Michigan 4-H Youth Development: Michigan 4-H Today

Volume 14, Number 1, Fall 2003

Just what’s up with 4-H age?
Ensuring 4-H Programs Are Age-Friendly

In 1991, Michigan 4-H Youth Development offered volunteers and staff members working with 4-H members aged 5 to 8 a set of guidelines to help 4-H create and lead learning experiences that were appropriate for younger kids’ bodies, minds and hearts.

One of the key recommendations and guidelines that came from that review was that no 4-H member under age 9 should be involved in competitive events or activities. These include shows, exhibits, auctions, contests or any recognition events in which a child is judged, placed or ranked.

Ten years later, another review process resulted in an updated set of recommendations, but the key guideline remains the same —

As of September 1, 2004, 4-H age will be determined by the age of a child on January 1 of the 4-H program year which begins September 1 and ends August 31. For more information on the 4-H Participant Age Policy, visit 4-H online at http://web1.msue.msu.edu/cyf/youth/
downloads/4-H-Age-Policy.pdf.

youth this age should not be involved in competitive events and activities. This review also highlighted a critical need to review how we define age and age-appropriate 4-H programming for all age groups between 5 and 19.

One of the key promises that Michigan 4-H Youth Development makes about the opportunities we create for young people is that they will be appropriate for a child’s developmental and chronological age. This promise requires us to pay attention to whether an activity is fun for a child, safe for a child, and appropriate for a child’s natural growth and development.

What we found in some 4-H programming with youth was that because of the way “4-H age” was determined, young people were participating in activities meant for older youth. Youth were experiencing activities that were not age- or developmentally appropriate.

Although these guidelines are discussed more often in relation to 5- to 8-year-olds, it is as important that all programming with 4-H youth members, including those ages 9 to 19, reflect what is appropriate for their physical, cognitive (thinking) and social-emotional development.

Make 4-H activities good for the body, mind and heart
To help you program in age-appropriate ways, here are some tips to keep in mind that lead to fun activities that are good for the body (physical skills), mind (cognitive skills) and heart (social-emotional skills).

The following guidelines are based on Michigan 4-H Youth Development recommendations for programming in age-appropriate ways found at http://web1.msue.msu.edu/cyf/youth/ageapp.html.

Top Ten Tips from the 4-H Task Force on 5- to 8-year-olds
Although care should be taken in how we program with youth at all ages, 4-H volunteers can serve the best interest of 4-H’ers in this age group by following these tips:

Keep directions simple! Avoid projects with many parts, pieces and steps. Give directions, one step at a time.
Provide many and varied experiences with opportunities for success. This helps them find a project they are good at.
Focus on learning goals (how to) rather than performance goals (how well). Learning goals allow children to increase their ability by doing and exploring new ways to do; rather than performance goals indicating how well or how badly they did.
Engage youth in a variety of short-term, activity-based experiences. Children will learn best in a hands-on approach using age-appropriate tasks.
Start with simple, easy-to-understand tasks that allow children to learn at their own pace. Build complexity only after children have shown they understand the basics.
Create opportunities that help children understand themselves, learn to interact socially, make decisions, learn to learn and increase their physical abilities.
Offer activities that create a balance of structure and free choice. These will enhance a child’s creativity.
Encourage creativity. Instead of showing a finished product, help kids use their creativity and imagination to complete the project.
Watch out for activities that strain a child’s physical abilities. Children in this age group are still developing motor skills and have slower reaction times than older youth and adults.
Keep mental and physical safety the top priority. Children in this age group should not be involved in competitive experiences that can offer risk of constant failure, which is mentally disruptive for a child, or physical risk and injury in a child’s attempt to engage in a task he or she is not yet ready for.

Taken from the recommendations from the 5- to 8-year-old task force. For details, visit 4-H online at http://web1.msue.msu.edu/cyf/youth/
5to8year.html.

5- to 8-year-olds
Good for the body!
Activities should:

Give kids opportunities to be physically active – to run, jump and move.
Include recreational and group games.
Encourage trying, testing and improving physical abilities.

Good for the mind!
Activities should:

Be concrete and reflect the world children live in.
Engage in simple and then more difficult problem-solving through discussion.
Help kids think about what they did and why things happen.

Good for the heart!
Activities should :

Help youth develop friendships.
Help kids understand rules and why it’s important to follow them.
Help kids use language to share ideas and get others to act or respond to those ideas.
Teach kids respect for themselves and others.

For more information on 4-H resources for working with youth aged 5 to 8, visit 4-H online at http://web1.msue.msu.edu/cyf/youth/5to8year.html.

9- to 13-year-olds
Good for the body!
Activities should:

Help youth see natural physical changes in positive ways.
Encourage appropriate physical activity and diet for healthy living.
Encourage enhancing individual skill in physical abilities.

Good for the mind!
Activities should:

Encourage positive self-image.
Encourage youth to take more responsibility for what they do and how they do it.
Encourage more individual skill development.
Encourage youth to plan for the future.

Good for the heart!
Activities should:

Encourage good decision-making about and between friends.
Encourage appropriate male-female relationships.
Encourage appropriate communication skills.

For more information on 4-H resources for working with youth aged 9 to 13, visit 4-H online at http://web1.msue.msu.edu/cyf/youth/earlyad.html.

14- to 19-year-olds
Good for the body!
Activities should:

Encourage positive and responsible views of a youth’s body image.
Encourage appropriate physical activity and diet for healthy living.
Acknowledge and accommodate rapid physical growth.

Good for the mind!
Activities should:

Respect the fact that youth will be in a different place intellectually from ages 14 to 15 than they will be from ages 16 to 19.
Allow youth to showcase their personal knowledge and interests.
Encourage responsible information gathering and complex decision-making.
Encourage goal setting and planning.

Good for the heart!
Activities should:

Encourage youth leadership and independence.
Increase interpersonal communication and relationship-building skills.
Respect and encourage appreciation for every youth’s individuality.

For more information on 4-H resources for working with youth aged 14 to 19, visit 4-H online at http://web1.msue.msu.edu/cyf/youth/olderyou.html.

More resources to help with age-appropriate 4-H programming:

Ages and Stages of Child and Youth Development: A Guide for 4-H Leaders
http://www.agcom.purdue.edu/AgCom/Pubs/NCR/NCR-292.html — By Jeanne Karns, graduate assistant, and Judith A. Myers-Walls, Extension specialist, Human Development, Department of Child Development and Family Studies, Purdue University, 1996. This resource is designed to help 4-H volunteers understand the physical, thinking and social changes of youth at various ages.
National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety
http://research.marshfieldclinic.org/children/default.htm — Created by the Marshfield Clinic in Wisconsin with funding from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) to provide a wide range of services related to children and adolescents living in rural areas and working in agricultural environments.
North American Guidelines for Children’s Agricultural Tasks
http://www.nagcat.org/ — The site includes detailed, illustrated posters that outline age-appropriate tasks for children in agricultural settings.
Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention,
http://www.parentingresources.ncjrs.org/youth/youth.html — The site offers online resources for positive child and youth development programming and parenting for youth ages 0 to 21. The site also offers resources for addressing gender issues in supporting positive youth development.