Characteristics of Youth

General Characteristics

Youth of all ages want:

  1. To be loved, accepted for who they are, and treated like a VIP.
  2. To have friends.
  3. To confide in someone, no matter how foolish their thoughts may seem.
  4. To have a fantastic time.

Youth of all ages need:

  1. The security of consistent, loving authority.
  2. To hear the plan of salvation, presented in a manner which they can understand.
  3. To see how they fit into God’s eternal plan, beginning today.

Specific Characteristics

Characteristics of Youth Grades 1-3

Physically

  • Enjoy movement games
  • Possess hearty appetites
  • Tire easily
  • Would rather do than watch
  • Enjoy building projects

Mentally

  • Have a twenty-minute attention span
  • Enjoy pretending and using their imagination
  • Ask many questions and want answers
  • Enjoy counting and writing
  • Sometimes have a hard time distinguishing between fact and fantasy are literal-minded
  • Can follow clear, simple rules and instructions

Socially

  • Are learning to share
  • Enjoy the opposite sex
  • Want to be “grown up”
  • Respect solid authority
  • Enjoy group games
  • Are developing leadership

Emotionally

  • Are easily excited
  • Are sometimes reclusive due to shyness
  • Are impatient
  • Have many fears
  • Are willing to trust older people they respect

Spiritually

  • Are curious about God, death, and heaven
  • Have faith in prayer
  • Enjoy Sunday school
  • May be ready to accept Christ as Savior
  • Understand the meaning of Christ as a personal friend
Characteristics of Youth Grades 4-6

Physically

  • Are growing slowly, but are generally active, strong, and healthy
  • Love the out-of-doors
  • Need ten hours of sleep
  • May reach puberty (girls)
  • Enjoy the challenge of difficult and competitive
    activities

Mentally

  • Are in the “golden age of memorization”
  • Enjoy reading, writing, and collecting
  • Are very curious, want to know why
  • Enjoy true-to-life stories
  • Have the ability to reason
  • Are developing a personal system of values

Socially

  • Are indifferent or antagonistic to the opposite sex
  • Are hero-worshippers
  • Enjoy being part of the “gang”
  • Are becoming more independent
  • Have a healthy respect for and loyalty toward consistent authority
  • Demand fairness and justice
  • Enjoy teamwork

Emotionally

  • Enjoy slapstick humor
  • Dislike outward displays of affection
  • Are developing controls on their emotions

Spiritually

  • Are able to recognize sin as sin
  • Are genuine in their decision to trust Christ as their Savior
  • Are willing to apply biblical standards of conduct to their lives
  • Dislike emotional displays and appeals
  • Are concerned for the lost
  • Can begin daily quiet time
Characteristics of Youth Grades 7-8

Physically

  • Are experiencing rapid, uneven growth about
    which they are embarrassed
  • Are extremely sensitive about their appearance
  • Experience low endurance
  • Are going through puberty—girls are developing sooner than boys

Mentally

  • Are able to memorize well
  • Enjoy adventure and activity
  • Have a tendency to daydream
  • Tend to make snap judgments
  • May have a “know-it-all” attitude
  • Highly critical of inconsistency, hypocrisy
  • Are interested in the here and now

Socially

  • Attracted to the opposite sex, cautiously
  • Belong to a gang or clique
  • Want to act like adults at times
  • Have crushes on older members of opposite sex
  • Desire approval of the group
  • Need recognition, love, and patience
  • Become “show-off” at times
  • Desire to be independent of adults

Emotionally

  • Are unstable, from mountaintops to dark valley in a short span of time
  • Often feel misunderstood, will confide in someone they trust
  • Are extremely self-conscious
  • Want to be treated like adults

Spiritually

  • May question many childhood beliefs
  • Want to do something for the Lord
  • Can establish habits of Bible study and personal devotions
  • Can become effective witnesses for Christ
  • Make life-changing decisions for the Lord
  • Want to learn more about the Bible and apply it to their lives personally
  • Advertise root problems with outward misbehavior or bad attitude
  • Are extremely self-conscious
  • Want to be treated like adults
Characteristics of Youth Grades 9-12

Physically

  • Are reaching maturity
  • Love to eat
  • Are establishing physical habits
  • Need instruction concerning their body being the temple of God
  • May be experimenting—smoking, drinking, and/or drugs
  • Are at different levels of metabolic rate—boys need more physical activity than do girls
  • Enjoy recreational sports
  • Desire challenge in activities to measure themselves (boys, mostly)

Mentally

  • Tend to be idealistic
  • Remember ideas more than words
  • Are interested in the process of success
  • Are able to see other points of view
  • Are beginning to do abstract thinking

Socially

  • Desire popularity and social approval
  • Want to be with the opposite sex
  • Care about their personal appearance
  • Tend to rebel against authority
  • Enjoy being in a crowd
  • Are interested in fads, will copy that which appears to be grown-up
  • Enjoy writing letters (girls, mostly)
  • Are interested in dating and love affairs

Emotionally

  • Often hide their true feelings under a false front
  • Are seeking a thrill
  • Are often emotionally intense and fluctuating
  • Are greatly influenced by peer group
  • Face “insurmountable” problems

Spiritually

  • Often consider their religion to be personal
  • Desire the best that God has for them
  • Begin to understand concepts like victorious Christian living and counting the cost
  • Many times feel that the Bible is hard to understand
  • Are capable of genuine “full-time” surrender decisions