HP 252: Early Childhood Development

look at comparison chart between piaget and vygotsky

look at comparison chart between piaget and vygotsky

look at nubmers from recording

look at numbers from recording

functins of play

lay is an important aspect of children's development (Bergen, 2015; Clark, 2016; Johnson & others, 2015; Taggart, Eisen, & Lillard, 2018). Theorists have focused on different aspects of play and highlighted a long list of functions (Henricks, 2015a, b). According to Freud and Erikson, play helps children master anxieties and conflicts (Demanchick, 2015). Because tensions are relieved in play, children can cope more effectively with life's problems. Play permits children to work off excess physical energy and to release pent-up tensions. Therapists use play therapy both to allow children to work off frustrations and to analyze children's conflicts and ways of coping with them. Children may feel less threatened and be more likely to express their true feelings in the context of play (Clark, 2015, 2016; Demanchick, 2015). Play also is an important context for cognitive development (Taggart, Eisen, & Lillard, 2018). Both Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky concluded that play is a child's work. Piaget (1962) maintained that play advances children's cognitive development. At the same time, he said, children's cognitive development constrains the way they play. Play permits children to practice their competencies and acquired skills in a relaxed, pleasurable way (Hirsh-Pasek & Golinkoff, 2014). Piaget thought that cognitive structures need to be exercised, and play provides the perfect setting for this exercise (DeLisi, 2015). Vygotsky (1962) also considered play to be an excellent setting for cognitive development. He was especially interested in the symbolic and make-believe aspects of play, as when a child substitutes a stick for a horse and rides the stick as if it were a horse. For young children, the imaginary situation is real (Bodrova & Leong, 2015). Parents should encourage such imaginary play, because it advances the child's cognitive development, especially creative thought. developmental connection Sociocultural Cognitive Theory Vygotsky emphasized that children develop their ways of thinking and understanding mainly through social interaction. Connect to "Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Childhood." Daniel Berlyne (1960) described play as exciting and pleasurable in itself because it satisfies our exploratory drive. This drive involves curiosity and a desire for information about something new or unusual. Play encourages exploratory behavior by offering children the possibilities of novelty, complexity, uncertainty, surprise, and incongruity. More recently, play has been described Page 258as an important context for the development of language and communication skills (Taggart, Eisen, & Lillard, 2018). Language and communication skills may be enhanced through discussions and negotiations regarding roles and rules in play as young children practice various words and phrases. These types of social interactions during play can benefit young children's literacy skills (Bredekamp, 2017). Play is a central focus of the child-centered kindergarten and is thought to be an essential aspect of early childhood education (Feeney, Moravcik, & Nolte, 2019; Follari, 2019; Henniger, 2017; Morrison, 2018).

scaffolding

•Scaffolding: changing the level of support during teaching session •More skilled person adjusts the amount of guidance to fit the student's current performance level. •Language: social communication, solving tasks, monitoring ones behavior.

self care in DS

•Self-care/Independence •Using a spoon at 29 months •Dressing independently at 7 yrs •How are these different from a typically developing child?

6 types of play

6 types of play They are all different and have different rolls Parallel play: two kids play side by side and don't appear to be interacting but they are Some kids are better at solitary play than others depending on their comfort with entertaining themselves Kids generally get better at cooperative play as they get older Cooperative play: not a lot of talking but a lot of interaction between the two kids When kid turned 7, she only wanted the girls at her birthday party. See same gender preference for play as kids get older. look at recordings for others

gross motor skills: 4 years of age

At 4 years of age, children are still enjoying the same kind of activities, but they have become more adventurous. They scramble over low jungle gyms as they display their athletic prowess.

educational TV viewing and GPA

Amount and patterns of preschool TV viewing have an impact later on boys' high school GPAs

fine motor skills at 3 years of age

At 3 years of age, although children have had the ability to pick up the tiniest objects between their thumb and forefinger for some time, they are still somewhat clumsy at it. Three-year-olds can build surprisingly high block towers, placing each block with intense concentration but often not in a completely straight line. When 3-year-olds play with a simple jigsaw puzzle, they are rather rough in placing the pieces. Even when they recognize the hole a piece fits into, they are not very precise in positioning the piece. They often try to force the piece into the hole or pat it vigorously.

gross motor skills: 3 years of age

At 3 years of age, children enjoy simple movements, Page 201such as hopping, jumping, and running back and forth, just for the sheer delight of performing these activities. They take considerable pride in showing how they can run across a room and jump all of 6 inches. The run-and-jump will win no Olympic gold medals, but for the 3-year-old the activity is a source of considerable pride in accomplishment.

Individual differences and factors that influence theory of mind

As in other developmental research, there are individual differences in the ages when children reach certain milestones in their theory of mind (Birch & others, 2017; Devine & Hughes, 2017). For example, executive function, which describes several functions discussed earlier in this chapter, such as planning and inhibition, that are important for flexible, future-oriented behavior, also is connected to theory of mind development (Benson & Sabbagh, 2017). Children who perform better at such executive function tasks show a better understanding of theory of mind (Benson & Sabbagh, 2017). For example, in one study of 3- to 5-year-old children, earlier development of executive function predicted theory of mind performance, especially on false belief tasks (Doenyas, Yavuz, & Selcuk, 2018). Language development also likely plays a prominent role in the increasingly reflective nature of theory of mind as children go through the early childhood and middle and late childhood years (Meins & others, 2013). Researchers have found that differences in children's language skills predict performance on theory of mind tasks (Hughes & Devine, 2015). Among other factors that influence children's theory of mind development are advances in prefrontal cortex functioning (Powers, Chavez, & Heatherton, 2016), engaging in make-believe play (Kavanaugh, 2006), and various aspects of social interaction (Hughes, Devine, & Wang, 2017). Among the social interaction factors that advance children's theory of mind are being securely attached to parents who engage children in mental state talk ("That's a good thought you have" or "Can you tell what he's thinking?") (Laranjo & others, 2010), having older siblings and friends who engage in mental state talk (Hughes & others, 2010), and living in a higher socioeconomic status family (Devine & Hughes, 2018a). A recent study also found that parental mental state talk advanced preschool children's theory of mind (Devine & Hughes, 2018b). Further, researchers have found that children who have an advanced theory of mind are more popular with their peers and have better social skills in peer relations (Peterson & others, 2016; Slaughter & others, 2014). Another individual difference in understanding the mind involves autism (Fletcher-Watson & others, 2014; Jones & others, 2018). Researchers have found that children with autism have difficulty developing a theory of mind, especially in relation to understanding others' beliefs and emotions (Berenguer & others, 2018; Garon, Smith, & Bryson, 2018). A recent study found that theory of mind predicted the severity of autism in children (Hoogenhout & Malcolm-Smith, 2017). Thus, it is not surprising that autistic children have difficulty in interactions with others.

authoritarian

Authoritarian: demanding or controlling but it is my way or the highway. Chinese and arab: head of household is in control. Not a lot of leeway. My way and that is the way it is. Not a lot of negotiation or empathy regarding the rules Indulgent: Kids are spoiled or indulged and parents are afraid to take control. Kid doesn't know limits and will test the limits

sleep problems in children

Children can experience a number of sleep problems (El-Sheikh, Hinnant, & Philbrook, 2017: Huhdanpaa & others, 2018). These include narcolepsy (extreme daytime sleepiness) (Inocente & others, 2014), insomnia (difficulty getting to sleep or staying asleep) (Miano & Peraita-Adrados, 2014), and nightmares (Akinsanya, Marwaha, & Tampi, 2017). One estimate indicates that more than 40 percent of children experience a sleep problem at some point in their development (Boyle & Cropley, 2004). The following research studies indicate links between children's sleep problems and negative developmental outcomes:

fine motor skills at 4 years o fage

By 4 years of age, children's fine motor coordination has improved substantially and become much more precise. Sometimes 4-year-old children have trouble building high towers with blocks because, in their attempts to place each of the blocks perfectly, they may upset those already stacked. By age 5, children's fine motor coordination has improved further. Hand, arm, and body all move together under better command of the eye.

disabilities in kids

CP: not progressive. Have to keep exercising mobile abilities to keep them if one has them though Spina bifida: wheelchairs, some more mild Kids get out of neiborhoods nd meeting people from all over and learn things they have never seen or heard before Neuroblastoma: all the systems are affected by disability. Moved to boston to get more public school support for disability from florida Everything is pushed ahead or delayed: Down syndrome

characteristics of word learning

Children learn the words they hear most often. They learn the words that they encounter when interacting with parents, teachers, siblings, and peers, as well as words that they hear when books are read aloud to them. They especially benefit from encountering words that they do not know. Children learn words for things and events that interest them. Parents and teachers can direct young children to experience words in contexts that interest the children; playful peer interactions are especially helpful in this regard. Children learn words better in responsive and interactive contexts than in passive contexts. Children who experience turn-taking opportunities, joint focusing experiences, and positive, sensitive socializing contexts with adults encounter the scaffolding necessary for optimal word learning. They learn words less effectively when they are passive learners. Children learn words best in contexts that are meaningful. Young children learn new words more effectively when new words are encountered in integrated contexts rather than as isolated facts. Children learn words best when they access clear information about word meaning. Children whose parents and teachers are sensitive to words the children might not understand and provide support and elaboration with hints about word meaning learn words better than those whose parents and teachers quickly state a new word and don't monitor whether children understand its meaning. Children learn words best when grammar and vocabulary are considered. Children who experience a large number of words and diversity in verbal stimulation develop a richer vocabulary and better understanding of grammar. In many cases, vocabulary and grammar development are connected.

criticisms of vygotsky

Criticisms of Vygotsky's theory also have surfaced. Some critics point out that Vygotsky was not specific enough about age-related changes. Another criticism is that Vygotsky did not adequately describe how changes in socioemotional capabilities contribute to cognitive development (Goncu & Gauvain, 2012). Yet another criticism is that he overemphasized the role of language in thinking. Also, his emphasis on collaboration and guidance has potential pitfalls. Might facilitators be too helpful in some cases, as when a parent becomes overbearing and controlling? Further, some children might become lazy and expect help when they could have done something on their own.

emotional development: regulating

Emotion regulation is an important aspect of development. Emotion regulation especially plays a key role in children's ability to manage the demands and conflicts they face in interacting with others (Blair, 2016, 2017; Perry & Calkins, 2018; Eisenberg, Spinrad, & Valiente, 2016). Many researchers consider the growth of emotion regulation in children as fundamental to becoming socially competent (Blair, 2017; Cole & Hollenstein, 2018; Cole, Lougheed, & Ram, 2018; Perry & Calkins, 2018; Thompson, 2015). Emotion regulation can be conceptualized as an important component of self-regulation or of executive function. Recall that executive function is increasingly thought to be a key concept in describing the young child's higher-level cognitive functioning (Cheng & others, 2018; Liu & others, 2018; Muller & others, 2017; Perry & Calkins, 2018; Schmitt & others, 2017). developmental connection Executive Function In early childhood, executive function especially involves developmental advances in cognitive inhibition, cognitive flexibility, goal-setting, and delay of gratification. Connect to "Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Childhood." Cybele Raver and her colleagues (Blair, 2017; Blair & Raver, 2012, 2015; Blair, Raver, & Finegood, 2016; Raver & others, 2011, 2012, 2013; Zhai, Raver, & Jones, 2012) have conducted a number of studies that explore the role of emotion regulation in young children's development. They use various interventions, such as increasing caregiver emotional expressiveness, to improve young children's emotion regulation and reduce behavior problems in children growing up in poverty conditions. To read in greater detail about one of Cybele Raver's studies, see Connecting Through Research. Emotion-Coaching and Emotion-Dismissing Parents Parents can play an important role in helping young children regulate their emotions (Bendezu & others, 2018; Morris & others, 2018; Norona & Baker, 2017; Quinones-Camacho & Davis, 2018). Depending on how they talk with their children about emotion, parents can be described as taking an emotion-coaching or an emotion-dismissing approach (Gottman, 2018). The distinction between these approaches is most evident in the way the parent deals with the child's negative emotions (anger, frustration, sadness, and so on). Emotion-coaching parents monitor their children's emotions, view their children's negative emotions as opportunities for teaching, assist them in labeling emotions, and coach them in how to deal effectively with emotions. In contrast, emotion-dismissing parents view their role as to deny, ignore, or change negative emotions. Emotion-coaching parents interact with their children in a less rejecting manner, use more scaffolding and praise, and are more nurturant than are emotion-dismissing parents. Moreover, the children of emotion-coaching parents are better at soothing themselves when they get upset, more effective in regulating their negative affect, focus their attention better, and have fewer behavior problems than the children of emotion-dismissing parents (Gottman, 2018). Researchers have found that fathers' emotion coaching is related to children's social competence (Baker, Fenning, & Crnic, 2011) and that mothers' emotion coaching is linked to less oppositional behavior (Dunsmore, Booker, & Ollendick, 2013). Parents' knowledge of their children's emotional world can help them guide their children's emotional development and teach their children how to cope effectively with problems (Bendezu & others, 2018; Morris & others, 2018). One study found that mothers' knowledge about what distresses and comforts their children predicted the children's coping, empathy, and prosocial behavior (Vinik, Almas, & Grusec, 2011). An emotion-coaching parent. What are some differences in emotion-coaching and emotion-dismissing parents? ©Jamie Grill/Getty Images A challenge parents face is that young children typically don't want to talk about difficult emotional topics, such as being distressed or engaging in negative behaviors. Among the strategies young children use to avoid these conversations is to not talk at all, change the topic, push away, or run away. In one study, young children were more likely to openly discuss difficult emotional circumstances when they were securely attached to their mother and when their mother conversed with them in a way that validated and accepted the child's views (Thompson & others, 2009). Emotion Regulation and Peer Relations Emotions play a strong role in determining the success of a child's peer relationships (Smetana & Ball, 2018). Specifically, the ability to modulate one's emotions is an important skill that benefits children in their relationships with peers. Moody and emotionally negative children are more likely to experience rejection by their peers, whereas emotionally positive children are more popular. A recent study found that young children with higher emotion regulation were more popular with their peers (Nakamichi, 201

what is good parenitng?

Four kinds of parenting: Good parenting: kids know that parent is in charge. Good parenting involves making demands and exerting control.

ethnicity

Families within different ethnic groups in the United States differ in their typical size, structure, composition, reliance on kinship networks, and levels of income and education (Gollnick & Chinn, 2017; Nieto & Bode, 2018). Large and extended families are more common among minority groups than among the non-Latino White majority. For example, 19 percent of Latino families have three or more children, compared with 14 percent of African American and 10 percent of White families. African American and Latino children interact more with grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and more distant relatives than do White children. Single-parent families are more common among African Americans and Latinos than among non-Latino White Americans. In comparison with two-parent households, single parents often have more limited resources of time, money, and energy (Evans, Li, & Sepanski Whipple, 2013). Ethnic minority parents also are less educated and more likely to live in low-income circumstances than their non-Latino White counterparts. Still, many impoverished ethnic minority families manage to find ways to raise competent children (Hurst, 2013; Nieto & Bode, 2018). A major change in families in the last several decades has been the dramatic increase in the immigration of Latino and Asian families into the United States (Bas-Sarmiento & others, 2017; Giuntella, 2017; Koppelman, 2017; Non & others, 2018; Umana-Taylor & Douglass, 2017). Immigrant families often experience stressors uncommon to or less prominent among longtime residents, such as language barriers, dislocations and separations from support networks, the dual struggle to preserve identity and to acculturate, changes in SES status, and health (Anguiano, 2018; Cano & others, 2017; Chaudry & others, 2017; Wang & Palacios, 2017). Further, an increasing number of children are growing up in transnational families, who move back and forth between the United States and Mexico or China (Solheim, Zaid, & Ballard, 2016). In some cases these children are left behind in their home country, and in other cases (especially in China), they are sent back to China to be raised by grandparents during their early childhood years. Such children might benefit from economic remittances but suffer emotionally from prolonged separation from their parents (Mazzucato, 2015). Of course, individual families vary, and how ethnic minority families deal with stress depends on many factors (Anguiano, 2018; Cano & others, 2017; Chaudry & others, 2017; Non & others, 2018). Whether the parents are native-born or immigrants, how long the family has been in this country, and their socioeconomic status and national origin all make a difference (Gangamma & Shipman, 2018; Yoshikawa & others, 2016). The characteristics of the family's social context also influence its adaptation. What are the attitudes toward the family's ethnic group within its neighborhood or city? Can the family's children attend good schools? Are there community groups that welcome people from the family's ethnic group? Do members of the family's ethnic group form community groups of their own? Ethnic minority/immigrant children and their parents are expected to move beyond their own cultural background and identify with aspects of the dominant culture. They undergo varying degrees of acculturation, which refers to cultural changes that occur when one culture comes in contact with another. Asian American parents, for example, may feel pressed to modify the traditional training style of parental control discussed earlier as they encounter the more permissive parenting typical of the dominant culture. What are some of the stressors immigrant families experience when they come to the United States? ©J. Emilio Flores/Corbis Researchers have found that many members of families Page 255that have recently immigrated to the United States adopt a bicultural orientation, selecting characteristics of the U.S. culture that help them to survive and advance, while retaining some aspects of their culture of origin (Moro, 2014). In adopting characteristics of the U.S. culture, Latino families are increasingly embracing its emphasis on education (Cooper, 2011). Although their school dropout rates have remained higher than those of other ethnic groups, toward the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century they declined considerably (National Center for Education Statistics, 2013). However, while many ethnic/immigrant families adopt a bicultural orientation, parenting in many ethnic minority families also focuses on issues associated with promoting children's ethnic pride, knowledge of their ethnic group, and awareness of discrimination (Gampe & Daum, 2018; Nieto & Bode, 2018; Umana-Taylor & Douglass, 2017).

children and sleep

Getting a good night's sleep is important for children's development (Kouros & El-Sheikh, 2017; Paul & Pinto, 2017; Rangan & others, 2018). Experts recommend that young children get 11 to 13 hours of sleep each night (National Sleep Foundation, 2016). Most young children sleep through the night and have one daytime nap. Not only do children need a certain amount of sleep, but also uninterrupted sleep (Owens & Mindell, 2011). However, it sometimes is difficult to get young children to go to sleep as they drag out their bedtime routine. Studies often report that young children don't get adequate sleep (Palermo, 2014). A recent study of children 36 to 42 months old found that a consistent bedtime routine was associated with more nightly sleep and an increase in nightly sleep minutes across a 6-month period (Staples, Bates, & Petersen, 2015).

growth patterns

Growth patterns vary individually (Kliegman & others, 2016; London & others, 2017). Think back to your preschool years. This was probably the first time you noticed that some children were taller than you, some shorter; some were fatter, some thinner; some were stronger, some weaker. Much of the variation was due to heredity, but environmental experiences were also involved (Bindler & others, 2017). A review of the height and weight of children around the world concluded that the two most important contributors to height differences are ethnic origin and nutrition (Meredith, 1978). Urban, middle-socioeconomic-status, and firstborn children were taller than rural, lower-socioeconomic-status, and later-born children. In the United States, African American children are taller than non-Latino White children.

children in divorced families

It is estimated that 40 percent of children born to married parents in the United States will experience their parents' divorce (Hetherington & Stanley-Hagan, 2002). Let's examine some important questions about children in divorced families. Are children better adjusted in intact, never-divorced families than in divorced families? Most researchers agree that children from divorced families show poorer adjustment than their counterparts in nondivorced families (Arkes, 2015; Hetherington, 2006; Lansford, 2012, 2013; Robbers & others, 2012; Weaver & Schofield, 2015) (see Figure 6). Those who have experienced multiple divorces are at greater risk. Children in divorced families are more likely than children in nondivorced families to Page 251have academic problems, to show externalized problems (such as acting out and delinquency) and internalized problems (such as anxiety and depression), to be less socially responsible, to have less competent intimate relationships, to drop out of school, to become sexually active at an early age, to take drugs, to associate with antisocial peers, to have low self-esteem, and to be less securely attached as young adults (Lansford, 2012, 2013). In one study, individuals who had experienced their parents' divorce were more at risk for engaging in a suicide attempt (Alonzo & others, 2014). Nonetheless, keep in mind that a majority of children in divorced families do not have significant adjustment problems (Ahrons, 2007). One study found that 20 years after their parents had divorced when they were children, approximately 80 percent of adults concluded that their parents' decision to divorce had been a wise one (Ahrons, 2004). Another study concluded that childhood divorce was linked to an increased number of cohabiting/marital partnerships and negative partner relationships the children had from 16 to 30 years of age (Fergusson, McLeod, & Horwood, 2014). An important point is that the outcomes just described for the life event of childhood divorce were explained by a variety of other factors and social contexts—parental history of illicit drug use, experience of childhood sexual abuse, lower-SES status at the time of the child's birth, and parental history of criminality. In another recent study, parental divorce, as well as child maltreatment, were linked to suicidal ideation in middle age (Stansfield & others, 2017). Should parents stay together for the sake of the children? Whether parents should stay in an unhappy marriage for the sake of their children is one of the most commonly asked questions about divorce (Hetherington, 2006; Morrison, Fife, & Hertlien, 2017). If the stresses and disruptions in family relationships associated with an unhappy, conflictual marriage that erode the well-being of children are reduced by the move to a divorced, single-parent family, divorce can be advantageous. However, if the diminished resources and increased risks associated with divorce also are accompanied by inept parenting and sustained or increased conflict, not only within the divorced couple but also among the parents, children, and siblings, the best choice for the children would be for an unhappy marriage to be retained (Hetherington & Stanley-Hagan, 2002). It is difficult to determine how these "ifs" will play out when parents either remain together in an acrimonious marriage or become divorced. Note that marital conflict may have negative consequences for children in the context of marriage or divorce (Cummings & others, 2017; Davies, Martin, & Sturge-Apple, 2016). And many of the problems that children from divorced homes experience begin during the predivorce period, a time when parents are often in active conflict with each other. Thus, when children from divorced homes show problems, the problems may not be due only to the divorce but also to the marital conflict that led to it. E. Mark Cummings and his colleagues (Cummings & Miller, 2015; Cummings & others, 2017; Cummings & Valentino, 2015) have proposed emotion security theory, which has its roots in attachment theory and states that children appraise marital conflict in terms of their sense of security and safety in the family. These experts make a distinction between marital conflict that is negative for children (such as hostile emotional displays and destructive conflict tactics) and marital conflict that can be positive for children (such as marital disagreement that involves calmly discussing each person's perspective and then working together to reach a solution). In a recent study, interparental hostility was a stronger predictor of children's insecurity and externalizing problems than interparental disengagement and low levels of interparental cooperation (Davies & others, 2016). In another recent study, maladaptive marital conflict (destructive strategies, severity of arguments) when children were 2 years old was associated with an increase in internalizing problems eight years later due to an undermining of attachment security for girls, while negative emotional aftermath of conflict (unresolved, lingering tension) increased both boys' and girls' internalizing problems (Brock & Kochanska, 2016). How much do family processes matter in divorced families? Family processes matter a great deal (Demby, 2016; Elam & others, 2016; Lansford, 2012; Luecken & others, 2016; Narayan & others, 2015; Warshak, 2014). For example, when divorced parents' relationship with each other is harmonious and when they use authoritative parenting, the adjustment of children improves (Hetherington, 2006). When the divorced parents can agree on child-rearing strategies and can maintain a cordial relationship with each other, frequent visits by the noncustodial parent usually benefit the child (Fabricius & others, 2010). Following a divorce, father involvement with children drops off more than mother involvement, especially if the children are girls. In one study, children were more likely to have behavior problems if their post-divorce home environment was less supportive and stimulating, their mother was less sensitive and more depressed, and if their household income was Page 252lower (Weaver & Schofield, 2015). Also, a study of divorced families revealed that an intervention focused on improving the mother-child relationship was linked to improvements in relationship quality that increased children's coping skills over the short term (6 months) and long term (6 years) (Velez & others, 2011). And a longitudinal study revealed that parental divorce experienced before age 7 was linked to a lower level of health through 50 years of age (Thomas & Hognas, 2015). Further, a recent study of noncustodial fathers in divorced families indicated that high father-child involvement and low interparental conflict were linked to positive child outcomes (Flam & others, 2016). Also, a recent research review concluded that coparenting (coparental support, cooperation, and agreement) following divorce was associated with positive child outcomes such as reduced anxiety and depression, as well as higher levels of self-esteem and academic performance (Lamela & Figueiredo, 2016). What factors influence an individual child's vulnerability to suffering negative consequences from living in a divorced family? Among the factors involved in the child's risk and vulnerability is the child's adjustment prior to the divorce, as well as the child's personality and temperament, gender, and custody situation (Hetherington, 2006). Children whose parents later divorce often show poor adjustment before the breakup (Amato & Booth, 1996). Children who are socially mature and responsible, who show few behavioral problems, and who have an easy temperament are better able to cope with their parents' divorce. Children with a difficult temperament often have problems coping with their parents' divorce (Hetherington, 2000). Earlier studies reported gender differences in response to divorce, with divorce being more negative for boys than girls in mother-custody families. However, more recent studies have shown that gender differences are less pronounced and consistent than was previously believed. Some of the inconsistency may be due to the increase in father custody, joint custody, and increased involvement of noncustodial fathers, especially in their sons' lives (Ziol-Guest, 2009). Research on whether different types of custodial arrangements are better for children in divorced families has yielded inconsistent results (Parke, 2013). An analysis of studies found that children in joint-custody families were better adjusted than children in sole-custody families (Bauserman, 2002). However, joint custody works best for children when the parents can get along with each other (Clarke-Stewart & Parke, 2014). What role does socioeconomic status play in the lives of children in divorced families? Custodial mothers experience the loss of about one-fourth to one-half of their predivorce income, in comparison with a loss of only one-tenth by custodial fathers. This income loss for divorced mothers is accompanied by increased workloads, high rates of job instability, and residential moves to less desirable neighborhoods with inferior schools (Braver & Lamb, 2013). One study found that children from families with higher incomes before the separation/divorce had fewer internalizing problems (Weaver & Schofield, 2015). In sum, many factors are involved in determining how divorce influences a child's development (Hetherington, 2006; Lansford, 2012; Warshak, 2014). To read about some strategies for helping children cope with the divorce of their parents, see Connecting Development to Life.

self undersetanding

In Erikson's portrait of early childhood, the young child clearly has begun to develop self-understanding, which is the representation of self, the substance and content of self-conceptions (Harter, 2012, 2016). Though not the whole of personal identity, self-understanding provides its rational underpinnings. Mainly through interviews, researchers have probed children's conceptions of many aspects of self-understanding. Early self-understanding involves self-recognition. In early childhood, young children think that the self can be described by material characteristics such as size, shape, and color. They distinguish themselves from others through physical and material attributes. Says 4-year-old Sandra, "I'm different from Jennifer because I have brown hair and she has blond hair." Says 4-year-old Ralph, "I am different from Hank because I am taller, and I am different from my sister because I have a bicycle." Physical activities are also a central component of the self in early childhood (Keller, Ford, & Meacham, 1978). For example, preschool children often describe themselves in terms Page 233of activities such as play. In sum, during early childhood, children often provide self-descriptions that involve bodily attributes, material possessions, and physical activities. Although young children mainly describe themselves in terms of concrete, observable features and action tendencies, at about 4 to 5 years of age as they hear others use words describing psychological traits and emotions, they begin to include these in their own self-descriptions (Marsh, Ellis, & Craven, 2002). Thus, in a self-description, a 4-year-old might say, "I'm not scared. I'm always happy." Young children's self-descriptions are typically unrealistically positive, as reflected in the comment of this 4-year-old who says he is always happy, which he is not (Harter, 2012). They express this optimism because they don't yet distinguish between their desired competence and their actual competence, tend to confuse ability and effort (thinking that differences in ability can be changed as easily as can differences in effort), don't engage in spontaneous social comparison of their abilities with those of others, and tend to compare their present abilities with what they could do at an earlier age (which usually makes their abilities look quite good). This overestimation of their attributes helps to protect young children from negative self-evaluations. However, as in virtually all areas of human development, there are individual variations in young children's self-conceptions, and there is increasing evidence that some children are vulnerable to negative self-attributions (Thompson, 2015). For example, one study revealed that insecurely attached preschool children whose mothers reported a high level of parenting stress and depressive symptoms had a lower self-concept than other young children in more positive family circumstances (Goodvin & others, 2008). This research indicates that young children's generally optimistic self-ascriptions do not buffer them from adverse, stressful family conditions (Thompson, 2011).

short term memory in children

In short-term memory, individuals retain information for up to 30 seconds if there is no rehearsal of the information. Using rehearsal (repeating information after it has been presented), we can keep information in short-term memory for a much longer period. One method of assessing short-term memory is the memory-span task. You hear a short list of stimuli—usually digits—presented at a rapid pace (one per second, for example). Then you are asked to repeat the digits. Research with the memory-span task suggests that short-term memory increases during early childhood. For example, in one investigation memory span increased from about 2 digits in 2- to 3-year-old children to about 5 digits in 7-year-old children, yet between 7 and 13 years of age memory span increased by only 2 more digits (Dempster, 1981) (see Figure 12). Keep in mind, though, that memory span varies from one individual to another. Why does memory span change with age? Rehearsal of information is important; older children rehearse the digits more than younger children do. Speed—especially the speed with which memory items can be identified—and efficiency of processing information are important, too (Schneider, 2011). The speed-of-processing explanation highlights a key point in the information-processing perspective: The speed with which a child processes information is an important aspect of the child's cognitive abilities, and there is abundant evidence that the speed with which many cognitive tasks are completed improves dramatically across the childhood years (Rose, Feldman, & Jankowski, 2015). A recent study found that myelination (the process by which the sheath that encases axons helps electrical signals travel faster down the axon) in a number of brain areas was linked to young children's processing speed (Chevalier & others, 2015).

memory in children

Memory—the retention of information over Page 215time—is a central process in children's cognitive development. Most of a young infant's memories are fragile and, for the most part, short-lived—except for the memory of perceptual-motor actions, which can be substantial (Bauer, 2018). Thus, we saw that to understand the infant's capacity to remember we need to distinguish implicit memory from explicit memory. Explicit memory itself, however, comes in many forms (Radvansky, 2018). One distinction occurs between relatively permanent or long-term memory and short-term memory.

parenting birth order

•Parents have higher expectations for firstborn. •Only child: often achievement-oriented, displays desirable personality traits. •By itself, not a good predictor of behavior.

developmental changes

Recall from our discussion of gender that, by about the age of 3, children already prefer to spend time with same-sex rather than opposite-sex playmates, and this preference increases in early childhood. During these same years the frequency of peer interaction, both positive and negative, picks up considerably (Cillessen & Bukowski, 2018). Many preschool children spend considerable time in peer interaction conversing with playmates about such matters as "negotiating roles and rules in play, arguing, and agreeing" (Rubin, Bukowski, & Parker, 2006). And during early childhood children's interactions with peers become more coordinated and involve longer turns and sequences (Coplan & Arbeau, 2009).

single parent families and race

Single parent families more common among blacks and latinos than whites Parent is trying to be authoritative but it can be tough. Parenting is always better if you can share it

effects of television on aggression

The extent to which children are exposed to violence and aggression on television raises special concerns (Calvert, 2015). For example, Saturday morning cartoon shows average more than 25 violent acts per hour. One study revealed that spending increased time viewing TV violence, video game violence, and music video violence was independently associated with a higher level of physical aggression in children (Coker & others, 2015). Also, in one experiment, preschool children were randomly assigned to one of two groups: One group watched television shows taken directly from violent Saturday morning cartoons on 11 days; the second group watched television cartoon shows with all of the violence removed (Steur, Applefield, & Smith, 1971). The children were then observed during play at their preschool. The preschool children who had seen the TV cartoon shows with violence kicked, choked, and pushed their playmates more than did the preschool children who had watched nonviolent TV cartoon shows. Because the children were randomly assigned to the two conditions (TV cartoons with violence versus nonviolent TV cartoons), we can conclude that exposure to TV violence caused the increased aggression in the children in this investigation. In addition to television violence, there is increased concern about children who play violent video games, especially those that are highly realistic (DeWall & others, 2013). Research reviews have concluded that playing violent video games is linked to aggression in both males and females (Gentile, 2011).

risk of being overweight for weight at later ages

The risk that overweight children will continue to be overweight when they are older was underscored by a recent U.S. study of nearly 8,000 children (Cunningham, Kramer, & Narayan, 2014). In this study, overweight 5-year-olds were four times more likely to be obese at 14 years of age than their 5-year-old counterparts who began kindergarten at a normal weight. Also, in the study described earlier in which obesity rates were decreasing among preschool children, preschool children who were obese were five times more likely to be overweight or obese as adults (Ogden & others, 2014).

what is the zone of proximal development?

Vygotsky's belief in the role of social influences, especially instruction, in children's cognitive development is reflected in his concept of the zone of proximal development. Zone of proximal development (ZPD) is Vygotsky's term for the range of tasks that are too difficult for the child to master alone but can be learned with guidance and assistance from adults or more-skilled children. Thus, the lower limit of the ZPD is the level of skill reached by the child working independently. The upper limit is the level of additional responsibility the child can accept with the assistance of an able instructor (see Figure 8). The ZPD captures the child's cognitive skills that are in the process of maturing and can be accomplished only with the assistance of a more-skilled person (Clara, 2017; Holzman, 2017). Vygotsky (1962) called these the "buds" or "flowers" of development, to distinguish them from the "fruits" of development, which the child already can accomplish independently.

peer group functions

What are the functions of a child's peer group? One of its most important functions is to provide a source of information and comparison about the world outside the family. Children receive feedback about their abilities from their peer group. Children evaluate what they do in terms of whether it is better than, as good as, or worse than what other children do. It is hard to make these judgments at home because siblings are usually older or younger. Good peer relations promote normal socioemotional development (Bukowski, Laursen, & Rubin, 2018; Prinstein & others, 2018). Special concerns in peer relations focus on children who are withdrawn or aggressive (Coplan & others, 2018; Rubin & Barstead, 2018). Withdrawn children who are rejected by peers or are victimized and feel lonely are at risk for depression (Rubin & others, 2018). Children who are aggressive with their peers are at risk for a number of problems, including delinquency and dropping out of school (Nesi & others, 2017; Vitaro, Boivin, & Poulin, 2018).

gender differences in toys

When kid turned 7, she only wanted the girls at her birthday party. See same gender preference for play as kids get older. We do sese gender differences in toys. Boys are more intensely interested in behicles, trains, etc. Girls may be interested but not intensely interested. Girls have more patience for things that take a little more of an attentions pan like books and reading In EI, you want to work with what interests the kids and not force interests or toys that they are not interested in on them Mixed ages at play - rules and scaffolding of complex topics for younger kids

why are some children short?

Why are some children unusually short? The primary contributing influences are congenital factors (genetic or prenatal problems), growth hormone deficiency, a physical problem that develops in childhood, maternal smoking during pregnancy, or an emotional difficulty (Hay & others, 2017; Krebs & others, 2016).

birth order

Whether a child has older or younger siblings has been linked to development of certain personality characteristics. For example, one research review concluded that "firstborns are the most intelligent, achieving, and conscientious, while later-borns are the most rebellious, liberal, and agreeable" (Paulhus, 2008, p. 210). Compared with later-born children, firstborn children have also been described as more adult-oriented, helpful, conforming, and self-controlled. However, when such birth-order differences are reported, they often are small. What accounts for differences related to birth order? Proposed explanations usually point to variations in interactions with parents and siblings associated with being in a particular position in the family. In one study, mothers became more negative, coercive, and restraining and played less with the firstborn following the birth of a second child (Dunn & Kendrick, 1982). What is the only child like? The popular conception is that the only child is a "spoiled brat" with such undesirable characteristics as dependency, lack of self-control, and self-centered behavior. But researchers present a more positive portrayal of the only child. Only children often are achievement-oriented and display a desirable personality, especially in comparison with later-borns and children from large families (Falbo & Poston, 1993; Jiao, Ji, & Jing, 1996). o far, our discussion suggests that birth order might be a strong predictor of behavior. However, an increasing number of family researchers stress that when all of the factors that influence behavior are considered, birth order by itself shows limited accuracy in predicting behavior. Think about some of the other important factors beyond birth order in children's lives that influence their behavior. They include heredity, models of competency or incompetency that parents present to children on a daily basis, peer influences, school influences, socioeconomic factors, sociohistorical Page 250factors, and cultural variations. When someone says firstborns are always like this but last-borns are always like that, the person is making overly simplistic statements that do not adequately take into account the complexity of influences on a child's development. THE CHANGING FAMILY IN

genders in play

a little mroe same same sex at 4.5 a lot mroe at 6.5

animism

another limitation of preoperational thought, is the belief that inanimate objects have lifelike qualities and are capable of action. A young child might show animism by saying, "That tree pushed the leaf off, and it fell down," or "The sidewalk made me mad; it made me fall down." A young child who uses animism fails to distinguish the appropriate occasions for using human and nonhuman perspectives (Opfer & Gelman, 2011). Possibly because young children are not very concerned about reality, their drawings are fanciful and inventive. Suns are blue, skies are yellow, and cars float on clouds in their symbolic, imaginative world. One 3½-year-old looked at a scribble he had just drawn and described it as a pelican kissing a seal (see Figure 5a). The symbolism is simple but strong, like abstractions found in some Page 208modern art. Twentieth-century Spanish artist Pablo Picasso commented, "I used to draw like Raphael but it has taken me a lifetime to draw like young children." During the elementary school years, a child's drawings become more realistic, neat, and precise (see Figure 5b) (Winner, 1986).

play interests by gender

boys:vehicles, trains,machines,dinosaurs,balls girls: balls, animals, babies, books, dress up

how does a peer assist child in play

•Peers assist a child by: •Filling unique role in the culture. •Providing information. •Giving feedback and evaluation.

Constructive play combines sensorimotor/practice play with symbolic representation. It occurs when children engage in the self-regulated creation of a product or a solution. Constructive play increases in the preschool years as symbolic play increases and sensorimotor play decreases. It also becomes a frequent form of play in the elementary school years, both within and outside of the classroom

constructive play

Games are activities that children engage in for pleasure and that have rules. Often they involve competition. Preschool children may begin to participate in social games that involve simple rules of reciprocity and turn taking. However, games take on a much stronger role in the lives of elementary school children. In one study, the highest incidence of game playing occurred between 10 Page 259and 12 years of age (Eiferman, 1971). After age 12, games decline in popularity (Bergen, 1988)

games

executive function in children

ecently, increasing attention has been given to the development of children's executive function, an umbrella-like concept that consists of a number of higher-level cognitive processes linked to the development of the brain's prefrontal cortex (Bardikoff & Sabbagh, 2017; Knapp & Morton, 2017; McClelland & others, 2017; Perone, Almy, & Zelazo, 2017). Executive function involves managing one's thoughts to engage in goal-directed behavior and self-control (Hoskyn, Iarocci, & Young, 2017; Muller & others, 2017). Earlier in this chapter, we described the recent interest in executive attention, which comes under the umbrella of executive function. In early childhood, executive function especially involves developmental advances in cognitive inhibition (such as inhibiting a strong tendency that is incorrect), cognitive flexibility (such as shifting attention to another item or topic), goal-setting (such as sharing a toy or mastering a skill like catching a ball), and delay of gratification (waiting longer to get a more attractive reward, for example) (Cheng & others, 2018; Groppe & Elsner, 2017; Semenov & Zelazo, 2017). During early childhood, the relatively stimulus-driven toddler is transformed into a child capable of flexible, goal-directed problem solving that characterizes executive function (Zelazo & Muller, 2011). Researchers have found that advances in executive function during the preschool years are linked with math skills, language development, and school readiness (Blair, 2017; Hoskyn, Iarocci, & Young, 2017; Liu & others, 2018; Muller & others, 2017; Schmitt & others, 2017). A recent study revealed that executive function skills predicted mathematical gains in kindergarten (Fuhs & others, 2014). Another recent study of young children also revealed that executive function was associated with emergent literacy and vocabulary development (Becker & others, 2014). And a recent study found that young children who showed delayed development of executive function had a lower level of school readiness (Willoughby & others, 2017). Walter Mischel and his colleagues (Berman & others, 2013; Mischel, 2014; Mischel, Cantor, & Feldman, 1996; Mischel & Moore, 1980; Mischel & others, 2011; Schlam & others, 2013; Zayas, Mischel, & Pandey, 2014) have conducted a number of studies involving delay of gratification among young children. One way they assess delay of gratification is to place a young child alone in a room with an alluring marshmallow that is within their reach. The children are told that they can either ring a bell at any time and eat the marshmallow or wait until the experimenter returns and then get two marshmallows. Among the young children who were able to wait for the experimenter to return, what did they do to help them wait? They engaged in a number of strategies to distract their attention from the marshmallows, including singing songs, picking their noses, or doing other things to keep Page 217from looking at the marshmallows. Mischel and his colleagues labeled these strategies "cool thoughts" (that is, doing non-marshmallow-related thoughts and activities), whereas they said that young children who looked at the marshmallow were engaging in "hot thoughts." The young children who engaged in cool thoughts were more likely to eat the marshmallow later or wait until the experimenter returned to the room. In longitudinal research, Mischel and his colleagues have found that the preschool children who were able to delay gratification became more academically successful, had higher SAT scores and higher grade point averages at the end of college, and coped more effectively with stress as adolescents and emerging adults (Mischel, 2014). And as adults, they made more money in their career, were more law-abiding, were likely to have a lower body mass index, and were happier than individuals who were unable to delay gratification as preschoolers (Mischel, 2014; Moffitt, 2012; Moffitt & others, 2011; Schlam & others, 2013). Although the ability to delay gratification in preschool was linked to academic success and coping in adolescence and competence in adulthood, Mischel (2014) emphasizes that adolescents and adults can improve their ability to delay gratification.

Physical growth

he average child grows 2½ inches in height and gains 5 to 10 pounds a year during early childhood. As the preschool child grows older, the percentage of increase in height and weight decreases with each additional year (Goldstone & Reynolds, 2014). Girls are only slightly smaller and lighter than boys during these years, a difference that continues until puberty. During the preschool years, both boys and girls slim down as the trunks of their bodies lengthen. Although their heads are still somewhat large for their bodies, by the end of the preschool years most children have lost their top-heavy look. Body fat also shows a slow, steady decline during the preschool years. The chubby baby often looks much leaner by the end of early childhood. Girls have more fatty tissue than boys; boys have more muscle tissue.

early childhood brain growth

he brain growth slows a little bit during early childhood. Reaches 95% of adult volume by 6 years old. Just about done growting. That myelination continues through childhood Increases speed at which info travels to nervous system Reaction are better Kids get more coordinated Things get more sophisticated Growth in frontal lobes: more executive functioning, cognitive reasoning More sophisticated cognitive reasoning "This one is bigger because it is not small"

single parent families in different countries

most common in US Sweden canda germany uk

Major causes of death: ages 1-4

motor vehicle accidents cancer cardiovascular diseases influenza and pneumonia septicemia lower respiratory diseases firearms

friends

n early childhood, children distinguish between friends and nonfriends (Howes, 2009). For most young children, a friend is someone to play with. Young preschool children are more likely than older children to have friends who are of a different gender and ethnicity (Howes, 2009).

theory of mind tasks

ne of the landmark developments in understanding others' desires is recognizing that someone else may have different desires from one's own (Doherty, 2008; Wellman, 2015). Eighteen-month-olds understand that their own food preferences may not match the preferences of others—they will give an adult the food to which she says "Yummy!" even if the food is something that the infants detest (Repacholi & Gopnik, 1997). As they get older, they can verbalize that they themselves do not like something but an adult might (Flavell & others, 1992). Between the ages of 3 and 5, children come to understand that the mind can represent objects and events accurately or inaccurately (Rhodes & Brandone, 2014; Tompkins & others, 2017). The realization that people can have false beliefs—beliefs that are not true—develops in a majority of children by the time they are 5 years old (Wellman, Cross, & Watson, 2001) (see Figure 13). This point is often described as a pivotal one in understanding the mind—recognizing that beliefs are not just mapped directly into the mind from the surrounding world, but that different people can also have different, and sometimes incorrect, beliefs (Gelman, 2009). In a classic false-belief task, young children were shown a Band-Aids box and asked what was inside (Jenkins & Astington, 1996). To the children's surprise, the box actually contained pencils. When asked what a child who had never seen the box would think was inside, 3-year-olds typically responded, "Pencils." However, the 4- and 5-year-olds, grinning in anticipation of the false beliefs of other children who had not seen what was inside the box, were more likely to say "Band-Aids." In a similar task, children are told a story about Sally and Anne: Sally places a toy in a basket and then leaves the room (see Figure 14). In her absence, Anne takes the toy from the basket and places it in a box. Children are asked where Sally will look for the toy when she returns. The major finding is that 3-year-olds tend to fail false-belief tasks, saying that Sally will look in the box (even though Sally could not have known that the toy had moved to this new location). Four-year-olds and older children tend to perform the task correctly, saying that Sally will have a "false belief"—she will think the object is in the basket, even though that belief is now false. The conclusion from these studies is that children younger than 4 years old do not understand that it is possible to have a false belief. t is only beyond the preschool years—at approximately 5 to 7 years of age—that children have a deepening appreciation of the mind itself rather than just an understanding of mental states (Lagattuta & others, 2015). For example, they begin Page 219to recognize that people's behaviors do not necessarily reflect their thoughts and feelings (Flavell, Green, & Flavell, 1993). Not until middle and late childhood do children see the mind as an active constructor of knowledge or a processing center (Flavell, Green, & Flavell, 1998) and move from understanding that beliefs can be false to realizing that the same event can be open to multiple interpretations (Carpendale & Chandler, 1996). For example, in one study, children saw an ambiguous line drawing (for example, a drawing that could be seen as either a duck or a rabbit); one puppet told the child she believed the drawing was a duck while another puppet told the child he believed the drawing was a rabbit (see Figure 15). Before the age of 7, children said that there was one right answer and that it was not okay for the two puppets to have different opinio Although most research on children's theory of mind focuses on children around or before their preschool years, at 7 years of age and beyond there are important developments in the ability to understand the beliefs and thoughts of others (Apperly, 2012; Miller, 2012). Although it is important to understand that people may have different interpretations, it is also necessary to recognize that some interpretations and beliefs may be evaluated on the basis of the merits of arguments and evidence (Kuhn, Cheney, & Weinstock, 2000). In early adolescence, children begin to understand that people can have ambivalent feelings (Flavell & Miller, 1998). They start to recognize that the same person can feel both happy and sad about the same event. They also engage in more recursive thinking: thinking about what other people are thinking about.

conservation

number, mass, length. Children think because form changes the amount changes.

how to improve children's sleep

o improve children's sleep, Mona El-Sheikh (2013) recommends making sure that the bedroom is cool, dark, and comfortable; maintaining consistent bedtimes and wake times; and building positive family relationships. Also, helping the child slow down before bedtime often contributes to less resistance to going to bed. Reading the child a story, playing quietly with the child in the bath, and letting the child sit on the caregiver's lap while listening to music are quieting activities.

what is conservation?

onservation Beingable to realize that just because you change position of objects, it doesn't change volume or mass or anything

types of shows

ome types of TV shows are linked to positive outcomes for children. For example, a meta-analysis of studies in 14 countries found that watching the TV show Sesame Street produced positive outcomes in three areas: cognitive skills, learning about the world, and social reasoning and attitudes toward outgroups (Mares & Pan, 2013). However, too much screen time can have a negative influence on children by making them passive learners, distracting them from doing homework, teaching them stereotypes, providing them with violent models of aggression, and presenting them with unrealistic views of the world (Calvert, 2015; Picherot & others, 2018). Among other concerns about young children having so much screen time are decreased time spent in play, less time interacting with peers, higher rates of aggression, decreased physical activity, lower cognitive development, poor sleep habits, and increased risk of being overweight or obese (Berglind & others, 2018). One research review concluded that greater amounts of screen time (mostly involving TV viewing) were associated with a lower level of cognitive development in early childhood (Carson & others, 2015). Also, a recent study of preschool children found that each additional hour of screen time was linked to less nightly sleep, later bedtimes, and reduced likelihood of sleeping 10 or more hours per night (Xu & others, 2016). Further, researchers have found that a high level of TV viewing is linked to a greater incidence of obesity in children and adolescents (Berglind & others, 2018). For example, a recent study of 2- to 6-year-olds found that increased TV viewing time on weekends was associated with a higher risk of being overweight or obese (Kondolot & others, 2017). Indeed, viewing as little as one hour of television daily was associated with an increase in body mass index (BMI) between kindergarten and the first grade (Peck & others, 2015). A higher degree of parental monitoring of children's media use was linked to a number of positive outcomes in children's lives (more sleep, better school performance, less aggressive behavior, and more prosocial behavior) (Gentile & others, 2014). Researchers also have found that parental reductions in their own screen time were associated with decreased screen time for their children (Sanders, Parent, & Forehand, 2018; Xu, Wen, & Rissel, 2014).

how to handle misbehavior

ost child psychologists recommend handling misbehavior by reasoning with the child, especially explaining the consequences of the child's actions for others. Time out, in which the child is removed from a setting that offers positive reinforcement, can also be effective. For example, when the child has misbehaved, a parent might take away TV viewing for a specified time. Debate about the effects of punishment on children's development continues (Deater-Deckard, 2013; Ferguson, 2013; Gershoff, 2013; Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016; Gershoff, Lee, & Durrant, 2017; Grusec & others, 2013; Holden & others, 2017; Knox, 2010; Laible, Thompson, & Froimson, 2015; Lansford & others, 2012). Several longitudinal studies have found that physical punishment of young children is associated with higher levels of aggression later in childhood and adolescence (Berlin & others, 2009; Gershoff & others, 2012; Lansford & others, 2014; Taylor & others, 2010; Thompson & others, 2017). In one longitudinal study, harsh physical punishment in childhood was linked to a higher incidence of intimate partner violence in adulthood (Afifi & others, 2017b). However, a meta-analysis that focused on longitudinal studies revealed that the negative outcomes of punishment on children's internalizing and externalizing problems were minimal (Ferguson, 2013). A research review of 26 studies also concluded that only severe or predominant use of spanking, not mild spanking, compared unfavorably with alternative discipline practices (Larzelere & Kuhn, 2005). Nonetheless, in a recent meta-analysis, when physical punishment was not abusive it still was linked to detrimental child outcomes (Gershoff & Grogan-Kaylor, 2016). And in a recent Japanese study, occasional spanking at 3 years of age was associated with a higher level of behavioral problems at 5 years of age (Okusono & others, 2017). Some experts (including Diana Baumrind) argue that much of the evidence for the negative effects of physical punishment is based on studies in which parents acted in an abusive manner (Baumrind, Larzelere, & Cowan, 2002). She concludes from her research that when parents use punishment in a calm, reasoned manner (which she says characterized most of the authoritative parents in her studies), children's development benefits. In sum, she emphasizes that physical punishment does not need to present children with an out-of-control adult who is yelling and screaming, as well as spanking. Thus, in the view of some Page 246experts, it is still difficult to determine whether the effects of physical punishment are harmful to children's development, although such a view might be distasteful to some individuals (Ferguson, 2013; Grusec & others, 2013). And as with other research on parenting, research on punishment is correlational in nature, making it difficult to discover causal factors. Also, consider the concept of reciprocal socialization, discussed in the chapter on "Socioemotional Development in Infancy," which emphasizes bidirectional child and parent influences. Researchers have found links between children's early behavioral problems and parents' greater use of physical punishment over time (Laible, Thompson, & Froimson, 2015; Sheehan & Watson, 2015). In one research review, Elizabeth Gershoff (2013) concluded that the defenders of spanking have not produced any evidence that spanking produces positive outcomes for children, and she noted that negative outcomes of spanking have been replicated in many studies. Also, one thing that is clear regarding research on punishment of children is that if physical punishment is used, it needs to be mild, infrequent, age-appropriate, and used in the context of a positive parent-child relationship (Grusec, 2011). It is also clear that when physical punishment involves abuse, it can be very harmful to children's development (Almy & Cicchetti. 2018; Cicchetti, 2017). And an increasing majority of leading experts on parenting conclude that physical punishment has harmful effects on children and should not be used (Afifi & others, 2017a; Gershoff, Lee, & Durrant, 2017; Holden & others, 2017).

understanding others

oung children also make advances in their understanding of others and their capacity to learn from others (Fu & others, 2015; Harter, 2012, 2016; Ma & others, 2018; Landrum, Pflaum & Mills, 2016; Thompson, 2015). Young children's theory of mind includes understanding that other people have emotions and desires (Devine & Hughes, 2018a, b; Rizzo & Killen, 2018). And, at about 4 to 5 years, children not only start describing themselves in terms of psychological traits, but they also begin to perceive others in terms of psychological traits. Thus, a 4-year-old might say, "My teacher is nice." As they mature, young children need to develop an understanding that people don't always give accurate reports of their beliefs (Mills & Elashi, 2014). Researchers have found that even 4-year-olds understand that people may make statements that aren't true to obtain what they want or to avoid trouble (Lee & others, 2002). For example, one study revealed that 4- and 5-year-olds were increasingly skeptical of another child's claim to be sick when the children were informed that the child wanted to avoid having to go to camp (Gee & Heyman, 2007). Young children are more psychologically aware of themselves and others than used to be thought. Some children are better than others at understanding people's feelings and desires—and, to some degree, these individual differences are influenced by conversations caregivers have with young children about feelings and desires. ©Don Hammond/Deisgn Pics Another important aspect of understanding others involves understanding joint commitments. As children approach their third birthday, their collaborative interactions with others increasingly involve obligations to the partner (Tomasello & Hamann, 2012). Young children also learn extensively through observing others' behavior. For example, a recent study found that young children who observed a peer be rewarded for confessing to cheating on a task were more likely to be more honest in the future themselves (Ma & others, 2018). Both the extensive theory of mind research and the recent research on young children's social understanding underscore that young children are not as egocentric as Jean Piaget envisioned Page 234(Decety, Meidenbauer, & Cowell, 2018; Devine & Hughes, 2018a, b). Piaget's concept of egocentrism has become so ingrained in people's thinking about young children that too often the current research on social awareness in infancy and early childhood has been overlooked. Research increasingly shows that young children are more socially sensitive and perceptive than was previously envisioned, suggesting that parents and teachers can influence children's development by interacting with them in ways that help them to better understand and navigate the social world (Thompson 2015, 2016). If young children are seeking to better understand various mental and emotional states (intentions, goals, feelings, desires) that underlie people's actions, then talking with them about these internal states can improve young children's understanding of them (Thompson, 2015, 2016). However, debate continues to surround the question of whether young children are socially sensitive or basically egocentric (Birch & others, 2017). Ross Thompson (2015, 2016) comes down on the side of viewing young children as socially sensitive, while Susan Harter (2012, 2013, 2016) argues that there is still evidence to support the conclusion that young children are essentially egocentric.

exercise

outine physical activity should be a daily occurrence for young children (Innella & others, 2016; Insel & Roth, 2018; Lintu & others, 2016). Too often children are not getting adequate exercise (Dowda & others, 2017; Walton-Fisette & Wuest, 2018). Recently, four expert panels from Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States issued physical activity guidelines for young children that were quite similar (Pate & others, 2015). The guidelines recommend that young children get 15 or more minutes of physical activity per hour over a 12-hour period, or about 3 hours per day total. These guidelines reflect an increase from earlier guidelines (National Association for Sport and Physical Education, 2002). The child's life should center around activities, not meals (Powers & Dodd, 2017; Powers & Howley, 2018).

sibling relationships

pproximately 80 percent of American children have one or more siblings—that is, sisters and brothers (Dunn, 2015; Fouts & Bader, 2017). If you grew up with siblings, you probably have abundant memories of aggressive, hostile interchanges. Siblings in the presence of each other when they are 2 to 4 years of age, on average, have a conflict once every 10 minutes and then the conflicts go down somewhat from 5 to 7 years of age (Kramer, 2006). What do parents do when they encounter siblings having a verbal or physical confrontation? One study revealed that they do one of three things: (1) intervene and try to help their children resolve the conflict, (2) admonish or threaten them, or (3) do nothing at all (Kramer & Perozynski, 1999). Of interest is that in families Page 249with two siblings 2 to 5 years of age, the most frequent parental reaction is to do nothing at all. Laurie Kramer (2006), who has conducted a number of research studies on siblings, says that not intervening and letting sibling conflict escalate are not good strategies. She developed a program titled "More Fun with Sisters and Brothers" that teaches 4- to 8-year-old siblings social skills for developing positive interactions (Kramer & Radey, 1997). Among the social skills taught in the program are how to appropriately initiate play, how to accept and refuse invitations to play, how to take another person's perspective, how to deal with angry feelings, and how to manage conflict. owever, conflict is only one of the many dimensions of sibling relations (McHale, Updegraff, & Whiteman, 2013; Pike & Oliver, 2017). Sibling relations also include helping, sharing, teaching, and playing, and siblings can act as emotional supports and communication partners as well as rivals for parental attention. Do parents usually favor one sibling over others—and if so, does it make a difference in a child's development? One study of 384 sibling pairs revealed that 65 percent of their mothers and 70 percent of their fathers showed favoritism toward one sibling (Aldercotte, White, & Hughes, 2016; Shebloski, Conger, & Widaman, 2005). When favoritism of one sibling occurred, it was linked to lower self-esteem and sadness in the less-favored sibling. Indeed, equality and fairness are major concerns of siblings' relationships with each other and how they are treated by their parents (Campione-Barr, 2011; Campione-Barr, Greer, & Kruse, 2013). Judy Dunn (2015), a leading expert on sibling relationships, recently described three important characteristics of sibling relationships: Emotional quality of the relationship. Intense positive and negative emotions are often expressed by siblings toward each other. Many children and adolescents have mixed feelings toward their siblings. Familiarity and intimacy of the relationship. Siblings typically know each other very well, and this intimacy suggests that they can either provide support or tease and undermine each other, depending on the situation. Variation in sibling relationships. Some siblings describe their relationships more positively than others. Thus, there is considerable variation in sibling relationships. We just discussed that many siblings have mixed feelings about each other, but some children and adolescents mainly describe their siblings in warm, affectionate ways, whereas others primarily talk about how irritating and mean a sibling is. Research indicates that a high level of sibling conflict is linked to negative developmental outcomes (Fosco & others, 2012).

The use of dialogue as a tool for scaffolding is only one example of the important role of language in a child's development. According to Lev Vygotsky, children use speech not only to communicate socially but also to help them solve tasks. Vygotsky (1962) further believed that young children use language to plan, guide, and monitor their behavior. This use of language for self-regulation is called private speech (Lantolf, 2017). For Piaget, private speech is egocentric and immature, but for Vygotsky it is an important tool of thought during the early childhood years.

private speech

indulgent parenting

s a style in which parents are highly involved with their children but place few demands or controls on them. Such parents let their children do what they want. As a result, the children never learn to control their own behavior and always expect to get their way. Some parents deliberately rear their children in this way because they believe the combination of warm involvement and few restraints will produce a creative, confident child. However, children whose parents are indulgent rarely learn respect for others and have difficulty controlling their behavior. They might be domineering, egocentric, and noncompliant, and have difficulties in peer relations.

Social play involves interaction with peers. Social play increases dramatically during the preschool years. For many children, social play is the main context for young children's social interactions with peers (Solovieva & Quintanar, 2017).

social play

growth hormone deficiency

the absence or deficiency of growth hormone produced by the pituitary gland to stimulate the body to grow (Krebs & others, 2016). Growth hormone deficiency may occur during infancy or later in childhood (Collin, Whitehead, & Walker, 2016; Grimberg & Allen, 2017). As many as 10,000 to 15,000 U.S. children may have growth hormone deficiency (Stanford University Medical Center, 2012). Without treatment, most children with growth hormone deficiency will not reach a height of five feet. Twice as many boys as girls are treated with growth hormone, likely because there is a greater stigma attached to boys being short. A recent study of children born Page 200small for gestational age or short in stature revealed that five years of growth hormone treatment in childhood was linked to an increase to close to average height (Ross & others, 2015). And one study also revealed that growth hormone treatment of children who were very short in stature was linked to an increase in height as well as improvements in self-esteem and mood (Chaplin & others, 2012). Also, a recent review concluded that accurate assessment of growth hormone deficiency is difficult and that many children diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency re-test normal later in childhood (Murray, Dattani, & Clayton, 2016

symbolic function substage

the first substage of preoperational thought, occurring roughly between the ages of 2 and 4. During this substage, the young child gains the ability to mentally represent an object that is not present. This ability vastly expands the child's mental world (Callaghan & Corbit, 2015). Young children use scribble designs to represent people, houses, cars, clouds, and so on; they begin to use language and engage in pretend play. However, although young children make distinct progress during this substage, their thought still has important limitations, two of which are egocentrism and animism.

egocentrism

the inability to distinguish Page 207between one's own perspective and someone else's perspective. Piaget and Barbel Inhelder (1969) initially studied young children's egocentrism by devising the three mountains task (see Figure 4). The child walks around the model of the mountains and becomes familiar with what the mountains look like from different perspectives, and she can see that there are different objects on the mountains. The child is then seated on one side of the table on which the mountains are placed. The experimenter moves a doll to different locations around the table, at each location asking the child to select from a series of photos the one photo that most accurately reflects the view that the doll is seeing. Children in the preoperational stage often pick their own view rather than the doll's view. Preschool children frequently show the ability to take another's perspective on some tasks but not others.

other types of play

•Other types of play: •Sensorimotor play (early infancy). •Practice play (primarily in infancy). •Pretense/symbolic play (9-30 months). •Social play (peer interactions). •Constructive play increases in preschool years. •Games reinforce rules and competition •Effects of TV can be harmful.

authoritative

uthoritative: Has the best results where a parent is accepting and responsive but also makes demands and assumes role of person in charge Its effective and it can happen in any group or SES

autobiographical memory

volves memory of significant events and experiences in one's life. You are engaging in autobiographical memory when you answer questions such as: Who was your first-grade teacher and what was s/he like? What is the most traumatic event that happened to you as a child? During the preschool years, young children's memories increasingly take on more autobiographical characteristics (Bauer, 2018; Bauer & Larkina, 2016). In some areas, such as remembering a story, a movie, a song, or an interesting event or experience, young children have been shown to have reasonably good memories. From 3 to 5 years of age, they (1) increasingly remember events as occurring at a specific time and location, such as "on my birthday at Chuck E. Cheese's last year" and (2) include more elements that are rich in detail in their narratives (Bauer, 2013). In one study, children went from including four descriptive items per event at 3½ years of age to 12 such items at 6 years of age (Fivush & Haden, 1997).

what does use o fprivate speech mean to vygotsky?

ygotsky reasoned that children who use a lot of private speech are more socially competent than those who don't. He argued that private speech represents an early transition in becoming more socially communicative. In Vygotsky's view, when young children talk to themselves they are using language to govern their behavior and guide themselves. For example, a child working on a puzzle might say to herself, "Which pieces should I put together first? I'll try those green ones first. Page 211Now I need some blue ones. No, that blue one doesn't fit there. I'll try it over here."

language in DS

•Language •First words at 2 yrs (range = 1-4 yrs) •Two-word phrases at 3 yrs (range=2-7 yrs)

gross motor skills: 5 years of age

At 5 years of age, children are even more adventuresome than when they were 4. It is not unusual for self-assured 5-year-olds to perform hair-raising stunts on practically any climbing object. Five-year-olds run hard and enjoy races with each other and their parents.

biological influences of gender

Biology clearly plays a role in gender development (Lickliter, 2018; Mason & others, 2018). Among the possible biological influences are chromosomes, hormones, and evolution (Li, Kung, & Hines, 2017). Chromosomes and Hormones Biologists have learned a great deal about how sex differences develop. Recall that humans normally have 46 chromosomes arranged in pairs. The 23rd pair consists of a combination of X and Y chromosomes, usually two X chromosomes in a female and an X and a Y in a male. In the first few weeks of gestation, however, female and male embryos look alike. Males start to differ from females when genes on the Y chromosome in the male embryo trigger the development of testes rather than ovaries; the testes secrete copious amounts of the class of hormones known as androgens. Low levels of androgens in the female embryo allow the normal development of female sex organs. Thus, hormones play a key role in the development of sex differences (Li, Kung, & Hines, 2017). The two main classes of sex hormones, estrogens and androgens, are secreted by the gonads (ovaries in females, testes in males). Estrogens, such as estradiol, influence the development of female physical sex characteristics. Androgens, such as testosterone, promote the development of male physical sex characteristics. Sex hormones also can influence children's socioemotional development. The Evolutionary Psychology View How might physical differences between the sexes give rise to psychological differences between males and females? Evolutionary psychology offers one answer. According to evolutionary psychology, adaptation during human evolution produced psychological differences between males and females (Antfolk, 2018; Buss, 2012, 2015). Because of their differing roles in reproduction, males and females faced differing pressures when the human species was evolving. In particular, because having multiple sexual liaisons improves the likelihood that males will pass on their genes, natural selection favored males who adopted short-term mating strategies (Hoefnagels, 2018; Johnson, 2017). These are strategies that allow a male to win the competition with other males for sexual access to females. Therefore, say evolutionary psychologists, males evolved dispositions that favor violence, competition, and risk taking. In contrast, according to evolutionary psychologists, females' contributions to the gene pool were improved when they secured resources that ensured that their offspring would survive. As a consequence, Page 240natural selection favored females who devoted effort to parenting and chose successful, ambitious mates who could provide their offspring with resources and protection. Critics of evolutionary psychology argue that its hypotheses are backed by speculations about prehistory, not evidence, and that in any event people are not locked into behavior that was adaptive in the evolutionary past. Critics also claim that the evolutionary view pays little attention to cultural and individual variations in gender differences (Hyde & DeLamater, 2017).

advances in pragmatics

Brinton, 2017). A 6-year-old is simply a much better conversationalist than a 2-year-old is. What are some of the improvements in pragmatics during the preschool years? Young children begin to engage in extended discourse (Akhtar & Herold, 2008). For example, they learn culturally specific rules of conversation and politeness and become sensitive to the need to adapt their speech in different settings. Their developing linguistic skills and increasing ability to take the perspective of others contribute to their generation of more competent narratives. As children get older, they become increasingly able to talk about things that are not here (Grandma's house, for example) and not now (what happened to them yesterday or might happen tomorrow, for example). A preschool child can tell you what she wants for lunch tomorrow, something that would not have been possible at the two-word stage of language development. Around 4 to 5 years of age, children learn to change their speech style to suit the situation. For example, even 4-year-old children speak to a 2-year-old differently from the way they speak to a same-aged peer; they use shorter sentences with the 2-year-old. They also speak differently to an adult and to a same-aged peer, using more polite and formal language with the adult (Shatz & Gelman, 1973).

birth order and behavior

By itself birth order is not a good predictor of behavior

state of health for children around the world

Devastating effects on the health of young children occur in countries where poverty rates are high (UNICEF, 2018). The poor are the majority in nearly one out of every five nations in the world. They often experience hunger, malnutrition, illness, inadequate access to health care, unsafe water, and a lack of protection from harm (Black & others, 2017). In the last decade, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of young children who have died because HIV/AIDS was transmitted to them by their parents (UNICEF, 2018). Deaths of young children due to HIV/AIDS especially occur in countries with high rates of poverty and low levels of education (Tomlinson & others, 2016). Many of the deaths of young children around the world could be prevented by reductions in poverty and improvements in nutrition, sanitation, education, and health services (Black & others, 2017; UNICEF, 2018).

moral and social learning from tv

Moral and social learning in tv also has an impact Since kids are going to school on the internet or computer, so now we are starting to learn more about how that affects them. Kid had trouble separating from the iPAD. For a young kid, the violence portrayed n video grames is for sense of humor. But young kidds arent able to understand that difference and know that it is not okay to kill someone. Trouble distinguishing between reality and fantasy. Video games can be designed by males for males and females may be portrayed as stereotyped roles. Some of the user created content. Even if original game has a rating appropriate for child, you can download stuff that is not Violent images are hard to erase. Can really mess up a kdsi view of the world when they are still learning about the world. We need to monitor children ons screens and balance screens and non-screen play

collectivistic and cultural values

More collectivistic cultural values: large and extended families are quite common

parenting styles in context

Do the benefits of authoritative parenting transcend the boundaries of ethnicity, socioeconomic status (SES), and household composition? Although occasional exceptions have been found, evidence linking authoritative parenting with competence on the part of the child occurs in research across a wide range of ethnic groups, social strata, cultures, and family structures (Steinberg, 2014). According to Ruth Chao, which type of parenting style do many Asian American parents use? ©Blend Images/SuperStock Nonetheless, researchers have found that in some ethnic groups, aspects of the authoritarian style may be associated with more positive child outcomes than Baumrind predicts (Clarke-Stewart & Parke, 2014; Pinquart & Kauser, 2018). Elements of the authoritarian style may take on different meanings and have different effects depending on the context. For example, Asian American parents often continue aspects of traditional Asian child-rearing practices that have sometimes been described as authoritarian. The parents exert considerable control over their children's lives. However, Ruth Chao (2001, 2005, 2007; Chao & Otsuki-Clutter, 2011; Chao & Tseng, 2002) argues that the style of parenting used by many Asian American parents is distinct from the domineering control of the authoritarian style. Instead, Chao argues, this type of parental control reflects concern and involvement in their children's lives and is best conceptualized as a type of training. The high academic achievement of Asian American children may be a consequence of their "training" parents (Stevenson & Zusho, 2002). In research involving Chinese American adolescents and their parents, parental control was endorsed, as were the Confucian parental goals of perseverance, self-discipline in schoolwork, obedience, and sensitiveness to parents' wishes (Russell, Crockett, & Chao, 2010). An emphasis on requiring respect and obedience is also associated with the authoritarian style, but in Latino child rearing this focus may be positive rather than punitive. Rather than suppressing the child's development, it may encourage the development of a self and an identity that are embedded in the family and require respect and obedience (Dixon, Graber, & Brooks-Gunn, 2008). In these circumstances, emphasizing respect and obedience may be part of maintaining a harmonious family and important in shaping the child's identity (Umana-Taylor & others, 2014).

phonological and morphological devleopment

During the preschool years, most children gradually become more sensitive to the sounds of spoken words and become increasingly capable of producing all the sounds of their language (Goad, 2017; Kelly & others, 2018). By the time children are 3 years of age, they can produce all the vowel sounds and most of the consonant sounds (Menn & Stoel-Gammon, 2009). They recognize the sounds in word combinations such as "Merry go round" before they can produce them. As children move beyond two-word utterances, they demonstrate a knowledge of morphology rules (Clark, 2017; Snyder, 2017). Children begin using the plural and possessive forms of nouns (such as dogs and dog's). They put appropriate endings on verbs (such as -s when the subject is third-person singular and -ed for the past tense). They use prepositions (such as in and on), articles (such as a and the), and various forms of the verb to be (such as "I was going to the store"). Some of the best evidence for changes in children's use of morphological rules occurs in their overgeneralization of the rules, as when a preschool child says "foots" instead of "feet," or "goed" instead of "went."

gender

ENDER Gender refers to the characteristics of people as males and females. Gender identity involves a sense of one's own gender, including knowledge, understanding, and acceptance of being male or female (Brannon, 2017; Martin & others, 2017). One aspect of gender identity involves knowing whether you are a girl or boy, an awareness that most children develop by about 2½ years of age (Blakemore, Berenbaum, & Liben, 2009). Gender roles are sets of expectations that prescribe how females or males should think, act, and feel. During the preschool years, most children increasingly act in ways that match their culture's gender roles. Gender typing refers to acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role. For example, fighting is more characteristic of a traditional masculine role and crying is more characteristic of a traditional feminine role (Helgeson, 2017). One study revealed that sex-typed behavior (boys playing with cars and girls with jewelry, for example) increased during the preschool years and that children who engaged in the most sex-typed behavior during the preschool years still did so at 8 years of age (Golombok & others, 2008).

environmental tobacco smoke

Estimates indicate that approximately 22 percent of children and adolescents in the United States are exposed to tobacco smoke in the home. An increasing number of studies reach the conclusion that children are at risk for health problems when they live in homes in which a parent smokes (Miyahara & others, 2017; Pugmire, Sweeting, & Moore, 2017). Children exposed to tobacco smoke in the home are more likely to develop wheezing symptoms and asthma than are children in nonsmoking families (Hatoun & others, 2018; Merianos, Dixon, & Mahabee-Gittens, 2017; Rosen & others, 2018; Vo & others, 2017). One study found that parental smoking was a risk factor for higher blood pressure in children (Simonetti & others, 2011). Also, a recent study revealed that maternal cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption when children were 5 years of age were linked to onset of smoking in early adolescence (Hayatbakhsh & others, 2013). Further, a recent study revealed that children living in low-income families are more likely to be exposed to environmental tobacco smoke than their counterparts in middle-income families (Kit & others, 2013). And a recent study found that young children who were exposed to environmental tobacco smoke were more likely to engage in antisocial behavior when they were 12 years old (Pagani

vygostsky vs piaget

Even though their theories were proposed at about the same time, most of the world learned about Vygotsky's theory later than they learned about Piaget's theory. Thus, Vygotsky's theory has not yet been evaluated as thoroughly. However, Vygotsky's view of the importance of sociocultural influences on children's development fits with the current belief that it is important to evaluate the contextual factors in learning (Gauvain, 2016; Holzman, 2017). We already have compared several aspects of Vygotsky's and Piaget's theories, such as Vygotsky's emphasis on the importance of inner speech in development and Piaget's view that such speech is immature. Although both theories are constructivist, Vygotsky's theory takes a social constructivist approach, which emphasizes the social contexts of learning and the construction of knowledge through social interaction (Gauvain, 2016; Holzman, 2017; Yu & Hu, 2017). In moving from Piaget to Vygotsky, the conceptual shift is one from the individual to collaboration, social interaction, and sociocultural activity (Daniels, 2017). The endpoint of cognitive development for Piaget is formal operational Page 213thought. For Vygotsky, the endpoint can differ depending on which skills are considered to be the most important in a particular culture. In Piaget's theory, children construct knowledge by transforming, organizing, and reorganizing previous knowledge. From Vygotsky's perspective, children construct knowledge through social interaction. The implication of Piaget's theory for teaching is that children need support to explore their world and discover knowledge. The main implication of Vygotsky's theory for teaching is that students need many opportunities to learn with the teacher and more-skilled peers. In both Piaget's and Vygotsky's theories, teachers serve as facilitators and guides, rather than as directors and molders of learning. Figure 10 compares Vygotsky's and Piaget's theories. As indicated in Figure 10, among the factors that Vygotsky emphasized more than Piaget are the sociocultural context, education, and language.

educational tv and gpa

More educational tv → correlated with highte gpa

self talk and private speech

Self talk: helps children do task and eventually that will be internal and they can do it by themselves. Vygotsky says self talk is helpful Private speech and self talk can be used pretty much interchangeably. We think of private speech more in younger kid

punishment

For centuries, corporal Page 245(physical) punishment, such as spanking, has been considered a necessary and even desirable method of disciplining children. Use of corporal punishment is legal in every state in America. A national survey of U.S. parents with 3- and 4-year-old children found that 26 percent of parents reported spanking their children frequently, and 67 percent of the parents reported yelling at their children frequently (Regalado & others, 2004). A study of more than 11,000 U.S. parents indicated that 80 percent of the parents reported spanking their children by the time they reached kindergarten (Gershoff & others, 2012). A recent research review concluded that there is widespread approval of corporal punishment by U.S. parents (Chiocca, 2017). A cross-cultural comparison found that individuals in the United States were among those with the most favorable attitudes toward corporal punishment and were the most likely to remember it being used by their parents (Curran & others, 2001) (see Figure 3). Physical punishment is outlawed in 41 countries, with an increasing number of countries banning physical punishment mainly to protect children from abuse and exploitation (Committee on the Rights of the Child, 2014).

How to support development of gross motor skills?

How can early childhood educators support young children's motor development? Young children need to practice skills in order to learn them, so instruction should be followed with ample time for practice (Follari, 2019; Morrison, 2017, 2018). A recent study of 4-year-old girls found that a nine-week motor skills intervention improved the girls' ball skills (Veldman & others, 2017).

why is play improtant?

Kids learn through play Peers play a big part in play Peers provide info, not always accurate Peers give feedback on how well they are doing. Play is the essential work of childhood

what did vygotsky believe?

Kids watch an model and imitation so we want kids of mixed abilities together because they learn from eachother: vygotsky

malnutrition

Malnutrition is a problem for many U.S. children, with approximately 11 million preschool children experiencing malnutrition that places their health at risk. Poverty is an especially strong risk factor for malnutrition in young children (Black & others, 2017; Blake, 2017; Schiff, 2019). One of the most common nutritional problems in early childhood is iron deficiency anemia, which results in chronic fatigue. This problem results from the failure to eat adequate amounts of quality meats and dark green vegetables. Young children from low-income families are the most likely to develop iron deficiency anemia (Petry & others, 2017).

what contributes to overweight and obesity?

Many aspects of children's lives can contribute to becoming overweight or obese (Labayen Goni & others, 2018; Sun & others, 2018). Recently, the following 5-2-1-0 obesity prevention guidelines have been issued for young children: 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables, 2 hours or less of screen time, minimum of 1 hour of physical activity, and 0 sugar-sweetened beverages daily (Khalsa & others, 2017). Prevention of obesity in children includes helping children, parents, and teachers see food as a way to satisfy hunger and meet nutritional needs, not as proof of love or as a reward for good behavior (Roberts, Marx, & Musher-Eizenman, 2018; Smith & Collene, 2019). Snack foods should be low in fat, in simple sugars, and in salt, as well as high in fiber. Routine physical activity should be a daily occurrence (Lintu & others, 2016). A recent research study found that viewing as little as 1 hour of television daily was associated with an increase in body mass index (BMI) between kindergarten and the first grade (Peck & others, 2015). A recent intervention study with Page 204children attending Head Start programs found that getting parents involved in such activities as nutrition counseling, becoming more aware of their child's weight status, and developing healthy lifestyles was effective in lowering children's rate of obesity, increasing children's physical activity, reducing children's TV viewing, and improving children's eating habits (Davison & others, 2013). Other researchers also are finding that interventions with parents can reduce children's likelihood of being overweight or obese (Byrne & others, 2018). A recent research review concluded that family-based interventions were often effective in helping obese children lose weight (Kothandan, 2014).

social influences of gender

Many social scientists do not locate the cause of psychological gender differences in biological dispositions. Rather, they argue that these differences reflect social experiences. Explanations for how gender differences come about through experience include both social and cognitive theories. Social Theories of Gender Three main social theories of gender have been proposed—social role theory, psychoanalytic theory, and social cognitive theory. Alice Eagly (2001, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2016, 2017) proposed social role theory, which states that gender differences result from the contrasting roles of women and men. In most cultures around the world, women have less power and status than men, and they control fewer resources (UNICEF, 2018). Compared with men, women perform more domestic work, spend fewer hours in paid employment, receive lower pay, and are more thinly represented in the highest levels of organizations (Helgeson, 2017). In Eagly's view, as women adapted to roles with less power and less status in society, they showed more cooperative, less dominant profiles than men. Thus, the social hierarchy and division of labor are important causes of gender differences in power, assertiveness, and nurturing (Eagly & Wood, 2017). First imagine that this is a photograph of a baby girl. What expectations would you have of her? Then imagine that this is a photograph of a baby boy. What expectations would you have of him?©Kwame Zikomo/Purestock/SuperStock The psychoanalytic theory of gender stems from Freud's view that the preschool child develops a sexual attraction to the opposite-sex parent. This is the process known as the Oedipus (for boys) or Electra (for girls) complex. At 5 or 6 years of age, the child renounces this attraction because of anxious feelings. Subsequently, the child identifies with the same-sex parent, unconsciously adopting the same-sex parent's characteristics. However, developmentalists have observed that gender development does not proceed as Freud proposed. Children become gender-typed much earlier than 5 or 6 years of age, and they become masculine or feminine even when the same-sex parent is not present in the family. The social cognitive approach provides an alternative explanation of how children develop gender-typed behavior. According to the social cognitive theory of gender, children's gender development occurs through observing and imitating what other people say and do, and through being rewarded and punished for gender-appropriate and gender-inappropriate behavior (Bussey & Bandura, 1999). From birth onward, males and females are treated differently from one another. When infants and toddlers show gender-appropriate behavior, adults tend to reward them. Parents often use rewards and punishments to teach their daughters to be feminine ("Karen, you are being a good girl when you play gently with your doll") and their sons to be masculine ("Keith, a boy as big as you is not supposed to cry"). Parents, however, are only one of many sources through which children learn gender roles (Brown & Stone, 2018). Culture, schools, peers, the media, and other family members also provide gender role models (Chen, Lee, & Chen, 2018; Liben, 2017; Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2018; Lord & others, 2017). For example, children also learn about gender by observing the behavior of other adults in the neighborhood and on television (Bugental & Grusec, 2006). As children get older, peers become increasingly important. Let's take a closer look at the influence of parents and peers. Parental Influences Parents, by action and by example, influence their children's gender development (Brannon, 2017; Endendijk & others, 2017; Helgeson, 2017; Leaper & Bigler, 2018; Liben, 2017). Both mothers and fathers are psychologically important to their children's gender development (Leaper, 2015). Cultures around the world, however, tend to give mothers and fathers different roles (Chen, Lee, & Chen, 2018). A research review yielded the following conclusions (Bronstein, 2006): Mothers' socialization strategies. In many cultures, mothers socialize their daughters to be more obedient and responsible than their sons. They also place more restrictions on daughters' autonomy. Fathers' socialization strategies. Fathers show more attention to sons than to daughters, engage in more activities with sons, and put forth more effort to promote sons' intellectual development. Page 241 What role does gender play in children's peer relations?(Left) ©altrendo images/Getty Images; (right) ©Cindy Charles/PhotoEdit Thus, according to Bronstein (2006, pp. 269-270), "Despite an increased awareness in the United States and other Western cultures of the detrimental effects of gender stereotyping, many parents continue to foster behaviors and perceptions that are consonant with traditional gender role norms." Peer Influences Parents provide the earliest discrimination of gender roles, but peers soon join the process of responding to and modeling masculine and feminine behavior (Martin, Fabes, & Hanish, 2018; Rose & Smith, 2018; Zosuls & others, 2016). In fact, peers become so important to gender development that the playground has been called "gender school" (Luria & Herzog, 1985). Peers extensively reward and punish gender behavior (Rubin, Bukowski, & Bowker, 2015). For example, when children play in ways that the culture says are sex-appropriate, their peers tend to reward them. But peers often reject children who act in a manner that is considered more characteristic of the other gender (Handrinos & others, 2012). A little girl who brings a doll to the park may find herself surrounded by new friends; a little boy who does the same thing might be jeered at. However, there is greater pressure for boys to conform to a traditional male role than for girls to conform to a traditional female role (Fagot, Rogers, & Leinbach, 2000). For example, a preschool girl who wants to wear boys' clothing receives considerably more approval than a boy who wants to wear a dress. The very term "tomboy" implies broad social acceptance of girls' adopting traditional male behaviors. In a recent study of 9- to 10-year-olds in Great Britain, gender nonconforming boys were at highest risk for peer rejection (Braun & Davidson, 2017). In this study, gender non-conforming girls were preferred more than gender-conforming girls, with children most often citing masculine activities as the reason for this choice. Gender molds important aspects of peer relations (Rose & Smith, 2018). It influences the composition of children's groups, the size of groups, and interactions within a group (Maccoby, 1998, 2002): Gender composition of children's groups. Around the age of 3, children already show a preference to spend time with same-sex playmates. From 4 to 12 years of age, this preference for playing in same-sex groups increases, and during the elementary school years children spend a large majority of their free time with children of their own sex (see Figure 1). One study found that when preschool children select a playmate, both the sex of the playmate and the playmate's level of gender-typed activity are important but sex of the playmate is more important (Martin & others, 2013). FIGURE 1 DEVELOPMENTAL CHANGES IN PERCENTAGE OF TIME SPENT IN SAME-SEX AND MIXED-GROUP SETTINGS. Observations of children show that they are more likely to play in same-sex than mixed-sex groups. This tendency increases between 4 and 6 years of age. Group size. From about 5 years of age onward, boys are more likely to associate together in larger clusters than girls are. Boys are also more likely to participate in organized group games than girls are. In one study, same-sex groups of six children were permitted to use play materials in any way they wished (Benenson, Apostolaris, & Parnass, 1997). Girls were more likely than boys to play in dyads or triads, while boys were more likely to interact in larger groups and seek to attain a group goal. Interaction in same-sex groups. Boys are more likely than girls to engage in rough-and-tumble play, competition, conflict, ego displays, risk taking, and quests for dominance. By contrast, girls are more likely to engage in "collaborative discourse," in which they talk and act in a more reciprocal manner. Page 242

working parents

More than one of every two U.S. mothers with a child under the age of 5 is in the labor force; more than two of every three with a child from 6 to 17 years of age is employed. Maternal employment is a part of modern life, but its effects continue to be debated. Most research on parental work has focused on the role of maternal employment on young children's development (O'Brien & others, 2014). However, the effects of working parents involve the father as well as the mother when such matters as work schedules, work-family stress, and unemployment are considered (Clarke-Stewart & Parke, 2014). For example, a study of almost 3,000 adolescents found a negative association between the father's, but not the mother's, unemployment and the adolescents' health (Bacikova-Sleskova, Benka, & Orosova, 2015). Researchers have found that the nature of parents' work has more influence on children's development than whether a parent works outside the home (Han, 2009; O'Brien & others, 2014). And work can produce both positive and negative effects on parenting (Crouter & McHale, 2005). Ann Crouter (2006) described how parents bring their experiences at work into their homes. She concluded that parents who face poor working conditions such as long hours, overtime work, stressful work, and lack of autonomy on the job are likely to be more irritable at home and to engage in less effective parenting than their counterparts with better working conditions. A consistent finding is that children (especially girls) of working mothers engage in less gender stereotyping and have more egalitarian views of gender than children whose mothers are not employed outside the home (Goldberg & Lucas-Thompson, 2008).

neglectful

Neglectful: Kids get ignored but also parents are unresponsive

childhood obesity and the world

One comparison of 34 countries revealed that the United States had the second highest rate of childhood obesity (Janssen & others, 2005). Obesity contributes to a number of health problems in young children (Walker & others, 2015). For example, physicians are now seeing type 2 (adult-onset) diabetes (a condition directly linked with obesity and a low level of fitness) and hypertension in children as young as 5 years of age (Chaturvedi & others, 2014).

cognitive influences of gender

One influential cognitive theory is gender schema theory, which states that gender typing emerges as children gradually develop gender schemas of what is gender-appropriate and gender-inappropriate in their culture (Liben & others, 2018; Martin & Cook, 2017; Martin, Fabes, & Hanish, 2018; Miller & others, 2013). A schema is a cognitive structure, a network of associations that guides an individual's perceptions. A gender schema organizes the world in terms of female and male. Children are internally motivated to perceive the world and to act in accordance with their developing schemas. Bit by bit, children pick up what is gender-appropriate and gender-inappropriate in their culture, and develop gender schemas that shape how they perceive the world and what they remember (Conry-Murray, Kim, & Turiel, 2012; Liben, 2017). Children are motivated to act in ways that conform to these gender schemas. Thus, gender schemas fuel gender typing.

centration and cosnervation

One limitation of preoperational thought is centration, a centering of attention on one characteristic to the exclusion of all others. Centration is most clearly evidenced in young children's lack of conservation, the awareness that altering an object's or a substance's appearance does not change its basic properties. For example, to adults, it is obvious that a certain amount of liquid stays the same, regardless of a container's shape. But this is not at all obvious to young children. Instead, they are struck by the height of the liquid in the container; they focus on that characteristic to the exclusion of others. The situation that Piaget devised to study conservation is his most famous task. In the conservation task, children are presented with two identical beakers, each filled to the same level with liquid (see Figure 6). They are asked if these beakers have the same amount of liquid, and they usually say yes. Then the liquid from one beaker is poured into a third beaker, which is taller and thinner than the first two. The children are then asked if the amount of liquid in the tall, thin beaker is equal to that which remains in one of Page 209the original beakers. Children who are less than 7 or 8 years old usually say no and justify their answers in terms of the differing height or width of the beakers. Older children usually answer yes and justify their answers appropriately ("If you poured the water back, the amount would still be the same")

emotional development: underestanding

One of the most important advances in emotional development in early childhood is an increased understanding of emotion (Kuhnert & others, 2017; O'Kearney & others, 2107; Perry & Calkins, 2018). During early childhood, young children increasingly understand that certain situations are likely to evoke particular emotions, facial expressions indicate specific emotions, emotions affect behavior, and emotions can be used to influence others' emotions (Cole & others, 2009). Between 2 and 4 years of age, children considerably increase the number of terms they use to describe emotions. During this time, they are also learning about the causes and consequences of feelings (Denham & others, 2011). A young child expressing the emotion of shame, which occurs when a child evaluates his or her actions as not living up to standards. A child experiencing shame wishes to hide or disappear. Why is shame called a self-conscious emotion? ©James Woodson/Getty Images When they are 4 to 5 years of age, children show an increased ability to reflect on emotions. They also begin to understand that the same event can elicit different feelings in different people. Moreover, they show a growing awareness that they need to manage their emotions to meet social standards. One program that is designed to improve young children's understanding of emotions is the Emotion-Based Prevention program (EBP) (Izard & others, 2008). This program consists of a teacher-conducted emotions course in the classroom, emotion tutoring and coaching teacher dialogues, and weekly parent messages that reinforce the lessons taught in the classroom. In the classroom component, teachers Page 235ask children to label or demonstrate emotional expressions, share ideas about what causes them to feel the emotions they described, compare expressions of different emotions and their intensities, and draw out or act out emotion expressions for their classmates. Researchers found that EBP was effective in improving Head Start children's emotion knowledge and that the children who participated in the program showed a decrease in their expression of negative emotions and internalizing behaviors (Finion & others, 2015).

brain development between ages 3 and 15

Researchers also have discovered that children's brains undergo dramatic anatomical changes between the ages of 3 and 15 (Bell, Ross, & Patton, 2018; Cohen & Casey, 2017). By repeatedly obtaining brain scans of the same children for up to four years, they have found that children's brains undergo rapid, distinct spurts of growth. The amount of brain material in some areas can nearly double within as little as a year, followed by a drastic loss of tissue as unneeded cells are purged and the brain continues to reorganize itself. The scientists have discovered that the overall size of the brain does not show dramatic growth in the 3- to 15-year age range. However, what does dramatically change are local patterns within the brain. Researchers have found that in children from 3 to 6 years of age the most rapid growth takes place in the frontal lobe areas involved in planning and organizing new actions, and in maintaining attention to tasks

perceptual development

Perceptual Development Changes in children's perceptual development continue in childhood (Bank & others, 2015). When children are about 4 or 5 years old, their eye muscles usually are developed enough that they can move their eyes efficiently across a series of letters. Many preschool children are farsighted, unable to see close up as well as they can see far away. By the time they enter the first grade, though, most children can focus their eyes and sustain their attention effectively on close-up objects. What are the signs of vision problems in children? They include rubbing the eyes, blinking or squinting excessively, appearing irritable when playing games that require good distance vision, shutting or covering one eye, and tilting the head or thrusting it forward when looking at something. A child who shows any of these behaviors should be examined by an ophthalmologist. After infancy, children's visual expectations about the physical world continue to develop. In one study, 2- to 4½-year-old children were given a task in which the goal was to find a ball that had been dropped through an opaque tube (Hood, 1995). As shown in Figure 2, if the ball is dropped into the tube at the top left, it will land in the box at the bottom right. However, in this task, most of the 2-year-olds, and even some of the 4-year-olds, persisted in searching in the box directly beneath the dropping point. For them, gravity ruled and they had failed to perceive the end location of the curved tube.

what are piaget and vygotsky helpful for?

Piaget helpful for assessing and diagnosing and seeing where a kid is VYgotsky helpful in treatment

preoperational stage of development

Preoperational stage Operations are like formal, math operations, lik emental operations you can do in your head Kids this age don't do a lot of mental operation until 6-7 yrs Kids see something and they act. I'm gonna get the ball in the street. Not thinking if car is coming They don't have enough experience to have sophisticated thought Age 2-4 kids limited by egocentrism Thinking that grandma can see th etoys Well I can see it so you can see it What are your toes for? Well.....they make youw alk Giving a lot of power to the toes By the time kids go to school, girls have more of a choice of fine motor given a choice. Both boys and girls like gros smotor. Girls have advantage ins chol because they are used to writing with the pens and drawing and playing

pretense/symbolic play

Pretense/symbolic play occurs when the child transforms the physical environment into a symbol (Taggart, Eisen, & Lillard, 2018). Between 9 and 30 months of age, children increase their use of objects in symbolic play. They learn to transform objects—substituting them for other objects and acting toward them as if they were those other objects. For example, a preschool child treats a table as if it were a car and says, "I'm fixing the car," as he grabs a leg of the table. Many experts on play consider the preschool years the "golden age" of symbolic/pretense play that is dramatic or sociodramatic in nature. This type of make-believe play often appears at about 18 months of age and reaches a peak at 4 to 5 years of age, then gradually declines. And that park grew up with me; that small world widened as I learned its secrets and boundaries, as I discovered new refuges in its woods and jungles: hidden homes and lairs for the multitudes of imagination, for cowboys and Indians. . . . I used to dawdle on half holidays along the bent and Devon-facing seashore, hoping for gold watches or the skull of a sheep or a message in a bottle to be washed up with the tide. —Dylan Thomas Welsh Poet, 20th Century Some child psychologists conclude that pretend play is an important aspect of young children's development and often reflects advances in their cognitive development, especially as an indication of symbolic understanding (Edmiston, 2017; Hakkarainen, Bredikyte, & Safarov, 2017; Taggart, Eisen, & Lillard, 2018). For example, Catherine Garvey (2000) and Angeline Lillard (2006) emphasize that hidden in young children's pretend play narratives are remarkable capacities for role-taking, balancing of social roles, metacognition (thinking about thinking), testing of the reality-pretense distinction, and numerous nonegocentric capacities that reveal the remarkable cognitive skills of young children. A major accomplishment in early childhood is the development of children's ability to share their pretend play with peers (Coplan & Arbeau, 2009). And researchers have found that pretend play contributes to young children's self-regulation, mainly because of the self-monitoring and social sensitivity that is required in creating and enacting a sociodramatic narrative in cooperation with other children (Diamond & others, 2007).

attention in children

Recall that attention is defined as the focusing of Page 214mental resources on select information. The child's ability to pay attention improves significantly during the preschool years (Rothbart & Posner, 2015; Wu & Scerif, 2018). Toddlers wander around, shift attention from one activity to another, and seem to spend little time focusing on any one object or event. By comparison, the preschool child might be observed watching television for a half hour or longer. Young children especially make advances in two aspects of attention—executive attention and sustained attention (Rothbart & Posner, 2015). Executive attention involves action planning, allocating attention to goals, error detection and compensation, monitoring progress on tasks, and dealing with novel or difficult circumstances (McClelland & others, 2017; Schmitt & others, 2017). Sustained attention is focused and extended engagement with an object, task, event, or other aspect of the environment. Sustained attention also is called vigilance (Benitez & others, 2017). Research indicates that although older children and adolescents show increases in vigilance, it is during the preschool years that individuals show the greatest increase in vigilance (Rothbart & Posner, 2015). Mary Rothbart and Maria Gartstein (2008, p. 332) explained why advances in executive and sustained attention are so important in early childhood: The development of the . . . executive attention system supports the rapid increases in effortful control in the toddler and preschool years. Increases in attention are due, in part, to advances in comprehension and language development. As children are better able to understand their environment, this increased appreciation of their surroundings helps them to sustain attention for longer periods of time. In at least two ways, however, the preschool child's control of attention is still deficient: Salient versus relevant dimensions. Preschool children are likely to pay attention to stimuli that stand out, or are salient, even when those stimuli are not relevant to solving a problem or performing a task. For example, if a flashy, attractive clown presents the directions for solving a problem, preschool children are likely to pay more attention to the clown than to the directions. After the age of 6 or 7, children attend more efficiently to the dimensions of the task that are relevant, such as the directions for solving a problem. This change reflects a shift to cognitive control of attention, so that children behave less impulsively and reflect more. Planfulness. When experimenters ask children to judge whether two complex pictures are the same, preschool children tend to use a haphazard comparison strategy, not examining all of the details before making a judgment. By comparison, elementary-school-age children are more likely to systematically compare the details across the pictures, one detail at a time (Vurpillot, 1968) (see Figure 1

contextual factors and brain development

Recently, researchers have found that contextual factors such as poverty and parenting quality are linked to the development of the brain (Black & others, 2017; Lomanowska & others, 2017; Marshall & others, 2018). In one study, children from the poorest homes had significant maturational lags in their frontal and temporal lobes at 4 years of age, and these lags were associated with lower attainment of school readiness skills (Hair & others, 2015). In another study, higher levels of maternal sensitivity in early childhood were associated with higher total brain volume (Kok & others, 2015).

sensorimotor/practice play

Sensorimotor play is behavior by infants that lets them derive pleasure from exercising their sensorimotor schemes. The development of sensorimotor play follows Piaget's description of sensorimotor thought. Infants initially engage in exploratory and playful visual and motor transactions in the second quarter of the first year of life. At about 9 months of age, infants begin to select novel objects for exploration and play, especially responsive objects such as toys that make noise or bounce. Practice play involves the repetition of behavior when new skills are being learned or when physical or mental mastery and coordination of skills are required for games or sports. Sensorimotor play, which often involves practice play, is primarily confined to infancy, whereas practice play can be engaged in throughout life. During the preschool years, children often engage in practice play

poor sleep linked with

Sleep problems in early childhood were associated with subsequent attention problems that in some cases persisted into early adolescence (O'Callaghan & others, 2010). In a Chinese study, preschool children who slept seven hours per day or less had a worse school readiness profile (including language/cognitive deficits and emotional immaturity) (Tso & others, 2016). Also in this study, preschool children who used electronic devices three or more hours per day had shortened sleep durations. Preschool children with a longer sleep duration were more likely to have better peer acceptance, social skills, and receptive vocabulary (Vaughn & others, 2015). Short sleep duration in children was linked with being overweight (Hart, Cairns, & Jelalian, 2011). In 2- to 5-year-old children, each additional hour of daily screen time was associated with a decrease in sleep time, less likelihood of sleeping 10 hours or more per night, and later bedtime (Xu & others, 2016). Four-year-old children who had insomnia were characterized by hostile-aggressive and hyperactive-distractible problems (Armstrong & others, 2014).

myelination and interior development of the brain

Some of the brain's interior changes involve increases in dendritic connections as well as myelination, in which nerve cells are covered and insulated with a layer of fat cells (see Figure 1). Myelination has the effect of increasing the speed and efficiency of information traveling through the nervous system. Myelination is important in the development of a number of abilities during childhood (Juraska & Willing, 2017; van Tilborg & others, 2018). For example, myelination in the areas of the brain related to hand-eye coordination is not complete until about 4 years of age. In a recent study, young children with higher cognitive ability showed increased myelination by 3 years of age

vygotsky teaching strategies

Teaching Strategies Vygotsky's theory has been embraced by many teachers and has been successfully applied to education (Adams, 2015; Clara, 2017; Holzman, 2017). Here are some ways Vygotsky's theory can be incorporated in classrooms: Assess the child's ZPD. Like Piaget, Vygotsky did not recommend formal, standardized tests as the best way to assess children's learning. Rather, Vygotsky argued that assessment should focus on determining the child's zone of proximal development. The skilled helper presents the child with tasks of varying difficulty to determine the best level at which to begin instruction. Use the child's ZPD in teaching. Teaching should begin toward the zone's upper limit, so that the child can reach the goal with help and move to a higher level of skill and knowledge. Offer just enough assistance. You might ask, "What can I do to help you?" Or simply observe the child's intentions and attempts and provide support when it is needed. When the child hesitates, offer encouragement. And encourage the child to practice the skill. You may watch and appreciate the child's practice or offer support when the child forgets what to do. Use more-skilled peers as teachers. Remember that it is not just adults who are important in helping children learn. Children also benefit from the support and guidance of more-skilled children. Place instruction in a meaningful context. Educators today are moving away from abstract presentations of material; instead, they provide students with opportunities to experience learning in real-world settings. For example, rather than just memorizing math formulas, students work on math problems with real-world implications. Transform the classroom with Vygotskian ideas. What does a Vygotskian classroom look like? The Kamehameha Elementary Education Program (KEEP) in Hawaii is based on Vygotsky's theory (Tharp, 1994). The ZPD is the key element of instruction in this program. Children might read a story and then interpret its meaning. Many of the learning activities take place in small groups. All children spend at least 20 minutes each morning in a setting called "Center One." In this context, scaffolding is used to improve children's literacy skills. The instructor asks questions, responds to students' queries, and builds on the ideas that students generate.

effects of television onprosocialbehavior

Television can have a positive influence on children's development by presenting motivating educational programs, providing information about the world beyond their immediate environment, and displaying models of prosocial behavior (Maloy & others, 2017). A recent meta-analysis found that children's exposure to prosocial media is linked to higher levels of prosocial behavior and empathetic concern (Coyne & others, 2018). For example, researchers have found that when children watch positive social interchanges on the TV show Sesame Street, they subsequently are likely to imitate these positive social behaviors (Truglio & Kotler, 2014). Page 261

the brain

The Brain •Brain growth slows during early childhood •Brain reaches 95% of adult volume by 6 years •Changes in child's brain structure •Myelination: Nerve cells are covered and insulated with a layer of fat cells •Increases the speed at which information travels through the nervous system •Rapid, distinct spurts of growth especially in the frontal lobes

categories for weight

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2018) has established categories for obesity, overweight, and at risk of being overweight. These categories are determined by body mass index (BMI), which is computed using a formula that takes into account height and weight. Children and adolescents at or above the 97th percentile are classified as obese, those at the 95th or 96th percentile as overweight, and those from the 85th to the 94th percentile as at risk of being overweight.

prevalence of overweight

The percentages of young children who are overweight or at risk of being overweight in the United States have increased dramatically in recent decades, but in the last several years there are indications that fewer preschool children are obese (Wardlaw, Smith, & Collene, 2018). In 2009-2010, 12.1 percent of U.S. 2- to 5-year-olds were classified as obese, compared with 5 percent in 1976-1980 (Ogden & others, 2012). However, in 2013-2014, a substantial drop in the obesity rate of 2- to 5-year-old children occurred in comparison with their counterparts in 2009-2010 (Ogden & others, 2016). In 2013-2014, 9.4 percent of 2- to 5-year-olds were obese compared with 12.1 percent in 2009-2010. It is not clear precisely why this drop occurred, but among the possibilities are families buying lower-calorie foods and the Special Supplementation Program for Women, Infants, and Children (which subsidizes food for women in low-income families) emphasizing reduced consumption of fruit juice, cheese, and eggs and increased consumption of whole fruits and vegetables. In a recent study, 2½-year-olds' liking for fruits and vegetables was related to their eating more fruits and vegetables at 7 years of age (Fletcher & others, 2018).

gross motor schools: preschool

The preschool child no longer has to make an effort simply to stay upright and to move around. As children move their legs with more confidence and carry themselves more purposefully, moving around in the environment becomes more automatic (Perry & others, 2018). However, there are large individual differences in young children's gross motor skills (Kliegman & others, 20

language development in children

Toddlers move rather quickly from producing two-word utterances to creating three-, four-, and five-word combinations. Between 2 and 3 years of age, they begin the transition from saying simple sentences that express a single proposition to saying complex sentences. The greatest poem ever known Is one all poets have outgrown; The poetry, innate, untold, Of being only four years old. —Christopher Morley American Novelist, 20th Century As young children learn the special features of their own language, there are extensive regularities in how they acquire that particular language (Clark, 2017; Litz, Snyder, & Pater, 2017). For example, all children learn the prepositions on and in before other prepositions. Children learning other languages, such as Russian or Chinese, also acquire the particular features of those languages in a consistent order.

factors that influence ZPD effectiveness

What are some factors that can influence the effectiveness of the ZPD in children's learning and development? Researchers have found that the following factors can enhance the ZPD's effectiveness (Gauvain & Perez, 2015): better emotion regulation, secure attachment, absence of maternal depression, and child compliance.

predictors of executive function

What are some predictors of young children's executive function? Parenting practices are linked to children's development of executive function (Bernier & others, 2015; Cheng & others, 2018). For example, several studies have linked greater use of verbal scaffolding by parents (providing age-appropriate support during cognitive tasks) to children's more advanced executive function (Bibok, Carpendale, & Muller, 2009; Hammond & others, 2012). A recent study revealed that secure attachment to mothers during the toddler years was linked to a higher level of executive function at 5 to 6 years of age (Bernier & others, 2015). Other predictors of better executive function in children include higher socioeconomic status (Duncan, McClelland, & Acock, 2017); some aspects of language, including vocabulary size, verbal labeling, and bilingualism (Bell, Wolfe, & Adkins, 2007; Bialystok, 2010; Muller & others, 2008; Nesbitt, Farran, & Fuhs, 2015); imagination (generating novel ideas, for example) (White & Carlson, 2016); cultural background (Asian children, especially urban Chinese and Korean children, show better executive function than U.S. children) (Lan & others, 2011; Sabbagh & others, 2006); and fewer sleep problems (Friedman & others, 2009).

causes of death

Young children's active and exploratory nature, coupled with their unawareness of danger in many instances, often puts them in situations in which they are at risk for injuries. In 2015 in the United States, accidents (unintentional injuries) were the leading cause of death in young children, followed by congenital malformations, deformations, and chromosomal abnormalities (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017). Drowning was the most common cause of accidental death in young children, with other causes of accidental death in young children in order involving motor vehicles, homicide, and suffocation.

overweight children

Young children's eating behavior is strongly influenced by their caregivers' behavior (Black & Hurley, 2017; Brown, 2017; Lindsay & others, 2018; Sorte, Daeschel, & Amador, 2017; Tan & Holub, 2015). Young children's eating behavior improves when caregivers eat with children on a predictable schedule, model choosing nutritious food, make mealtimes pleasant occasions, and engage in certain feeding styles. Distractions from television, family arguments, and competing activities should be minimized so that children can focus on eating. A sensitive/responsive caregiver feeding style, in which the caregiver is nurturant, provides clear information about what is expected, and appropriately responds to children's cues, is recommended (Black & Hurley, 2017). Forceful and restrictive caregiver behaviors are not recommended (Tylka, Lumeng, & Eneli, 2015).

connecting parent-child and peer relatins

arents may influence their children's peer relations in many ways, both directly and indirectly (Booth-Laforce & Groh, 2018). Parents affect such relations through their interactions with their children, how they manage their children's lives, and the opportunities they provide to their children (Brown & Bakken, 2011). For example, one study found that when mothers coached their preschool daughters about the negative aspects of peer conflicts involving relational aggression (harming someone by manipulating a relationship), the daughters engaged in lower rates of relational aggression (Werner & others, 2014). Basic lifestyle decisions by parents—their choices of neighborhoods, churches, schools, and their own friends—largely determine the pool from which their children select possible friends. These choices in turn affect which children their children meet, their purpose in interacting, and eventually which children become their friends. Researchers also have found that children's peer relations are linked to attachment security and parents' marital quality (Booth-LaForce & Groh, 2018). Early attachments to caregivers provide a connection to children's peer relations not only by creating a secure base from which children can explore social relationships beyond the family but also by conveying a working model of relationships Page 257(Hartup, 2009). Researchers have found that when mothers coach their preschool daughters about the negative aspects of peer conflicts involving relational aggression (harming someone by manipulating a relationship), the daughters engage in lower rates of relational aggression (Werner & others, 2014). How are parent-child and peer relationships connected? (Left) ©iStockphoto.com/monkeybusinessimages; (right) ©kali9/Getty Images Do these results indicate that children's peer relations always are wedded to parent-child relationships? Although parent-child relationships influence children's subsequent peer relations, children also learn other modes of relating through their relationships with peers. For example, rough-and-tumble play occurs mainly with other children, not in parent-child interaction. In times of stress, children often turn to parents rather than peers for support. In parent-child relationships, children learn how to relate to authority figures. With their peers, children are likely to interact on a much more equal basis and to learn a mode of relating based on mutual influence. We will have much more to say about peer relations later.

trends in play

athy Hirsh-Pasek, Roberta Golinkoff, and Dorothy Singer (Hirsh-Pasek & others, 2009; Singer, Golinkoff, & Hirsh-Pasek, 2006) are concerned about the small amount of time for free play that young children have today, reporting that it has declined considerably in recent decades. They especially are worried about young children's playtime being restricted at home and school so they can spend more time on academic subjects. They also point out that many schools have eliminated recess. And it is not just the declining time for free play that bothers them. They underscore that learning in playful contexts captivates children's minds in ways that enhance their cognitive and socioemotional development—Singer, Golinkoff, and Hirsh-Pasek's (2006) first book on play was titled Play = Learning. Among the cognitive benefits of play they described are skills in the following areas: creativity; abstract thinking; imagination; attention, concentration, and persistence; problem-solving; social cognition, empathy, and perspective taking; language; and mastery of new concepts. Among the socioemotional experiences and development they believe play promotes are enjoyment, relaxation, and self-expression; cooperation, sharing, and turn-taking; anxiety reduction; and self-confidence. With so many positive cognitive and socioemotional outcomes of play, clearly it is important that we find more time for play in young children's lives (Taggart, Eisen, & Lillard, 2018).

why are eating habits important

ating habits are important aspects of development during early childhood (Blake, Munoz, & Volpe, 2019; Thompson & Manore, 2018; Wardlaw, Smith, & Collene, 2018). What children eat affects their skeletal growth, body shape, and susceptibility to disease. Exercise and physical activity also are very important aspects of young children's lives (Powers & Dodd, 2017; Powers & Howley, 2018; Walton-Fisette & Wuest, 2018).

emotional ldevelopment: expressing

e young child's growing awareness of self is linked to the ability to feel an expanding range of emotions. Young children, like adults, experience many emotions during the course of a day. Their emotional development in early childhood allows them to try to make sense of other people's emotional reactions and to begin to control their own emotions (Blair, 2017; Morris & others, 2018). Expressing Emotions Recall that even young infants experience emotions such as joy and fear, but to experience self-conscious emotions children must be able to refer to themselves and be aware of themselves as distinct from others (Lewis, 2015, 2016). Pride, shame, embarrassment, and guilt are examples of self-conscious emotions. Self-conscious emotions do not appear to develop until self-awareness occurs at approximately 15 to 18 months of age. In a recent study, the broad capacity for self-evaluative emotion was present in the preschool years and was linked to young children's empathetic concern (Ross, 2017). In this study, young children's moral pride and pride in response to achievement and resilience to shame were linked to a greater tendency to engage in spontaneous helping. During the early childhood years, emotions such as pride and guilt become more common. They are especially influenced by parents' responses to children's behavior. For example, a young child may experience shame when a parent says, "You should feel bad about biting your sister." One study revealed that young children's emotional expression was linked to their parents' own expressive behavior (Nelson & others, 2012). In this study, mothers who expressed a high incidence of positive emotions and a low incidence of negative emotions at home had children who were observed to use more positive emotion words during mother-child interactions than mothers who expressed few positive emotions at home.

parenting and parenting styles

edia accounts sometimes portray parents as unhappy, feeling little joy in caring for their children. However, one study found that parents were more satisfied with their lives than were nonparents, felt relatively better on a daily basis than did nonparents, and had more positive feelings related to caring for their children than toward doing other daily activities (Nelson & others, 2013b). Juggling work and child care can be challenging for families with young children. A survey of American parents found that approximately half of fathers and one-fourth of mothers reported feeling that they weren't spending enough time with their children (Pew Research, 2013). Nonetheless, this survey found that both mothers and fathers were spending more time with their children than parents did a generation earlier. Good parenting takes time and effort (Hutchings & Williams, 2019; Morris & others, 2018; Serrano-Villar, Huang, & Calzada, 2017). You can't do it in a minute here and a minute there. You can't do it with CDs or DVDs. Of course, it's not just the quantity of time parents spend with children that is important for children's development—the quality of the parenting Page 243is clearly important (Grusec, 2017; Lindsay & others, 2018; Orth, 2018; Taylor & Workman, 2018). To understand variations in parenting, let's consider the styles parents use when they interact with their children, how they discipline their children, and the dynamics of coparenting.

caveats of parenting styles

everal caveats about parenting styles are in order. First, the parenting styles do not capture the important themes of reciprocal socialization and synchrony. Keep in mind that children socialize parents, just as parents socialize children (Klein & others, 2018). Second, many parents use a combination of techniques rather than a single technique, although one technique may be dominant. Although consistent parenting is usually recommended, the wise parent may sense the importance of being more permissive in certain situations, more authoritarian in others, and more authoritative in yet other circumstances. In addition, parenting styles often are talked about as if both parents have the same style, although this may not be the case. Third, some critics argue that the concept of parenting style is too broad and that more research needs to be conducted to "unpack" parenting styles by studying various components that compose the styles (Grusec, 2011, 2017; Grusec & others). For example, is parental monitoring more important than warmth in predicting child and adolescent outcomes? Fourth, much of the parenting style research has involved mothers, not fathers. In many families, mothers will use one style, fathers another style. Especially in traditional cultures, fathers have an authoritarian style and mothers a more permissive, indulgent style. It has often been said that it is beneficial for parents to engage in a consistent parenting style; however, if fathers are authoritarian and aren't willing to change, children benefit when mothers use an authoritative style.

media and screen time

ew developments in society in the second half of the twentieth century had a greater impact on children than television (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2018; Maloy & others, 2017). Television continues to have a strong influence on children's development, but children's use of other media and information/communication devices has led to the use of the term screen time to describe the amount of time individuals spend with television, DVDs, computers, video games, and hand-held electronic devices such as smartphones (Gebremariam & others, 2017; Goh & others, 2016; Li & others, 2017). A national survey found that there was a dramatic increase in young children's use of mobile devices in just two years from 2011 to 2013 (Common Sense Media, 2013). In this survey, playing games was children's most common activity on mobile devices, followed by using apps, watching videos, and watching TV shows or movies. Despite the move to mobile devices, television is still the elephant in young children's media life, with 2- to 4-year-old children watching TV approximately 2 to 4 hours per day (Common Sense Media, 2013). In the U.S. national survey, 50 percent of children's screen time was spent in front of TV sets Page 260(Common Sense Media, 2013). Compared with their counterparts in other developed countries, children in the United States watch television for considerably longer periods. The American Academy of Pediatrics (2016) recommends that 2- to 5-year olds watch no more than one hour of TV a day. The Academy also recommends that they only should be exposed to high-quality programs, such as Sesame Street and other PBS shows for young children.

changing family structure

eyond variations in the number of siblings, the families that children experience differ in many important ways (Hardy, Smeeding, & Ziliak, 2018; Hoffman & others, 2017; Lindsay & others, 2018; Parke, 2017; Patterson & others, 2018). The number of children growing up in single-parent families is staggering. As shown in Figure 5, the United States has one of the highest percentages of single-parent families in the world. Among two-parent families, there are those in which both parents work outside the home, one or both parents had a previous marriage that ended in divorce, or the parents are gay or lesbian. Differences in culture and socioeconomic status (SES) also influence families. How do these variations in families affect children?

what happens in the preoperational stage?

he preoperational stage, which lasts from approximately 2 to 7 years of age, is the second Piagetian stage. In this stage, children begin to represent the world with words, images, and drawings. They form stable concepts and begin to reason. At the same time, the young child's cognitive world is dominated by egocentrism and magical beliefs. Because Piaget called this stage "preoperational," it might sound like an unimportant waiting period. Not so. Instead, the label preoperational emphasizes that the child does not yet perform operations, which are reversible mental actions that allow children to do mentally what before they could do only physically. Adding and subtracting numbers mentally are examples of operations. Preoperational thought is the beginning of the ability to reconstruct in thought what has been established in behavior. This developmental stage can be divided into two substages: the symbolic function substage and the intuitive thought substage.

coparenting

he support that parents provide one another in jointly raising a child is called coparenting. Poor coordination between parents, undermining of the other parent, lack of cooperation and warmth, and disconnection by one parent are conditions that place children at risk for problems (Pruett & others, 2017; Reader, Teti, & Cleveland, 2017). For example, one study revealed that coparenting influenced young children's effortful control above and beyond maternal and paternal parenting by themselves (Karreman & others, 2008). Another study found that greater father involvement in young children's play was linked to an increase in supportive coparenting (Jia & Schoppe-Sullivan, 2011). Researchers also have found that unmarried African American parents who were instructed in coparenting techniques during the prenatal period and also one month after the baby was born had higher levels of rapport, communication, and problem-solving skills when the baby was 3 months old (McHale, Salman-Engin, & Coovert, 2015).

long term negative effects of not developing gross motor skills?

here can be long-term negative effects for children who fail to develop basic motor skills (Barnett, Salmon, & Hesketh, 2016; Gorgon, 2018). These children will not be as able to join in group games or participate in sports during their school years and in adulthood. In a recent study, children with a low level of motor competence had a lower motivation for sports participation and had lower global self-worth than their counterparts with a high level of motor competence (Bardid & others, 2018). Another recent study found that higher motor proficiency in preschool was linked to higher levels of physical activity in adolescence

children's safety

hildren's safety is influenced not only by Page 205their own skills and safety behaviors but also by aspects of their family and home, school and peers, and community (Naranjo, 2017; Onders & others, 2018; Saunders & others, 2017; Simon-Tov, Peleg, & Baron-Epel, 2018). Figure 3 describes steps that can be taken in each of these contexts to enhance children's safety and prevent injury (Sleet & Mercy, 2003). Children in poverty have higher rates of accidents, death, and asthma than do children from higher-income families (Hughes & others, 2017; Lin & Seo, 2017).

are LTM in children accurate?

hile toddlers' short-term memory span increases during the early childhood years, their memory also becomes more accurate. Young children can remember a great deal of information if they are given appropriate cues and prompts (Bruck & Ceci, 2012). Increasingly, young children are even being allowed to testify in court, especially if they are the sole witnesses to abuse, a crime, and so forth (Andrews, Ahern, & Lamb, 2017; Pantell & others, 2018). Several factors can influence the accuracy of a young child's memory (Bruck & Ceci, 1999): There are age differences in children's susceptibility to suggestion. Preschoolers are the most suggestible age group in comparison with older children and adults (Lehman & others, 2010). For example, preschool children are more susceptible to believing misleading or incorrect information given after an event (Ghetti & Alexander, 2004). Despite these differences among various age groups, there is still concern about the reaction of older children when they are subjected to suggestive interviews (Ahern, Kowalski, & Lamb, 2018; Peixoto & others, 2017). There are individual differences in susceptibility. Some preschoolers are highly resistant to interviewers' suggestions, whereas others immediately succumb to the slightest suggestion (Ceci, Hritz, & Royer, 2016). Interviewing techniques can produce substantial distortions in children's reports about highly salient events. Children are suggestible not just about peripheral details but also about the central aspects of an event (Cederborg & others, 2013). In some cases, children's false reports can be tinged with sexual connotations. In laboratory studies, young children have made false claims about "silly events" that involved body contact (such as "Did the nurse lick your knee?" or "Did she blow in your ear?"). A significant number of preschool children have falsely reported that someone touched their private parts, kissed them, and hugged them, when these events clearly did not happen in the research. Nonetheless, young children are capable of recalling much that is relevant about an event (Lamb & others, 2015). Young children are more likely to accurately recall information about Page 216an event if the interviewer has a neutral tone, there is limited use of misleading questions, and there is no motivation for the child to make a false report (Principe, Greenhoot, & Ceci, 2014). In sum, whether a young child's eyewitness testimony is accurate or not may depend on a number of factors such as the type, number, and intensity of the suggestive techniques the child has experienced (Lamb & others, 2015). It appears that the reliability of young children's reports has as much to do with the skills and motivation of the interviewer as with any natural limitations on young children's memory (Andrews & Lamb, 2018; Ceci, Hritz, & Royer, 2016).

baumrind parenting style

iana Baumrind (1971, 2012) argues that parents should be neither punitive nor aloof. Rather, they should develop rules for their children and be affectionate with them. She has described four types of parenting styles:

are kids at mercy of enviro?

ids are at the mercy of their environment Given vast amount of resources in US, these numbers are inexcusable CDF Childhood is not idyllic for all and it depends on SES and resources that kids are born into

ygotsky said that language and thought initially develop independently of each other and then merge. He emphasized that all mental functions have external, or social, origins. Children must use language to communicate with others before they can focus inward on their own thoughts. Children also must communicate externally and use language for a long period of time before they can make the transition from external to internal speech. This transition period occurs between 3 and 7 years of age and involves talking to oneself. After a while, the self-talk becomes second nature to children, and they can act without verbalizing. When they gain this skill, children have internalized their egocentric speech in the form of inner speech, which becomes their thoughts.

inner speech

Busiest time for learning

irst year of infancy is busiest time of leanring although early childhood is busy too Early childhood (age 2-6) Growth and figuring things out

attention outcomes

n Central European countries such as Hungary, kindergarten children participate in exercises designed to improve their attention (Mills & Mills, 2000; Posner & Rothbart, 2007). For example, in one eye-contact exercise, the teacher sits in the center of a circle of children and each child is required to catch the teacher's eye before being permitted to leave the group. In other exercises created to improve attention, teachers have children participate in stop-go activities during which they have to listen for a specific signal, such as a drumbeat or an exact number of rhythmic beats, before stopping the activity. Computer exercises recently have been developed to improve children's attention (Jaeggi, Berman, & Jonides, 2009; Rothbart & Posner, 2015). For example, one study revealed that five days of computer exercises that involved learning how to use a joystick, working memory, and conflict resolution skills improved the attention of 4- to 6-year-old children (Rueda, Posner, & Rothbart, 2005). Although not commercially available, further information about computer exercises for improving children's attention can be found at www.teach-the-brain.org/learn/attention/index. The ability of preschool children to control and sustain their attention is related to a number of positive academic outcomes. For example, a study of more than 1,000 children revealed that their ability to sustain their attention at 54 months of age was linked to their school readiness (which included achievement and language skills) (NICHD Early Child Care Research Network, 2005). In another study, the ability to focus attention better at age 5 was linked to a higher level of school achievement at age 9 (Razza, Martin, & Brooks-Gunn, 2012). Also, a recent study found that preschoolers' sustained attention was linked to a greater likelihood of completing college by 25 years of age (McClelland & others, 2013).

how do children develop according to vygotsky?

n Vygotsky's theory, children are more often described as social creatures than in Piaget's theory (Moura da Costa & Tuleski, 2017; Yu & Hu, 2017). They develop their ways of thinking and understanding primarily through social interaction (Clara, 2017). Their cognitive development depends on the tools provided by society, and their minds are shaped by the cultural context in which they live (Daniels, 2017; Gauvain, 2016; Holzman, 2017; Yasnitsky & Van der Veer, 2016). Page 210 The Zone of Proximal Development Vygotsky's belief in the role of social influences, especial

authoritative parenting

ncourages children to be independent but still places limits and controls on their actions. Extensive verbal give-and-take is allowed, and parents are warm and nurturing toward the child. An authoritative parent might put his arm around the child in a comforting way and say, "You know you should not have done that. Let's talk about how you can handle the situation better next time." Authoritative parents show pleasure and support in response to children's constructive behavior. They also expect mature, independent, and age-appropriate behavior from their children. Children whose parents are authoritative are often cheerful, self-controlled and self-reliant, and achievement-oriented; they tend to maintain friendly relations with peers, cooperate with adults, and cope well with stress. As was just indicated, authoritative parents do exercise some direction and control over their children. The children of authoritative parents who engage in behavioral or psychological control without being coercive or punitive often show positive developmental outcomes (Baumrind, Larzelere, & Owens, 2010). In a recent study, children of authoritative parents engaged in more prosocial behavior than their counterparts whose parents used the other parenting styles described in this section (Carlo & others, 2018). Also, in a recent research review, authoritative parenting was the most effective parenting style in predicting which children and adolescents would be less likely to be overweight or obese later in their development (Sokol, Qin, & Poti, 2017).

gay and lesbian parents

ncreasingly, gay and lesbian couples are creating families that include children (Farr, 2017; Oakley, Farr, & Scherer, 2017; Patterson, 2013, 2014; Patterson, Farr, & Hastings, 2015). Data indicate that approximately 20 percent of same-sex couples are raising children under the age of 18 in the United States (Gates, 2013). Like heterosexual couples, gay and lesbian parents vary greatly. They may be single or they may have same-gender partners. Many lesbian mothers and gay fathers are noncustodial parents because they lost custody of their children to heterosexual spouses after a divorce. In addition, gays and lesbians are increasingly choosing parenthood through donor insemination or adoption (Simon & others, 2018). Researchers have found that the children conceived through new reproductive technologies—such as in vitro fertilization—are as well adjusted as their counterparts conceived by natural means (Golombok, 2011a, b). Parenthood among lesbians and gays is controversial. Opponents claim that being raised by gay or lesbian parents harms the child's development. But researchers have found few differences between children growing up with lesbian mothers or gay fathers on the one hand, and children growing up with heterosexual parents on the other (Patterson, Farr, & Hastings, 2015). For example, children growing up in gay or lesbian families are just as popular with their peers, and no differences are found in the adjustment and mental health of children in these families compared with children in heterosexual families (Hyde & DeLamater, 2017). For example, in a recent study, the adjustment of school-aged children adopted during infancy by gay, lesbian, and heterosexual parents showed no differences (Farr, 2017). Rather, children's behavior patterns and family functioning were predicted by earlier child adjustment issues and parental stress. In another recent study of lesbian and gay adoptive parents, 98 percent of the adoptive parents reported that their children had adjusted well to school (Farr, Oakley, & Ollen, 2016). Another study revealed more positive parenting in adoptive gay father families and fewer child externalizing problems in these families than in heterosexual families (Golombok & others, 2014). Contrary to the once-popular expectation that being raised by a gay or lesbian parent would result in the child growing up to be gay or lesbian, in reality the overwhelming majority of children from gay or lesbian families have a heterosexual orientation (Golombok & Tasker, 2010; Tasker & Golombok, 1997). Page 253

brain development

ne of the most important physical developments during early childhood is the continuing development of the brain and nervous system (Bell & others, 2018). Although the brain continues to grow in early childhood, it does not grow as rapidly as it did in infancy. By the time children reach 3 years of age, the brain is three-quarters of its adult size. By age 6, the brain has reached about 95 percent of its adult size (Lenroot & Giedd, 2006). Thus, the brain of a 5-year-old is nearly the size it will be when the child reaches adulthood, but as we will see in later chapters, the development that occurs inside the brain continues through the remaining years of childhood and adolescen

Literacy

oncern about the ability of U.S. children to read and write has led to a careful examination of preschool and kindergarten children's experiences, with the hope that a positive orientation toward reading and writing can be developed early in life (Temple & others, 2018; Tompkins, 2017, 2019). Parents and teachers need to provide young children with a supportive environment for developing literacy skills (Tompkins, 2017, 2019). Children should be active participants and be immersed in a wide range of interesting situations involving listening, talking, writing, and reading (Reutzel & Cooter, 2019; Vukelich & others, 2016). One study revealed that children whose mothers had more education acquired more advanced emergent literacy levels than children whose mothers had less education (Korat, 2009). Another study found that literacy experiences (such as how often the child was read to), the quality of the mother's engagement with her child (such as attempts to cognitively stimulate the child), and provision of learning materials (such as age-appropriate books) were important home literacy experiences in low-income families that were linked to the children's language development in positive ways (Rodriguez & others, 2009). Instruction should be built on what children already know about oral language, reading, and writing. Further, early precursors of literacy and academic success include language skills, phonological and syntactic knowledge, letter identification, and conceptual knowledge about print and its conventions and functions (Jalongo, 2014). Also, a recent study found that 60 minutes of physical activity per day in preschool academic contexts improved early literacy (Kirk & Kirk, 2016). Books can be valuable in enhancing children's communication skills (Reutzel & Cooter, 2019; Temple & others, 2018). What are some strategies for using books effectively with preschool children? Ellen Galinsky (2010) suggests the following strategies: Use books to initiate conversation with young children. Ask them to put themselves in the book characters' places and imagine what they might be thinking or feeling. Use what and why questions. Ask young children what they think is going to happen next in a story and then to see if it occurs. Encourage children to ask questions about stories. Choose some books that play with language. Creative books on the alphabet, including those with rhymes, often interest young children. The advances in language that take place in early childhood lay the foundation for later development in the elementary school years, as we will discuss in more detail later.

initiative versus guilt

ou have read about Erik Erikson's (1968) eight developmental stages that are encountered during certain time periods in the life span. Erikson's first two stages—trust versus mistrust, and autonomy versus shame and doubt—describe what he considers to be the main developmental tasks of infancy. Erikson's psychosocial stage associated with early childhood is initiative versus guilt. By now, children have become convinced that they are persons in their own right; during early childhood, they begin to discover what kind of person they will become. They identify intensely with their parents, who most of the time appear to them to be powerful and beautiful, although often unreasonable, disagreeable, and sometimes even dangerous. During early childhood, children use their perceptual, motor, cognitive, and language skills to make things happen. They have a surplus of energy that permits them to forget failures quickly and to approach new areas that seem desirable—even if dangerous—with undiminished zest and often an increased sense of direction. On their own initiative, then, children at this stage exuberantly move out into a wider social world. The great governor of initiative is conscience. Young children's initiative and enthusiasm may bring them not only rewards but also guilt, which lowers self-esteem.

SES

ow-income families have less access to resources than higher-income families do (Yoshikawa & others, 2017). The differential in access to resources encompasses nutrition, health care, protection from danger, and enriching educational and socialization opportunities such as tutoring and lessons in various activities (Hardy, Smeeding, & Ziliak, 2018). These differences are compounded in low-income families characterized by long-term poverty (Chaudry & others, 2017; Coley & others, 2018). One study found that persistent economic hardship and very early poverty were linked to lower cognitive functioning in children at 5 years of age (Schoon & others, 2012). And in another study, poverty-related adversity in family and school contexts in early childhood was linked to less effective executive function in second- and third-graders (Raver & others, 2013). A longitudinal study found that a multicomponent (school-based educational enrichment and comprehensive family services) preschool to third grade intervention with low-income minority children in Chicago was effective in increasing their rate of high school graduation, as well as their undergraduate and graduate school success (Reynolds, Qu, & Temple, 2018). In the United States and most Western cultures, differences have been found in child rearing among families with different socioeconomic statuses (SES) (Hoff, Laursen, & Tardif, 2002, p. 246): "Lower-SES parents (1) are more concerned that their children conform to society's expectations, (2) create a home atmosphere in which it is clear that parents have authority over children," (3) use physical punishment more in disciplining their children, and (4) are more directive and less conversational with their children. "Higher-SES parents (1) are more concerned with developing children's initiative" and delay of gratification, "(2) create a home atmosphere in which children are more nearly equal participants and in which rules are discussed as opposed to being laid down" in an authoritarian manner, (3) are less likely to use physical punishment, and (4) "are less directive and more conversational" with their children.

Children's syntactic and semantic development

reschool children also learn and apply rules of syntax (Clark, 2017; Tieu & others, 2018). They show a growing mastery of complex rules for how words should be ordered (Fletcher & Frizelle, 2017; Kyratzis, 2017; Thornton, 2017). Consider wh- questions, such as "Where is Daddy going?" or "What is that boy doing?" To ask these questions properly, the child must know two important differences between wh- questions and affirmative statements (for instance, "Daddy is going to work" and "That boy is waiting for the school bus"). First, a wh- word must be added at the beginning of the sentence. Second, the auxiliary verb must be inverted—that is, exchanged with the subject of the sentence. Young children learn quite early where to put the wh- word, but they take much longer to learn the auxiliary-inversion rule. Thus, preschool children might ask, "Where Daddy is going?" and "What that boy is doing?" Gains in semantics also characterize early childhood. Vocabulary development is dramatic (Thornton, 2017). Some experts have concluded that between 18 months and 6 years of age, young children learn approximately one new word every waking hour (Gelman & Kalish, 2006). By the time they enter first grade, it is estimated that children know about 14,000 words (Clark, 1993). Why can children learn so many new words so quickly? One possibility is fast mapping, which involves children's ability to make an initial connection between a word and its referent after only limited exposure to the word (McGregor, 2017; van Hout, 2017). Researchers have found that exposure to words on multiple occasions over several days results in more successful word learning than the same number of exposures in a single day (Childers & Tomasello, 2002). Recent research using eye-tracking found that even 15-month-old infants fast map words (Puccini & Liszkowski, 2012). Also, fast mapping promotes deeper understanding of word meaning, such as learning where the word can apply and its nuances.

authoritarian parenting

s a restrictive, punitive style in which parents exhort the child to follow their directions and respect their work and effort. The authoritarian parent places firm limits and controls on the child and allows little verbal exchange. For example, an authoritarian parent might say, "You will do it my way or else." Authoritarian parents also might spank the child frequently, enforce rules rigidly but not explain them, and show rage toward the child. Children of authoritarian parents are often unhappy, fearful, and anxious about comparing themselves with others, fail to initiate activity, and have weak communication skills. A recent research review of a large number of studies concluded that authoritarian parenting is linked to a higher level of externalizing problems (acting out, high levels of aggression, for example) (Pinquart, 2017). Also, a recent study of young children found that an authoritarian parenting style, as well as pressuring the child to eat, were linked to increased risk that children would be overweight or obese (Melis Yavuz & Selcuk, 2018).

neglectful parenting

s a style in which the parent is uninvolved in the child's life. Children whose parents are neglectful develop the sense that other aspects of the parents' lives are more important than they are. These children tend to be socially incompetent. Many have poor self-control and don't handle independence well. They frequently have low self-esteem, are immature, and may be alienated from the family. In adolescence, they may show patterns of truancy and delinquency. In the recent research review of studies described under authoritarian parenting, the review also found that neglectful parenting was associated with a higher level of externalizing problems (Pinquart, 2017).

intuitive thought substage

s the second substage of preoperational thought, occurring between approximately 4 and 7 years of age. In this substage, children begin to use primitive reasoning and want to know the answers to all sorts of questions. Consider 4-year-old Tommy, who is at the beginning of the intuitive thought substage. Although he is starting to develop his own ideas about the world he lives in, his ideas are still simple, and he is not very good at thinking things out. He has difficulty understanding events that he knows are taking place but that he cannot see. His fantasized thoughts bear little resemblance to reality. He cannot yet answer the question "What if?" in any reliable way. For example, he has only a vague idea of what would happen if a car were to hit him. He also has difficulty negotiating traffic because he cannot do the mental calculations necessary to estimate whether an approaching car will hit him when he crosses the road. By the age of 5, children have just about exhausted the adults around them with "why" questions. The child's questions signal the emergence of interest in reasoning and in figuring out why things are the way they are. Following are some samples of the questions children ask during the questioning period of 4 to 6 years of age (Elkind, 1976): "What makes you grow up?" "Who was the mother when everybody was a baby?" "Why do leaves fall?" "Why does the sun shine?" Piaget called this substage intuitive because young children seem so sure about their knowledge and understanding yet are unaware of how they know what they know. That is, they know something but know it without the use of rational thinking.

Closely linked to the idea of the ZPD is the concept of scaffolding. Scaffolding means changing the level of support. Over the course of a teaching session, a more-skilled person (a teacher or advanced peer) adjusts the amount of guidance to fit the child's current performance (Daniels, 2017). When the student is learning a new task, the skilled person may use direct instruction. As the student's competence increases, less guidance is given. A recent study found that scaffolding techniques that heighten engagement, direct exploration, and facilitate "sense-making," such as guided play, improved 4- to 5-year-old children's acquisition of geometric knowledge (Fisher & others, 2013).

scaffolding

coss cultural studies of parenting

ultural, Ethnic, and Socioeconomic Variations Parenting can be influenced by culture, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status (Nieto & Bode, 2018). Recall from Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory (see the "Introduction" chapter) that a number of social contexts influence the child's development. In Bronfenbrenner's theory, culture, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status are classified as part of the macrosystem because they represent broader, societal contexts. Cross-Cultural Studies Different cultures often give different answers to basic questions such as what the father's role in the family should be, what support systems are available to families, and how children Page 254should be disciplined (Gaskins, 2016). There are important cross-cultural variations in parenting and the value placed on children (Eo & Kim, 2018; Matsumoto & Juang, 2017; Suh & others, 2017). In some cultures, such as rural areas of many countries, authoritarian parenting is widespread (Smetana & Ball, 2018). What are some characteristics of families within different ethnic groups? ©Bill Aron/PhotoEdit Cultural change, brought about by factors such as increasingly frequent international travel, access to the Internet and electronic communications, and economic globalization, is coming to families in many countries around the world. There are trends toward greater family mobility, migration to urban areas, separation as some family members work in cities or countries far from their homes, smaller families, fewer extended-family households, and increased maternal employment (Brown & Larson, 2002). These trends can change the resources that are available to children. For example, when several generations no longer live near each other, children may lose support and guidance from grandparents, aunts, and uncles. On the positive side, smaller families may produce more openness and communication between parents and children.

theory of mind development

ven young children are curious about the nature of the human mind (Birch & others, 2017; Devine & Hughes, 2018a, b; Oktay-Gur, Schultz, & Rakoczy, 2018; Wellman, 2011, 2015). They have a theory of mind, which refers to awareness of one's own mental processes and the mental processes of others. Studies of theory of mind view the child as "a thinker who is trying to explain, predict, and understand people's thoughts, feelings, and utterances" (Harris, 2006, p. 847). Developmental Changes Children's theory of mind changes as they develop through childhood (Wellman, 2015). Although whether infants have a theory of mind continues to be questioned by some (Rakoczy, 2012), the consensus is that some changes occur quite early in development, as we will see next (Scott & Baillargeon, 2017). From 18 months to 3 years of age, children begin to understand three mental states: Perceptions. By 2 years of age, a child recognizes that another person will see what's in front of her own eyes instead of what's in front of the child's eyes (Lempers, Flavell, & Flavell, 1977), and by 3 years of age, the child realizes that looking leads to knowing what's inside a container (Pratt & Bryant, 1990). Emotions. The child can distinguish between positive (for example, happy) and negative (for example, sad) emotions. A child might say, "Tommy feels bad." Desires. All humans have some sort of desires. But when do children begin to recognize that someone else's desires may differ from their own? Toddlers recognize that if people want something, they will try to get it. For instance, a child might say, "I want my mommy." Two- to three-year-olds understand the way that desires are related to actions and to simple emotions. For example, they understand that people will search for what they want and that if they obtain it, they are likely to feel happy, but if they don't, they will keep searching for it and are likely to feel sad or angry (Wellman & Woolley, 1990). Children also refer to desires earlier and more frequently than they refer to cognitive states such as thinking and knowing (Bartsch & Wellman, 1995; Wellman, 2015).

paiget on self talk

ygotsky's theory has been embraced by many teachers and has been successfully applied to education (Adams, 2015; Clara, 2017; Holzman, 2017). Here are some ways Vygotsky's theory can be incorporated in classrooms:

piaget's preoperational stage

•A preschooler's world is creative, free, & fanciful •Piaget's preoperational stage: ages 2-7 years: •Thinking = Acting. •Can mentally rehearse physical acts but thinking ll flawed. •First substage of preoperational thought: •Symbolic functions: scribbled drawings rep. real objects. •Child at age 2-4 still limited by: •Egocentrism •Animism

cultura/ethnic differences in parenting

•Authoritarian parenting widespread in some cultures: Chinese and Arab. •Most parents controlling but warm. •Large and extended families more common in minority groups than Whites. •Single-parent families more common among Blacks and Latinos than Whites.

common childhood disabilities

•Cerebral palsy •Language disorders •Spina bifida •Other develop-mental disabilities •Congenital and hereditary diseases •Prenatal substance exposure •At-risk children •Sensory impairments (hearing, visual) •Autism spectrum disorders •Pre-term infants

issues for family of young children with dsiability

•Diagnosis : Adjusting to expectations, loss, dreams, reality, etc. •Early Intervention (EI) and preschool after age 3 •Siblings: more children? Working with them •Extended family - finding support.

vygotsky teaching strategies 2

•Effectively assess child's ZPD. •Use the child's ZPD in teaching. •Used more-skilled peers as tutors. •Monitor child and encourage private speech. •Place instruction in meaningful context. •Impact: Children more cooperative.

vygotsky's theory of developmeny

•Emphasized role of environment and social interaction, Language •The Zone of Proximal Development •Scaffolding in Cognitive Development

developmental tasks of early childhood

•Fine and gross motor skills •Language development •Cognitive development •Increased self-understanding •Increased exposure to different people & environments

why are good peer relations important?

•Good peer relations necessary for social development. •Extensive peer interaction during childhood in play. •Piaget: play advances cognitive development. •Vygotsky: play is excellent for cognitive development

most effective parenting

•May be most effective type for variety of reasons. •It appears to transcend boundaries of ethnicity, SES, and family structure.

motor skills in DS

•Motor skills •Walking generally at 2 yrs (range=1-4 yrs)

parenting factors

•Parental cooperation & warmth linked to prosocial behaviors in children •Good parenting is key factor •Sibling relationships have a strong effect

Parten's 6 types ofpaly

•Parten identifies 6 types of play: •Solitary •Unoccupied •Onlooker •Parallel •Associative •Cooperative play.

zone of proximal development

•Range of tasks too difficult for children to master alone, but which can be learned with the guidance and assistance of adults or more skilled children. •Lower limit can be achieved by child alone. •Upper limit can be achieved by child's skills with adult guidance and instruction. •Other limits can't be achieved yet.

how is development different in DS

•Rate of development is slower than children who are typically developing. •Girls develop slightly faster than boys (independent of DS or other disorders)

second stage of preoperatinal thought

•Second substage of preoperational thought: •Intuitive thought: child uses primitive reasoning but is still centric in thought •lacks conservation abilities. •Can't mentally reverse actions •E.g. numbers, length, volume, and area. •"WHY" questions •Ages 4-7 •Reflect mental development and intellectual curiosity.

what is self talk

•Self talk •Private speech used more in difficult tasks • Private speech users more attentive and perform better. •Socially competent children use private speech m

vygotsky on language and thought vs. piaget

•Vygotsky •Language & thought develop independently then merge. •Child uses language to communicate with others before she/he can focus on inward thoughts. •Transition to internal speech: ages 3 -7 •Followed by actions w/out speaking aloud. •Piaget •Self-talk is egocentric and reflects immaturity.