Youth- Child Development

• Babies learn from peripheral to central

• Changes in position, touch, sounds, vision- changes their worldview

• Concentric → isometric → eccentric = development of milestones

• Head control, rolling, sitting, creeping, standing, walking, running

• Followed by motor development and control

Fine motor skills:

• Small muscles involved in manipulative skills

• Picking up objects, feeding, writing and coloring, cutting, and dressing

Gross Motor Skills:

• Big muscle groups involved in locomotor

• Crawling, walking, running, stairs

A child is building a “body for a lifetime”

The demands of rapid growth and development

• require higher breathing rate

Nervous System

• During the first 4 prenatal weeks, 100 billion neurons are formed

• Within the first year, these billions of neurons are connecting forming new synapses for brain development and learning

• At birth, the brain is 25% of its adult weight; by age 5, it is 90% of its adult weight.

• Newborns can see approximately 1.5 feet in front of them

Musculoskeletal System

• Bones- rapid growth initially followed by spurts until PHV (peak height velocity)

• Epiphyseal plate- cartilage layer near end of long bones, bone growth (osteogenesis) continues in length until cartilage becomes bone

Peak Height Velocity Age

• The time when gain in height is the fastest since the first year of life

• Usually occurs around 13-15 years of age for boys and 11-12 years of age for girls

  • increase in muscle mass

  • Decrease in ROM

  • temporary decrease in bone mineral density

  • Increased energy consumption

Eating Disorders

• Image consciousness starts as early as preschool

  • Affects nervous, cardiac, muscular, skeletal, and endocrine system

• Anorexia Nervosa- self-starvation, inability to maintain a minimal healthy weight

  • Amenorrhea- menstruation stops with the growth of bones, which can lead to osteoporosis

  • Electrolyte imbalance, muscle wasting, heart atrophy, slowed growth and malnutrition

(if you know this is an issue- discourage physical activity)

• Bulimia nervosa- binge eating followed by purging

  • more common, less noticeable due to weight being fairly normal

• Muscle Dysmorphia- obsession with developing muscle mass

  • Affects more men and can lead to steroid abuse and malnutrition

Steroid Abuse

• Irreversible adverse effects

• Has a feminizing effect on men and masculinizing effect on women

• Increased risk for heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure, cancer

Nutrition

• Caloric requirements are self-regulated in infants/toddlers

• Healthy habits established by caregivers

• For toddlers/children- activity and energy intake should balance each other out

• Ensure healthy dises of iron, calcium, vitamin D

Sports

• Children are not mini adults, do not need to train like adults

• Use of play and games for younger children

• Need a range of activities to develop muscles appropriately

• Don’t develop diverse motor skills

Down Syndrome

1 in every 700 births

Most common chromosomal abnormality

• poor muscle tone or loose joints

• altered gait, wide base opf support

• mild to moderately low IQ

• heart defects (50%)

• hearing losee

• vision issues

Cerebral Palsy

Irreversable damage to the brain

• lack of muscle coordination

• stiff or tight muscles and exaggerated reflexes

• weakness in one or more arm or leg

• walking on toes

• shaking (tremor) or random involuntary movements