Chapter 5

Children become slimmer
 Every year from 2 years- 6 years children add:
▪ 3 inches in height
▪ 4.5 pounds in weight

Nutrition
 Appetite tends to decrease in early childhood
▪ 40 years ago primary food related concern: Malnutrition
▪ Today: Obesity

Possible Causes
 Less Exercise
 Less time outdoors
 More fast and processed food (high in fat)

Body weight increases as income falls

Overfeeding is causing an epidemic of
illnesses related to obesity

Children develop motor skills through their
play and practice

Gross Motor Skills Advance
 Muscle Growth
 Brain Maturation
 Guided Practice

Fine Motor skills are harder to master

By age 2, brain is 75% of its adult weight
By age 6, brain is 90% of adult weight

Myelination: results in faster thinking

 Process by axons become coated with myelin, a
fatty substance that speeds the transmission of
nerve impulses from neuron to neuron
 Myelination continues for several years reaching
full development in adolescents

Young children are slow at most things
because of inadequate myelin.

Reduction in myelin is the reason people’s
reactions tend to slow as they get older.

Multiple Sclerosis (autoimmune disease)
 Immune System eats away at the myelin sheath
▪ No Cure, just treatment

Corpus Callosum
 A long, thick band of nerve fibers that connects the
left and right hemispheres of the brain
▪ Also allows communication between the left and right
▪ Normally, develops between 12-16 weeks after conception
(end of first trimester)
▪ Fibers become more effective and efficient into adolescence
▪ Failure of Corpus Callosum to develop normally results in
serious disorders
Lateralization: Sidedness
 Specialization in certain functions by each side of
the brain with one side dominant of each activity
▪ Left side of brain controls right side of body
▪ Right side of brain controls left said of body
LEFT HALF OF BRAIN
RIGHT SIDE OF BRAIN
Logical reasoning
Detailed analysis
Language

Emotional Impulses
 Creative Impulses
 Appreciation
 Music
Attention to Details
 Art
 Poetry
Attention to BIG PICTURE

Prefrontal Cortex
 Also called frontal lobe
 Maturation of the prefrontal cortex enables
children to focus attention & decrease impulsivity
▪ Perseveration: the tendency to persevere in or stick to
one thought or action for a long time
▪ Maturation of the prefrontal cortex results in
 Sleep becoming more regular
 Emotions becoming more responsive
 Decrease in temper tantrums

Limbic System
 Parts of the brain that are crucial in the expression
and regulation of emotions
▪ Amygdala
▪ Registers positive and negative emotions
 Including fear and anxiety
 Increased activity in amygdala is reason young children have
nightmares and sudden terror
▪ Hippocampus
▪ Central processor of memory
▪ Hypothalamus
▪ Responds to amygdala & hippocampus to produce hormones and
activate other parts of the brain and body

Hypothalamus produces hormones in
moderation
 If excessive stress hormones flood the brain, part of
the hippocampus may be destroyed and result in
permanent deficits in learning and memory

Amygdala and Hippocampus help people learn
▪ The developing brain is fragile-prolonged physiological
response to stress but children at risk for physical and mental
disorders, poor emotional regulation and cognitive
impairments

Changes in brain maturation accelerate thinking
 Jean Piaget Stages of Cognitive Development
▪ Pre-Operational Intelligence (2-6)
▪ Before reasoning processes
 Obstacles to Logical Operations
▪
▪
▪
▪
1. Centration
2. Focus on Appearance
3. Static Reasoning
4. Irreversibility

1. Centration: child focuses on one idea and
excludes other

2. Focus on Appearance: child ignores all
attributes that are not apparent

3. Static Reasoning: child thinks nothing
changes

4. Irreversibility: child thinks nothing done can
be undone

Conservation
 Amount of substance remains the same or is
conserved when its appearances changes

Animism
 Belief that natural objects and phenomena are
alive
▪ Clouds, trees and mountains are believed to have
feelings goals and souls

Apprentice in Thinking
 Child whose cognition is stimulated and directed by
older and more skilled individuals
▪ Believed we each have a zone of proximal development
▪ Cognitive and Physical skills a person can exercise only with
assistance not alone
 Scaffolding: temporary support that is tailored to a learner’s needs
and abilities and aimed at helping the learner master the next task
given a learning process
▪ Children learn because of parents & teachers
▪
▪
▪
▪
Present challenges
Offer assistance
Provide Instruction
Encourage motivation

Theory-Theory
 The idea that a children attempt to explain
everything they see & hear
▪ Humans tend to develop theories for why things happen

Theory of Mind
 A person’s theories of what other people might
be thinking
▪ When children begin to understand that other people
might have ideas and knowledge unlike their own
▪ Classic Candy Box & Band-Aid Box Experiments
 Pivotal to every kind of cognition in early
childhood
▪ Early childhood most productive years for language
development
▪ Maturation & Myelination along with extensive social interaction
 Sensitive period
▪ Best time to master vocabulary, grammar &
pronunciation

Average Child
 Age 1: learn one word at a time
 Age 2: 500 words
 Age 6: 10,000 words
 Fast Mapping
▪ Speedy & Imprecise way in which children learn new
words by tentatively placing them in mental categories
according to their perceived meaning

100 years ago: children received no formal
education until the 1st grade
 Research has documented that early childhood is
a time of rapid development and great learning
potential
▪ Early Childhood Education Names
▪
▪
▪
▪
Preschool
Nursery School
Day care
Pre-K

Child Centered Programs: stress children’s natural
inclination to learn through play rather than following
adult directions
 Montessori Schools
▪ Maria Montessori: schools for small poor children in Rome
 Concepts: inner guidance, freedom for self-directed learning,
mixed age groups: 2-6
 Contemporary Schools: emphasize individual pride and
accomplishment (pretend play not a part of curriculum)
 Reggio Emilia Approach
▪ Originated from Italy, it encourages each child’s creativity in a
carefully designed setting
Encourages environment and interaction with others

Teacher-Directed Programs Stress academic
subjects to prepare children to be ready to
learn by the time they enter 1st grade
▪ Letters, numbers, shapes and colors
▪ Be able to listen and sit quietly

Intervention Directed Programs
 Head Start: Began in 1965 funded by federal
government
▪ Most Widespread early childhood programs in the US
▪ 1996 Early Start: children under age 3

Iowa Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program
 Free Preschool for Four Year Olds
▪ Intended to improve access to quality early childhood
education
▪ 19,000 four year olds were served in schools or community based
sites in Iowa from 2010-2011.

Worldwide, Accidents are the leading cause
of death for people under 40 years of age.

In the United States, children 2-6 years old
are four times more likely to die in accidents
than the are of cancer.
 Cancer is 2nd leading cause of death for 2-6 year
olds

Practices that are aimed at anticipating,
controlling, and preventing dangerous
activities.
 Accidents are not random
 Injuries can be made less harmful if proper
controls are in place.
▪ In 2005, less than half the as many 1-4 years old died
from accidents than in 1980 due to injury control.

Primary Prevention
▪ actions that change overall background conditions to prevent
unwanted events or circumstances, such as injury, disease or
abuse

Secondary Prevention
▪ actions that avert harm in a high-risk situation, such as stopping a
care before it hits a pedestrian or installing traffic lights at
dangerous intersections

Tertiary Prevention
▪ Actions such as immediate and effective treatment, that are take
after an adverse event (illness, injury or abuse) occurs and that
are aimed at reducing harm or preventing disability

Pedestrian Death
 Primary Prevention
▪ Includes sidewalks, speed bumps, pedestrian
overpasses, street lights & traffic circles
▪ Redesigned cars with better brakes, headlights &
bumpers
▪ Stronger Drunk driving laws, tougher penalties
▪ Reduction in traffic
▪ Improved mass transit

Pedestrian Death
 Secondary Prevention
▪ High Risk Situations
▪ Kids: flashing lights on stopped buses, school crossing guards &
fences
▪ Plowing, salting and sanding icy roads, signs and signals

Pedestrian Death
 Tertiary Prevention
▪ Reduce damage after automobile crashes
▪
▪
▪
▪
Laws against hit and runs
Speedy ambulances
Improve Emergency room procedures
Effective Rehabilitation

Child Maltreatment
 Intentional Harm to or avoidable endangerment of
anyone under 18 of years of age

Child Abuse
 Deliberate action that is harmful to child’s physical,
emotional or sexual well-being.

Child Neglect
 Failure to meet a child’s basic physical, educational or
emotional needs
 1st documented legal response to child abuse
in US in 1874, used cruelty to animal law to
protect that child

In 1961, American Academy of Pediatrics
holds 1st conference on “battered child
syndrome”

Source: 2008 Child Maltreatment Report
 US Department of Health and Human Services
 3.3 Million Reports of Child Abuse Made
▪ Involving 6 million children
▪ 63% Accepted for Investigation
▪ ¼ resulted in confirmed child abuse
▪ 794, 000 victims of child abuse
▪ Rate of Victimization: 10.3 per 1,000 children

Source: Department of Human Services
 DHS accepted 25, 814 reports for assessment
 DHS confirmed abuse in 8,867 cases (34%)
▪ 12,442 child victims
▪ 15.6 per 1,000 children in Iowa
▪ Type of Abuse: 2009
 Denial of Critical Care: 81.0%
 Physical Abuse: 9 %
 Presence of Illegal Drugs: 3.6%
 Sexual Abuse: 3.8%
 Cohabitation with Registered Sex offender: 0.6%
 Manufacturing or possession: 0.45%
 Mental Injury: 0.1%

Child Maltreatment
 Primary Prevention
▪ any measure that reduces financial stress, family isolation &
unwanted parenthood
 Secondary Prevention
▪ Spotting warning signs, preventable social workers
 Tertiary Prevention:
▪ Improving parenting skills
▪ Improving reporting laws
▪ Permanency planning
▪ Foster care
Chapter 6

Learning how & when to express emotions
 Limbic System (emotions) begins to connect to
prefrontal cortex (decision maker)
 Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial Development
▪ 3rd Crisis: Initiative vs. Guilt
▪ Children undertake new skills and activities and feel guilty when
they do not succeed at them
 Parents encourage natural enthusiasm, effort and selfevaluation

Pride
 Self-Esteem: a person’s evaluation of his or her
own worth & success in specifics or in general
▪ Parents encourage and confirm self-esteem of children
by reminding them of their positive accomplishments
▪ Parent’s who are routinely critical of their children foster low selfesteem, the belief that they are flawed
 Extremely harsh criticism results in emotional abuse

Guilt
▪ Self-blame that people experience when they do
something wrong
▪ Comes from within
 Shame
▪ People’s feeling that others blame them, disapprove of
them or are disappointed in them
▪ From other people

Intrinsic Motivation
 A drive or reason to pursue a goal, that comes
from inside a person, such as need to feel smart or
competent

Extrinsic Motivation
 A drive or reason to pursue a goals, that arises
from the need to have one’s achievements
rewarded from outside

Every culture want children to be happy, selfcontrolled and kind

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

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US: overcome fear
Puerto Rico: modify Anger
China: temper pride
Japan: control aggression
Native American: patient and cooperative
 Emotional Regulation is significantly impacted by
their caregivers

Lack of Emotional regulation is early sign of
psychopathology (Disorder of the mind)
▪ Emotional Regulation: Prefrontal cortex regulates the
limbic system

By age 4 or 5, children are much less likely to throw a temper
tantrum, provoke a physical attack or burst into laughing at
inappropriate times
▪ Violent outbursts and terrifying phobias continue to diminish

Externalizing problems
 Difficulty with emotional regulation that involves
expressing powerful feelings through uncontrolled
physical or verbal outbursts
▪ Lashing out at other people or breaking things
▪ Anger
▪ Undercontrolled

Internalizing problems
 Difficulty with emotional regulation that involves turning
one’s emotional distress inward as by feeling excessively
guilty, ashamed or worthless
▪ Overcontrolled
▪ Fearful and withdrawn

Most productive and enjoyable activity that
children undertake
 Play is universal across cultures
 Play is child’s natural language of communication
 Play is necessary for development
▪ Types of play
▪ Active: necessary for muscle growth and emotional control
 Rough & Tumble play: play that mimics aggression w/no intent to
harm
 Sociodramatic play: pretend play in which children act out various
roles & themes in stories they create

Parental Differences
 1. Expression of warmth
 2. Strategies for discipline
 3. Communication
 4. Expectancies for maturity
AUTHORITARIAN

High behavioral standards
expected with strict
punishment and little
communication
PERMISSIVE

High Nurturance and
communication but little
discipline & guidance or
control
 Warmth: low
 Warmth: High
 Discipline: Strict
 Discipline: Rare
 Expectations Maturity: high
 Expectations Maturity: Low
 Communication
▪ Parent to Child: High
▪ Child to Parent: Low
 Communication
▪ Parent to Child: Low
▪ Child to Parent: High
AUTHORITATIVE

Parents set limits and
enforce rules but are
flexible & listen to their
children
 Warmth: High
 Discipline: Moderate
 Expectations Maturity:
Moderate
 Communication
▪ Parent to child: High
▪ Child to Parent: High
NEGLECTFUL/UNINVOLVED

Parents do not know what
their children are doing &
seem not to care
 Little involvement in child’s
life

Authoritarian: children are conscientious,
obedient & quiet but not necessarily happy

Permissive: children raise unhappy children
who lack self control especially in peer
relationships

Authoritative: children are successful,
articulate, happy with themselves & generous
with others

Early Childhood
 Children try to please others and avoid punishment
▪ Some believe most important

Development of Morals: right & wrong
 Nature
▪ Belief morality is genetic resulting from natural bonding and
attachment
 Nurture
▪ Belief children learn morality from their community

Empathy
 The ability to understand the emotions and
concerns of another person, especially when they
differ from one’s own.
▪ Mirror Neurons: observing someone else doing
something may activate the same areas in the brain of
the observer as active in the person being observed

Antipathy
 Feelings of dislike or hatred for another person

Empathy leads to:
 Pro-social Behavior
▪ Actions that are helpful & kind but that are of no obvious
benefit to the person doing them
▪ Typically increases from age 3-6

Antipathy leads to:
 Antisocial Behavior
▪ Actions that are deliberately hurtful or destructive to
another person
▪ Typically decreases beginning at age 2