Human Development Test 2

Which infants are most likely to benefit from center care?

Research in the United States has found that center care benefits children of low-income families.

What is the evidence that early childhood is a sensitive time for learning language?

Some kindergartners understand and speak two or three languages, an accomplishment that many adults struggle for years to achieve. Brain maturation, myelination, scaffolding, and social interaction make early childhood ideal for learning language. Young children have powerful motivation and ability to sort words and sounds into meaning (theory-theory). That makes them impressive language learners. Language comes easily partly because preoperational children are not self-critical about what they say. Egocentrism has advantages this is one of them.

What lessons can be learned for the experiences of infant care in Norway?

The prior correlation between infant day care and childhood psychosocial problems, although not experience of Norway is instructive. In Norway, new mothers are paid at full salary to stay home with their babies for 47 weeks, and high-quality, free center day care is available from age 1 on. Most (62 percent) Norwegian 1-year-olds are in center care, as are 84 percent of the 2-year-olds and 93 percent of the 3-year-olds. Longitudinal results in Norway find no detrimental results of center care, including when it begins at age 1. By kindergarten, Norwegian day-care children had slightly more conflicts with caregivers, but the authors suggest that this may be a result of shy children becoming bolder as a result of day care.

What aspects of children's thought does theory-theory explain?

Theory-theory refers to the idea that children natural construct theories to explain whatever they see and hear. According to theory-theory, humans both young and old seek reasons, causes, and underlying principles to make sense of their experience, connecting knowledge and observations. Especially in childhood, theories change as new evidence accumulates.

How might protective optimism lead to new skills and competencies?

Compared to older children and adults, young children are the optimists of the world, believing they have greater physical abilities, better memories, are more skilled at imitating models, are smarter, know more about how things work, and rate themselves as stronger, tougher, and of higher social standing than is actually the case. That protective optimism helps young children try new things, and thus, initiative advances learning.

According to Freud, what might happen if a baby's oral needs are not met?

If a mother frustrates her infant's urge to suck - weaning too early or too late, for example, or preventing the baby from sucking the thumb or a pacifier - that may later lead to an oral fixation. Adults with an oral fixation are stuck (fixated) at the oral stage, and therefore they eat, drink, chew, bite, or talk excessively, still seeking the mouth-related pleasures of infancy.

How do injury deaths compare in developed and developing nations?

In some nations, malnutrition, malaria, and other infectious disease combined cause more infant and child deaths than injuries do, but those nations also have high rates of child injury. Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa have the highest rates of motor-vehicle deaths, even though the number of cars is relative low. Most children who die in such accidents are pedestrains, or are riding - without a helmet - on motorcycles.

What can be concluded from the data on rates of childhood injury?

In the United States, almost 4 times as many 1 to 4 year olds die of accidents than of cancer which is the leading cause of disease death during these years. Worldwide, injuries cause millions of premature deaths among adults as well as children: Not unlit age 40 does any specific disease overtake the accidents as a cause of mortality. Immaturity of the prefrontal cortex makes young children impulsive; they plunge into danger.

How are proximity seeking and contact-maintaining attachment expressed by infants and caregivers?

Infants show their attachment through proximity-seeking (such as approaching and following their caregivers) and through contact-maintaining (such as touching, snuggling, and holding). Caregivers often keep a watchful eye on their baby, initiating contact with expressions, gestures, and sounds. Before going to sleep at midnight they might tiptoe to the crib to gaze at their sleeping infant or in the daytime absentmindedly smooth their toddler's hair.

What aspects of infant care are agreed on by everyone?

One fact is without question: Each infant needs personal responsiveness. Someone should serve as a partner in a synchrony duet, a base for secure attachment, and a social reference who encourages exploration. Then, infant emotions and experiences - cries and laughter, fears and joys - will ensure that development goes well.

How can overregularization signify a cognitive advance?

Overregularization: the application of rules of grammar even when exceptions occur, making the language seem more regular than it actually is. For example saying deers instead of deer. This signifies knowledge not the lack of it because children are picking up on a grammar rule and applying it.

Why do many experts want to limit children's screen time?

Pediatricians, psychologists, and teachers all report extensive research that screen time reduces conversation, imagination, and outdoor activity.

Why have the rates of child accidental death declined?

Victims no reach trauma centers faster which increases the chance of recovery. Air pollution has been reduced, so fewer children die of asthma. Poison control is more readily available, so fewer children die of swallowing toxins. And many pesticides are banned from home use, so fewer children swallow them. More parents hide and lock their guns, so only half as many children die of gun deaths.

Generally, when two parents, a father and a mother, raise a child, __________ tend to play more exciting games, swinging and chasing, and __________ do more caregiving and comforting. a) mothers, fathers b) fathers, mothers c) grandmothers, grandfathers d) grandfathers, mothers

b)

What are the consequences of each style of parenting?

-Authoritarian parents raise children who become conscientious, obedient, and quiet but not especially happy. Such children may feel guilty or depressed, internalizing their frustrations and blaming themselves when things don't go well. As adolescents, they sometimes rebel, leaving home before age 20. As adults, they are quick to blame and punish. -Permissive parents raise children who lack self-control. Inadequate emotional regulation makes them immature and impedes friendships, so they are unhappy. They tend to continue to live at home, still dependent on their parents in adulthood. -Authoritative parents raise children who are successful, articulate, happy with themselves, and generous with others. These children are usually liked by teachers and peers, especially in cultures that value individual initiative. -Neglectful/uninvolved parents raise children who are immature, sad, lonely, and at risk of injury and abuse, not only in early childhood but also lifelong.

What are three ways adults can foster language development?

1. Code-focused teaching. Before reading, children must "break the code" from spoken to written words. That means connecting letters and sounds. 2. Book-reading. Vocabulary and print-awareness develop when adults read to children. 3. Parent education. Educated parents ten to be verbal parents who read books to their children and use a rich vocabulary that expands the child's vocabulary. 4. Language enhancement. Children who ask what a word means need someone to scaffold the explanation. That requires mentors who understand each child's zone of proximal development. 5. Preschool programs. Children learn from teachers, songs, excursions, and other children Early education advances language.

Diana Baumrind found that parents different on four important dimensions:

1. Expressions of warmth. Some parents are warm and affectionate; other are cold and critical. 2. Strategies for discipline. Parents vary in how they explain, criticize, persuade, and punish. 3. Expectations for maturity. Parents vary in expectations for responsibility and self-control. 4. Communication. Some parents listen patiently; other demand silence.

How might Erikson's crisis of "trust versus mistrust" affect later life?

According to Erikson, the first crisis of life is trust versus mistrust, when infants learn whether or not the world can be trusted to satisfy basic needs. Babies feel secure when food and comfort are provided with "consistency, continuity, and sameness of experience". If social interaction inspires trust, the child (later the adult) confidently explores the social world.

According to Vygotsky, what should parents and other caregivers do to encourage children's learning?

According to Vygotsky, parents everywhere are the first to engage children in guided participation, although children are guided by many others, especially, in an interactive pre-kindergarten. Vygotsky stressed that children children are curious and observant. They ask questions and seek answers from parents, teachers, older siblings, or strangers. The answers they get are affected by the mentors' perceptions and assumptions - that is, their culture - which shapes their thought. According to Vygotsky, children learn because their mentors do the following: -Present challenges -Offer assistance (without taking over). -Add crucial information -Encourage motivation

What does the term working model mean within cognitive theory?

According to many cognitive theorists, early experiences help infants develop a working model, which is a set of assumptions that becomes a frame of reference for later life. It is a model because early relationships form a prototype or blueprint; it is working because it is a work in progress, not fixed or final. Ideally, infants develop "a working model of the self as lovable and competent" because the parents are "emotionally available, loving, and supportive of their mastery efforts." However, reality does not always conform to this ideal. A 1-year-old girl might develop a model, based on her parents' inconsistent responses to her, that people are unpredictable. She will continue to apply that model to everyone: Her childhood friendships will be insecure, and her adult relationships will be guarded.

When should children learn grammar?

Age 3?

What are the four main styles of parenting?

Authoritarian parenting. The authoritarian parent's word is law, not to be questioned. Misconduct brings strict punishment, usually physical. Authoritarian parents set down clear rules and hold high standards. Discussion about emotions and expressions of affection are rare. Permissive parenting. Permissive parents make few demands. Discipline is lax, partly because expectations are low. Permissive parents are nurturing and accepting, listening to whatever their child says. Authoritative parenting. Authoritative parents set limits, but they are flexible. they consider themselves guides, not authorities (like authoritarian parents) and not friends (like permissive parents). The goal of punishment is for the child to understand what was wrong and what should have been done differently. Neglectful/uninvolved parenting. Neglectful parents are oblivious to their children's behavior; they seem not to care. Their children do whatever they want. This is quite different from permissive parents, who care very much.

Why might impulse control, as with marshmallow, predict adult success?

Because emotional regulation predicts academic achievement and later success.

What are the long-term benefits of early-childhood education?

By age 10, children who had been enrolled in well thought school program scored higher on math and reading achievement test than other children form the same backgrounds, schools, and neighborhoods. They were less likely to be placed in classes from children with special needs or to repeat of year of school. As adolescents, the children had higher aspirations, possessed a greater sense of achievement, and were less likely to quit before graduation or become a teenage parent. As young adults, more of them attended college and fewer went to jail. As middle-aged adults, more were healthy, employed taxpayers.

How are growth rates, body proportions, and motor skills related during early childhood?

Changing proportions enable new achievements. During each year of early childhood, well-nourished children grow about 3 inches and gain almost 4 1/2 pound. By age 6, the average child in a developed nation: -is at least 3 1/2 feet tall -weighs between 40 and 50 pounds -looks lean, not chubby -has adultlike body proportions (with legs constituting about half the total height) Young children enjoy developing their motor skills as brain maturation allows advances. Adults need to provide space and guided practice; children do the rest.

How does fast-mapping aid the language explosion?

Children develop an interconnected set of categories for words, a kind of grid or mental map, which makes speedy vocabulary acquisition, or fast-mapping, possible. Rather than figuring out the exact definition after hearing a word, children hear a word once and quickly stick it into a category in their mental language grid.

What evidence is there that children overimitate?

Children imitate meaningless habits and customs in overimitation. First, talking to oneself, called private speech, is evident when young children talk aloud to review, decide, and explain events to themselves. Many adults use private speech as they talk to themselves when alone or as they write down ideas. Second, language advances thinking by facilitating social interaction, which is vital to learning. This social mediation function of speech occurs as mentors guide mentees in their zone of proximal development, learning numbers, recalling memories, and following routines. By age 3 to 4, children's brains are mature enough to comprehend numbers, store memories, and recognize routines. Whether or not children actually demonstrate such understanding depends on what they hear and what they do within their families, schools, and cultures.

Why does playing with peers increase physical development and emotion regulation?

Children need physical activity to develop muscle strength and control. Peers provide an audience, role models, and sometimes competition. For instance, running skills develop best when children chase or race each other, not when a child runs alone. Active social play - not solitary play - correlates with physical, emotional, and intellectual growth. As children become better playmates, children learn emotional regulation, empathy, and cultural understanding.

What are the arguments for and against corporal punishment?

Controversy particularly swirls around physical punishment (called corporal punishment because it hurts the body). Such punishment usually succeeds momentarily because children become quiet, but longitudinal research finds that corporally punished children are more disobedient later on, and are more likely to become child bullies, adolescent delinquents, and then abusive adults. Longitudinal research finds that children who are not spanked are more likely to develop self-control. Children who were physically disciplined tend to become more aggressive. They also are more likely to use corporal punishment on others - first on their classmates, and later on their wives or husbands, and then their children.

Why is early childhood the best time to learn a second (or third) language?

Neuroscience finds that if adults mastered two languages before age 6, both languages are located in the same areas of the brain with no detriment to the cortex structure.

How does preoperational thought differ from sensorimotor and from concrete operational thought?

Early childhood is the time of preoperational intelligence, the second of Piaget's four periods of cognitive development. Piaget called early-childhood thinking preoperational because children do not yet use operations (logical reasoning). Preoperational children are beyond sensorimotor intelligence because they can think in symbols, not solely via senses and motor skills. In symbolic thought, an object or word can stand for something else, including something out of sight or imagined. Language is the most apparent example of symbolic thought. Words make it possible to think about things that are not immediately present. Preoperational thought is symbolic and magical, not logical and realistic.

Why does synchrony affect early emotional development?

Early parent-infant interactions are described as synchrony, a mutual exchange with split-second timing. In still-face studies, at first an infant is propped in front of an adult who responds normally. Then, on cue, the adult stops all expression, staring quietly with a still face for a minute or two. Sometimes by 2 months, and clearly by 6 months, infants are upset when their parents are unresponsive. Babies frown, fuss, drool, look away, kick, cry, or suck their fingers. By 5 months, they also vocalize, as if to say, "React to me!" Many studies reach the same conclusion: Synchrony is experience-expectant, not simply experience-dependent. Responsiveness aids psychosocial and biological development, evident in heart rate, weight gain, and brain maturation.

What did Erikson think was crucial for young children?

Emotional regulation is part of Erikson's third developmental stage, initiative versus guilt. Initiative includes saying something new, beginning a project, or expressing an emotion. Depending on what happens next, children feel proud or guilty. Gradually, they learn to rein in boundless pride and avoid crushing guilt. As Erikson predicted, their optimistic self-concept protects young children from guilt and shame, and encourages them to learn.

How do emotions differ between the first and second year of life?

Emotions take on new strength during toddlerhood, as both memory and mobility advance. The new strength of emotions is apparent in temper tantrums. For example, throughout the second year and beyond, anger and fear become less frequent but more focused, targeted toward infuriating or terrifying experiences. Similarity, laughing and crying are louder and more discriminating.

What is the relationship between executive function and learning in school?

Executive Function: the cognitive ability to organize and prioritize the many thoughts that arise from the various parts of the brain, allowing the person to anticipate, strategize, and plan behavior. Executive function also called executive control and closely related to emotional regulation develops throughout life, allowing students of all ages to learn from experience. Usually, three components comprise executive function: working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control - which is the ability to focus on a task and ignore distractions. Many studies have found that a child's ability to develop theories correlates with neurological maturation, which also correlates with advances in executive processing - the reflective, anticipatory capacity of the mind.

What is and example (not in the text) of extrinsic motivation?

Extrinsic motivation comes form outside the person, when external praise or some other reinforcement is the goal, such as when a musician plays for applause or money. Four-year-olds brush their teeth because they are praised, sometimes even rewarded with musical toothbrushes and tasty toothpaste.

How do behaviorists explain the development of emotions and personality?

From the perspective of behaviorism, emotions and personality are molded as adults reinforce or punish children. Later behaviorists recognized that infants' behavior reflects social learning, when infants learn from other people. Social learning occurs throughout life, not necessarily via direct teaching but often through observation. Toddlers express emotions in various ways - from giggling to cursing - just as their parents or older siblings do. For example, a boy might develop a hot temper if his father's outburst seem to win his mother's respect; a girl might be coy, or passive-aggressive, if that is what she has seen at home. Gender roles, in particular, are learned, according to social learning.

How is the corpus callosum crucial for learning?

Growth of the corpus callosum makes communication between hemispheres more efficient, allowing children to coordinate both sides of the brain and body.

How does myelination advance skill development?

Myelination happens when the axons of the brain increase in myelin, which is a fatty coating that speeds signals between neurons. The motor and sensory areas of the brain show the greatest signs of early myelination, which would aid in skill development.

What do impulse control and perseveration have in common?

Impulse control: the ability to postpone or deny the immediate response to an idea or behavior. Children might flit from one activity to another, unable to stay quietly on one task. At the other extreme, children may be captivated by one task, finding it hard to notice anything else or stop whatever they are doing. That is perseveration: they may play with one toy, hold one fantasy for hours, repeat a phrase or question again and again. No young child is perfect at regulating attention, because immaturity of the prefrontal cortex makes it impossible to moderate the limbic system. Impulsiveness and perseveration follow. Because the amygdala is not well connected to the more reflective parts of the brain, many children become suddenly terrified - even of something that exists only in imagination. Brain maturation (innate) and emotional regulation (learned) eventually allow most children to focus and switch thoughts as needed within their culture.

What is changing in rates of early-childhood obesity and why?

In 2012, 8 percent of 2 to 5-year-olds, 18 percent of 6 to 11-year-olds, and 21 percent of 12 to 19-year-olds in the United States were obese. Some of those teenagers who were not obese had other eating problems, including anorexia and bulimia. One reason, parents urge children to eat is that they underestimate their children's weight. Families with little money or education are more likely to have family habits - less exercise, more television, fewer vegetables, more sweetened drinks, frequent fast food - that correlate with overweight.

Why do cultures differ on the benefits of infant nonmaternal care?

In Western cultures, infant care provided by a nonrelative, either at the baby's home or at a day-care center, has increased since 1980. Since paid maternal leave is uncommon in the US, 58 percent of the mothers of infants under 1 year of age were in the labor force in 2015. That requires allocare, either by a relative or a professional. Even among wealthy nations, care of infants varies markedly - the babies are all quite similar in their caregiving needs and responses, but nations and families vary dramatically in who cares for them at 6 months of age and again from ages 1 and 3. By contrast, virtually no infant in some of the poorest nations receives regular nonmaternal care unless the mother is dead or severely ill. Not shown is the socio-economic split: In most nations - except the United States - low-income children are most likely to be in exclusive maternal care.

What is the significance of how toddlers react to seeing themselves in a mirror?

In a classic experiment, 9 to 24-month-olds looked into a mirror after a dot of rouge had been secretly put on their noses. If they reacted by touching the red dot on their noses, that meant that they knew the mirror showed their own faces. None of these babies younger than 12 months did that, although they sometimes smiled and touched the dot of the other baby in the mirror. Between 15 and 24 months, babies become self-aware, touching their own red noses with curiosity and puzzlement. Self-recognition in the mirror/rouge test usually emerges with two other advances: pretending and using first-person pronouns. Thus an explicit and acquisition at around the same age that infants begin to recognize themselves in mirrors.

What are some examples of primary prevention?

In primary prevention, the overall conditions are structured to make harm less likely. Laws and customs are crucial to reduce injury for people of every age. Primary prevention includes sidewalks, pedestrian overpasses, streetlights and traffic circles.

How does infant behavior differ in each of the four types of attachment?

Infants with secure attachment (type B) feel comfortable and confident. A toddler might scramble down form the caregiver's lap to play with an intriguing toy but periodically look back and vocalize (contact-maintaining) or bring the toy to the caregiver for inspection (proximity-seeking). The caregiver's presence give the child courage to explore; the caregiver's departure causes distress; the caregiver's return elicits positive social contact (such as smiling or hugging) and then more playing. Insecure attachment (types A and C) is characterized by fear, anxiety, anger, or indifference. Some insecure children play independently without seeking contact; this is insecure-avoidant attachment (type A). The opposite reaction is insecure-resistant/ ambivalent attachment (type C). Children with type C cling to their caregivers and are angry at being left. Disorganized attachment (type D) infants may suddenly switch from hitting to kissing their mothers, from staring blankly to crying hysterically, from pinching themselves to freezing in place.

What are the similarities and differences of the four kinds of aggression?

Instrumental aggression: Hurtful behavior that is aimed at gaining something (such as a toy, a place in line, or a turn on the swing) that someone else has. Reactive aggression: An impulsive retaliation for a hurt (intentional or accidental) that can be verbal or physical. Relational aggression: Nonphysical acts, such as insults or social rejection, aimed at harming the social connections between the victim and others. Bullying aggression: Unprovoked, repeated physical or verbal attack, especially on victims who are unlikely to defend themselves.

What is an example (not in the text) of intrinsic motivation?

Intrinsic motivation arises from within, when people do something for the joy of doing it: A musician might enjoy making music even if no one else hears it; the sound is intrinsically rewarding. Young children play, question, exercise, create, destroy, and explore for the sheer joy of it.

How does theory of mind help a child interact with other people?

It helps them lie and sometimes telling the honest truth to someone such as, "I think you're ugly" is harmful and not helpful.

What experiences trigger happiness, anger, and fear?

Laughter builds as curiosity does. A typical 6-month-old chortles upon discovering new things, particularly social experiences that balance familiarity and surprise, such as Daddy making a funny face. Anger is notable at 6 months, usually triggered by frustration. Infants hate to be strapped in, caged in, closed in, or just held in place when they want to explore. Sadness indicates withdrawal instead of an active bid for help (anger). Two kinds of social fear are typical: Separation anxiety - clinging and crying when a familiar caregiver is about to leave. Stranger wariness - fear of unfamiliar people, especially when they move too close, too quickly.

What are children thought to gain from play?

Many developmentalists believe that play is the most productive as well as the most enjoyable activity that children undertake. Social play is one way that children develop their minds and social skills. As they become better playmates, young people learn emotional regulation, empathy, and cultural understanding.

What do children learn from rough-and-tumble play?

Many scientists think that rough-and-tumble play helps the prefrontal cortex develop, as children learn to regulate emotions, practice social skills, and strengthen their bodies. It may be that play in childhood, especially rough-and-tumble play between father and son, prevents antisocial behavior later on. Longitudinal research on boys who played carefully but roughly withy peers and parents (usually with fathers) suggests that they become caring, compassionate men.

What aspects of language seem difficult for young children?

More difficult to learn is an aspect of language called pragmatics - knowing which words, tones, and grammatical forms to use with whom. Children learn variations in vocabulary and tone depending on the context, and once theory of mind is established, on the audience. Children often blurt out questions or statements that embarrass their parents. The pragmatics of polite speech requires more social understanding than many young children possess.

What barriers to logic exist at the preoperational stage?

Piaget noted four limitations that make logic difficult during preoperational thought: centration, focus on appearance, static reasoning, and irreversibility. Centration is the tendency to focus on one aspect of a situation to the exclusion of all others. Young children may, for example, insist that Daddy is a father, not a brother, because they center on the role that he fills from them. A second characteristic of preoperational thought is a focus on appearance to the exclusion of other attributes. For instance, a girl given a short haircut might worry that she has turned into a boy. Third, preoperational children use static reasoning. They believe that the world is stable, unchanging, always in the state in which they currently encounter it. Many children cannot imagine that their own parents were ever children. If they are told that Grandma is their mother's mother, they still do not understand how people change with maturation. The fourth characteristic of preoperational thought is irreversibly. Preoperational thinkers fail to recognize that reversing a process might restore whatever existed before. A young girl might cry because her mother put lettuce on her sandwich. She might reject the food even after the lettuce is removed because she believes that what is done cannot be undone.

In child-centered programs, what do the teachers do?

Programs that are child-centered, or developmental, stress each child's development and growth. Teachers in such programs believe that children need to follow their own interests. For example, they agree that children should be allowed to select many of their own activities from a variety of learning areas that the teacher has prepared.

How much of moral development is innate and how much is learned?

Prosocial reactions are inborn but not automatic. Some children limit empathy by avoiding contact with the person in need which illustrates the importance of emotion development and regulation in the development of prosocial behavior and the influence of cultural norms. Antipathy also may be inborn, as well as learned. Generally, parents and teachers teach better behavior and children become more prosocial and less antisocial with age. At every age, antisocial behavior indicates less empathy. That may originate in the brain. But at least for children, lack of empathy correlates with parents who neither discuss nor respond to emotions.

What is the difference between proximal and distal parenting?

Proximal parenting- being physically close to a baby, often holding and touching. Distal parenting - keeping some distance - proving toys, encouraging self-feeding, and talking face-to-face instead of communicating by touch. Toddlers who, as infants, were often held, patted, and hushed (proximal) became toddlers who are more obedient to their parents but less likely to recognize themselves in a mirror.

What are some examples of secondary prevention?

Secondary prevention is more targeted, averting harm in high-risk situations or for vulnerable individuals. Secondary prevention reduces danger in high-risk situations. Crossing guards and flashing lights on stopped school buses, salt on icy roads, warning signs before blind curves, speed bumps, and walk/don't walk signals at busy intersections. Tertiary prevention reduces damage after an accident. This includes speedy ambulances, efficient emergency room procedures, effective follow-up car, and laws against hit-and-run drivers.

How is social referencing important in toddlerhood?

Social referencing means seeking emotional responses or information from other people. A reassuring glance, a string of cautionary words, a facial expression of alarm, pleasure, or dismay those are social references. Toddlers search for cues in gazes, faces, and body position, paying close attention to emotions and intentions. they focus on their familiar caregiver, but they also use relatives, other children, and even strangers to help them assess objects and events. They are remarkably selective, noticing that some strangers are reliable references and others are not. During mealtime, caregivers pretend to taste and say yum-yum encouraging toddlers to eat beets, liver, or spinach. Toddlers read expressions, insisting on the foods that the adults really like. If the mother likes it, and presents it on a spoon, then they eat it - otherwise not. Some tastes are rejected by very young infants, but if they repeatedly see that their caregivers eat it, they learn to like it. Similarly, toddlers use social cues to understand the difference between real and pretend eating, as well as to learn which objects, emotion, and activities are forbidden.

Why is reported abuse higher than substantiated abuse?

Substantiated maltreatment means that a case has been reported, investigated and verified. Reported maltreatment means simply that the authorities have been informed. The 4.5 to 1 ratio of reported versus substantiated case occurs because: 1. Each child is counted only once, so five verified reports about a single child result in one substantiated case. 2. Substantiation requires proof. Most investigations do not find unmistakable harm or a witness. 3. Many professionals are mandated reporters, required to report any signs of possible maltreatment. In 2014, two-thirds of all reports came from professionals. Usually an investigation finds no harm. 4. Some reports are "screened out" as belonging to another jurisdiction, such as the military or a Native American tribe, who have their own systems. 5. A report may be false or deliberately misleading (though few are).

What are the similarities and differences in mothers and fathers?

Synchrony, attachment, and social referencing are evident with fathers as well as with mothers. Indeed, fathers tend to elicit more smiles and laughter from their infants than mothers do. They tend to play more exciting games, swinging and chasing, while mothers do more caregiving and comforting. Although women do more child care than men in every nation, and men are more likely to play with their children, ideally both parents coordinate their efforts which specific attuned their particular strengths. One researcher reported that "fathers and mothers showed patterns of striking similarity: they touched, looked, vocalized, rocked, and kissed their newborns equally". Differences are more evident between couples that within couples, and variation is evident. Other researchers find that gender differences in child rearing vary by nation, by income, by cohort, and by ideology. A study of US parents having a second child found that mothers used slightly more techniques to soothe their crying infants than fathers did. However, when fathers did active comforting, mothers were less stressed by infant crying. Within the United States, contemporary fathers in all ethnic groups are typically more involved with their children than their own fathers were.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of teacher-directed preschools?

Teacher-directed preschools stress academics, often taught by one adult to the entire group. The curriculum includes learning the names of letters, numbers, shapes, and colors. The goal of teacher-directed programs is to make all children ready to learn when they enter elementary school. For that reason, basic skills are stressed, including precursors to reading, writing, and arithmetic, perhaps via teachers asking questions that children answer together in unison. Behavior is also taught, as children learn to respect adults, to follow schedules, to hold hands when they go on outings, and so on.

How do temperamental traits affect later personality?

Temperament is defined as the biologically based core of individual differences in the style of approach and response to the environment that is stable across time and situations. Cry variations at this very early stage correlate with later temperament: Those who scream loudest become quickest to protest later on. Temperament is not the same as personality differences. Generally, personality traits (honesty and humility) are learned, whereas temperamental traits (shyness and aggression) are genetic. The three dimensions of temperament that each affect later personality and achievement are Effortful control (able to regulate attention and emotion, to self-soothe), Negative mood (fearful, angry, unhappy), and Exuberance (active, social, not shy).

Who benefits most from Head Start?

The US Department of Health and Human Services research found that benefits were strongest for children with the lowest family incomes, for those living in rural areas, and for those with disabilities. These children were least likely to find other sources of early education. Historical data show that most Head Start children of every background advance in language and social skills, but non-Head Start children often caught up in elementary school. However, there was one area in which the Head Start children maintained their superiority - vocabulary.

How might each of the four types of attachment be expressed in adulthood? What has been learned from the research of Romanian orphans?

The children adopted from Romania: Many were overly friendly to strangers, a sign of past insecure attachment. By age 11, their average IQ was only 85, which is 15 points lower that the statistical norm. The older they had been at adoption, the worse they fared. Some became impulsive, angry teenagers. Apparently, the stresses of adolescence and emerging adulthood exacerbated cognitive and social strains that they had encountered in infancy. These children are now adults, many with serious emotional or conduct problems. Other research on children adopted nationally and internationally finds that many develop quite well, but every stress such as parental maltreatment, institutional life, and the uncertainty of the adoption process make it more difficult for a child to become a happy, well functioning adult.

What do children learn form sociodramatic play?

Through such acting, children: -explore and rehearse social roles; -learn to explain their ideas and persuade playmates; -practice emotional regulation by pretending to be afraid, angry, brave, and so on; and -develop self-concept in a nonthreatening context. Sociodramatic play builds on pretending, which emerges in toddlerhood. But remember that solitary pretending does not advance social skills; dramatic play with peers does. As children combine their imagination with that of their friends, they advance in theory of mind.

When is time-out effective and when is it not?

Time-out is punishment if the child enjoys "time-in," when the child is engaged with parents or with peers.

How do researchers measure whether or not a child is developing theory of mind?

To know what goes on in another person's mind, people develop a folk psychology which includes ideas about other people's thinking called theory of mind. Longitudinal research finds that 2-year-olds do not know that other people think differently than they do, but 6-year-olds know this very well. In a classic experiment, children watch a puppet named Max put a toy dog into a red box. Then Max leaves and the child sees the dog taken out of the red box and put in a blue box. When Max returns, the child is asked, "Where will Max look for the dog?" Without a theory of mind, most 3-year-old children confidently say, "In the blue box"; most 6-year-olds correctly say, "In the red box."

How does scaffolding relate to a child's zone of proximal development?

Vygotsky believed that all individuals learn within their zone of proximal development, an intellectual arena in which new ideas and skills can be mastered. Learning depends, in part, on the wisdom and willingness of teachers to provide scaffolding or temporary sensitive support, to help children within their developmental zone. Good mentors offer extensive scaffolding, encouraging children to look both ways before crossing the street (pointing out speeding cars while holding their child's hand) or letting their stir the cake batter (perhaps covering the child's hand on the spoon handle, in guided participation). Crucial in every activity is joint engagement, when both learner and mentor are actively involved together in the zone of proximal development.

What treatments are suggested for childhood allergies?

When a child has a severe allergic reaction, someone should immediately inject epinephrine to stop the reaction. Some experts advocate total avoidance of the offending food - there are peanut free schools. However, feeding children who are allergic to peanuts a tiny bit of peanut powder (under medical supervision) is usually a safe and effective way to decrease that allergic reaction.

How might children develop empathy and antipathy as they play with one another?

With the cognitive advances of early childhood and increased interaction with peers, these innate moral impulses are strengthened. Children develop empathy, an understanding of other people's feelings and concerns, and antipathy, a feeling of dislike, disdain, or even hatred. Empathetic 2-year-olds were more likely to share, help, and play with other children in first grade. Antipathy lead to antisocial actions which include verbal insults, social exclusion, and physical assaults.

How has father care changed in recent decades?

Within the United States, contemporary fathers in all ethnic groups are typically more involved with their children than their own fathers were.