(MCN) Preschooler Growth & Development

Extended Language

A major step forward is a child's ability to learn [ANSWER], which is achieved not only by motor but also by cognitive development.

Play

Preschoolers enjoy games that use imitation. Many preschoolers have imaginary friends as a normal part of having an active imagination. 4 or 5 year-olds divide their time between roughhousing and imitative play. Five-year-olds are also interested in group games or songs they have learned in nursery school or preschool.

Language Development

3 year-old child has a vocabulary of about 900 words. These are used to ask questions constantly, up to 400 a day, mostly "how" and "why" questions. A child needs simple answers to such questions to encourage curiosity, vocabulary building, and questioning. They enjoy participating in mealtime conversation & imitate language exactly.

Socialization

A child who lives with another child or is exposed to other children has more socialization than other children who live just with their parents. Although 4 year-olds continue to enjoy play groups, they may become more involved in arguments than they were at age 3. Five-year-olds begin to develop "best" friendships

Physical Growth

A definite change in body contour occurs during the preschool years. The wide gait, prominent lordosis, and protuberant abdomen of the toddler change to slimmer, taller, and much more childlike proportions. Contour changes are so definite that future body type ectomorphic (slim body build) or endomorphic (large body build) becomes apparent. Dominant hand begins to be obvious.

Preparing a Child for School

At the end of the preschool period, children will begin a formal school experience as they enter kindergarten.

6 to 8 cm (2 to 3.5 in.)

Average growth in height per year

2kg (4.6 lbs)

Average weight gain per year

Cognitive Development

Because preschoolers do not have mental substitution skills, they feel they are always right. Also, preschoolers are not yet aware of the property of conservation.

Medicine

Because preschoolers imitate adult roles so well, they may imitate taking this if they see family members doing so. A good rule for parents is never to take [ANSWER] in front of children.

Preschooler Promoting Safety

By age 4, children may project an attitude of independence and the ability to take care of their own needs, but they still need supervision to be certain they do not injure themselves or other children. Preschool age is a good time to educate children about their safety (ex. Strangers, calling for help or 911, identifying police officers and their roles, consent and inappropriate touching, etc.)

4 year-old

Can do simple buttons (Fine Motor); Constantly in motion, jumps, skips (Gross Motor); Vocabulary of 1,500 words (Language); Pretending is major activity (play)

Sex Education

Children during the preschool age become acutely aware of the difference between boys and girls. Explanations should be just as simple, "Boys look different from girls." An important part of sex education for preschoolers is teaching them to avoid sexual abuse, such as not allowing anyone to touch their body unless they agree it is all right .

Moral and Spiritual Development

Children of preschool age determine right from wrong based on their parents' rules. They have little understanding of the rationale for these rules or even whether the rules are consistent. Preschoolers begin to have an elemental concept of God if they have been provided some form of religious training. Belief in an outside force aids in the development of principles

3 years

Children usually have all 20 of their deciduous teeth by [ANSWER]

Fear of the Dark, Mutilation, Separation or Abandonment

Common Fears of the Preschooler; Because preschoolers' imagination is so active, this can lead to a number of fears, are all very real to a preschooler.

Broken Fluency

Developing language complicated process, children 2-6years have some speech difficulty that parents may interpret as stuttering. A child may begin to repeat words/syllables. Repetition and prolongation of sounds, syllables, and words. It is often referred to as secondary stuttering because a child begins to speak without problem then during the preschool years, develops it. It is a part of normal development and will pass

Fear of Separation

Distorted sense of time. Relating time and space to something a child knows, such as meals, television shows, or a friend's house, is most effective. For example, stating, "Mommy will pick you up from preschool after you have had your snack", or showing a child the work site might be more comforting

Resolving Broken Fluency

Do not discuss in the child's presence that he or she is having difficulty with speech. Listen with patience rather than interrupt or ask the child to speak more slowly or to start over. Always talk to the child in a calm, simple way to role model slow speech. Protect space for the child to talk if there are other children in the family. Do not force a child to speak if he or she does not want to. Do not reward a child for fluent speech or punish for non-fluent speech

5 year-old

Draws a 6-part man figure, can tie shoes (Fine Motor); Throws overhand (Gross Motor); Vocabulary of 2,100 words (Language); Likes games with numbers or letters

Promoting the Preschooler in Daily Activities

Dressing (Exposure to experience choosing their outfit and clothe themselves. They may have mismatched clothes.), Sleep (They do not want a nap in the morning. Refuse sleep because of fear of the dark. Night walking from nightmares reaches its peak, which means that preschoolers may need a night light.), Exercise (The preschool period is an active phase.), Bathing (As needed, day over day), Oral hygiene (Toothbrushing should be started. Drink fluoridated water or receive a prescribed oral fluoride supplement. Try to decrease candy & sweet intake.)

Promote language development

Engage in play and bath with language, Converse using descriptions, simple questions, and expansion, Use playful songs, Use correct names, Ask open ended questions, Express feelings in words

Night Grinding

Grinding the teeth at night (usually during sleep), is a habit of many young children. It can be caused by; Presence of tension, Child anxiety, Child with cerebral palsy of spasticity of jaw muscles

Motor Vehicle and Bicycle Safety

Head injury is the major cause of death in the preschool age. Educate parents to put their children in the back with seat belts on, and for children to wear helmets.

Body Systems

Lymphatic tissue begins to increase in size, particularly the tonsils, and levels of IgG and IgA antibodies increase. These changes tend to make preschool illnesses more localized. Physiologic splitting of heart sounds may be present for the first time on auscultation. Innocent heart murmurs may also be heard for the first time. Due to the changing size of the heart in reference to the thorax as the chest reaches adult proportions. The bladder is easily palpable above the symphysis pubis; voiding is frequent enough (9 or 10 times a day). Muscles are noticeably stronger and make activities such as gymnastics possible.

Initiative

Initiative versus Guilt (Erikson), A child with a well-developed sense of this has discovered that learning new things is fun. Preschoolers need exposure to a wide variety of experiences and play materials so they can learn as much about the world as possible.

Preparing for a New Sibling

Introduction of a new sibling is such a major happening that parents need to take special steps to be certain their preschooler will be prepared. There is no rule as to when this preparation should begin, but it should be before the time a child begins to feel the difference the new baby will make. This is perhaps when the mother first begins to look pregnant.

Sibling competition

Jealousy of a brother or sister may first become evident during the preschool period, partly because this is the first time that children have enough vocabulary to express how they feel (know a name to call) and partly because preschoolers are more aware of family roles and how responsibilities at home are divided. parents find the problem of jealousy is bigger than they anticipated and welcome a few suggestions about how to provide more time for their preschooler during the day and which activities a preschooler would especially enjoy

Imaginary Friends

Many preschoolers have this to keep them company while playing o their own. Parents can help their preschooler separate fact from fantasy by saying, "I know _______ isn't real, but if you want to pretend, I'll set a place for her." This response helps a child understand what is real and what is fantasy without restricting a child's imagination or creativity.

At risk of injury

Most children of this age want to do things for themselves, which puts them [ANSWER]. Parents' role is to promote safety for their child because they still need help.

Possible Unintentional Injuries

Motor vehicles, Falls, Drowning, Animal bites, Poisoning, Burns, Community safety

Promoting Nutritional Health

Offering small servings of food is a good idea, so a child is not overwhelmed by the amount on a plate. Encourage parents to make snacks nutritious. Teach parents to make mealtime a happy and enjoyable part of the day for everyone.

Egocentric

Preschoolers are [ANSWER], they define objects related to themselves.

Fantasy

Preschoolers begin to make differentiation between what's real and what isn't. Becomes afraid that they have lost their own identity or have become "stuck" in their fantasies. Parents should both support the fantasy and yet reassure a child that they are still themselves.

Discipline

Preschoolers have opinions on things, desire for independence and what they want the family to do. This may bring them into opposition with their parents. "Timeout" is a good technique to correct behavior for parents throughout the preschool years. Beating should be never use as a disciple method, instead other methods can be used such as letting the child taking responsibilities of his own action.

Imitation

Preschoolers need free restraint to imitate the roles of the people around them. Role playing. Parents should help & engage in playing or activity but should not ask the child to imitate them.

85 bpm

Pulse rate decreases to about [ANSWER].

Regression

Some preschoolers, generally in relation to stress, revert to behavior they previously outgrew. Help parents understand that in these circumstances it is normal , and a child's thumb sucking is little different from the parents' reaction to stress (smoking many cigarettes, nail biting, overeating), to make it easier for them to accept and understand. Removing the stress is the best way to help a child discontinue this behavior.

Telling Tall Tales

Stretching stories to make them seem more interesting is a phenomenon frequently encountered in this age group. Caution parents not to encourage this kind of storytelling, but instead help a child separate fact from fiction by saying, "That's a good story, but now tell me what really happened." This conveys the idea a child has not told the truth, yet does not squash imagination or initiative.

Behavior Variation

Telling tall tales, Imagining friends, Difficulty of sharing, Regression, Sibling rivalry, Broken fluency.

3-5

The preschool period includes these ages

Fear of the Dark

The tendency to fear the dark is an example of a fear heightened by a child's vivid imagination- a stuffed toy by daylight becomes a threatening monster in the dark. Children awaken screaming because of nightmares. They may be reluctant to go to bed or to go back to sleep by themselves unless a light is left on.

Gender Roles

They should be exposed to an adult of the opposite gender especially with a single parent. So they can become familiar with opposite gender roles.

3 year-old

Undresses self, stacks block towers, draws cross (Fine Motor); Runs, alternates feet on stairs, rides tricycle, stands on one foot (Gross Motor); Vocabulary of 900 words (Language); Able to take turns, very imaginative (Play)

Difficulty Sharing

a concept that first comes to be understood around the age of 3 years. Before this, children engage in parallel play. Around 3 years, children begin to understand that some things are theirs, some belong to others, and some can belong to both. For the first time, they can stand in line to wait for a drink, take turns using a shovel at a sandbox, and share a box of crayons. Children who are ill or under stress have even greater difficulty with it than usual. Assure parents that sharing is a difficult concept to grasp and that, as with most skills, preschoolers need practice to understand and learn it. Defining limits and exposing children to these three categories (mine, yours, ours) helps them determine which objects belong to which category.

Fear of mutilation

also a significant fear during the preschool age, as revealed by the intense reaction of a preschooler to even a simple injury such as falling and scraping a knee. A child cries afterward not only from the pain but also from the sight of the injury. Part of this fear arises because preschoolers do not know which body parts are essential and which ones, like an inch of scraped skin, can be easily replaced.

Electra complex

is the attachment of a preschool girl to her father

Genu valgus

knock-knees may be evident from the beginning of this period, disappears with increased skeletal growth at the end of the preschool period

Head Circumference

not routinely measured at physical assessments on children over 2 years of age

100/60 mmHg

preschooler's average blood pressure

Oedipus complex

refers to the strong emotional attachment a preschool boy demonstrates toward his mother

Physical growth

slows considerably during this period, personality and cognitive growth are significant.