1. Chapter 8: Physical Growth in Preschool Children
MODULES
8.1 Physical Growth
8.2 Motor Development
8.3 Health and Wellness
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2. Module 8.1 Physical Growth
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Describe the changes that take place in preschool children’s growing bodies.
Explain how the brain becomes more powerful during the preschool years.
Discuss how much preschool children sleep and the problems that sometimes disrupt their sleep.
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Body Growth
Growth slows and is more stable during preschool years.
Loss of fat and changing proportions.
Cartilage turns to bone.
Usually have all 20 primary teeth by the age of 3 years.
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4. Average Growth During Preschool Years
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5. Changing Body Proportions
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Tooth Development
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Brain Development
Preschool years are a time of rapid growth for the brain.
Synaptic pruning continues.
Myelinization continues, particularly of the corpus callosum and sensory and motor regions of the brain.
Brain becomes more specialized.
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The Brain
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Sleep
Amount of sleep decreases, including giving up naps around 4 years.
Bedtime struggles occur nightly in 20-30% of children.
Some children have sleep disturbances: nightmares, night terrors, sleep walking, and bedwetting.
Hours of Sleep
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10. Module 8.2 Motor Development
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Explain how children’s gross- and fine-motor skills improve during the preschool years.
Identify how similar left- and right-handed children are.
Describe how preschool boys and girls differ in their motor skills.
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Gross Motor Skills
Big improvements in running and hopping.
Improved ability to catch and throw a ball.
Advanced motor skills lead to unstructured play.
Development of Throwing and Catching
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Fine Motor Skills
Improved dexterity leads to more precise and delicate movements.
Greater fine motor skill means that children can feed and dress themselves.
Better grip of writing implements means improved drawings.
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Stages of Drawing
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Handedness
By 2 years, most children show a clear hand preference, 90% are right-handed.
Left-handed people are more likely to have migraines, allergies, and language-based problems.
Lefties are more likely to be artistically and spatially talented.
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15. Gender Differences in Motor Skills
Boys tend to be more muscular and more active.
Boys better at running and throwing.
Girls tend to be better at balancing, hopping, skipping, and fine motor activities.
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16. Module 8.3 Health and Wellness
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
List the kinds of foods preschool children should eat.
Relate what parents can do if their preschool children become picky eaters.
Name the illnesses and accidents that are common during the preschool years.
Describe how preschool children typically react to hospitalization.
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Nutrition
Preschoolers need to eat less per kilogram than infants and toddlers.
Some preschoolers become picky eaters.
Parents should encourage a well-balanced diet.
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18. Childhood Obesity in Canada
Obesity rates tend to be linked to the following factors:
-Genetic factors contribute to obesity in Canadian families.
-Geography (regional differences): Children in Atlantic Canada are 2x as likely as becoming obese relative to children that live on the Prairies.
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19. Threats to Children’s Development
Minor illnesses are common in preschoolers.
Chronic illness, except asthma, is not common in childhood.
Stress and poverty are more likely to lead to injury and illness.
Hospital stays can be made less traumatic with parents and health-care professionals working together.
“Child-first” approach to service delivery.
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Conclusions
Growth during the preschool years is not as rapid as during the infant and toddler years.
Health Canada’s guidelines for children nutrition should be followed to ensure children get adequate nutrients they require.
Brain becomes more specialized as the child matures but at a price of plasticity.
Motor skills show amazing improvements during these years as a result of brain development.
Sleep is an important element in children’s growth and a bedtime routine facilitates a pleasant bedtime.
Gender differences in motor skills might be due more to socialization than biological male-female differences.
Canada has adopted a “child-first” approach to service delivery for children.
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