The development of linguistic politeness in 7- and 9-year-old Italian children was examined. A total of 80 subjects, 40 males and 40 females, produced requests according to different contexts which were graphically presented. Factors considered for such contexts were: sex of the speaker; sex of the addressee; status of the addressee, either peer or older; and social role, either primary school child or university student. Results indicate that a development from simple knowledge of socio-linguistic principles for politeness to incorporation in language of concern for the other person can be observed between the ages of 7 to 9 years. From the age of 7, Italian boys and girls share the same socio-linguistic principles for politeness between sexes. They apparently apply such principles more to adults than to children. At both 7 and 9 years, boys and girls are equally polite. The 9-year-olds include more justifications in their requests than do the 7-year-olds. Nine-year-olds are also more aware of the need for politeness. (RH)