1. CHAPTER 9 PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY CHILDHOOD

2. BODY GROWTH AND CHANGE Height and Weight – On average children grow 2-1/2 inches and gain 5 to 7 pounds per year. The body slims and their trunks lengthen. Children become increasingly aware of their bodies. Some evidence indicates that socioeconomic status can influence height and weight, and that congenital factors, emotional difficulties, and the rearing process in early childhood can affect growth.

3. THE BRAIN Brain size and growth curves – The growth of the brain slows in childhood and by age five is 90 percent of adult size, while a child reaches only one-third of body weight. The head and brain grow more rapidly than any other parts of the body. Neuronal changes – Early childhood is a time of great neuronal activity. Connections between neurons – The brain increases the number of nerve endings and receptors during childhood; chemical neurotransmitters carry the impulses across synapses; dopamine increases rapidly during three to six years of age. Mylineation – The insulation covering the nerve cells helps speed information; this insulation occurs at different ages throughout childhood. Structural changes – The brain undergoes dramatic anatomical changes between ages 3 and 15. Brain tissue multiplies then prunes itself. The fontal lobe has the greatest increase between ages three and six. The brain and cognitive development – Much scientific work is being done on charting the development of cognition as the brain structure increases; there is a great deal of activity in the prefrontal lobes during early childhood.

4. Visual Perception Preschool children overcome their farsightedness by the time they reach kindergarten and first grade. Depth perception is beginning to become refined, but its lack of full development is the cause for trips and falls during this time period.

5. MOTOR DEVELOPMENT Gross and Fine Motor Skills Gross motor skills – Three-year-olds do much hopping, skipping, and jumping as they master these skills. Large muscle development at this age requires exercise. Fidgeting is an indication of this growth. An early education program should always include exercise as part of the daily regimen. Fine motor skills – By ages four through five, fine motor skills are being refined. Children become more dexterous in the use of the thumb and forefinger.

6. Young Children’s Artistic Drawings – Art reveals the child’s perceptual world. By age two, children scribble, which does have a pattern. Rhoda Kellogg’s drawing stages outline the process: Gross motor skills – Three-year-olds do much hopping, skipping, and jumping as they master these skills. Large muscle development at this age requires exercise. Fidgeting is an indication of this growth. An early education program should always include exercise as part of the daily regimen. Fine motor skills – By ages four through five, fine motor skills are being refined. Children become more dexterous in the use of the thumb and forefinger.

7. Handedness – the preferential hand used by the child Origin and development of handedness – Right- handedness is dominant in all cultures (90 percent to 10 percent). Babies generally prefer the right side. Handedness, the brain, and language – 95 percent of right-handers process speech in the brain’s left hemisphere, but many left-handers show more variation in use of both or just right. Handedness and other abilities – Left-handers are more likely to have reading problems, yet have excellent visuospatial skills.

8. SLEEP AND SLEEP PROBLEMS Transitional Objects – Teddy bears or other soft cuddly objects that aid children to transition from dependent to independent status Sleep Problems – Some evidence correlates sleep problems with behavior problems. Nightmares – Dreams that awaken the sleeper toward morning, possibly an indication of too much stress. Night terrors – Sudden arousal from sleep with an intense fear, loud screams, perspiration; not considered a serious problem. Sleep walking and sleep talking – Somnambulism occurs in deep sleep – 1 to 5 percent of children sleep walk and usually grow out it. Sleep talking also occurs in sound sleep.

9. NUTRITION Energy Needs – The average preschooler needs about 1,700 calories per day, although each child is individual in his or her basal metabolism rate, the minimum amount of energy required in a resting state

10. Eating Behavior Daily eating routines – Three-year-olds have fairly good appetites, feed themselves, dawdle, and usually drink a lot of milk; four-year-olds have fair to good appetites, begin to develop dislikes of certain foods, and use all utensils; five-year-olds eat well but not at all meals, like familiar foods, and begin making some of their own food. Fat and sugar consumption – Children need protein, which they generally get, but the fat intake has increased since the advent of fast foods; the average American child consumes about two pounds of sugar per week. Sweets, snacks, and “fussy eaters” – A main concern in giving young children sweets and snacks is that they withdraw appetite for more nutritional foods. Fussy eaters are looking for independence and should be encouraged with guidelines. Malnutrition in young children from low-income families – Children from poorer families often become iron deficient resulting in chronic fatigue. The Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program attempts to assist poor families with nutrition.

11. HEALTH, SAFETY, AND ILLNESS Childhood Injuries Range and incidence – Accidents are the leading cause of death in children aged one through four years. Homicide is the fourth leading cause, the highest of 26 industrialized countries. Preventing childhood injuries – Laws calling for restraints in cars, labeling on poisons and toxins, and better-designed playgrounds all contribute to prevention of childhood injuries.

12. The state of Illness and Health in the World’s Children – A leading cause of childhood death in impoverished countries is diarrhea produced by dehydration. Acute respiratory infections have also killed many children under the age of five. Also, more children are dying of HIV/AIDS. Most of these deaths are preventable.