Notes on Middle Childhood Development

Self-Care Tips

  • Personal Mantra: "Slow progress is better than no progress."
  • Importance of making small steps towards growth.
    • Examples of small steps:
    • Eat one more vegetable a day.
    • Go to sleep 5 minutes earlier.
    • Drink one more glass of water daily.
    • Call an old friend weekly.
    • Floss once a week.

Physical Development Learning Objectives

  1. Summarize ways children grow during school years and the factors influencing growth.
  2. Explain nutrition's effect on growth and identify obesity risks.

The Growing Body

  • **Growth Patterns: ** - Children grow 2-3 inches per year.
    • Typical weight gain: 5-7 pounds per year.
    • Height variations can be up to 6-7 inches among same-age children.
  • Influences on Growth:
    • Nutrition (sufficient or insufficient).
    • Diseases.
    • Genetic factors.
    • Familial stress.

Good Nutrition

  • Positive effects include:
    • Increased peer involvement.
    • Improvement in emotional wellbeing (less anxiety, more positive emotions).
    • Higher energy levels and enhanced verbal abilities.

Consequences of Inadequate Nutrition

  • Leads to:
    • Lowered resistance to infections.
    • Frequent illnesses affecting growth.
    • Higher mortality rates from common ailments.

Obesity Statistics

  • 1 in 3 children in America are overweight or obese.
  • Highest obesity rates found in Southern states.
    • 24-29% (Lowest) - Colorado, Wyoming.
    • 35-41% (Highest) - West Virginia.

Causes of Obesity

  • Common Factors:
    • Genetic predisposition.
    • Lack of physical activity.
    • Unhealthy eating patterns.
    • Environmental changes over time.
  • Long-term effects include increased risk of:
    • Heart disease.
    • Diabetes.
    • Reduced lifespan.

Weight-Shaming among Children

  • Around 40% of 9-10 years old are trying to lose weight.
  • Consequences:
    • Body dissatisfaction.
    • Low self-esteem.
    • Increased BMI over time.
  • Encouragement of healthy habits is crucial instead of focusing on weight.

Promoting Fitness in Children

  • Key approaches:
    • Make exercise fun and suitable for age.
    • Involve the family in activities.
    • Introduce organized sports carefully.
    • Avoid using physical activity as punishment.
    • Provide nutritious options consistently at meals.

Advances in Motor Skills (Ages 6-12)

  • Gross Motor Skills:
    • Girls excel in accuracy; boys in forceful actions.
    • Milestones include:
    • Balance on one foot, hop accurately, jump rope, throw small balls.
  • Fine Motor Skills:
    • Necessary for school tasks (writing, typing, etc.).
    • By age 12, skills closely resemble adult-level.

Health and Safety Concerns

  • Overall good health with some chronic issues (1 in 9 have a chronic illness, e.g. asthma).
  • Other health risks include:
    • Accidents (vehicle, bike, drowning), gun-related deaths.

Psychological Health

  • 1 in 5 children has a psychological disorder.

Learning Disabilities and ADHD

  • Learning Disorders:
    • 5-15% of children face discrepancies between achievement and potential.
    • Includes dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia.
  • ADHD Symptoms:
    • Difficulty finishing tasks, following instructions, organized work, excessive talking.
    • Must be pervasive, long-term, and create significant life impacts.

Impact of ADHD on Performance

  • Learning disorders lead to:
    • Challenges in academics, low self-esteem.
  • ADHD adds:
    • Difficulty in participation and sustained attention, leading to incomplete work.

Cognitive Development (Piaget's Theory)

  • Concrete Operational Stage (7-12 years):
    • Children use logic effectively but struggle with abstract concepts.
    • Master skills like conservation, reversibility, decentering.

Information Processing Model

  • Children's processing capabilities improve with memory size.
  • Better at using memory control strategies like mnemonics and repetition.