child development

Physical Development in Early Childhood

• Age Range: 3-6 years

• Accidents and Safety:

  • Greatest risk is accidents.

  • Children under 10 are 2 times more likely to die from injuries than illnesses.

  • In the U.S., 1 in 3 children each year will require medical attention for injuries.

• Brain Development:

  • Rapid brain growth occurs during this stage.

  • Thickening of the corpus callosum and increased myelination.

  • Lateralization of brain functions begins.

Physical Development in Pre-Adolescence

• Age Range: 6-12 years

• Growth Patterns:

  • Children grow at a slow and steady pace, averaging 2-3 inches per year and gaining 5 to 7 pounds each year.

• Role of Nutrition:

  • Better nutrition generally leads to better physical and cognitive outcomes.

  • Childhood obesity is a growing concern, with many children having low levels of exercise.

Language Development

• Key Features:

  • Whole Object Constraint: Understanding that words refer to whole objects rather than parts.

  • Language Explosion: A rapid increase in vocabulary and sentence complexity around 18 months.

  • Over Extension and Under Extension: Misusing words in broader or too narrow contexts.

  • Pragmatics: Ability to use knowledge of context to understand language.

  • Nativism: Argument for innate abilities that facilitate language acquisition, including a possible language module.

• Fundamentals of Language:

  • Phonology: Study of sounds.

  • Morphemes: Smallest units of meaning.

  • Semantics: Basic rules of a language.

• Production vs Comprehension:

  • Production: The ability to produce words and sentences.

  • Comprehension: Understanding what words mean.

• Prelinguistic Communication:

  • Includes sounds, gestures, and facial expressions prior to spoken language.

• First Sentences:

  • Occurs around 18 months, involving simple two-word combinations, often called telegraphic speech.

Cognitive Development in Preschool Years

• Piaget's Preoperational Stage (2-7 years):

  • Characterized by symbolic function and limited logical thinking.

  • Centration: Focusing on one aspect of a situation while ignoring others.

  • Conservation: Understanding that quantity does not change even when its shape or appearance does.

• Information Processing Approach:

  • Autobiographical memories develop and become more accurate after age 3, often utilizing scripts for recollection.

• Vygotsky's View:

  • Cognitive development is rooted in social interactions and collaborative learning.

  • Zone of Proximal Development: Tasks a child can almost perform alone, supported by others (scaffolding).

Prenatal Development

• Germinal Stage (Week 1-2):

  • Zygote creation and implantation, with a significant number failing to implant.

• Embryonic Stage (Week 2-8):

  • Formation of the placenta and initial body structures; growth follows the cephalocaudal and proximodistal patterns.

• Fetal Stage (Week 9-40):

  • All neurons are produced by the end of this period (around 5 months).

• Impact of Teratogens:

  • Environmental agents like alcohol, drugs, and genes can significantly affect prenatal development leading to issues such as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD).

Nature vs Nurture in Development

• Nature: Refers to genetic inherited traits.

• Nurture: Encompasses environmental influences, as described by Bronfenbrenner's ecological model.

• Continuity vs Discontinuity:

  • Continuous development suggests growth is gradual; discontinuous suggests distinct stages.

• Research Types:

  1. Descriptive

  2. Correlational (r = -1 to 1)

  3. Experimental (true independent variable manipulation).

Memory Development

• Definitions:

  • Infantile Amnesia: Lack of memory during infancy due to undeveloped memory systems.

  • Infants can learn and remember motor actions by 3 months, with retention improving with age.

• Neuroscience of Memory:

  • Differentiation between explicit (conscious) and implicit (automatic) memory.

  • Semantic Memory: Memory for facts emerges at different rates.

Cognitive Development in Middle Childhood

• Piaget's Concrete Operational Stage (7-12 years):

  • Logical thinking becomes more prominent with skills such as decentering and reversibility of operations.

• Information Processing Perspective:

  • Children improve ability to handle information, focusing on encoding, storage, and retrieval.

• Vygotsky's Approach:

  • Advocates for active learning and cooperative methods in cognitive development.

Motor Development in Infancy

• Reflexive Actions:

  • Examples include grasp reflex, sucking reflex, and rooting reflex.

• Milestones:

  • Developmental milestones range from rolling over (3.2 months) to walking independently (11.5 months).

• Dynamic Systems Theory:

  • Emphasizes that motor skills require a combination of muscle coordination, perception, and cognitive motivation.

Trauma-Informed Care

• Understanding Trauma:

  • Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) contribute to various health issues; includes abuse and household dysfunction.

• Core Principles for Practices:

  • Focus on equity and trauma-informed responses through recognition and realization.

Language Acquisition Theories

• Nativism:

  • Noam Chomsky's theory on the innate capacity for language acquisition through universal grammar and a Language Acquisition Device (LAD).

• Interactionist Approach:

  • Combines innate predispositions with environmental factors to explain language learning.

• Gender Differences in Language Use:

  • Variations in language used with boys vs. girls, including greater exposure and types of vocabulary.