Ch 1 - Learn
About Children
Child Growth and
Development
Why Study Children?
To Understand Yourself
To Be a Responsible Parent
To Protect Children’s Rights
To Work with Children
To Understand Yourself
 How
did your upbringing affect you?
 http://www.oprah.com/relationships/18-
Habits-from-Childhood-That-Affect-OurRelationships-Now
To Be a Responsible Parent

Provide for a child’s:

Physical Needs

Intellectual Needs

Social Needs

Trust Needs

Love and Discipline Needs
Responsible Parent Activity
 Break
up into five groups
 Each group will be assigned a different
need they will have to provide for a child
 The group will need to come up with five
different ways they can provide for this
need.

Include things that can be done with the
child, places the child can be taken, things
that can be said to the child, etc.
To Protect Children’s Rights
 The
Rights of Children were written by the
Convention on the Rights of the Child.
 They include 11 major categories:






An identity
A family
Express themselves and
have access to
information
A safe and healthy life
Special protection in
times of war
An education





Special care for the
disabled
Protection from
discrimination
Protection from abuse
Protection from harmful
work
Special treatment if
arrested
Protecting Children’s Rights Flyer
 Create
a flyer on one of the 11 categories
of protecting children’s rights.

Include:
 Some
type of title or slogan illustrating what
right is being protected
 Why that right should be protected
 What can be done to protect that right
To Work With Children
 What
are some examples of jobs that
work with children?
 Why would you need to study children to
work in the child care field?
What is Child Development?
 Development
is the gradual process
through which babies become adults
 Child development is the scientific study
of children from conception to
adolescence
Factors that Influence Growth
and Development
 Heredity
includes traits passed to a child
from blood relatives
 Environment
includes physical conditions
and relationships with others that have
shaped experiences in our lives
Heredity or Environment?
Heredity
Both
Environment
Heredity and Environment
Combined
 Examples:

“Genes control how quickly a baby’s
muscles grow (heredity), but a proper diet is
needed for the baby to grow
(environment). However, a better diet
doesn’t make bones and muscles bigger
than heredity allows.”
–Child Development pg. 30
How Brain Development
Occurs in Children

Neurons are brain cells that direct various
tasks of the brain (like messages that tell the
body what to do)

Axons are cables that transmit signals from a
neuron to other neurons

Dendrites are cables that allow each neuron
to receive signals sent by other neurons

Synapse is a gap between neurons across
which electrical impulses can be transmitted
The Neuron
Effects of Heredity and Environment
on Brain Development
 Heredity
and environment work together
to develop the brain
 Rich sensory experiences enhance brain
development

create new dendrites
 Pruning
is the process in which the brain
weeds out unused pathways
Windows of Opportunity
A
specific time in which stimulation should
occur in the brain for peak capacity to
learn (to learn as much as possible).
 Some are shorter; some are longer.
 Windows of opportunity for different tasks
often overlap
Think – Pair – Share
 Why
is it important to know when a child’s
window of opportunity is?
 Get
out a piece of paper and answer the
above question.
 Partner up with a neighbor and discuss
each of your answers.
 Be prepared to share your answer with
the class.
Differences in the Rate of
Growth and Development
 Children
do NOT advance in all areas at
the same rate
 Developmental
acceleration- when a
child performs like and older child
 Developmental delay- when a child
performs like a younger child
Principals of Growth and
Development
 Key





principles
Constant
Gradual and Continuous
Happen in Sequenced Steps
Happen at Different Rates
Are Interrelated
Theories of Growth and
Development
 Sigmund
Freud (1856-1939)
 Jean Piaget (1896–1980)
 Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934)
 Erik Erikson (1902–1994)
 B.F. Skinner (1904-1990)
 Abraham Maslow (1908–1970)
 Urie Bronfenbrenner (1917-2005)
 Albert Bandura (before 1925)
Theories of Growth and
Development
 Developmental

Theorist Worksheet
Use page 15 in your textbook
Maslow’s Theory of Human
Needs
 Development
is a result of meeting
personal needs
 People work to fulfill basic needs and
higher-level needs
 Lower-level needs must be met before
higher-level needs can be pursued
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human
Needs
Our own Maslow’s Hierarchy
of Needs
 Think
of personal examples from each
“Need” that you already have or would
like to have in the future to write on our
Class Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Why Observe Children?
 Observation
is the oldest, most common,
and best way to learn about human
behavior
 We can see good ways and bad ways to
work with children by modeling observed
adults who work with children
 Observation skills are learned by
observing children
Observing Children


Subjective observation – to rely on personal opinions
and feelings, rather than facts, to judge an event
Subjective observations often use assumptions, or
what is thought to be, instead of what is.


Example: Ethan is feeling selfish. He won’t let anyone
else play with the toys in the sandbox.
Objective observation – recording an exact
account of what is seen and heard without
including personal feelings or prejudices

Example: Ethan is sitting in the sandbox. Cody enters
the sandbox and attempts to play with Ethan. Ethan
takes the toy truck away from Cody when he tries to
play with it and says, “That’s my toy.”
Types of Observations Records

Running Record – a record of everything observed
for a set period of time

Anecdotal Record – a report of a child’s actions
that concentrates on specific behavior or area of
development

Frequency Count – a tally of how often a certain
behavior occurs

Developmental Checklist – a checklist of skills
children should master, or behaviors they should
exhibit at a certain age
Guidelines for Observing
 Know
your objectives
 Obtain permission to observe
 Know what to do at the site – make your
observation meaningful
 Ask questions at convenient times
 Do not distract children from activities
 Observe carefully and objectively
 Record accurately
 Protect the rights of all observed
Super Nanny
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVVY
rf_AgcM