Chapter 7 - Physical & Cognitive Development in Early Childhood

Average number of hours of sleep per night that most children get by the age of 5

11

Night terrors

Involve waking up suddenly from a deep sleep in a state of agitation. The child might scream and sit up in bed. Yet they are not really awake.

Nightmares

Common between the ages of 6 and 10. Related to difficult child temperament, high overall childhood anxiety, and bedtime parenting practices that promote dependency.

Enuresis

Repeated, involuntary urination in clothing or in bed

Brain development

From ages 3 to 6, the most rapid brain growth occurs in the frontal areas that regulate planning and goal setting

Gross motor skills

The physical skills that involved the large muscles

Find motor skills

The physical skills that involve the small muscles

Obesity

Worldwide, an estimated 39 million children under the age of 5 were obese or overweight in 2020

Main factors that can lead to childhood obesity

• Hereditary factors

• Environmental factors

Environmental factors

• Caloric intake

• Changes in diet composition

• Declining levels of physical activity

• Changes in the gut microbiome

Hidden hunger

Arises through a consistent high-calorie, highly processed, nutrient-poor diet

Food insecurity

Occurs when families do not have dependable access to adequate amounts of food to support healthy living

Food allergy

An abnormal immune system response to a specific food

Socioeconomic status impact

Poor children are more likely to have chronic conditions and activity limitations. They often lack health insurance and have unmet medical and dental needs

Preoperational stage

Piaget’s second stage of cognitive development, in which symbolic thought expands, but children cannot yet use logic

Symbolic function

Piaget’s term for the ability to use mental representation (words, numbers, or images) to which a child has attached meaning

Pretend play

Play in which children use an object to represent something else

Transduction

Children mentally link two events, whether they are related or not

Categorization

Also referred to as classification, requires a child to identify similarities and differences

Animism

The tendency to attribute life to objects that are not alive

Centration

The tendency to focus on one aspect of a situation and neglect others

Egocentrism

The inability to consider another person’s point of view. This type of thinking repeats in adolescence

Conservation

The awareness that two things that are equal remain so if their appearance is altered, as long as nothing is added or taken away. Children in this period of development do not understand this concept until closer to the next period of development.

Theory of mind

The awareness and understanding of the mental processes of others. The understanding that others have their own distinct mental states

Executive functioning

The conscious control of thoughts, emotions, and actions to accomplish goals or solve problems

Memory

A filing system that has three steps or processes: encoding, storage, and retrieval

Encoding

The process by which information is prepared for long-term storage and later retrieval

Storage

The retention of information in memory for future use

Retrieval

Involves accessing and recalling information from storage

Types of memory storage

• Sensory memory

• Working memory

• Long-term memory

Sensory memory

The initial, brief, temporary storage of sensory information

Working memory

The short-term storage of information being actively processed

• The processing and directing of information is controlled by the central executive

Long-term memory

The storage of virtually unlimited capacity for long periods

Recognition

The ability to recall a previously encountered stimulus

Recall

The ability to reproduce information from memory (without any clues)

Generic memory

A type of memory that produces scripts of familiar routines, usually develops around age 2

Episodic memory

Long-term memory of specific events, linked to time and place. This improves with age

Autobiographical memory

A type of episodic memory that pertains to specific event in one’s life

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

The difference between what a child can do alone and what a child can do with help

Scaffolding

This teaching technique involves temporary support to help a child master a task

Fast mapping

A process by which a child absorbs the meaning of a new word after hearing it once or twice in a conversation

Pragmatics

Refers to the practical knowledge needed to use language for communication with others

Social speech

Speech intended to be understood by a listener

Private speech

Talking aloud to oneself with no intent to communicate with others

Emergent literacy

Refers to the development of fundamental reading skills