Chapter 4: Cephalocaudal Development and Early Childhood Growth

Vocabulary flashcards covering human development patterns, physical growth metrics, breastfeeding vs. bottle-feeding, and sensory/perceptual milestones from the Chapter 4 transcript.

Cephalocaudal Development

Development that proceeds from the upper part of the head down to the lower parts of the body.

Proximodistal Development

Development that proceeds outward from the trunk of the body along a central axis.

Differentiation

As children mature, development becomes more specialized, with broad skills evolving into more specific actions.

Infant Height Gain (First Year)

Infants experience an increase in height of approximately $50\%$ in the first year.

Weight Changes (Five months)

The milestone at which infants typically double their birth weight.

Weight Changes (First year)

The milestone at which infants typically triple their birth weight.

Weight Changes (Second year)

The period when infants typically gain approximately $4$ to $7\,\text{pounds}$.

Failure to Thrive (FTT)

A childhood disorder characterized by variable eating habits and inadequate gains in weight.

Canalization

The tendency of growth rates to return to normal after undergoing an environmentally induced change.

Neurons

The basic units of the nervous system.

Myelination

A process that continues into the second decade of life, facilitating neural transmission.

Brain Development Growth Spurts

Occur during the fourth and fifth month of prenatal development and between the $25\text{th}$ week of prenatal development and the end of the second year.

Visual Development Preference

Infants demonstrate a preference for stripes over plain shapes.

Depth Perception

An infant ability demonstrated by $6\text{ to } 8\,\text{months}$ and linked with crawling ability.

Perceptual Constancies

The ability to recognize object size and shape regardless of distance and viewing angle.

Parent Voice Recognition

A hearing milestone where neonates recognize their parents' voices by $3.5\,\text{months}$.

Adult Hearing Levels

The hearing capability reached by infants by $18\,\text{months}$.

Habituation

The process of becoming used to a stimulus and therefore paying less attention to it.

Active/Passive Controversy

The shift from neonates reacting passively to stimuli to developing more intentional and selective interactions.