MIDDLE CHILDHOOD (7-11 YEARS) THE SCHOOL YEARS PHYSICAL DVLPT AND HEALTH Growth growth begins to slow down --will gain about --by 6, avg. North American child --by 10, avg. is -- b/t 6 and 8, girls are slightly shorter and lighter than boys, but this ends by age 9 so girls begin to catch up (girls still have more fat and boys have more muscle) Obesity overweight: being 20% above ideal weight for age and height obesity: 30% or more above ideal weight for age and height --approx. of American children are Factors of obesity: 1) heredity: if overweight/obese parents, more likely to be overweight or obese; 2) environmental factors: including eating habits, parents aren’t correctly regulating how much the child eats (either watching too closely for fear of weight gain or indulging as rewards), food can become a comfort at an early age; type of food: more processed food and not fresh; even socioeconomic status (SES) is an environmental factor in that lower SES is equated with less healthy food preparation (high fat, low cost food) 3) lack of physical activity: more TV watching; one study showed that children who watched 3 hrs./day gained more fat than those who watched 1 ¾ hrs/day 80% of overweight/obese children grow up to be overweight/obese adults Brain Dvlpt brain reaches adult size by 7 selective attention: can focus on something special while still paying attention to other things around them helps them to not be as distracted and to have longer periods where they are actually learning in school Motor Skills: --Gross: increase in flexibility (more pliable and elastic), balance, agility (quicker and more accurate movements for things like dance, cheerleading, tag, soccer), and force (when running, kicking, etc.) --Fine: writing skills improve; building smaller objects like model airplanes Children with Special Needs children with special needs: need more help to learn --many reasons why they would fall into this category, including autism: inability to relate to people in an ordinary way; unable to learn normal speech --affects 1:2000 children attention-deficit disorder (ADD): where the child has great difficulty concentrating for more than a few moments at a time, but is not impulsive or overactive attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): child has great difficulty concentrating for more than a few minutes at a time but is also inattentive, impulsive, and overactive --origin may be neurological b/c parts of the brain that regulate attention --causes: --boys are diagnosed times more often than girls --treatment: given stimulant medication to increase activity in frontal lobe, which helps regulate attention (70% see a reduction in symptoms) most effective is that teaches the child what is appropriate and inappropriate, also parenting classes learning-disabled: have a tremendous delay in learning in a particular area not caused by a physical handicap, mental retardation, or stressful home environment most common learning disability is dyslexia: unusual difficulty in reading; words and letters are jumbled up; sometimes read right to left instead of left to right COGNITIVE DVLPT Piaget’s Concrete Operational Thought --concrete operational thought: begin to think in a more logical manner, but limited to things that can be seen or proven easily --identity: something remains the same even if some characteristics are changed; opposite of conservation --reversibility: mentally reverse operations --reciprocity: two things can change in opposite ways to balance out each other (mathematically, two operations can equal the same) Kohlberg’s Moral Reasoning --looks at how people reason to see where their moral development is --1) preconventional moral reasoning: emphasis is on getting rewards and avoiding punishments; most children under the age of 8 --2) conventional moral reasoning: emphasis on social rules and norms --3) postconventional moral reasoning: emphasis on moral principles Teaching and Learning Reading: --two methods: phonics and whole language --phonics approach: teaching letter sounds first --whole-language approach: learning all language skills together (talking, listening, reading and writing); goal is to communicate SES and Vocabulary and Reading: --correlation b/t , showing that those children had less developed vocabularies and grammar than children in higher SES --what type of language are they exposed to at home, school, and neighborhood? Math and Sciences: --American children lag behind in math compared to most East Asian countries --American children tend to learn less math as they progress in school; use more computers, calculators to solve problems and this may be the cause of their lagging behind --Is this being lazy? Bilingual Education: --in America, those who don’t speak English are expected to learn English, but those who speak only English are not expected to learn another language --middle childhood is the best time to be taught another language --total immersion: teaching entirely in the second language without using the native language PSYCHOSOCIAL DVLPT Peer Relations --peer groups: indvdls who are of the same age and social status who work, play, and learn together --peers become very important; are needed for social growth and school adjustment; also learn things from peers that they wouldn’t learn from adults Friendships: --develop more when build one-on-one friendships, so friendships tend to take on qualities that look for as adult --look for friends similar to themselves (same age, sex, race, ethnicity, and SES) and in personality, academic achievement, and prosocial behavior --as they get older in this stage, look for friendships that will last longer and offer more closeness, esp. with girls -can also play a role in friendships --Unpopular children: 1) neglected: not picked as friends, but not avoided either; usually shy but still well-adjusted and can break away from usual pattern of playing by themselves 2) aggressive-rejected: actively rejected b/c of their aggressive, confrontational behavior 3) withdrawn-rejected: actively rejected b/c of their withdrawn, anxious behavior Bullies: --bullying can be in the form of physical attacks (hitting, punching, kicking, pinching), verbal attacks (teasing, name-calling), or social attacks (public shunning or mocking) --approx. of children are bullies and are bullied --most bullies are boys and boys bully boys, girls bully girls Families: --families are important; those that don’t have families are more likely to become --children view parents as being important and family is important --family function and structure are considered --family function: how a family works to meet the needs of its members functions include: 1) provide food, clothing, shelter 2) encourage them to learn 3) develop their self-esteem (think about initiative vs. inferiority) 4) nurture their friendships with friends (opportunity, social skills, time, etc.) 5) provide harmony and stability (feel safe and secure) --family structure: how a family is legally constructed and how its members are genetically connected 1) nuclear family: father, mother, and their biological children; most common type 2) stepparent family: biological parent and children, with spouse 3) blended family: two adults, biological children of one or both adults, and any children the adults have together biologically 4) adoptive family: one or more nonbiological children and voluntarily, legally, and permanently raising the child/children 5) one-parent family: one parent with biological children 6) grandparents alone: grandparents with biological grandchildren 7) extended family: three or more biological generations 8) homosexual family: same-sex parents and biological or adopted children 9) foster family: one or two parents temporarily caring for a nonbiological child --function seems to be more important than structure and is enhanced by adequate family income Coping and Stress --one stressor in addition to others can be harmful, even if it’s minor --having a daily routine reduces stress; certain amount of predictability for the child --child’s perspective of stressful events can increase or decrease stress and cope less effectively --cope more effectively with strong social support