wiley 2014 ch 8
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Key Chapter Questions
How do changes in growth and development support physical, cognitive, and social skills during early childhood?
How can children be provided with a good foundation for lifelong health?
How can parents and caregivers keep children safe?
How do common illnesses affect development?
Physical Growth and DevelopmentGrowth and Size
Rate of growth slows between ages 2 and 6
Average gain of 5 pounds per year
Average height gain of 2.5 to 3 inches per year
Transition to a longer, leaner torso and flatter-bellied preschooler
Gains include better agility and straighter posture
Growth Rates of Three Systems Compared with Overall Growth
Dendritic Spreading Brain undergoes dramatic
anatomical changes between ages of 3 and 15 Some areas almost
double in size, purge of unneeded cells follows (up to age 4)
Frontal lobe growth (3–6 years of age)
Temporal and parietal lobes (6–puberty)
Brain Development
Brain changes occur in size and structure, reaching 90% of its adult volume by age 6.
Many sensitive periods of development occur in early childhood.
Areas of brain become more differentiated (more distinct and specialized).
Areas become more integrated as complex networks increase.
Sensitive Periods in Early Brain Development
Self-Regulation and Executive Function
Self-regulation: The capacity to alter behavior to adjust to social and situational demands
Executive function: Refers to a broad array of processes that regulate and coordinate goal-directed behavior (memory, attention, shifting focus, ability to inhibit an emotional impulse)
Brain Areas That Support Self-Regulation and Executive Function
Self-Regulation: Sleep and Toileting
Both involve neurological and physiological maturation.
Children between ages 2 and 5 spend 10 to 12 hours each day sleeping.
Common problems include bedtime resistance, trouble falling asleep, awakening in night, demanding attention, and nightmares.
Self-Regulation: Toileting
Physiological and behavioral readiness occurs between 18 and 24 months.1. Longer periods of dryness during day2. Sufficient muscle tone to control urinary/anal sphincters3. Can pull up their pants4. Ability to understand instructions, name/point to body
parts5. Motivated toward independence
Self-Regulation: ToiletingCommon Approaches
Child-oriented approach: Parents cue children about toileting.
Structured behavioral training: Parents place child on toilet at regular intervals and reward performance.
Most children are fully trained at about age 3.
Stress and Developing Brain
Positive stress: short-lived; may be caused by frustration, disappointment, discomfort; no lasting effects on the brain
Tolerable stress: death, divorce, serious illness; may affect brain structure
Toxic stress: prolonged stress response; allostatic load; result of persistent abuse, neglect, poverty, interpersonal conflict; enduring adverse effects on brain
Toxic Stress and Brain Architecture
The Developing Brain
Plasticity of brain
Some neural circuitry can recover to some degree under certain circumstances.
It is “better to get it right the first time” rather than to fix problems later.
Reducing the impact of poverty, neglect, and abuse is a better investment than remediation later.
Vision Problems
Visual problemsFunctional
amblyopia: “lazy eye”Imbalance, one eye does all of the work
Strabismus: misalignment of eyesOne type: “crossed eyes”
Motor Development
Gross motor: involves large muscle groups (torso, arms, legs)
Examples include: walking, running, throwing, catching, jumping
Proximodistal development: muscle control from torso outward to arms and legs
Differentiation: physical structures more specialized over time
Motor Development
Fine motor: involves hands and fingers
More difficult to master than gross motor skills
Examples include: grooming, brushing teeth, combing hair, using tools, using utensils, writing, drawing, and painting.
Gross and Fine Motor Development Milestones
Writing, Drawing, and Painting
18 months–3 years: Scribbling
2–4 years: Early figures and copying
4–6 years: Realistic drawings and symbols
Handedness
Handedness, the Brain, and LanguageApproximately 95% of right-handed
individuals process speech primarily in left hemisphere
Left-handed individuals Show more variation in processingMore likely to have reading
problems
HandednessLeft-handers more common
among MathematiciansMusiciansArchitectsArtists
20% of top-scoring SAT group were left handed
Sleep and Sleep Problems
Most young children sleep through night and have daytime nap Transitional objects (bedtime
companions) Link between sleep and behavioral
problemsNightmares: frightening dreamsNight terrors: sudden arousal, intenseSomnambulism: sleep walking; most
outgrow
Foundations of Health: Health Promotion
“Children’s health is a nation’s wealth.”
Goal is promotion of health and prevention of injury, illness, and disease.
Healthy People 2020: Promotes access to health care and good nutrition for all children
Nutrition, Food Allergies, and Malnutrition
Ages 2–3: 1000-1400 calories per day
Ages 4–8: 1400-1600 calories per day
Variety of foods is KEY
Grains, fruits, and vegetables, dairy, meat/protein
Child > 2: low-fat milk
Limit sweets and sodium
Children Get Too Much Fat and Sugar
Malnutrition
Overnutrition: obesity; more calories consumed than needed
Overweight: body mass index for age and gender above the 85th percentile
Obesity: body mass index above the 95th percentile
Children 2–5 years: 1 in 5 overweight
10–14% obese
Eating Habits
Avoid power struggles
Establish routines to help promote positive feelings
Set reasonable expectations
Don’t use food as rewards, or withhold as punishment
Food Insecurity and Food Deserts
Food insecurity: not enough food, resulting in hunger or food of poor nutritional quality
Food desert: an area where people have limited access to a variety of fresh food
14.6% of U.S. households experience food insecurity.
Immunizations and Vaccines
Vaccines: protection from life-threatening communicable diseases
Only 68% of young children, ages 19-35 months, received the full vaccine series in 2008.
Promoting Dental Health
At age 3, most children have their first set of teeth.
By age 5 or 6, permanent teeth develop.
Dental Health and Fluoride
Dental carries: the single most common disease of childhood
Risk factors include a diet high in sugary and starchy foods, infrequent/inadequate brushing
Prevention includes a healthy diet, avoidance of sugary food, regularly brushing, flossing, and checkups
Fluoridated water reduces dental carries in young children by 50–60%, but the practice is controversial
Safety at Home and in the Community
Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death between ages 1 and 5.
Motor vehicle accidents are 1, followed by drowning.
Unintentional injuries account for 30% of young children’s visits to the emergency room.
Accidents are the leading cause of death in infancy (in the USA) due to modern immunizations•Aspiration of foreign objects•Suffocation•Falls•Poisoning•Burns•Motor vehicle accidents
Leading Causes of Death,Ages 1–5
Leading Causes of Death from Unintentional Injury, Ages 1–5
Common Disruptions in Health
After dental carries, asthma is the most common chronic disease of childhood in the United States.
Asthma is caused by interactions among genetics and environmental exposures.
Common triggers: Dust mites, cock roach droppings, mouse droppings, mold, pollen, irritants, viruses
Common Disruptions in Health
Ear infections: Otitis Media
80% of children have had at least one infection.
7% of children experience recurrent ear infections.
Permanent hearing loss is a concern.