L EARN A BOUT C HILDREN Chapter One

G ROUP D ISCUSSION At your table groups: Elect someone as scribe Create a T chart List the Do’s and Don’t of parenting together as a group

1.1: M AKE A D IFFERENCE IN C HILDREN ’ S L IVES

B ENEFITS OF STUDYING CHILDREN Why do babies like to chew on books? Why do toddlers throw their toys again after you have just picked them up? What should you do if a three-year-old lies? Children’s behavior can be both fascinating and frustrating, especially when you do not understand it Taking care of children is one of the most important responsibilities you can have

U NDERSTANDING C HILDREN AND Y OURSELF People and events help shape who children become When you live with children, you influence them every day Even if contact is less frequent, what you say and how you act still matters Learning more about how children grow and develop will help you understand children better It will also improve your understanding of yourself

B Y INTERACTING WITH CHILDREN AND STUDYING THEIR BEHAVIORS YOU WILL … Learn why children feel, think, and act the way they do No children are alike but there are some typical behaviors Discover caregivers’ importance Provide more than food and clothes. Give affection, help children learn, and teach them life lessons Enjoy children more (I hope ) Learn about career opportunities

V IEWS OF CHILDHOOD Childhood means different things to different people The way you think about childhood can depend in part on what your own childhood was like If childhood fairly easy/comfortable, you may think of it as carefree time of security If your parents struggled to provide or something traumatic happened during that period, you may think of childhood as a hardship For everyone, childhood is a period of rapid development Dependence on caregivers, and preparation for adult life

C OMPARE C HILDHOOD P AST AND P RESENT Using the textbook and worksheet provided, complete the graphic organizer at your table groups This sheet is for you to keep and use to study for a future exam

1.2: S TUDYING C HILDREN

I MPORTANCE OF C HILDHOOD D EVELOPMENT Childhood prepares us for adulthood. Babies receiving stimulation develop more quickly and have a more secure self- image.

W HAT R ESEARCHERS H AVE F OUND Child Development theorists have provided valuable information about how children learn and develop skills Some theorists perform experiments to create theories Perception of volume Some theories cannot be tested Although they don’t always agree, scientific researchers have given us insight about how to best nurture and educate children

C HARACTERISTICS OF D EVELOPMENT 5 general rules of Child Development: Development is similar for each individual Development builds upon earlier learning Development proceeds at an individual rate The different areas of development are interrelated Development is continuous throughout life

I NFLUENCES ON D EVELOPMENT All over the world babies are cared for in different ways in different cultures However, all infants follow predictable sequence of development at about the same time Children develop at different rates because each has a unique combination of factors influencing their development Heredity: the biological transfer of certain characteristics from earlier generations. Blood type, eye color, and hair to name a few. Environment: the people, places, and things that surround and influence a person including family, home, school, and community.