Early Childhood Development: Growth, Brain, Motor Skills, Language, and Socialization

What happens to growth rate after the first 2 years of life?

Growth rate slows down.

How much do girls and boys typically grow in height per year during early childhood?

About 2-3 inches.

What is the average weight gain for children per year during early childhood?

About 4-6 pounds.

What percentage of adult brain weight do children reach by age 2?

75% of adult weight.

What percentage of adult brain weight do children reach by age 5?

90% of adult weight.

What contributes to the increase in brain size in early childhood?

Continuing myelination of neural pathways linking the cerebellum to the cortex.

What is the relationship between motor skill development and myelination?

Motor skill development promotes myelination.

What improvements in attention occur between ages 4-7?

Increasing myelination of brain parts that sustain attention and screen out distractions.

When does processing speed reach adult levels?

By the beginning of adolescence.

What is the role of the corpus callosum in brain function?

It connects the hemispheres and aids their cooperation.

What functions are primarily associated with the left hemisphere of the brain?

Logic, problem solving, language, and math computation.

What functions are primarily associated with the right hemisphere of the brain?

Visual-spatial functions, facial recognition, and creative reasoning.

What is brain plasticity?

The ability of the brain to compensate for injury to specific areas.

What is the significance of neural pruning?

It removes redundant connections to create a more efficient neural network.

What are gross motor skills?

Movements that use large muscles, such as sitting, walking, and running.

What are fine motor skills?

Small, precise movements made with the hands and fingers.

What is proximodistal development?

The principle that gross motor skills develop earlier and more rapidly than fine motor skills.

What are the four stages of children's drawing development?

Placement (age 2), Shape (age 3), Design (ages 3-4), Pictorial stage (ages 4-5).

When does handedness typically emerge in children?

During infancy, with a preference seen by 2-3 months.

What nutritional needs increase as children grow older?

Overall calorie needs increase, with specific requirements for proteins, fats, and vitamins.

What minor illnesses do children commonly develop in early childhood?

Colds, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

What is the most common cause of death in young children?

Accidents.

What is the most common cause of accidental death in early childhood?

Car accidents.

How much sleep do young children typically need?

Varies by age, but generally more than toddlers.

How many hours of sleep do children typically need?

10-11 hours per 24 hours, commonly 9-10 hours at night and a 1- to 2-hour nap.

What is a common bedtime routine for children?

Bath, pajamas, brushing teeth, and a story.

What are sleep terrors?

More severe than nightmares, they occur during deep sleep early in the night and are outgrown by late adolescence.

How do nightmares differ from sleep terrors?

Nightmares occur more in the morning during REM sleep, while sleep terrors occur during deep sleep.

What is somnambulism?

Sleepwalking, which is more common in children than adults and occurs during deep sleep.

What is enuresis?

Failure to control the bladder at the 'normal' age, commonly referred to as bedwetting.

What percentage of children experience nighttime enuresis?

Occurs in about 10% of children.

What is encopresis?

Involuntary leaking of feces into clothing in children over the age of four who have already been toilet trained.

What age range does Piaget's preoperational stage cover?

About age 2 to 7 years.

What is a key characteristic of Piaget's preoperational stage?

The first use of symbols to represent objects and relationships.

What is egocentrism in child development?

The inability to accurately perceive or understand perspectives other than one's own.

What is transductive reasoning?

Making connections between unrelated events based on their temporal proximity rather than on logical cause and effect.

What is animism?

The belief that inanimate objects have lifelike qualities, feelings, and intentions.

What is artificialism?

Attributing environmental characteristics to human actions or interventions.

What is the significance of imaginary friends in child development?

Associated with having more real friends and advanced language skills.

What is the 'three mountains test' used for?

To determine if children can take the viewpoints of others, assessing egocentrism.

At what age do children typically start engaging in pretend play?

Starts around 12-13 months with familiar activities.

What is the relationship between pretend play and creativity?

The quality of pretend play is connected to creativity and peer relations.

What factors can contribute to enuresis?

Organic, psychological, stress, sleep disorders, and nervous system immaturity.

What is the typical resolution age for encopresis?

Resolves by age 7-8 years in most children.

What is the difference between daytime and nighttime control in enuresis?

Nighttime control is more difficult than daytime control.

What is egocentrism in early childhood?

The assumption that a child's thoughts reflect external reality.

What is the law of conservation?

The principle that properties of substances (volume, mass, number) remain the same even if their shape or arrangement changes.

What is centration in preoperational children?

The tendency to focus on only one aspect of a problem at a time.

What does irreversibility of thought mean?

The understanding that changes in shape or arrangement can be reversed to their original state.

What is class inclusion?

The principle that one category can include several subclasses, requiring the ability to focus on multiple aspects.

How did Piaget's views on cognitive development in children change over time?

Piaget underestimated young children's abilities, suggesting that failures in tasks may be due to testing methods rather than true cognitive limitations.

What is scaffolding in Vygotsky's theory?

Temporary support provided by more knowledgeable individuals to help children perform tasks they cannot do independently.

What is the zone of proximal development?

The area where children can advance through guidance tailored to their capabilities.

What does the HOME Inventory measure?

It assesses parent-child interactions at home and predicts later IQ scores based on various scales.

What impact do preschool educational programs have on cognitive development?

They can enhance school readiness and cognitive development, especially for children in poverty.

What are the benefits of programs like Head Start?

They positively influence IQ scores, graduation rates, and reduce delinquency and unemployment later in life.

How does television viewing affect preschoolers?

Educational TV can enhance cognitive skills, while entertainment TV can be harmful, promoting sedentary behavior and misleading commercials.

What is theory of mind?

The ability to explain and predict behavior based on mental processes, including understanding false beliefs.

At what age can preschoolers typically understand false beliefs?

By 4 to 5 years old.

What is the appearance-reality distinction?

The inability to understand that things are not always what they seem, often seen in preschoolers.

What is the difference between recall and recognition?

Recall requires retrieving information from memory, while recognition involves identifying information among choices.

How do preschoolers perform in recognition versus recall tasks?

They are typically better at recognition than recall, especially for previously seen objects.

What factors contribute to better cognitive development in children?

A positive home environment, parental involvement, and educational programs.

What is the 'Couch-Potato Effect'?

The tendency for preschoolers who watch more TV to be more likely to be overweight, more so than diet.

What is the significance of parental emotional and verbal responsiveness?

It is a key factor in a child's cognitive development and later IQ scores.

What role does play have in child-centered preschool programs?

Learning occurs through play, allowing children to choose their own activities.

How does excessive parental academic expectation affect children?

It may impair their desire to learn and affect their social and emotional development.

What cognitive skills can educational programs like Sesame Street teach?

They can teach numbers, letters, sorting, classification, and improve impulse control and concentration.

What is the impact of misleading commercials on preschoolers?

Preschoolers often cannot distinguish between commercials and program content, leading to potential harm.

What is the relationship between executive functioning and theory of mind?

Understanding false beliefs is related to executive functioning skills like working memory and self-control.

What is a common misconception about preschoolers' understanding of mental states?

They often do not understand changes in their own mental states.

What type of memories do children remember best?

Familiar, recurring events.

What are scripts in the context of children's memory?

Abstract, generalized accounts of repeated events.

How do older preschoolers differ from younger ones in forming scripts?

Older preschoolers form detailed scripts more quickly.

What is autobiographical memory?

Memories of specific events that seldom last into adulthood.

What factors influence memory skills in early childhood?

Types of memory, interest level, and retrieval cues.

What type of memories do children remember better?

Memories for activities rather than objects.

What aids memory retrieval in young children?

Cues from adults and parental elaboration.

What is rehearsal in the context of memory strategies?

Strategies for learning, such as mental repetition and organizing.

At what age do most young children begin to use rehearsal spontaneously?

Around 5 years old.

What is fast-mapping in vocabulary development?

The ability to acquire a word rapidly based on minimal information.

What is the whole-object assumption in language learning?

Assuming a new label applies to the entire object rather than its parts.

What is overregularization in language development?

Applying rules for regular forms to irregular forms, like saying 'childs' instead of 'children.'

What is pragmatics in language development?

The social rules of language, including how to use language for different purposes.

What is the interactionist view on language and cognition?

It suggests that cognitive development and language development influence each other.

What are the four parenting styles identified in child development?

Authoritative, Authoritarian, Permissive/Indulgent, and Neglectful/Uninvolved.

How does parental warmth affect children?

Warm parents are more likely to foster a child's moral sense and social well-being.

What is authoritative parenting characterized by?

High warmth and high restrictiveness.

What outcomes are associated with authoritarian parenting?

Children who are anxious, irritable, and have low self-esteem.

What is the impact of permissive-indulgent parenting on children?

Children may be less competent in school but have high social competence.

What is the least competent parenting style?

Rejecting-neglecting, characterized by low warmth and low restrictiveness.

How do parents enforce restrictions?

Through consistent control combined with support and affection.

What is the main technique of inductive reasoning in child behavior?

Explaining why one kind of behavior is good and another is not.

What are power-assertive methods in parenting?

Techniques that include physical punishment and denial of privileges, such as spanking.

What negative outcomes are associated with power-assertive methods?

Lower peer acceptance, poorer grades, higher rates of antisocial behavior, and less development of internal moral standards.

What is the withdrawal of love technique in parenting?

Threatening to withdraw love and affection, isolating or ignoring misbehaving children.

How can sibling relationships contribute to development?

They provide physical care, emotional support, advice, role modeling, and social interaction.

What are the positive aspects of sibling relationships?

Cooperation, teaching, and nurturance.

What are the negative aspects of sibling relationships?

Conflict, control, and competition.

How does ordinary sibling conflict benefit children?

It enhances social competence, development of self-identity, and ability to rear their own children.