Physical Development: Early and Middle ChildhoodAnnouncements • Start your virtual person paper outline • ExperientialsOutline • Physical Development • Physical Development in Early Childhood • Physical Development in Middle Childhood • Brain Development • Motor Development • Nutrition, Exercise and Obesity • Disabilities • EducationPhysical Development in Early Childhood •Body growth slows •Boys vs girls •Skeletal growth continuesPhysical Development in Middle Childhood • Slow, consistent growth • Decreases in baby fat and increases in muscleBrain Development in Early Childhood • Most rapid growth in prefrontal cortex • Left hemisphere active • Linking areas of the brain develop By 6 years, brain is at 95% peak volumeBrain Development in Early Childhood • In neurons, the number and size of dendrites increase • Myelination continues • increases the speed and efficiency of informationBrain Growth During Middle Childhood • Total brain volume stabilizes • Synaptic pruning • Increased cognitive control • Attention • Cognitive flexibilityMotor Skill Development in Early Childhood •Gross-motor skills •Fine-motor skillsMotor Development in Middle Childhood • Gross Motor Skills more refined • Fine motor skills improve • Writing • Drawing • Games are more commonExercise in Early Childhood • Routine physical activity should be a daily occurrence • Preschool = 2 hours per dayExercise in Middle Childhood • US children don’t exercise enough • More activity linked with better health • Role of parentsNutrition • Eating habits important • Affects their skeletal growth, body shape, and susceptibility to diseaseObesity in Early Childhood • More than 10% of 2-5 year olds are overweight • By age 5: • Cases of Type II diabetes • overweight associated with lower self-esteem • Low-income children of all ethnicities at greatest risk • Heredity + learned eating habitsObesity in Middle Childhood • Overweight middle childhood children in U.S. • 1970s = 15 percent • Today = almost 30 percent • Girls more than boysOverweight Children: A Serious Concern • Physical functioning • Emotional:Malnutrition • Globally: 30% of children are underweight. • In US: 1 out of 5 do not get enough to eat • Associated with low income • Malnutrition can harm cognitive development long-termIllness and Death • Healthy time of life • Leading causes of death in U.S. children: • Safety influenced by: • Children’s own skills and behaviors • Characteristics of contexts • Parental smokingParental Smoking • 22 percent of children exposed to tobacco smoke in the home • Develop wheezing symptoms and asthma • Linked to sleep problems and sleep-disordered breathing in children7-21 Children with Disabilities • The scope of disabilities • Educational issuesU.S. Children with a Disability Who Receive Special Education Services • 14% of children in US overall • 4 largest groups of students with a disability (shown) 7-227-23 The Scope of Disabilities • Learning disability: Difficulty in learning that involves understanding or using spoken or written language, • Dyslexia • Dysgraphia • Dyscalculia7-24 The Scope of Disabilities • Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): • inattention • hyperactivity • impulsivity • Not a learning disability though co-occurrence is frequent • Number of children diagnosed has increasedPossible causes • Genetics • Brain damage during prenatal or postnatal development • Cigarette and alcohol exposure during prenatal development • Low birth weight7-26 Figure 7.4 - Regions of the Brain in Which Children with ADHD had a Delayed Peak in the Thickness of the Cerebral Cortex7-27 The Scope of Disabilities • Autism spectrum disorders (ASD • Deficiencies in social relationships, abnormalities in communication • Restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behaviorCauses of ASD • Abnormalities of brain structure and or neurotransmitters • Lack of connectivity • Genetic factors • Age of parents • NOT supported by research • Poor family socialization • Vaccinations7-29 Educational Issues • Individualized Education Plan (IEP): Written statement that is specifically tailored for the disabled student • Least Restrictive Environment (LRE): Setting that is as similar as possible to the one in which non-disabled children are educated • Inclusion: Educating a child with special education needs full-time in the regular