How does children's self-esteem change from early to middle childhood?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answer: Most preschoolers have extremely high self-esteem. But as children enter school and receive much more feedback about how well they perform compared with their peers, self-esteem differentiates and also adjusts to a more realistic level. By age 6 to 7, children in diverse Western cultures have formed at least four broad self-evaluations: academic competence, social competence, physical/athletic competence, and physical appearance. Within these are more refined categories that become increasingly distinct with age. Self-esteem takes on a hierarchical structure. Children attach greater importance to certain self-evaluations than to others. Self-esteem generally remains high during elementary school but becomes more realistic and nuanced as children evaluate themselves in various areas. These changes occur as children receive more competence-related feedback, as their performances are increasingly judged in relation to those of others, and as they become cognitively capable of social comparison.