Wednesday July 27 2011 Physical Development and Health in Middle Childhood Final Exam Notes Growth Middle childhood ages 6 to 11 Growth 2 3 inches per year on average By about age 9 girls have slight edge in height and weight over boys of the same age The average girl at age 10 weighs about 89 pounds and the average boy weighs about 82 pounds Girls tend to have more fatty tissue and this will persist throughout adulthood Racial and ethnic differences African American children grow faster than children of other ethnicities and races African American girls have more muscles and bone mass than latin and white girls Latin girls have more muscles and bone mass than white girls Some show signs of puberty in middle childhood As early as age 6 signs of breasts can form Children with more body fat start puberty earlier on average than others Overall though most puberty stages start at age 8 for girls and age 9 for boys African American girls show signs of puberty earlier than other girls First stage of puberty The DHEA hormone starts to be secreted between the ages of 6 8 By age 10 the levels of this hormone are several times larger than they were in the early years This hormone contributes to growth spurts body hair and body odor Nutrition Need 2400 calories per day to support this growth Diet grains fruits vegetables complex carbohydrates Pastas and cereals are really good for them A small percentage should be fats only about 30 In those fats there should be less foods with saturated fats Butter fried foods cheese sour cream pizza are things that should be used very little in the diet This diet is not the norm and most children get more fats than they should Breakfast is very important for a child to have every morning They need to have 3 meals a day and snacking should not be allowed to become meals Limit snacking Health Sleep 10 11 hours recommended Encourage this by parents setting a distinct bedtime and strictly following it Do not have TV s in the childrens room Sleep problems include insomnia snoring Dental Care Most children have their baby teeth in by age 3 Lose primary teeth beginning at age 6 Less untreated cavities Replaced by permanent teeth at 4 teeth per year Changes in the Brain Four main changes in the brain during middle childhood Loss in the density of gray matter in certain regions in the cerebral cortex Brain matter is just neurons compacted together So when you start to lose the dendrites to become more efficient this is why the loss occurs Increase in white matter as the brain mass becomes less dense There are more axons now to transmit messages Mylenation occurs and it starts in the front of the brain and moves to the back of the brain Thickening of the cerebral cortex especially in the regions of the temperal and frontal lobes Continued myelination of fibers in the corpus callosum Motor Development Gross Motor Skills have big improvements Girls are better at doing more complex tasks like balancing and skipping Boys are better at things that require more power like throwing and jumping Skipping tends to come last but they become very good at it Throw ball Jumping jacks Hop and jump accurately Balance is a lot better on one foot now Fine Motor Skills have big improvements Play Cursive writing Draw in detail Type on keyboard Cell phone usage As technology advances children become better and better with their fine motor skills to keep up with these advances Children are spending less time being involved in outdoor play Instead they spend most of their time on the internet TV or indoors at school Recess needs to stop being taken away Not only does it alleviate obesity but it also allows social interaction Gender differences in play Girls play things that involve expression like jump rope and red rover Boys play games that involve more physical ness like tag Rough and tumble play Universal Boys more than girls Overweight Organized sports about 40 in the US take part in organized sports outside of school About 77 take part in some kind of unorganized activity Unorganized could include stuff like bike riding or skate boarding Basketball softball etc Emphasis on building skills Prompts good or bad self esteems based on the kind of sport and people playing Parents need to make sure the teams they are picking for the kids do not inhibit a boost of self esteem Increases in childhood obesity More likely for a boy to be overweight than a girl to be overweight Causes may be genetic cultural inactive lifestyles poor nutrition It is recommended that children get a minimum of 150 minutes per week of activity Concerns involve emotional distress like depression and low self esteem antisocial behaviors type 2 diabetes high blood pressure high cholestorel more likely to grow up to stay obese which will lead to heart disease diabetes Prevention and treatment better to prevent rather than treat Prevent with good nutrition and adequate amounts of activity Goal change lifestyle more than weight loss Do not put emphasis on doing things because they need to lose weight put emphasis on why these new things are good for them If you put emphasis on weight loss they could develop eating disorders Acute medical conditions are very common during this time Spreads rapidly because of school and lots of social interaction now Medical Conditions Short term Colds flu etc Chronic medical conditions require special services lasts more than 3 months Vision and hearing problems 15 of children from 6 adolecense have some sort of hearing loss Seen more in boys than in girls Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease that is allergy based The number of children diagnosed with this has increased Boys are more likely to have this than girls African American children are more likely to have it than white children Could have a genetic basis to it but it is also environmental Diabetes especially type 2 has increased in children More due to overweight Hypertension and high blood pressure these are also related to being obese Blood pressure can decrease with weight loss May need drugs to help Stuttering may be a genetic component The stuttering usually goes away as the child gets older Leading cause of death in middle childhood While there is a very low death rate during this age Boys more likely to be injured usually because they are more physically active Prevention safety gear careful watching Accidental Injuries Mental Health Disruptive conduct disorders undesirable behavior aggression defiance etc this is the
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