Wk4 - Preschool

Malnutrition

affects many kids at this age.

Childhood obesity affects children of developed countries because

they tend to be picky eaters with unhealthy diets. whereas children of developing countries struggle to find food at all.

Average heights and weights

vary according to country.

Brain development at age 3

70% of adult brain weight; up to 90% by age 6.

Myelination drives continued brain growth and aids

rapid and efficient transmission.

Myelination supports

gross and fine motor co-ordination.

Cognitive functions enhanced by myelination

attention, memory, planning, organising behaviour.

A preschooler's frontal lobe development supports advances in

emotion regulation and planning.

Preschooler illness in developing countries

disease is leading cause of death; injuries are experienced more often.

Preschooler illness in developed countries

life-threatening illness is rare with minor illnesses experienced up to 10x a year. Mortality rates higher for injury rather than illness.

Most common child maltreatment

emotional abuse and neglect.

Overrepresented children in Aussie child-protection

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander; low socioeconomic status.

Preschooler boys typically outperform girls in _ whereas girls outperform boys in _ and _

strength; balance and co-ordination.

Children who can draw an oblique cross are able to copy

more letters and numbers than children who cannot.

Preschoolers according to Piaget

move from sensorimotor activities to representational/symbolic thinking (pretend play, language, mental imagery).

Preschoolers cannot perform operations, meaning

logical or hypothetical thinking, categorisation and scientific reasoning are absent.

Conservation example

a tall thin cup holds the same amount of milk as a short wide cup

Testing a preschooler's centration knowledge

"Did the Wiggles get a new actor even if their outfit's the same?"

Testing a preschooler's irreversibility knowledge

"You like tasting condensed milk but I had to use it for baking, can't return it to that state"

Testing a preschooler's classification knowledge

"2 flying pigeons and a chicken. How many of these are birds?"

Testing a preschooler's egocentrism

"In hide and seek, you must hide, not cover your face. I can still see you"

Metacognition (thinking about thinking) example

"Although we act differently, I knew how you would react"

Berko's language study used nonsensical words to

highlight how children pick up language.

As vocabulary increases, so do pragmatics, which means

the knowledge of what's socially acceptable to say and when.

Preschoolers learn to control 'big' emotions while reading others' emotions. Emotional regulation matters long-term because

we shouldn't bottle up emotions nor let them out in unsafe ways

Preschoolers according to Erikson

Initiative (confidence and willingness to learn) or guilt (criticised for exploration)

Capacity for empathy and prosocial behaviour increases during

preschool years, thanks to social learning and modelling

How can preschoolers show motivation?

Avoiding punishment while chasing reward

Children exposed to verbally aggressive role models are more likely to

imitate this behaviour.

Early intervention is necessary when aggression may present as

refusing to share while expecting others' toys

How might a preschooler view friendship?

"We like the same shows and we're both girls…but I like to boss her around"

High quality childcare can enhance

problem-solving, language, numerical skills, social competencies

High quality childcare characteristics

indoor and outdoor space with diversity of items stimulating different types of play, <20 children, ratios 1

Five proposed outcomes of childcare

children have a strong sense of identity, connect with/contribute to their world, strong sense of wellbeing, are confident and involved learners and effective communicators

Play is an evolved behaviour seen across many species and a

way of learning skills and social rules for adulthood.

Play is associated with development of

motor, cognitive, language, social and emotional skills

How might kittens benefit from play-fighting?

Learning about boundaries and survival

How might preschoolers benefit from playgrounds?

Fine motor development, problem-solving (i.e. stuck on monkey bars)

Academic instruction at young ages can be detrimental to

anxiety levels, interest in learning, creativity

Short-term gains in literacy or numeracy often

don’t persist

Parten play stages for preschoolers

Onlooker (spectating) Parallel (passive participation) Associative (question-based) Social (peer-based)

Types of play with examples

Locomotive (chase/ball) Object (dolls/blocks) Social (hide-and-seek) Sociodramatic (puppet shows)

Why Piaget loved sociodramatic play?

it develops hypothetical thinking, socialisation, schema while removing egocentrism

Which skills may children need to learn before school?