My work captures the age-related “stages” children go through. It is when children act up and act weird at age-related times. Per the theory of many, these are times of internal growth. My work attempts to capture both the “irritating” behavior and the new abilities that seem to come with it. This is the page for 11 and 12 year olds.

The Eleven Year Old Milestones were last updated on January 5, 2025.
The Twelve Year Old Milestones will be added asap.

Quick Links

Eleven Year Old Milestone 1: 11.0.0
Eleven Year Old Milestone 2: 11.0.3
Eleven Year Old Milestone 3: 11.2.1
Eleven Year Old Milestone 4: 11.3.0
Eleven Year Old Milestone 5: 11.4.1
Eleven Year Old Milestone 6: 11.5.0
Eleven Year Old Milestone 7: 11.5.3
Eleven Year Old Milestone 8: 11.7.0
Eleven Year Old Milestone 9: 11.8.2
Eleven Year Old Milestone 10: 11.9.2
Eleven Year Old Milestone 11: 11.11.2

Eleven Year Old Milestone 1 (11.0.0—11.0.1) — Memory-Driven Performance
Starts: 11.0.0
Most Intense: A few days before and after 11.0.1
Ends: 11.0.1+
Irritable Period Summary
Old memories get kicked up
• Old memories might get kicked up for them.
• Some of these memories that get kicked up might be ones that made them “angry and sad.”
• The memory of something comforting, on the other hand, such as an old song they used to listen to, can bring them great comfort, to the point of mesmerizing them.
• New memories getting kicked up is always a sign of new brain growth.
Aggressive, possessive
• They can get aggressive and possessive. Before going to the bathroom, they grab all game controllers so others can’t play while they are gone.
Feels entitled
• They seem to feel entitled to things. For instance, they feel entitled to win or to have the TV to themselves.
• When they get upset, it doesn’t seem like their emotions are out of control but that they felt entitled to win or get something.
• They yell at themselves if they lose.
• They feel entitled that others look at something they did. They might demand their sibling look at something they drew.
• They beam if other kids notice something positive about themselves.
Grows
• They get taller.
• Their legs get stronger.
New Abilities Summary
Imaginative
• They get imaginative and creative again. They might start drawing again, even if they haven’t in a while.
Knows what they know
• They know what they know. They can speak on a topic because they are knowledgeable, i.e., have experience. They might say, “Mom, as someone who is knowledgeable about this, let me explain it to you.”
• They can identify when they have a gap in their knowledge.
Super curious
• They are super curious. They love to read news articles.
• They especially love when they read a news article about something they are familiar with. They visited a house once and now it’s in the news.
Memory-driven performance
• They explicitly say now that they do well “because of their memory.” They did something before and now they can do well at it again. Everything feels more intuitive for them.
• Things “just click” for them now.
• They can “nail” things over and over.
• They are more with it and do things more automatically when playing sports.
• They do well at academic problems. They do complex math without making any mistakes.
• They do things their own way. They write down notes or solve math problems a certain way. “I find this way works” they tell you. They come back to something familiar.
Understanding, rational
• They move through life in a rational way. They get ready without complaining. They aren’t as upset that you pulled them from something fun.
• They like to do analytical academic work, such as unscrambling sentences, as long as its in small, digestible chunks.
• They can plainly analyze their sister, as they try to help her with her big emotions.
• When losing at something, they talk themselves through how to win.
• They can very calmly help their sibling with something complicate like build a LEGO structure.
Mischievous, funny
• They don’t totally want to be “at school.” They’d rather be fishing and hunting, so to speak.
• They like to be daring and fun. If you are playing a computer game, they’ll grab the mouse and spam click something.

Eleven Year Old Milestone 2 (11.0.3—11.1.3) — Learning How to Learn
Starts: 11.0.3
Most Intense: 11.0.3 – 11.1.1
Ends: 11.1.3
Irritable Period Summary
Space cadet, rambunctious, sometimes overly aggressive
• They don’t want to do homework and can get rambunctious about it.
• They space out when you are talking to them, and they admit as much.
• They want to do a Rubik’s cube instead of sitting in class.
• They’ll take other children’s toys to mess with them.
• They can be prone to rough housing when around other children.
• They seem bored and like they want to simply talk more.
• If they miss a scheduled event because something went wrong, they are deeply upset and very upset about it.
• They can, on occasion, get overly aggressive with other children.
Sleep disruptions
• They sleep in until late morning.
• They see animals sleeping a lot and readily recognize that “that’s them.”
• They might have dreams where the plot of two movies get mish mashed.
Entitled
• If they think something is “theirs,” they are prone to take it.
Forgets what they used to know
• They forget things they used to know clearly, such as if something was the Suez or Panama Canal. Their brain seems to be getting rid of useless information.
• They can be fairly astonished that they have forgotten what used to be so clear to them.
• They readily agree with the statement, about memory, “If you don’t use it, you lose it!”
• Deeper into the milestone, they even verbally state that they used to know things and now they don’t.
Physical issues
• They might have on-and-off headaches.
• They might complain that their legs fall asleep.
• Sometime in this, the last, or the next milestone, their feet grow tremendously.
New Abilities Summary
Learning how to learn
• They notice things about learning itself and what works best.
• When doing, say, a jigsaw puzzle, they notice that it is best to find a part that is easy first and then do the rest.
• They like the idea that you would practice doing something in a very realistic way before doing it live. For instance, you do a dress rehearsal before doing a play.
• They notice that doing one thing doesn’t always mean you’ll be able to do another similar thing well. For instance, knowing how to beat one map at a video game doesn’t mean you’ll beat another one. You have to get practice specifically at the thing you want to get good at.
• They notice that putting dummy numbers into complicated algebra problems makes it easier to solve.
• They openly wonder why a math problem was hard to do yesterday but easier today.
• On their own initiative, they give themselves learning aids. For instance, when learning to spell, they say, “tomorrow is like tom or row.”
• They like to use mnemonics to help them learn something and also make up their own.
• They tell you they prefer learning if they can sit comfortably, such as on a couch.
• After they learn something that at first looked intimidating, they say, thoughtfully, “You just have to understand it.” (YES!)
• They are basically trying to give themselves the experience, aids, and tools to learn things.
• They might even verbally state, “I am trying to find a way to learn this intuitively.”
Increased vocabulary
• They use words like “subconsciously” and “intuitively” now.
• There is an engine that drives human thinking, which is an enormous amount of experience that is stored in our subconscious, which we then use intuitively, and helps us learn and think. It’s as if they become aware of this now.
Funny, up for anything fun
• They can make other kids laugh a lot by, say, by being totally dead pan. They play dead even while letting other kids harass them.
• They are very up for a party (say a birthday party) and participate in all the games, such as playing Telephone.
• They like to do something like hula hoop.
• They are rambunctious and fun. They jump just to jump, and they jump too far, but they land as soft as a cat.
• They like to take things too far or do what is different. For instance, in a math game involving rectangles, they tilt them, because the rules say they are allowed to do this.
• If their sibling wants to know how an eclipse works, they’ll get up and be the sun, moon, or Earth with other kids revolving around them to explain it. It’s fun and funny.
• They continue to notice humor based on the situation. You say you aren’t that tired but you’re going to bed. They say, “So you are that tired.”
• They joke about other people flirting with someone.
Likes a logic problem
• They enjoy a logic problem, such as a Rubik’s cube or chess.
• They can code and test software. They enjoy taking it to its limits and finding bugs.
• After learning some basics, they can be pretty good at coding software and even say that they are good at it.
• They can solve simple algebraic problems where some variables have to be plugged in, such as a(b+c) = 40 when a = 8 and b = 2. This is then 82 + 8c = 40. They say, “I need three more 8s to get to 40.”
• They can answer some logic problems in less than 30 seconds, such as, “It takes 7 moles 7 minutes to dig 7 holes. How long does it take 8 moles to dig 8 holes?” They correctly answer “one minute,” without even looking up from what they are doing.
• They can use what they know to solve real life problems. They can use exponents to come up with an equation for compound interest, after being explained the basic concept.
Loves to get their hands on things
• They love to get their hands on things as to make them work.
• They might get a bow and arrow out to practice archery.
• They might love logic puzzles, shape shifting toys, etc.
• They want to “test” things by hitting them against other things.
• They enjoy hands-on lessons, such as graphing things on charts, making geometric constructions, etc.
• They like to do things that require they use their hand quickly, such as spam clicking something.
Loves to talk
• They love to talk and talk and talk.
• After they talk with you or other kids about something, they say, “Good talk!”
• Things they might like to talk about are what movies people like best (more to be filled in later).
Extreme ownership, problem solving, and responsibility
• As this milestone goes on, they get extremely good at solving certain problems and taking ownership over life problems.
• Having learned how to code, they can add a new feature to what you’ve been working on, entirely on their own.
• They tell you they want to do something ambitious, like learn to edit videos, and they blurt it out, like they can’t contain their excitement and like it’s a guilty pleasure.
• They love when things that they built are about to be completed, like a complicated LEGO structure or a coding project you worked together on.
• They can not only pack their own suitcase for a trip, they do it well, such as folding all of their clothes.
• They are willing to help clean your whole vehicle.
• They can bring in all of your grocery bags.
• They can take on the responsibility to calm a young child down. They are understanding of a trying situation and coach their younger sibling, “Yeah this is pretty terrible, but think about this…”
• They do things that are ambitious, like tread water or 10 or more minutes.
• They take ownership over the projects they do, say school projects. They want them to look nice.
• They might talk about wanting to get a job.
• They show up to class or other obligations promptly.
• They want control over their life. They might change their hairstyle to something unconventional.
• They do things very forcefully. They take ownership over it completely and want things to work.
• They might even want to force things that can’t be forced such as, “Can we force people to have dreams?”
• This desire to force things might explain how they can get overly aggressive with other children.

Eleven Year Old Milestone 3 (11.2.1— 11.2.3) — Socially Agreeable
Starts: 11.2.1
Most Intense: A few days at the beginning, 11.2.1, of this short milestone
Ends: 11.2.3
Irritable Period Summary
Confused, upset if communication is poor
• They are annoyed if things aren’t clear to them. Perhaps something on a menu says one thing but they thought it meant another.
• They get very upset if directions aren’t clear
• They seem confused. They skip right over certain homework problems.
• They forget about upcoming appointments, but they do admit that they were told. They simply forgot.
Fidgety
• They are guaranteed to pick up things, such as menus, and fidget with them.
• They might chew on things, such as straws.
• They recognize their “bad habits” of chewing on things, etc., but tell you that it is “satisfying.”
Physical growth
• They guzzle water.
• They eat more food.
Sleep troubles
• They might say that they have some trouble falling asleep.
New Abilities Summary
Very socially agreeable
• They are very socially agreeable. They are so agreeable that it seems like they can’t make a decision. In truth, they are just being ultra considerate of everyone around them.
• They can’t answer you when you ask them what they want to do. The answer is actually, “Whatever you want to do!”
• They don’t want to play a game until they realize they have a way to make it super fun. Then they throw themselves into it with verve.
• If you decide that a certain gesture means, “I’d like to talk after your done” they employ it enthusiastically. For instance, they raise their hand and wait or gently place their hand on your arm.
• They become interested in stories about romance and how the two people in the relationship interact.
• They can become exceedingly polite and respectful towards the opposite gender.
• They intently and enthusiastically listen to what others, including other children, have to say.
Leadership over other children
• They take on leadership roles over other children.
• They might organize a group of kids to go see something neat, such as a rock formation a few yards away.
• If an adult has to step away for a minute, they are exceedingly responsible with younger children. They might place them in a position such that they are safe or accommodated.
A delight, up for things
• They are just kind of a delight and up for things.
• They willingly clean their room and do so enthusiastically.
• They are very excited to learn about interesting buttons on the calculator, such as the square root sign.
• They come to lessons and appointments promptly.
• They smile a lot.
• They like to jump into a pool and catch a ball mid-air while doing so.
• They are very excited to go to sports practice, whereas before they dreaded it a bit.
Imaginative, feels powerful
• They pick up items, say feather dusters, and playfully turn them into “swords.”
• They might want to watch more movies, which is a sign they are in a more imaginative stage.
• They might draw something that they are learning about. It seems to help them learn.
Joins the group
• They start to join the “group.” By this I mean the “tribe” of their choosing. They start to identify with people based on the country they live in, their gender, etc.
• They might make cultural jokes like, “This is America!”
• They heartily laugh at the jokes that others tell.

Eleven Year Old Milestone 4 (11.3.0 — 11.3.1) — Thinks About Their Future
Starts: 11.3.0
Most Intense: Mostly some sleep disruptions around 11.3.1
Ends: 11.3.1+
Irritable Period Summary
Turns into a “slinky”
• They turn into a “slinky.” They are always falling off couches and chairs in a slow motion way.
Sleep troubles
• They again say they have trouble falling asleep.
• They might stay up really late and also get up early during the same night.
• They might sleep in late.
• They are confused about when they fell asleep the night before. For instance, they tell you that they aren’t sure if they slept for 5 or 24 hours.
“Too efficient”
• They start to take pride in doing things quickly, but it causes problems.
• They run around a corner too quickly and it causes physical accidents.
• They want to rush through math problems, but they make small mistakes.
New Abilities Summary
Thinks about their future
• They start to make comments about their future as adults.
• They mention a spouse and kids in seriousness for the first time.
• They talk about going to college or something similar.
• They talk about what they want to study in college.
• They take steps to learn something for their future career, such as making blueprints to be an engineer.
Loves to learn
• They love to learn, such as they love learning how to write.
• They might even hug things that teach them things, such as a book that teaches them how to write.
• They can’t keep their hands off of something that legitimately teaches them useful things, such as the Scout handbook.
• They might really like to learn about geometry in particular.
• They are excited to do homework.
• They like when they get an “A.”
• They voluntarily sign up for camping or similar trips.
• Whatever you teach them, they are willing to learn, as they assume you are teaching them something important.
• They have noticeably more stamina to learn, such as reading through longer and more complex text and writing essays.
• They want to learn about everything, including why something is funny. They ask, in earnest, why saying “Deez Nuts” is funny. They are very genuine in their curiosity and it’s very funny to try to explain this humor.
Uses their hands a lot
• They like to use their hands.
• They might like to build paper airplanes rather than listen in class.
• They might greatly enjoy putting together geometric constructions.
• They might like writing with super short pencils.
• They doodle a lot.
• They might crack their knuckles.
• They might keep messing with their hair.
Creative
• They have unusual, creative, passionate ideas. They might imagine playing soccer in a big circle with four teams playing each other.
• They make a haiku that goes like this, “haiku, haiku, haiku, haiku, haiku.”
• They like to change their voice to make different sounds.
Realistic imagination
• They can imagine things with high detail in their mind.
• For instance, they tell you they can imagine a particular car or boat “with 90% precision.”
• They can draw out the ideas in their mind to explain a new idea they have.
Willing to fix their mistakes
• If you point out a mistake in their homework, they move to fix it right away.
• If they do a more ambitious project and you weigh in with “one comment” (one constructive criticism), they listen and move to immediately fix it.

Eleven Year Old Milestone 5 (11.4.1 — 11.4.2) — Imaginative Preparation
Starts: 11.4.1
Most Intense: 11.4.1 – 11.4.2
Ends: 11.4.2
Irritable Period Summary
Sleep issues
• They complain they aren’t getting a lot of sleep at night.
• They might get up in the middle of the night.
• They clearly have a lot of thoughts as well as possibly dreams at night.
• They might describe that their mind goes to “Imagination Land” when they sleep.
Distracted
• They can appear distracted.
• They can space out a lot
Aggressive
• They can get aggressive and you might need to forcefully stop them.
Physical growth and its issues
• They might complain about headaches.
• They get taller.
• They get skinnier.
• They get more muscular.
• They might crave new foods, such as seafood.
New Abilities Summary
Uses their imagination to prepare for things
• They talk about how well they can “visualize” things.
• They might say that they can go into a room, close their eyes, and visualize the whole room in detail.
• They might imagine “What if?” situations. What if someone tried to use a watch as a compass?
• The things they think about are probably the things they are good at. A child worried about bringing a watch instead of a compass is probably a child who would be good at navigational directions.
• They prepare for things by doing them. Maybe they sleep in a sleeping bag in preparation for a campout.
• They don’t just “want” to learn things. They will “have” to learn things, they tell you, such as how to cook.
• They imagine themselves not as they are but what they will be. They AREN’T a boy, they tell you. They are a man.
• They might want something mystical and cool, such as a tesseract.
• They start to imagine big things about how the adult works but it’s wild at first. They might wonder about what it would be like to live in “The Matrix.”
• They might really enjoy something that makes their ideas come alive, such as a software program that lets them design things.
• They start to really want to be in the adult world!
Whistles
• They might whistle a lot.
Friendly, flirty
• They are chummy with other children, perhaps giving their siblings big hugs as they leave for something.
• They can make good friends even with the opposite gender.
• They think about what outfits would be good for going out on a date or how a particular place would be a nice place to get engaged.
• They like getting cologne or perfume.

Eleven Year Old Milestone 6 (11.5.0 — 11.5.2) — Adult-Like, Methodical, Responsible Problem Solving
Starts: 11.5.0
Most Intense: 11.5.1 – 11.5.2
Ends: 11.5.2
Irritable Period Summary
Cuddly
• They come to cuddle with you on the couch. They haven’t done this in a long time.
Zoned
• They can zone out when you are talking to them.
• They even notice now, “I just noticed I wasn’t paying attention for the last five minutes.”
• All of a sudden, they do poorly at some sports. For instance, they might not hit targets at archery, when they normally do very well.
Angry, defiant, wants things to be on their terms
• They can get angry.
• They get angry when you ask them to do something, such as homework.
• They get “annoyed” that you ask them to do something.
Breaks from adults
• They can be kind of disrespectful towards adults.
• They DON’T want to do what you asked.
• They have a certain cockiness to them and want to do things on their own, but they are too fast, careless, etc.
• They are likely becoming independent and want to further shed you, their doting mother.
New Abilities Summary
Responsible over course work and life things
• They change big time and start to take an enormous amount of responsibility over their coursework, their future, etc.
• They can arrange things that help their advancement entirely on their own, such as getting ranks signed off at Scouts
• They can help plan and get ready for a big trip, such as a camp out.
• They easily leave for an overnight trip without you, their parents. In fact, they want to.
• They like to be given money that they can spend on their own. It makes them feel important.
• They want to make sure they get their school work right, even the boring stuff.
• If given an assignment to write about a historical character, they research it all morning.
• They might shore up skills they are rusty on or never really mastered, such as cursive.
• They ask to clarify that one thing that’s been confusing them, perhaps something about how to reduce fractions.
• Their penmanship becomes smaller and more legible. Perhaps they recognize that they need to really read what they wrote to use it and solve problems.
• They can fly through homework, but they go too fast.
• If it were possible, it very much seems like an eleven year old would like to have a job and make money.
Can trouble shoot problems
• If you do a project together, such as putting together an electrical board, they can debug problems as they come up. It’s as if you are working with a fellow professional.
• They can compare two things as to learn from them. For instance, they can see a diagram of one thing and another and compare them. This helps them understand it, fix it if it’s broken, etc.
• They can see how changing one thing in a system causes a change. They are fascinated by it and play around with it.
• They can understand best practices in writing. For better writing, you can say “corpse” instead of a “dead body.”
• They have an awareness of how they are solving problems when, say, doing homework. When you go over something that they got wrong on a homework problem, they have a very good explanation as to what went wrong.
• They are very responsible about their course work. They know where everything is, how to log in, how to get information, etc. As such, they can solve things if anything goes wrong.
• They can be introspective: they should slow down when doing certain things to do them right.
• Their brain seems much more like that of an adult’s, which doesn’t just passively learn but actively solves big problems in a methodical way.
Wonky ideas
• They can have wonky ideas about how the world works.
• For instance, they think water splits itself into hydrogen and oxygen in the body as to oxygenate the body.
• It’s surprising that they have these wonky ideas, because they are otherwise very knowledgeable about the topic. They are very confident and cocky, however, if wrong, about how the world works right now.
Light-hearted, fun
• Eleven year olds have a light-hearted nature about them. They love to laugh and take delight in many things.

Eleven Year Old Milestone 7 (11.5.3 — 11.6.1) — Deeply Self-Reflective
Starts: 11.5.3
Most Intense: 11.5.3 – 11.6.0
Ends: 11.6.1
Irritable Period Summary
Self-esteem issues
• They might have typical pre-teen self-esteem issues.
• Know however that some of the ways in which they are hard on themselves are just them saying they want to improve in a certain area.
Past memories get kicked up
• Past memories get kicked up, perhaps ones where they felt ashamed about how they handled something.
Loves to talk
• They love to talk to you, an adult.
Does weird things with their body parts
• They might twitch their eyes quickly while looking up and to one side or the other.
• They might make a high-pitched squeal that is annoying.
Zoned, lies
• They can go into La La Land. It might be concerning.
• They might randomly lie to you about something. It seems, however, like they are pitching a joke.
• They confuse things that should be easy for them, such as the difference between Thomas Edison and Thomas Jefferson.
• They hear “Stanley” and think you said, “Stan Lee.”
• Things seem to be swirling in their brain.
Sleep issues
• They might sleep in really late.
New Abilities Summary
Self-reflective
• They can be self-reflective about their own behavior. Being observant, they notice, helps them play soccer better.
• They might note something like, “I am really good at learning something and then applying it.”
• They have good ideas about what clothes look good and what don’t. They want to look sharp.
• They form more definite opinions on what things are NOT for them or that they DON’T want to do.
• When they do something, they reflect on it. When writing, they might say, “I am learning how words work.”
• When asked what they are grateful for, they might say something you do for them, such as give them lessons or do things with them.
• Be very careful not to criticize them too much right now.
Self-improvement
• They do things to improve their health.
• They might ask to go to a chiropractor.
• They drink milk to help an ache in their bones.
• They want to practice at something that they know they need to get good at, such as making knots for Scouts.
• On their own, they figure out something that was confusing them, such as the difference between “than” and “then.”
• They do things to improve their projects. They might find the “Dictate” feature in Microsoft Word to help them write.

Eleven Year Old Milestone 8 (11.7.0 — 11.7.3) — Tests Themselves
Starts: 11.5.3
Most Intense: 11.7.0 – 11.7.2
Ends: 11.7.3
Irritable Period Summary
Physically aggressive, zoned
• They can be physically aggressive with other children.
• They might not stop when asked to stop.
• They are zoned and this can be dangerous. They are holding on to a small child while falling off of the couch.
• They are zoned and can’t follow basic directions. They can’t pick out something at the store because they are too enamored by something else they saw.
Sleep issues
• They might wake up, a lot, in the middle of the night.
• They might sleep in really late.
• They push themselves to stay up late. The next day, they are completely confused. Their answers to questions are, “Hashbrowns?”
Physical issues
• They might have headaches.
Brain talk
• When they talk about their brain, it’s always a sign of new growth.
• They might say their brain has “so much data” that new knowledge can’t come in.
• They might notice something like they have trouble recalling information in everyday conversation.
Wants connection
• They grab you and want you close.
• “The most comfortable place” is curled up into one of their parents.
New Abilities Summary
Sings
• They sing a lot.
• They might sing a song loud and fast.
Tests themselves, shows humility
• They might test themselves to see if they are good at something. If they can get a zipline to work, it means they will be a good engineer.
• They enjoy writing and getting feedback about their writing.
• They do things for themselves. If you are going to slow, they take the marker out of your hands to solve a math problem.
• They “aren’t sure” if they are good at certain things. They are very good at them. They are very humble.
• They keep going further with challenges than asked to.
• They want to get things right, such as how to spell words.
• They help out a lot and it seems to be because they feel they should, as if it’s a test of their helpfulness.
• Humility however, as always, leads to confidence. They might show off their knowledge in a helpful way in a public space.
Imaginative
• They might want to watch a movie that they previously expressed that they never wanted to watch.
• They especially like watching romance stories in movies.
Faster
• They get noticeably faster at academic things such as math problems.

Eleven Year Old Milestone 9 (11.8.2 — 11.9.0) — “What do I need to know?”
Starts: 11.8.2
Most Intense: Towards the beginning
Ends: 11.9.0
Irritable Period Summary
Physically aggressive
• They can get overly physically aggressive.
Physical growth and accidents
• They themselves might notice that they got taller.
• Boys’ voices might get a bit deeper.
• They can be careless. They roll on an inflated ball and run into things.
• They accidentally mispronounce words, as if their mouth stopped functioning.
Sleep issues
• They stay up late due to being so inquisitive. They want to, say, watch a documentary about something and they have dozens of questions about it.
• They sleep in.
• They might talk in their sleep. They might say something like, “Yes!” (You know this because they fell asleep on the couch because they wouldn’t go to bed.)
New Abilities Summary
What do I have to know?
• They wonder what they have to know to solve problems. Do they have to know a particular equation to solve this particular problem?
• They might note that they will need to study a certain topic to do a certain job.
• They might say they need to know something about something in order to figure out how expensive it would be.
• They are impressed by the talent or knowledge of others and ask them to teach them.
• They are very agreeable to try foods that you say are healthy for them.
• They want to “ponder the meaning of life for a whole week.”
• They finally see the logic in how certain things work. You can multiply 4^2 x 4^3 by adding the exponents. They finally see that, after being taught it several times before.
• When they have an “aha” moment, they say, “Brain cells expanding.”
• They might make a comment about learning something new. They might say, “To learn this, dump all the old knowledge you have first.”
• Their ability to visualize problems in their mind might help them dissect even college-level problems. They might be able to, say, visualize a geometry problem by imagining the shapes in their mind and then solving it.
• They enjoy learning how to do well at taking tests.
Realism about their imagination
• They realize that their visions of how something might be can be wrong. They are going somewhere and they are imagining it to be a huge mansion with a huge lake, but it probably won’t be that.
Likes to help
• They like to help do things around the house, as if it’s their new obligation.
• They might help get their siblings food.
• They might fix broken objects around the house.
• The way that they try to help and clean things around the house is almost compulsive, like they can’t keep their hands off of things.
Poetry
• They like poetry. They might like writing something like, “We gave the doe dough.”
Sense of humor
• They make little jokes, maybe that getting a math problem wrong traumatized them.
• They might pretend to push on a wall in slow motion.
• They might make a “Deep Thoughts” joke.
• They might steal things as a joke.
• They might pull pranks.

Eleven Year Old Milestone 10 (11.9.2 — 11.10.1) — Notices What They Notice
Starts: 11.9.2
Most Intense: Towards the beginning
Ends: 11.10.1
Irritable Period Summary
Uncooperative
• They don’t do as asked. They simply won’t do their homework.
Physically aggressive
• They might not be able but to help rough housing with other children.
Physical growth
• They get taller.
• They eat a lot more.
Self-critical
• They might get really hard on themselves if you point out they made a mistake.
New Abilities Summary
Like music
• They enjoy music. They might snap their fingers to a song they’ve never heard before, something well before their time.
Notices what they notice
• They notice what they notice. They notice that they noticed one important word in something they read and it helped them understand it.
• They notice that they can identify the emotions in children around them. It makes them a “psychologist.”
• They do outstanding at dissecting complicated homework problems.
• They can be belligerent about doing homework but when they do it, they do really well at it. Maybe they are nervous about the new level of effort they know they can and will put into it.
• They notice who else might be an “expert” at things.
Up for an adventure
• They are ready to conquer the world.
• They are up and ready for physical things, like long hikes.
• They might openly talk about impressing the opposite sex.
• They are jovial and love to joke around, especially inside jokes.
• They are quick to volunteer to demonstrate things in class.
• They might start opening doors for people, on principle.
• There is a certain “Beast Mode” to them. They are stronger and strut more. They take on more responsibility, update, and succeed at things.
Highly introspective
• They are highly introspective. They might realize that they run a certain way and it’s not letting them go fast enough, so they change how they run.
• They want to know how to write well. Why is “which” and “that” different?

Eleven Year Old Milestone 11 (11.11.2 —) — Makes Sure Plans Go Well
Starts: 11.11.2
Most Intense: ?
Ends: ?
Irritable Period Summary
Self-critical
• They become nervous and doubt themselves.
• They get very hard on themselves if they fail at something, such as a test.
Physical Growth
• They grow.
• Their legs are shapelier.
New Abilities Summary
• This milestone isn’t finished yet.
Makes sure plans go well
• They can handle making sure the plans of something go well.
• Before they sign up for something, they ask others if they have any conflicting plans.
• They know what tests they have coming up, etc.
• They tutor other children if they are struggling with something.
• You can ask them in advance to be ready at a certain time and they will be.
Notices small details
• They notice that two of the sprinklers on their shower head spray water diagonally.
• They are particular. It’s not a “bath” room unless there is a bath in it.