The Play Years: Biosocial Development Slides prepared by Kate Byerwalter, Ph.D., Grand Rapids Community College The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence by Kathleen Stassen Berger Chapter 8 Seventh Edition

Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 8 Growth Patterns from years Children become slimmer, more muscular, and gain almost 3˝ and 4½ lbs per year. Growth is influenced by:  Ethnic and cultural practices  Socioeconomic status  Genes  Nutrition

Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 8 Make It Real: Memories of Meals How did your caregivers handle mealtimes when you were little? (e.g., Were you required to clean your plate?) Do you think the mealtime practices affected your eating habits as an adult in any way?

Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 8 Eating Habits in the Play Years Young children tend to be picky eaters who insist on rituals.  Example: a toddler refuses to eat foods that are touching each other, or she wants to drink only from a certain cup Too much fat and sugar, and too little iron, calcium, and zinc are problems.

Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 8 It must be “just right.”

Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 8 Brain Development There is considerable brain development in the play years. For example, by age 5, the brain is 90% of its adult weight. PHOTODISC

Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 8 The Importance of Myelination Myelination speeds up neural transmission, leading to improvements in memory, impulse control, and contemplation. Both maturation and practice affect this process.

Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 8 Connecting the Brain’s Hemispheres The corpus callosum myelinates rapidly during the play years. This leads to more efficient communication between hemispheres. Therefore, kids can more easily perform actions that involve both halves of the brain or body.

Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 8

The Left-Handed Child Along with genes, experience affects hand preference…just ask any “natural” left- hander whose teacher forced him to be right-handed! Most societies favor right-handedness.

Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 8 The Whole Brain Although each hemisphere of the brain specializes in certain functions (i.e., lateralization), the whole brain is involved in every cognitive skill. The brains of young children compensate more easily for the effects of brain damage, should it occur.

Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 8 The prefrontal cortex (or frontal lobe) is essential for higher order cognition, including planning and impulse control. This begins to develop during the play years  But is not fully mature until early 20s Development helps with impulse control (e.g., “Simon Says”). Planning and Analyzing

Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 8 Attention The prefrontal cortex helps regulate attention, influencing impulse control. Perseveration is the tendency to stick to one thought or action.  Example: Your niece sings the “Barney” song the entire ride across town.

Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 8 The Limbic System The limbic system is crucial for the expression and regulation of emotions.

Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 8 Parts of the Limbic System Amygdala: registers emotions, especially fear and anxiety  Its increased activity in early childhood can lead to nightmares, irrational fears

Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 8 Parts of the Limbic System The hippocampus processes memory, especially of locations. However, memories of location are fragile in childhood, and young children might forget where, when, or how a fact was learned.

Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 8 Hypothalamus: produces hormones that regulate the body, including stress hormones Too much stress in childhood can destroy neurons of the hippocampus, leading to permanent memory and learning deficits. Parts of the Limbic System (cont.)

Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 8 Brain Damage Shaken baby syndrome leads to brain damage or death. A mother’s clinical depression can lead to neglect, altering the child’s brain and increasing his/her risk of depression. Institutionalization creates underactive limbic systems and lack of lateralization.

Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 8 Development of Motor Skills TONY FREEMAN / PHOTOEDIT

Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 8 Gross Motor Skills These involve large muscle movements  Examples: crawl, walk, run, jump, skip They develop through maturation and practice (especially play with peers).

Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 8 Fine Motor Skills These involve small muscle movements  Examples: holding a spoon, buttoning, tying shoes, pouring juice, cutting food, scribbling, etc. These are more difficult to master, requiring muscular control and patience

Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 8

Artistic Expression Young children love to draw, dance, build, and often show perseveration in doing so! Their artistic abilities increase with age.  Example: Many children first draw a “tadpole”: a face and two sticks for the body.

Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 8 Artistic Expression

Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 8 Avoidable Injuries Young children ages 1−4 yrs are the most vulnerable age group to accidental death.  Examples: Falls, swallowing poison, burning, drowning, and choking are common causes. Parents, legislators, and others can help provide injury control.

Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 8 Primary prevention: actions that prevent injury Secondary prevention: reduces dangers of high-risk situations Tertiary prevention: actions taken after an adverse event occurs to reduce harm Three Levels of Prevention

Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 8 Example: Prevention of Pedestrian Deaths Primary: sidewalks, speed bumps, etc. Secondary: requiring flashing lights on school buses, using crossing guards Tertiary: laws against hit and run drivers, well trained ambulance drivers Three Levels of Prevention (cont.)

Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 8 Educating parents is important. But laws seem to be most effective.  e.g., fences around swimming pools, child safety seats, etc. Parents, Education, and Protection

Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 8 Make it Real: Child Maltreatment Have you ever wondered whether a particular child was being maltreated? Have you ever confronted a parent about it? MISHAWAKA POLICE DEPARTMENT / GETTY IMAGES

Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 8 Terminology Child maltreatment: harm or neglect of children under age 18 years  Child Abuse: Deliberate harm  Child Neglect: Inaction that leads to harm Neglect is twice as common as abuse

Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 8 Reporting Child Maltreatment Teachers, social workers, doctors, etc. are required by law to report cases Substantiated maltreatment: means a reported case was investigated and verified In the U.S., there are about 3 million reported and 1 million substantiated cases per year

Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 8 Warning Signs of Maltreatment Failure to thrive: an otherwise healthy infant or young child does not gain weight Post-traumatic stress disorder: easily startled, nightmares, headaches, etc. Hypervigilance: excessive watchfulness

Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 8

Consequences of Maltreatment Abused and neglected children are at higher risk of:  Death, sickness, brain damage, malnutrition, lack of stimulation, poor social skills (aggressive or withdrawn), substance abuse, depression, behavioral problems  Not to mention the intense feelings of loss of the “perfect” family…

Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 8 Prevention Primary: stable neighborhoods, income equality, social support Secondary: home visits, high-quality child care  These must consider cultural values, and strengthen parenting skills Tertiary: remove the child from the home

Berger: The Developing Person Through Childhood and Adolescence, 7th Edition, Chapter 8 Permanency Planning Permanency planning involves setting goals and a timetable for long-term care of a child. Foster care is legally sanctioned care of a child by nonrelatives. Kinship care is care by relatives. Adoption is an option, but is difficult to achieve.