Human Growth and Development exam 1 childhood

Give examples of gross and fine motor skills during the first two years. Then consider the kinds of motor skills being developed during preschool and middle childhood.

After a few days or weeks, reflexive actions begin to be replaced with voluntary movements or motor skills. These skills are not mastered in infancy, however. Motor skill development continues throughout childhood. Gross motor skills are large movements of the body that require large muscles such as those located in the back, legs, and arms. Fine motor skills are smaller, more precise movements of the hand and fingers. These take longer to acquire as they involve being able to coordinate the hand and eye and being able to manipulate the hands to grab and move small objects.

What are some nutritional concerns during infancy? What is marasmus? Kwashiorkor?

Breast milk is considered the ideal diet for newborns. The calories and nutrition provided are perfectly suited for infants. There are numerous other advantages of breastfeeding. These include providing immunity and decreasing the risk of infection in the newborn child. HIV There are two major concerns of malnutrition found in developing countries. One is infantile marasmus which is overall starvation causes by a lack of caloric intake. Toddlers may suffer from a protein deficiency called kwashiorkor. In the United States, giving children too much milk as toddlers can spoil the appetite for other foods and lead to iron deficiencies seen in early childhood. This is referred to as milk-anemia.

Describe the developmental stages of stepfamilies.

But more recently, a more objective view of divorce, repartnering, and remarriage indicates that divorce, remarriage and life in stepfamilies can have a variety of effects. The exaggeration of the negative consequences of divorce has left the majority of those who do well hidden and subjected them to unnecessary stigma and social disapprov

Characterize physical growth for the first two years. Be sure to include a description of the ways the brain develops.

First, let's explore the dramatic physical growth that occurs in this time period. The average newborn weighs about 7.5 pounds. Most infants range between 6 and 9 pounds at birth. After a few days of moderate weight loss due to the expulsion of waste and getting used to feeding, the infant starts growing rapidly and usually doubles in weight by 4 months. The birth weight is tripled by 12 months so a 7 pound baby now weighs approximately 21 pounds. Most newborns are 19 to 21 inches in length or on average about 20 inches at birth. The typical two year old is 32 to 36 inches in height. There is dramatic change in the body proportions during the first two years. A newborn's head is about 25 percent of its entire length. By adulthood, however, the head is proportionately smaller.

Recall Vygotsky's theory of sociocultural development. What is private speech?

Gradually, this egocentric speech (spoken when alone) became private speech, or thinking in language. Inner speech is only spoken aloud if thoughts need to be clarified or emotion expressed.

Describe the newborn's sensory abilities.

Motor development refers to movement. When we are born, we are equipped with a number of automatic responses to stimuli known as reflexes. These include a sucking reflex, the rooting reflex which involves an infant turning the head toward anything that touches the cheek, and a palmar grasp, strongly clasping the hand around anything touching the palm. The newborn's senses are not equally developed at birth. Vision is the least developed sense at birth. Newborn vision would be considered 'legally blind' if found in an adult. Newborns can only focus on objects between 8 and 16 inches away. And they have trouble scanning objects and tracking moving objects visually. Practice and the development of neural connections and myelin will help. The ability to focus both eyes on an object, or use binocular vision, begins at around 14 weeks. Newborns see contrast but do not distinguish between similar hues until they grow a few months older. Hearing, however, is well developed at birth.

Define family capital. What is meant by the "hidden curriculum" in school?

Schools often express a desire for family involvement. Some families bring qualities to the school setting that can influence the child's experience. These qualities, such as financial support for the school or community status are referred to as family capita All schools have a formal curriculum or set of courses and objectives that are clearly written down. But schools also teach powerful lessons referred to as the "hidden curriculum."These lessons include gender roles, competition, preferences based on social class, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. The hidden curriculum is not directly states, yet students receive indirect messages about the believed superiority or inferiority of these groups. For example, a teacher may ignore insults made toward a student for being gay even if the school has an official policy against discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Define temperament and goodness of fit.

Temperament- a person's or animal's nature, especially as it permanently affects their behavior: Goodness of fit-the notion that development is dependent on the degree of match between children's temperament and the nature and demands of the environment in which they've been raised

What is false self-training?

The concept of false self-training (Davis, 1999) refers to holding a child to adult standards while denying the child's developmental needs

Characterize physical growth in early childhood.

The rate of physical growth in early childhood is slower than what was found in infancy. Overall physical growth is at the rate of about 3 inches in height per year. And about 4.5 pounds of weight is gained each year. The average 6 year old in the United States is about 46 inches tall and weighs about 46 pounds. This slower growth rate translates into a smaller appetite for children between ages 2 and 6 years.

What are some nutritional concerns during the preschool (play) years? What happens to appetite from ages 2-6? What are the chief concerns during middle childhood in terms of nutrition?

This diminished appetite means these children are vulnerable to nutritional deficiencies. This is particularly true if those small appetites are satisfied with foods poor in nutrition. Preschoolers can suffer iron deficiencies particularly if they drink too much cow's milk which interferes with the body's ability to absorb iron. Children in the United States consume too many high fat, high sugar junk foods. And while the effects of such poor nutrition might not be immediately evident, the preference for eating such intensely sugary and fatty foods is being established and can interfere with nutrition for years to come

Explain Piaget's theory of cognitive development for childhood. Include the substages of sensorimotor intelligence, preoperational intelligence (including animism, egocentrism, centration), and concrete operational intelligence (including identity, reversibility, conservation). Remember assimilation and accommodation.

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Use Erikson's theory to explain psychosocial development from birth through childhood. Four stages or 'crises' comprise childhood (trust vs. mistrust etc.)

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