Chapter 1
Study Guide Answers
Question 1…
• What three things influence your
relationship with young children??
– Your interest in children.
– Your knowledge of their changing stages
and needs.
– Your skill in applying that knowledge
Question 2…
• Why study children?
– Your understanding of children will grow
– You will come to know yourself better
– You will develop skills that will be
valuable throughout your lifetime.
Question 3…
• How can learning about children help you
get along with them better?
– You will more fully appreciate all
characteristics of human development.
– You will begin to see why children act, feel, and
think as they do.
– You will be able to apply your learning to
everyday life.
– You will learn practical techniques of caring for
children.
– You will discover that children are fun.
Question 4…
• What is one of the most important concepts that
have emerged from the study of children?
– Childhood has been identified as being a distinct period
of life and many people have made a special study of this
period.
– To explain further, We are learning about how children
develop, what their special needs are and how these
needs can best be met. Many important concepts have
emerged from this kind of study; perhaps the most
important concept is that childhood has a significant
influence on later life.
Question 5…
• How did people in Colonial Days think
children differed from adults?
– During the colonial period in America,
people still believed that children
differed from adults only in size,
experience, and abilities. Children were
dressed, fed, and doctored just as
adults were.
Question 6…
• Give three examples of the differences
between childhood in the past and
childhood today.
– EXAMPLE ONE (Work):
– In the past, children were expected to work
hard at an early age.
– Today, most children in our society are not
thrown into the world of adult work. The “job”
of young children is simply to grown, learn, and
play.
Question 6…
• Give three examples of the differences between
childhood in the past and childhood today.
– EXAMPLE TWO (Nutrition):
– Health & Nutrition: In the past, parents could not
expect to raise every child to adulthood due to various
diseases. Today because of medical care and
vaccinations most all children live to adulthood.
– In the past, babies either thrived on breast milk or
didn’t. Today, we have many types of formulas that help
babies grown and develop. Special formulas are available
for infants with special dietary needs.
Question 6…
• Give three examples of the differences between
childhood in the past and childhood today.
– EXAMPLE THREE (Dress):
– Until the seventeenth century, children were dressed as
small adults. Preschool boys and girls were dressed alike
until the early part of the twentieth century.
– Today, young children now usually wear clothing that is
suitable in both style and color for either boys or girls.
Modern children wear practical, washable, lightweight
garments designed to provide freedom of movement and
maximum confort.
Question 7…
• Why can childhood be called a recent
discovery, even through there have always
been children?
– Because attitudes toward children have
changed. Our society attached great
importance to understanding and guiding
children.
– Over the past several generations, interest in
studying children and their behavior has grown
remarkable. For the first time, researchers
and scholars have been able to study child
growth and development scientifically.
Question 8…
• Where can you find information
about growth and development of
children?
– Books, articles, radio, television
programs, internet, classes.
Question 9…
• Explain in your own words what the
following characteristics of
development mean…
• Development is similar for everyone…
– Regardless of the country where a child
is born, that baby will grown and develop
physically just like any other baby in any
other country.
Question 9…
• Explain in your own words what the
following characteristics of
development mean…
• Development builds on early learning…
– A child learn basic skills or simple tasks
before progressing to more complex
skills or tasks.
Question 9…
• Explain in your own words what the
following characteristics of development
mean…
• Development proceeds at an individual
rate…
– Babies grown and development is similar
however, each individual baby will grown and
develop and learn at their own individual pace
or rate.
Question 9…
• Explain in your own words what the
following characteristics of development
mean…
• The different areas of development are
interrelated…
– Babies don’t just grow physically one week and
the socially the next week. All the areas of
development (physical, mental, social, and
emotional) are connected and impact each
other.
Question 9…
• Explain in your own words what the
following characteristics of
development mean…
• Development is continuous
throughout life…
– Development does not stop at a certain
age. We all continue to grown and
develop well into adulthood.
Question 10…
• Identify four ways that play benefits
the development of children.
–
–
–
–
Physically.
Intellectually.
Emotionally.
Socially.
Question 11…
• Name two major influences on development
and give an example of each.
– Heredity. What a person looks like, their
intellectual capability is determined by their
heredity or genetic makeup.
– Environment. All the people, places, and things
that surround an individual have an impact on
the growth and development of that individual.