Growth and Development Lecture Notes

Growth and Development (G&D) Lecture Notes

• Growth is the increase in size, weight, and height of an individual. It's a quantifiable physical change.
• Development is an improvement in abilities and skills, encompassing emotional and intellectual progress. It isn't measurable with metric units.
• Maturation involves growth in competence and adaptability, including the ability to perform skills, think, relate to people, have trust, and self-confidence.

Defining Growth, Development, and Maturation

• Growth is a quantitative change; development is a qualitative change; maturation is a developmental process encompassing both.
• Growth focuses on physical changes; development encompasses all aspects of growth and progress during the lifespan.

Differences between Growth and Development

• Growth pertains to measurable physical changes in the body's size, height and weight.
• Development encompasses broader changes, resulting in improved overall function, impacting both quantitative (measurable) and qualitative (unmeasurable) aspects.
• Growth is not continuous throughout life; development is a continuous process involving physical and psychological changes.
• Growth is measurable; development, encompassing social, emotional, and intellectual growth, is not easily measured.

Domains of Growth and Development

• Growth Domains: Physical (weight, height, head circumference); Physiological (vital signs); Sensory (vision, touch, hearing, taste, smell).
• Development Domains: Motor (gross and fine motor skills); Intellectual/Cognitive (mental activities); Moral/Emotional (love, fear); Social (personality development, relationships, and gender roles).

Areas of Development

• Physical Development: Includes muscle coordination and control, growth in proportion. Examples include rolling over, lifting the head, or sitting up.
• Cognitive Development: The brain's ability to process information. Examples include identifying their name, or recognizing parents.
• Social Development: Learning social expectations and rules for interacting with others. Examples include smiling at a mother, learning to share a toy.
• Emotional Development: Ability to comprehend and respond appropriately to emotions. Examples include jealousy related to new siblings, and feelings of love.
• Moral Development: Identifying personal values and principles. Examples include right versus wrong behaviors, respecting others' needs and human rights.

Principles (Patterns) of Growth and Development

• Continuity: Growth and development begin at conception and end at death.
• Lack of Uniformity in Rate: Not all body parts grow at the same rate, simultaneously.
• Individual Differences: Each child's growth and development occurs uniquely and differently.
• Uniformity of Pattern: Development follows standard patterns (Cephalocaudal - head to toe, and Proximodistal - inward to outward ).
• General to Specific Responses: Development progresses from general to specific skills.
• Integration: Development moves from the whole to parts and vice versa.
• Interrelation: Development in one area affects other areas.
• Predictability: While predictable, there are periods of consolidation and variation.
• Interaction: Heredity and environment influence growth and development.

Factors Influencing Growth and Development

• Heredity/Genetics: Inherited characteristics like gender, physical features, temperament, and learning styles are established at conception and remain unchanged throughout life. It even potential genetic abnormalities can impact growth and development.
• Gender: On average, girls are born smaller than boys; while boys remain taller/heavier than girls until puberty, girls then grow taller slightly faster than boys until the end of puberty.
• Intelligence: Children with high intelligence tend to develop social skills faster than those with low intelligence
• Temperament: Inborn traits affecting responses to new situations (flexible, fearful, feisty).
• Environment: Factors like climate, illness and injuries, family relationships, child position, parental attention, education, child-rearing practices, socioeconomic status (healthcare, education and nutrition), and culture.

Issues in Human Development

• Nature-nurture: The extent to which genetics and experience influence development.
• Goodness-badness of human nature: Are humans innately good, bad or neither?
• Activity-passivity: Do humans actively shape their own development, or are they passively influenced by forces beyond their control?
• Continuity-discontinuity: Gradual or stage-like changes in development.
• Universality-context specificity: Similarities and differences in development across cultures.

Stages of Growth and Development

• Prenatal: Conception to birth
• Neonatal: Birth to 1 month
• Infancy: 1 month to 1 year
• Early Childhood: 1-3 years
• Toddler: 1-3 years
• Preschool: 3-6 years
• Middle Childhood: 6-12 years
• Late Childhood/Adolescence: 13-19 years
• Adulthood: Early (20-40), Middle (40-65), and Late (>65)

Role of Nurses in Growth and Development

• Assessment: Monitoring milestones (height, weight, developmental tasks).
• Intervention: Suggesting age-appropriate activities, nutritional guidance, play to improve cognitive and motor skills, guidance on healthy habits.
• Support: Helping families understand developmental stages; offering emotional support.
• Anticipatory Guidance: Preparing parents for future developmental stages and addressing national health goals.

Physical and Developmental Assessment Tools

• Growth Charts: Anthropometric measurements (weight, length/height, head circumference) are plotted on percentile charts to compare with the general population.
• History of Milestones: Collecting information about the child's development milestones.
• Direct Observation: Observing the child's behavior and skills.
• Development Charts: Using standardized tests like the Denver Developmental Screening Test II (DDST II) to assess various aspects of development.

Denver Developmental Screening Test II (DDST II)

• Quick screening tool to check a child's development.
• Applicable from birth to 6 years old.
• Assesses developmental progress across four major areas: personal-social, fine motor adaptive, language, and gross motor.
• Identifies children requiring further evaluation based on completion levels of tasks within set timeframes.

Summary

• Growth, development, and maturation are interconnected processes affecting all aspects of a child's life.
• Several factors (heredity, gender, environment, temperament, etc.) influence these processes.
• Nurses play a vital role in assessing development, intervening appropriately, and supporting families through anticipatory guidance.
• Tools like growth charts and standardized tests are integral for monitoring a child's development.

Explore the essential concepts of growth, development, and maturation through this quiz. Understand the distinctions between quantitative growth and qualitative development, as well as the role of maturation in personal progress. This quiz is designed to enhance your understanding of individual development throughout the lifespan.