1. Ch 1 - Learn About Children
Child Growth and Development

2. Why Study Children? To Understand Yourself To Be a Responsible Parent
To Protect Children’s Rights
To Work with Children

3. To Understand Yourself
How did your upbringing affect you?

4. To Be a Responsible Parent
Provide for a child’s:
Physical Needs
Intellectual Needs
Social Needs
Trust Needs
Love and Discipline Needs

5. Responsible Parent Activity
Break up into five groups
Each group will be assigned a different need they will have to provide for a child
The group will need to come up with five different ways they can provide for this need.
Include things that can be done with the child, places the child can be taken, things that can be said to the child, etc.

6. To Protect Children’s Rights
The Rights of Children were written by the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
They include 11 major categories:
An identity
Special care for the disabled
A family
Protection from discrimination
Express themselves and have access to information
Protection from abuse
A safe and healthy life
Protection from harmful work
Special protection in times of war
Special treatment if arrested
An education

7. Protecting Children’s Rights Flyer
Create a flyer on one of the 11 categories of protecting children’s rights.
Include:
Some type of title or slogan illustrating what right is being protected
Why that right should be protected
What can be done to protect that right

8. To Work With Children
What are some examples of jobs that work with children?
Why would you need to study children to work in the child care field?

9. What is Child Development?
Development is the gradual process through which babies become adults
Child development is the scientific study of children from conception to adolescence

10. Factors that Influence Growth and Development
Heredity includes traits passed to a child from blood relatives
Environment includes physical conditions and relationships with others that have shaped experiences in our lives

11. Heredity or Environment?
Both
Environment

12. Heredity and Environment Combined
Examples:
“Genes control how quickly a baby’s muscles grow (heredity), but a proper diet is needed for the baby to grow (environment). However, a better diet doesn’t make bones and muscles bigger than heredity allows.”
–Child Development pg. 30

13. How Brain Development Occurs in Children
Neurons are brain cells that direct various tasks of the brain (like messages that tell the body what to do)
Axons are cables that transmit signals from a neuron to other neurons
Dendrites are cables that allow each neuron to receive signals sent by other neurons
Synapse is a gap between neurons across which electrical impulses can be transmitted

14. The Neuron

15. Effects of Heredity and Environment on Brain Development
Heredity and environment work together to develop the brain
Rich sensory experiences enhance brain development
create new dendrites
Pruning is the process in which the brain weeds out unused pathways

16. Windows of Opportunity
A specific time in which stimulation should occur in the brain for peak capacity to learn (to learn as much as possible).
Some are shorter; some are longer.
Windows of opportunity for different tasks often overlap

17. Think – Pair – Share
Why is it important to know when a child’s window of opportunity is?
Get out a piece of paper and answer the above question.
Partner up with a neighbor and discuss each of your answers.
Be prepared to share your answer with the class.

18. Differences in the Rate of Growth and Development
Children do NOT advance in all areas at the same rate
Developmental acceleration- when a child performs like and older child
Developmental delay- when a child performs like a younger child

19. Principals of Growth and Development
Key principles
Constant
Gradual and Continuous
Happen in Sequenced Steps
Happen at Different Rates
Are Interrelated

20. Theories of Growth and Development
Sigmund Freud ( )
Jean Piaget (1896–1980)
Lev Vygotsky (1896–1934)
Erik Erikson (1902–1994)
B.F. Skinner ( )
Abraham Maslow (1908–1970)
Urie Bronfenbrenner ( )
Albert Bandura (before 1925)

21. Theories of Growth and Development
Developmental Theorist Worksheet
Use page 15 in your textbook

22. Maslow’s Theory of Human Needs
Development is a result of meeting personal needs
People work to fulfill basic needs and higher-level needs
Lower-level needs must be met before higher-level needs can be pursued

23. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs

24. Our own Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Think of personal examples from each “Need” that you already have or would like to have in the future to write on our Class Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

25. Why Observe Children?
Observation is the oldest, most common, and best way to learn about human behavior
We can see good ways and bad ways to work with children by modeling observed adults who work with children
Observation skills are learned by observing children

26. Observing Children
Subjective observation – to rely on personal opinions and feelings, rather than facts, to judge an event
Subjective observations often use assumptions, or what is thought to be, instead of what is.
Example: Ethan is feeling selfish. He won’t let anyone else play with the toys in the sandbox.
Objective observation – recording an exact account of what is seen and heard without including personal feelings or prejudices
Example: Ethan is sitting in the sandbox. Cody enters the sandbox and attempts to play with Ethan. Ethan takes the toy truck away from Cody when he tries to play with it and says, “That’s my toy.”

27. Types of Observations Records
Running Record – a record of everything observed for a set period of time
Anecdotal Record – a report of a child’s actions that concentrates on specific behavior or area of development
Frequency Count – a tally of how often a certain behavior occurs
Developmental Checklist – a checklist of skills children should master, or behaviors they should exhibit at a certain age

28. Guidelines for Observing
Know your objectives
Obtain permission to observe
Know what to do at the site – make your observation meaningful
Ask questions at convenient times
Do not distract children from activities
Observe carefully and objectively
Record accurately
Protect the rights of all observed

29. Super Nanny