Think of "Theory of Mind" as getting a pair of special goggles. At first, you can only see what's right in front of you. But around age 5-7, you get an upgrade! Your new Mental Detective Goggles let you see thought bubbles 💭 and feeling hearts ❤️ above other people's heads. You can finally figure out what they might be thinking, even if it's different from what you're thinking! 打个比方：心理侦探护目镜。 把“心智理论”想象成得到一副特殊的护目镜。一开始，你只能看到眼前的东西。但在5-7岁左右，你得到了升级！你的新心理侦探护目镜让你能看到别人头顶上的思想泡泡💭和爱心❤️。你终于能弄明白他们在想什么了，即使这和你的想法不一样！
1. Sally 👧 puts her marble 🔵 in the basket 🧺. Then she leaves.1. 莎莉 👧 把她的弹珠 🔵 放在篮子 🧺 里。然后她离开了。
👧 ➡️️ 🔵 ➡️️ 🧺
2. Naughty Anne 😈 moves the marble 🔵 to the box 📦.2. 淘气的安妮 😈 把弹珠 🔵 移到了盒子 📦 里。
😈 ➡️️ 🔵 ➡️️ 📦
3. Sally 👧 comes back. Where will she look for her marble?3. 莎莉 👧 回来了。她会去哪里找她的弹珠？
Answer: She will look in the basket 🧺, because she doesn't know it was moved!答案：她会去篮子 🧺 里找，因为她不知道弹珠被移动了！