1. Middle Childhood: Physical Development
Chapter Eleven
Middle Childhood:
Physical Development

2. What Patterns of Growth Occur in Middle Childhood?
Growth spurt
Height and Weight
Gain a little over 2 inches and 5 to 7 pounds per year
Boys are slightly heavier and taller than girls until 9 or 10
About age 11, boys develop more muscle and girls more fatty tissue
Extensive individual deviations in height and weight
Growing pains

3. Growth Curves for Height and Weight
Figure Growth Curves for Height and Weight. Gains in height and weight are fairly steady during middle childhood. Boys continue to be slightly heavier and taller than girls through 9 or 10 years of age. Girls then begin their adolescent growth spurt and surpass boys in height and weight until about age 13 or 14. Source: Kuczmarski et al. (2000, Figures 9-12).

4. What Patterns of Growth Occur in Middle Childhood?
Brain Development
Frontal lobe – executive functions
Planning and self-regulation
Cognitive flexibility
Goal setting
Fluid reasoning
Information processing
Teaching Tip: Invite a school psychologist to visit class and talk about the different types of intelligence along with the role of executive functioning in the education of children in this age group.

5. What Patterns of Growth Occur in Middle Childhood?
Nutrition and Growth
Children need to eat more to support the increased body weight and activity level
Issues in nutrition during middle childhood
Food offered to children in school
Increased food portions
Fast food restaurants
Relationship between social class and nutrition
Teaching Tip: Invite a local dietician to class to talk about the dietary needs of children in this age group. What recommendations would she or he give parents to ensure that their children are healthy?

6. What Patterns of Growth Occur in Middle Childhood?
Gender Similarities and Differences in Physical Growth
Through age 9 or 10, boys tend to be heavier and taller
Until age 13 or 14, girls will surpass boys in height and weight

7. Vision and Hearing Myopia Ear Infections
25% of US children in middle childhood
Corrective lenses or contact lenses
Ear Infections
Number of children affected decreases during middle childhood
Teaching Tip: Ask students to find other common conditions related to vision and hearing problems. What treatments are available for these conditions?

8. How Many Children in the United States Are Overweight?
16% to 25% of children and adolescents in US are overweight
Most overweight children become overweight adults
Overweight children and adolescents
Often are rejected by peers
Perform poorly in sports
Have poorer body images than children of normal weight
At greater risk for physical health problems
Truth or Fiction Revisited
Children outgrow “baby fat.” (FALSE) In the United States, most overweight children become overweight adults.
Teaching Tip: Have students explore the American Heart Association website for information on children and heart disease, children and physical activities, and other topics. Have them look under the section Children’s Health. Ask students to bring in recommendations for improving cardiac health for children in this age group.
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Teaching Tip: Ask students to explore the Medline Plus website for causes and treatment of obesity in children. Have them share their findings in class.
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9. Percentages of Children and Adolescents Who Are Overweight
Figure Percentages of Children (Ages 6 – 11) and Adolescents (Ages 12 – 19) Who Are Overweight. In arriving at these figures, the American Heart Association considered both body weight and body composition (amount of muscle and fat tissue). Source: American Heart Association (2009).

10. What Are the Causes of Obesity?
Heredity
Amount of fat cells
Hunger drive is connected with quantity of fat in these cells
More fat cells – feel hunger sooner
Environmental factors
Obese parents may model poor dietary and exercise habits
Sedentary habits
TV watching encourages snacking, exposes children to commercials for food, and is low physical activity
Stressors and emotional reactions
Truth or Fiction Revisited
The typical American child is exposed to about 10,000 food commercials each year. (TRUE)
Teaching Tip: Have students find other medical causes of obesity in children. Which of these factors are preventable, and which are controllable? Are there other factors that can not be controlled?
Teaching Tip: Over a period of a few days, have students watch a variety of television programs meant to appeal to children. Students should document what types of messages children are receiving about nutrition and exercise, both in the programs and in commercials. Have students share and discuss their findings in class.

11. Choose My Plate
choose MyPlate. 10 tips Nutrition Education Series. Making food choices for a healthy lifestyle can be as simple as using these 10 Tips. Use the ideas in this list to balance your child’s calories, to choose foods to eat more often, and to cut back on foods to eat less often.

12. Choose My Plate
choose MyPlate. 10 tips Nutrition Education Series. Making food choices for a healthy lifestyle can be as simple as using these 10 Tips. Use the ideas in this list to balance your child’s calories, to choose foods to eat more often, and to cut back on foods to eat less often.

13. Childhood Asthma

14. Childhood Asthma Allergy-type respiratory disease
More likely found in affluent countries, but
More serious problem in poorer nations
Risk factors of developing asthma (Martel, et al., 2008)
Previous respiratory infections and skin irritations
Family history of asthma
Lower SES
Teaching Tip: What advice would students give to parents regarding the prevention and treatment of asthma in young children?

15. Motor Development

16. What Changes in Motor Development Occur in Middle Childhood?
Gross Motor Skills
Increase in balance, coordination, and strength
Connections between cerebellum and cortex become myelinated
Reaction time gradually improves
Fine Motor Skills
Tie shoes and hold pencils as adults do
Abilities to dress and maintain hygiene functions develop
Teaching Tip: Have students observe children on the playground or during organized games, such as soccer. What differences do they notice in motor skills between boys and girls or between individual children? Students should discuss what they think might account for these differences?

17. Are There Gender Differences in Motor Skills?
Boys show slightly greater overall strength
More forearm strength – batting and throwing
Girls show greater coordination and flexibility
Dance, balancing, gymnastics
Boys more likely to be encouraged in athletics
Physical activity decreases with age in both sexes

18. Are Children in the United States Physically Fit?
Most children in the United States are not physically fit
Reasons for decline in fitness
Watching television
More focus on sports than continuous exercise
Participation in sports declines after age 10
Fit children usually have parents who exercise and encourage them to exercise
Participation in organized sports declines during middle childhood
Truth or Fiction Revisited
Most American children are physically fit. (FALSE) Most children in the United States are not physically fit.
Teaching Tip: Ask students to add to the list of recommendations for parents. What are some ways parents can encourage physical activity in their children?
Teaching Tip: Invite a middle school physical education teachers or coaches to come and talk to the class about their views on the physical condition of today’s children. What recommendations would they make to parents to encourage physical activity in their children? Do they think that the physical education programs in schools address the current needs for physical fitness in children? Why or why not?
Teaching Tip: Divide students in two groups and ask them to debate the issue of participation in competitive sports for children in this age group. What are the pros and cons?

19. Disorders That Affect Learning

20. Characteristics of ADHD
How Does Run-of-the-Mill Failure to “Listen” to Adults Differ From Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder?
Characteristics of ADHD
Developmentally inappropriate or excessive inattention
Impulsivity
Hyperactivity
Onset occurs by age 7
Behaviors must persist for at least 6 months
Impairs function at school
Difficulty getting along with others
More common in boys than girls
Some argue ADHD is over-diagnosed and overmedicated
Teaching Tip: Have students explore the Council for Exceptional Children website to learn more about disorders that affect children in this age group. Share and discuss their findings in class.
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Teaching Tip: Have students learn more about educating students with certain disorders on the National Association of School Psychologists website. Information regarding ADHD in the schools can be found as well as other articles for parents and teachers pertaining to the impact of disorders on learning.
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21. What Are the Causes of ADHD?
Heredity
Runs in families
Coexists with other disorders
Anxiety, oppositional defiant disorder, mood disorders, ticks
Food coloring and preservatives are not responsible
Inefficient inhibitory processes
Lack of executive control in the brain
Truth or Fiction Revisited
Hyperactivity is caused by chemical food additives. (FALSE) Researchers generally agree that food coloring and preservatives are not responsible for the epidemic of DHD.
Teaching Tip: Ask students to explore fads related to the causes and treatment of ADHD. Which, if any, of these fads have scientific backing?

22. Why Are Children Who Have ADHD Treated with Stimulants?
Hyperactivity stems from inability of cerebral cortex to inhibit more primitive areas of the brain
Block reuptake of dopamine and noradrenaline
Stimulates the cerebral cortex
Children with ADHD on stimulants demonstrate
Increased attention span, improved cognitive performance
Reduction in disruptive, annoying, and aggressive behavior
Use of stimulants is controversial
May suppress growth
Lose effectiveness over time
Truth or Fiction Revisited
Stimulants are often used to treat children who are already hyperactive. (TRUE)
Teaching Tip: Ask students to debate the pros and cons of using stimulants in the treatment of ADHD. Be sure and have them provide research support for their views.

23. Treatment and Outcome of ADHD
Cognitive behavioral therapy is an alternative treatment
Focus on self-control and problem-solving
Some children “outgrow” ADHD
At least two-thirds exhibit one or more symptoms in adolescence and adulthood
Teaching Tip: Have students present information on cognitive behavioral therapy and reasons this type of therapy might work well with adolescents and adults with ADHD. Why might it not work as well with children?

24. What Are Learning Disabilities?
Characterized by inadequate development of specific academic, language, and speech skills
Problems with reading, math, writing
Difficulties with speaking or understanding speech
Problems with motor coordination
Performs below expectations for age and intelligence
Without evidence of other handicaps
Usually persists throughout life
Truth or Fiction Revisited
Some children who are intelligent and provided with enriched home environments cannot learn how to read or do simple math problems. (TRUE)
Teaching Tip: Invite a school psychologist and a special education teacher to come to class and talk about their experiences working with children with learning disorders. What types of educational strategies have they found to be most effective?

25. Dyslexia Persistent problem in reading
Affects 5 to 17.5% of American children
More common in boys than girls
Treatment
In childhood – remediation
Later in life – accommodation
Teaching Tip: Have students explore the international Dyslexia Association website to find current thoughts regarding causes and treatment. Would this website be useful for teachers looking for ways to work with children who have dyslexia? Parents?
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26. Writing Sample of a Dyslexic Child
Figure Writing Sample of a Dyslexic Child. Dyslexic children have trouble perceiving letters in their correct orientation. They may perceive letters upside down (confusing w with m) or reversed (confusing b with d). This perceptual difficulty may lead to rotations or reversals in their writing, as shown the sample.

27. What Are the Origins of Dyslexia?
Genetic factors
Parent or sibling with dyslexia
Neurological problems
“Faulty wiring” or circulation problems in left hemisphere
Angular gyrus - Difficulty associating letters with sounds
Phonological processing problems
Double-deficit hypothesis
Deficits in phonological processing and in naming speed
Teaching Tip: Have students discuss the possible social and emotional impacts on children who have dyslexia or other learning disorders.

28. Other Learning Disorders
Mathematics disorder
Problems understanding basic mathematical operations or decoding mathematical symbols
Disorder of written expression
Grossly deficient writing skills
Errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation
Difficulty in composing sentences and paragraphs

29. Communication Disorders
Persistent problems understanding or producing language
Expressive language disorder
Mixed receptive/expressive language disorder
Phonological disorder
Stuttering
Caused by interaction of genetic and environmental influences
Teaching Tip: Invite a speech and language pathologist to class to discuss the types of communication disorders found in children in middle childhood. What impact do these disorders have on learning? What are some of the common treatments for them?
Teaching Tip: Ask students to generate a list of social and emotional problems that may arise for children who have communication disorders. What type of counseling might help with these problems?

30. Segregation may negatively influence
Should Children with Learning Disabilities Be Placed In Regular Classrooms?
Special education programs created to meet the needs of children with mild to moderate disorders.
Segregation may negatively influence
Stigmatized among peers
Teacher expectations
Mainstreaming students
Results are mixed
Teaching Tip: Invite a special education teacher and a middle-school principal to come to class and talk about how they work with children who have certain disorders. What type of services are available in their school? What successes have they seen with their students?
Teaching Tip: Have student learn more about the laws related to special education on the U.S. Department of Education IDEA website. Ask them to share and discuss their findings in class.
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