Chapter 7: Physical and Cognitive Development in Early Childhood
Chubby Baby to Slim Child
Body growth slows and proportions shift
o
Thinner
o
Balance improves
Individual differences in size become more apparent
Skeletal growth continues
o
New growth centers
(epiphyses)
o
Lose baby teeth
Brain Development
Cognitive capacities are localized (specific regions of the brain related
to specific functions) in the brain
Left hemisphere
o
Language skills
o
Handedness
Right hemisphere
o
Spatial skills
Links among parts of brain increase
o
Cerebellum
(motor function)
o
Reticular formation
(sustain and control attention)
o
Hippocampus
(memory and understanding)
o
Corpus callosum
Handedness
Dominant cerebral hemisphere
o
Right handed (90%): language housed in left hemisphere
o
Left handed (10%): often shared by both hemispheres
Influences by:
o
Genetics
o
Practice
o
Cultural variation in schooling
o
Prenatal or early damage to left-hemisphere
(teratogens)
Influences on Physical growth and Health
Heredity and hormones
(pituitary gland)
o
Growth hormone
(coordinate development of body tissues)
o
Thyroid-stimulating hormone
(support brain development)
Nutrition
Infectious disease and malnutrition
Childhood injuries
Nutrition
Appetite decreases as growth slows
Wariness of new food is adaptive
Need high-quality diet in smaller quantities
Imitates others’ food choices
(parents/caregivers to model)
Poor-quality diet associated with tooth decay, obesity, cognitive
defects, and behavior problems
Infectious Disease and Malnutrition
5.9 mil deaths (98% developing world, 50% infectious diseases)
Poor diet can depress immune system
Illness reduces appetite
Hinders physical growth and cognitive development
Diarrhea concern in developing countries
o
Stunted growth from dehydration
o
1 mil childhood deaths each year
o
Helped by oral rehydration therapy
(glucose, salt, and water)
and
zinc
(supports healthy immune functioning)
supplements
Immunizations
17% of preschoolers lack immunizations, 22% in poverty inclined due
to lack of health care resources
Many children in U.S. lack immunizations:
o
Cost
o
Parent’s stressful lives
o
Misconceptions about vaccine safety
(autism, correlation doesn’t
equal causation)
o
Parents’ religious or philosophical objections
Unintentional Childhood Injuries
Mostly auto or traffic accidents
Leading cause of childhood death in industrialized nations
Factors relating to childhood injuries:
o
Gender and temperament
(boys have higher rates of being
impulses due to testosterone)
o
Poverty
o
Single parenthood
o
Low parental education
o
Societal conditions
(shortage of high quality child care, teen
parents, overcrowding in neighborhoods)
Motor Skills
Gross Motor Skills
Balance improves
Smooth and rhythmic gait
Upper and lower body skills become more refined
Greater speed and endurance
Fine-Motor Skills
Self-help skills
Drawing
Printing
Progression of Drawing Skills
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- Spring '08
- Useche
- Sociology, Executive Function
