1. Early Childhood: Physical Development
CHAPTER 8
Early Childhood:
Physical Development

2. Learning Outcomes LO1 Describe patterns of growth in early childhood.
LO2 Describe development of motor skills in early childhood, including drawing and handedness.
LO3 Describe nutritional needs in early childhood.
LO4 Describe health problems in early childhood, focusing on minor and major illness and on accidents.
LO5 Describe sleep patterns and sleep disorders of early childhood.
LO6 Describe elimination disorders, including their origins and possible treatment.
Based on Learning Outcomes in text for this chapter
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3. TRUTH OR FICTION?
T-F Some children are left-brained, and others are right-brained.
T-F A disproportionately high percentage of math whizzes are left-handed.
T-F Some diseases are normal.
T-F It is dangerous to awaken a sleepwalker.
T-F Competent parents toilet train their children by their second birthday.
Truth or Fiction Questions. Good to open class discussion on topics covered in this chapter. Answers are distributed throughout slides as encounter in text.
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4. LO1 Growth Patterns
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5. Growth Patterns Early Childhood / Preschool Years Ages 2 - 6 years
Physical growth becomes slower
Children become leaner and taller
Both boys & girls grow about 2-3 inches per year
And gain about lbs per year
Boys overall tend to become slightly taller and heavier.
Both begin to look more like smaller adults than infants.
Motor skills develop
Becoming stronger, faster, and better coordinated

6. Figure 8.1 – Growth Curves for Height and Weight, Ages 2 to 6 Years

7. Development of the Brain
The Brain grows faster than rest of body during the Early Developmental Years.
Age 2 years: brain is 75% adult weight
Age 5 years: brain is 90% adult weight
Body weight is only about 1/3 that of adult size.
Increase in brain size due to:
Continuing myelination of nerve fibers
Facilitating development of fine motor skills, balance, and coordination
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8. Development of the Brain
The Brain grows faster than rest of body during the Early Developmental Years.
Visual skills are also facilitated by brain development.
Enables learning to read
By ages 4-7 most children experience increase in ability to focus on schoolwork.

9. Development of the Brain
Right-Brain * Left-Brain
Left Hemisphere functions
Logical analysis, problem-solving, language, computation
Right Hemisphere functions
Usually superior in visual/spatial functions, aesthetic and emotional responses, and understanding metaphors
But brain functions are not completely separated as to hemisphere.
Children are neither Right-Brained nor Left-Brained
The functions of both hemispheres overlap via the corpus callosum (the nerve fibers connecting the hemispheres).
Answer to T-F? # 1 - Some children are left-brained, and others are right-brained. FICTION - Actually many functions of the different brain hemispheres overlap.

10. Development of the Brain
Plasticity of the Brain
Refers to the ability to compensate for injuries to the brain
Plasticity is greatest about age 2 years then gradually declines
“Sprouting” (growth of new dendrites) and redundancy of neural connections enable plasticity
If adults suffer damage causing loss of speech, they may not recover it, but preschoolers may regain functions.

11. LO2 Motor Development
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12. Motor Development Gross Motor Skills
Involve the large muscles used in locomotion
Preschoolers average 25 hrs a week in large muscle activity
Motor activity slows after age 2-3
Acquired through self-teaching and observing other children
Imitation of peers more important than adult instruction at this age.
Rough-and-Tumble play helps develop physical and social skills.
Boys and girls are similar
Boys show advantage in throwing and kicking.
Girls better at balance and precision.

13. Motor Development Gross Motor Skills, con’t
Individual differences larger than sex differences
Children who have physically active parents are more active also.
Twin studies also point to a genetic tendency for activity levels.
Experiences in infancy seem to have effect of development of advancing motor skills.
Early crawlers do better in early childhood motor skills development.

14. Table 8.1 – Development of Gross Motor Skills in Early Childhood

15. Motor Development Fine Motor Skills
Involve the small muscles used in manipulation and coordination
Control of wrists and fingers enable learning:
To hold a pencil
Dress themselves
Stack blocks
Tie shoelaces
Use zippers

16. Table 8.2 – Development of Fine Motor Skills in Early Childhood
Note: The ages are averages; there are individual variations.

17. Motor Development Children’s Drawings
Development of drawing linked to motor and cognitive skills
Age 2: scribbling begins
The building blocks of art
20 basic scribbles such as:
Vertical
Horizontal
Diagonal
Circular, curving, waving
Zigzagging lines
Dots
Etc.

18. Figure 8.2 – The Twenty Basic Scribbles
This is Figure 8.2 on p. 138 of CDEV

19. Motor Development Children’s Drawings, con’t. Four Stages: Placement
2 yr olds scribble in various locations on a page.
Shape
3 yr olds begin using basic shapes: circles, squares, triangles, etc
Design
As soon as they master shapes, they begin to combine them into designs.
Pictorial
4-5 yr olds begin to develop designs to resemble recognizable objects.
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20. Motor Development Children’s Drawings, con’t. Overall:
Early drawing tends to be symbolic of broad categories rather than specific themes.
Between 3-5 they are more likely to draw first and name after.
After 5 become able to draw object they have in mind.
Also increase skills at copying figures

21. Figure 8.3 – Four Stages in Children’s Drawings
This is Figure 8.3 on p. 139 of CDEV

22. Motor Development Handedness Hand preference Early establishment
Genetic Component
Both parents Right-Handed: 92% chance child will be also
Both parents Left-Handed: 50% chance child will be also
Early establishment
2-3 months infants will hold items longer in one hand than the other
By 4 months will show a clear preference
7-11 months grasping with one hand or the other increases

23. Motor Development Handedness, con’t.
Left-handedness: once seen as a deficiency
Disadvantages
Appears to be connected by language problems (dyslexia and stuttering)
Also health problems (high blood pressure and epilepsy)
And psychological disorders (schizophrenia and depression)
Advantages
A disproportionately high percentage of math whizzes are left-handed (20% of highest scoring yr olds taking SAT)
Left-handed and ambidextrous people seem to have more success at athletic sports involving hand use (handball, fencing, boxing, etc.
Plus higher frequencies of left-handed people are found among (musicians, architects, and artists)
Answer to T-F? # 2 - A disproportionately high percentage of math whizzes are left-handed. TRUE - In the survey reported by O’Boyle and Benbow (1990), 20% of the highest scoring group on the math SATs was left-handed, whereas only 10% of the general population is left-handed.

24. LO3 Nutrition
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25. Nutrition Caloric Needs Taste Preferences
4-6 year olds increase caloric needs to approx. 1,400 calories a day (opposed to about 1,000-1,300 at 1-3 yrs)
During 2nd - 3rd years appetite becomes erratic
Taste Preferences
Early preference for sugar and salt increases with exposure.
Many children eat too much sugar and salt.
Parents serve as role models and should encourage eating healthy vegetables and fruits.
Beginning with tiny amounts 8-10 times a week to familiarize tastes to child

26. LO4 Health and Illness
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27. Health & Illness Minor Illness
Typically: colds, stomach upsets, and diarrhea
Most illnesses in children are minor.
Most children experience minor illnesses.
These are considered “normal” childhood illnesses.
Usually last a few days or less; not life threatening
Ages 1-3 years: average 8-9 a year
By ages 4-6 years: average drops to 4-6 a year
Exposure can lead to creation of antibodies that help prevent the illnesses in adulthood when they can be more serious.
Answer to T-F? #3 - Some diseases are normal. TRUE - Minor illnesses are generally normal, insofar as most children get them.
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28. Health & Illness Major Illness Chronic Illnesses
Arthritis; Diabetes; Cerebral Palsy; Cystic Fibrosis
Approx. 1/3 or 20 million children under 18 yrs suffer from a chronic illness
Major Illnesses
Rubella (German Measles); Tetanus; Mumps; Whooping Cough; Diphtheria; Polio; Pneumonia; Tuberculosis
In U.S. and other Industrialized Countries
Dramatically reduced due to widespread immunizations and development of antibiotics and other medications
Lead poisoning found in paint and water pipes can cause neurological damage in early childhood.
In Developing Nations
8-9 million children die from major illnesses.
Air pollution causing respiratory infections: 1 death in 5 in children under 5 yrs
Diarrhea kills nearly 2 million due to unsafe water, poor sanitation, and hygiene.

29. Health & Illness Accidents
Cause more deaths in early childhood than the next 6 most frequent causes combined
Motor Vehicle Accidents: single most common cause of death in early childhood
Ratio by Sex:
Boys most likely regardless of SES
By Socioeconomic Status (SES):
Poor children are 2 times more likely to die in vehicular accidents.
Poor children 5 times more likely to die from fires.
High incidence attributed to living in dangerous housing and neighborhoods.

30. LO5 Sleep
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31. Sleep Normal Sleep Hours Pattern Routine Resistance
Preschoolers: hours per 24 hr period
Pattern
9-10 hrs per night hours napping during day
Routine
Typically includes: putting on PJs, brushing teeth, and being read a story
Many youngsters also take a “transitional object” (favorite blanket or stuffed animal) to bed with them.
Resistance
Many children typically resist going to bed and/or to sleep.
Can be a problem for preschoolers since they tend to not make-up lost sleep

32. Table 8.3 Sleep Obtained by Children during
a 24-Hour Period
This is Table 8.3 on p. 142 of CDEV

33. Sleep Sleep Disorders Sleep Terrors
Usually begin in early childhood or early adolescence but are outgrown by late adolescence
Sometimes associated with stress (moving, divorce, etc.)
Occur during deep sleep
Symptoms include sudden awakening accompanied by high heart and respiration rates, incoherent talking, and thrashing about
Recovery includes child falling back to a more restful sleep
If persistent or very severe, seek profession guidance.
* Note to editor - there is no mention of child not recalling the incident - perhaps the author could add that if so inclined (just a suggestion)

34. Sleep Sleep Disorders, con’t. Sleep Walking: Somnambulism
Onset between ages 3-8 years
Behaviors include going to bathroom, getting food from refrigerator, arranging toys, etc. and then returning to bed
Cause:
Reflects immaturity of nervous system
Myths: (all false)
Their eyes are closed; they will naturally avoid harm; they will become violent if awakened during an episode
Answer to T-F # 4 - FALSE - Children may be difficult to rouse when they are sleep walking, but if they are awakened, they are more likely to be confused than violent.

35. LO6 Elimination Disorders
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36. Elimination Disorders
Toilet Training
The process by which parents teach children to inhibit reflexive elimination of waste products.
Child’s maturity plays critical role in successful training.
Most U.S. children are toilet trained by age 3-4 years.
Answer to T-F # 5 - Competent parents toilet train their child by the second birthday - FICTION - Actually most American children are toilet trained between the ages of 3 and 4 . They may have nighttime “accidents” for another year or so.

37. Elimination Disorders
Enuresis
Failure to control the bladder
Classified as disorder if wetting is still evident at least twice a month past age 5-6 years
Night time occurrences: bed-wetting is more difficult to control
8-10% of children: 2 times more common in boys
Occurs during deep sleep cycles
Causes
Organic: immaturity of motor cortex in brain
Outcomes
Usually outgrow problems by age 8 and almost always by teens

38. Elimination Disorders
Tips to Stop Bed-Wetting
Limit fluid intake late in day
Wake child during the night
Try a night-light
Maintain a consistent sleep schedule
Use a “sandwich” bed
Have the child help clean up
Reward the child’s successes
Show a positive attitude
These are all elaborated on in the Boxed Feature
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39. Elimination Disorders
Encopresis
Lack of control over the bowels
More common among boys
1-2% of children age 7-8 experience continuing problems with bowel control.
Unlike bed-wetting more common at night, encopresis is more likely to occur during day
Causes:
Physical: chronic constipation
Psychological: following harsh punishment of toileting accidents especially in stressed/anxious children