Chapter 8 Early Childhood Development PDF

CHAPTER EIGHT: EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT After completing Chapter Eight students will be able to: Discuss physical growth and change in early childhood Describe changes in motor development in early childhood Characterize the health of young children Discuss...

CHAPTER EIGHT: EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT After completing Chapter Eight students will be able to: Discuss physical growth and change in early childhood Describe changes in motor development in early childhood Characterize the health of young children Discuss the cognitive changes that occur in early childhood Describe language development in early childhood Discuss emotional and personality development in young children Explain how families can influence young children’s development Describe the role of peers, play and television in young children’s development Chapter Eight: Early Childhood Development | 135 136 | Chapter Eight: Early Childhood Development Physical Development in Early Childhood Growth in Height and Weight Children continue to grow greatly during early childhood. The average child grows 2 ½ inches and gains between 5 and 7 pounds a year. Each year as they grow older, their increases in height and weight decrease. Growth patterns are affected by genetics, growth hormones and environmental factors. Some reasons for unusually small children are genetic problems, prenatal problems, physical problems in early childhood and emotional problems. Deprivation dwarfism is a condition in which children who are deprived of attention do not grow at a normal rate. This deprivation affects the release of hormones by the pituitary gland. Girls are slightly smaller and lighter than boys during the preschool years, and most children have lost their “top heavy” look. Boys gain muscle and girls gain fatty tissue during this time. Children are fascinated by their bodies. They are constantly asking questions about their bodies and are beginning to understand the physical differences between boys and girls. Two developmentally appropriate books to share with children are “The Body Good” by Claire Raynor and “Blood and Guts” by Linda Allison. Brain Development The brain and the head experience the fastest growth in the body. It is 75% of adult size by age 3 and 90% of adult size by age 5. It is interesting to note that at age five a child’s body is only 1/3 of adult size. The top parts of the head, the eyes and the brain grow faster than the jaw. Nerve endings continue to grow into adolescence. Myelination refers to the process by which nerve cells are insulated. Myenilation makes information process more quickly. It occurs in the areas of the brain related to hand/eye coordination at 4 years old and in the areas related to attention in middle childhood. It is interesting to think about the pressure we put on children to spend large amounts of time sitting and focusing in preschool when their brains need more active learning to develop. There are also structural changes in the brain. The brain undergoes dramatic anatomical changes between ages 3 and 15. Some areas almost double in size, and the purge of unneeded cells follows up to the age of 4. Frontal lobe growth occurs between 3 and 6 years of age, and temporal and parietal lobes from age 6 through puberty (Berk, 2017; Hyson, 2014). Signs of Vision Problems It is important for children to have regular vision screening before age 3. Treatment before age 6 can prevent vision loss. It can sometimes be difficult to discern if a child is having vision problems. Some signs to look for are tilting of the head, squinting, irritability when asked to complete tasks that require long distance vision, rubbing the eyes, shutting and covering one eye, excessive blinking, and headaches. Two eye conditions that many children suffer are functional amblyopia and strabismus. Functional amblyopia, also called lazy eye, is an eye defect that occurs when one eye is not used as much as the other eye to avoid the discomfort of double vision. It is caused by imbalanced eye muscles. Strabismus is misalignment of the eyes (CDC, 2022). Physical Development in Early Childhood | 137 Gross Motor Skills Preschoolers have the highest activity level of any age in the life span. They need daily exercise, and good programs with creativity and free movement. Exercise increases physical and visual awareness. Children’s gross motor skills develop when they use the large muscles of their body. At age 3, children enjoy simple movements such as hopping, jumping, running back and forth, throwing a ball underhand, catching a large ball and catching a bounced ball. At age 4, children become more adventurous and love to climb. They can kick a ball towards a target, bounce a ball under control, hop on one foot four times and come down stairs with one foot on each step. At age 5, children run hard, enjoy races, kick a rolling ball, skip using alternating feet, roller skate, jump rope, ride a two-wheeled bike with training wheels and are adventurous and try hair-raising stunts in climbing. Some gross motor ideas to incorporate into a preschool classroom are: Beam Walking Daily Fitness Activities Creative Movement With Music Moving To A Steady Beat Including Language Activities (over, under, around) Including Perceptual Activities (copying teacher’s movements) Remember that children are not able to sit still! (Hyson, 2014) Fine Motor Skills Fine motor skills are subtler movement skills in children’s hands and fingers. At age 3, children are still clumsy at picking things up with their thumb and forefinger. They have difficulty placing pieces in a puzzle but are adept at building block towers. At age 4, their coordination has improved and is more precise. They are much better at puzzles. At age 5, the hand, arm, and body all move together well. Children want to build a more detailed block structure. Hand strengthening activities are important during this time. Finger painting, squeezing stress balls, 138 | Physical Development in Early Childhood tearing paper, manipulating windup toys and spray bottles can all strengthen children’s hands, which will lead to increased fine motor skills for when children are learning to write (Gestwicki, 2017; Shaffer, 2000). Young Children’s Artistic Drawings Art provides a hands-on approach to problem solving skills; it reinforces ideas of scale, space, motion and distance. Child art reflects inventive problem solving. Developmental changes depend on talent, motivation, familial support and cultural values. It flourishes in sociocultural contexts where tools are available and art activity is valued. Rhoda Kellogg is a preschool teacher who has observed and guided young children’s artistic efforts for many years. She has collected over 2,000 samples of drawings produced by preschool children. She documented that children’s art is ordered, structured and meaningful. She outlines five stages of artistic development: Basic Scribbles: a child’s first attempts at drawing Placement: age 2-3, drawings are patterns placed on the page Physical Development in Early Childhood | 139  Shape Stage: age 3, drawings consist of diagrams in different shapes Design Stage: age 3-4, two basic shapes mix into more complex designs Pictoral Stage: age 4-5, drawings of objects adults can recognize (Berk, 2017; Santrock, 2013; Jensen & Arnett, 2019). 140 | Physical Development in Early Childhood Handedness People argue about whether handedness is determined at birth. Some believe it is genetically inherited. Others believe it develops in early childhood. Right-handedness is dominant in all cultures. Hand preference may occur in the womb. Many preschoolers use both hands before preference develops later. Approximately 95% of right-handed individuals process speech primarily in the left hemisphere. Left-handed individuals show more variation in processing and are more likely to have reading problems. Left-handers are more common among mathematicians, musicians, architects and artists (Berk, 2017; Santrock, 2013; Jensen & Arnett, 2019). Sleep and Sleep Problems By preschool, most young children sleep through the night. Many use transitional objects: stuffed animals, blankets, etc. to help them sleep independently. Sometimes sleep can be interrupted by nightmares, night terrors and somnambulism. Nightmares are frightening dreams that usually wake the sleeper. Night terrors are characterized by sudden arousal and are extremely intense. Somnambulism is sleep walking (Berk, 2017; Santrock, 2013; Jensen & Arnett, 2019). Nutrition Proper nutrition is extremely important in early childhood. Energy/calorie needs increase with age. Diets should be well balanced. Young children should avoid excessive fast food, fat and sugar. This can be difficult as children grow older and are exposed to different types of food. Children’s diets worsen with age. Parents should be persistent in exposing children to the right foods. They should avoid giving children sweets at snack times and set limits on certain foods. Childhood obesity is on the rise. The average American child consumes almost 2 pounds of sugar a week! Be aware of hidden sugar in juices, cereals, granola bars, ketchup and crackers. Lifelong eating habits are determined in early childhood. Sweets, snacks and fussy eaters: Many eating problems carry over from toddler years. It is important to allow a child to eat in any order/combination, let the meal end when the child has had enough, keep mealtimes enjoyable, and not use food as a reward or punishment. Obesity in children: The percentage of obese children is increasing. It is important to encourage children to make independent and better choices. Childhood obesity affects health problems. Obesity is linked to poor self- esteem. Caregivers should center life around activities, not meals, and keep children active. Malnutrition is linked to many aspects of development: iron deficiency anemia, cognitive deficits, aggressive and hyperactive behavior. Underfed children tend to receive less supervision, stimulation and education. How children eat at different ages 3 year olds ◦ o Appetite good, prefer small servings ◦ o Eat almost everything except cooked vegetables. ◦ o Feed themselves independently ◦ o Dawdle over food ◦ o Can pour milk and juice Physical Development in Early Childhood | 141  ◦ o Begin to drink a lot of milk 4 year olds ◦ o Appetite changes from good to fair ◦ o May refuse to eat certain foods ◦ o Use all eating utensils ◦ o Talking dominates eating ◦ o Like to help in the preparation of a meal 5 year olds ◦ o Usually eat well, but not at every meal ◦ o Like familiar foods ◦ o Are influenced by the dislikes of other family members ◦ o Like to make their own breakfast Accident Prevention Accidents are the leading cause of death in children ages 1 through 4. Most accidents occur in the bathtub or in the car. Many injuries can be prevented. Caregivers should always use car seats and lock up guns. They should childproof home and playground and make sure playground equipment is well constructed (CDC, 2022). Media Attributions Soccer © Image by Josh Dick from Pixabay is licensed under a CC0 (Creative Commons Zero) license Girl finger painting © Pixabay is licensed under a CC BY (Attribution) license Child drawing with a marker © Allan Mas via. Pexels is licensed under a CC0 (Creative Commons Zero) license Drawing scribbles © Flickr is licensed under a CC BY-SA (Attribution ShareAlike) license Drawing shapes © Flickr is licensed under a CC BY (Attribution) license Drawing stick figures © Flickr is licensed under a CC BY (Attribution) license Drawing chalk © Flickr is licensed under a CC BY (Attribution) license 142 | Physical Development in Early Childhood Cognitive Development in Early Childhood Learning Objectives What cognitive changes occur in early childhood? How do young children develop language? What are some important features of early childhood education? Piaget’s Preoperational Stage: Operations are an internalized set of actions. During the preoperational stage, stable concepts are formed. Mental reasoning and magical beliefs emerge. Egocentrism strengthens, then weakens. Thought is still flawed and not well organized. The symbolic function substage is the first substage of preoperational thought. It occurs between the ages of 2 to 4. The child gains an ability to mentally represent an object not present. Drawings are imaginative. There are two limitations on preoperational thought. Egocentrism is a child’s inability to distinguish between one’s own perspective and someone else’s. Animism is the belief that inanimate objects have lifelike qualities and are capable of action. The intuitive thought substage occurs between 4 and 7 years of age. Children begin to use primitive reasoning and seek answers to all sorts of questions. Centration and conservation occur during this stage. Centration is the focusing of attention on one characteristic to the exclusion of all others. Conservation realizes that altering an object’s substance does not change it quantitatively (Berk, 2017; Santrock, 2013; Jensen & Arnett, 2019). Cognitive Development in Early Childhood | 143 Vygotsky’s Theory of Development Vygotsky believed that children actively construct their knowledge and understanding. Their ways of thinking develop primarily through social interaction. He believed that all members of a classroom could be both teachers and learners. He theorized that each child has a zone of proximal development at each stage in their learning. The Zone of Proximal Development has two limits: the lower limit is what a child can achieve independently, and the upper limit is what can be achieved with the guidance and assistance of adults or more skilled children. Vygotsky introduced the notion of scaffolding in instruction, which is changing the level of support over the course of a teaching session to fit the child’s current performance level. Guided participation is used to stretch and support children’s understanding of skills. Language and thought: Children use language to plan, guide, and monitor their behavior. Private speech (self-talk) is an early transition to being more socially communicative. It is used more when tasks are difficult (Berk, 2017; Santrock, 2013; Jensen & Arnett, 2019). 144 | Cognitive Development in Early Childhood Teaching Strategies Vygotsky Would Agree With Use a child’s zone of proximal development Use more skilled peers as teachers Monitor and encourage private speech Effectively assess the child’s zone of proximal development Place instruction in a meaningful context Transform the classroom to encourage group learning (Berk, 2017; Santrock, 2013; Jensen & Arnett, 2019). Vygotsky vs. Piaget Vygotsky is a social constructivist; Piaget is a cognitive constructivist. In Vygotsky’s theory, no general stages of development are proposed. In Piaget’s theory, there is a strong emphasis on stages of development: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operation and formal operational. Vygotsky believed that language shapes thought; Piaget believed that language has a small role. Thought directs language. Vygotsky believed that education plays a central role in helping children learn about culture. Piaget believed that education just refined the child’s skills that had already emerged. Vygotsky believed that a teacher is a facilitator and guide and that it was important to provide many opportunities for children to learn with a teacher and more skilled peers. Piaget also viewed the teacher as the facilitator and guide, someone to provide support for children to explore their world and discover knowledge (Berk, 2017; Santrock, 2013; Jensen & Arnett, 2019). Literacy in Early Childhood Education Literacy is the understanding of language. Literacy encompasses reading, writing, listening and speaking. Children develop literacy when they have the opportunity to speak, when they have active language partners, and when they are read to. Nourishing the Young Child’s Cognitive Development Caregivers should provide opportunities for young children to develop symbolic thought by encouraging exploration Being an active language partner Being sensitive to the child’s level of cognitive functioning: what they can do with and without your help. Evaluating the quality of the child’s early childhood programs. Media Attributions Conservation Concepts © Eliana Colunga via. University of Colorado, Boulder is licensed under a All Rights Cognitive Development in Early Childhood | 145  Reserved license 146 | Cognitive Development in Early Childhood Social and Emotional Development in Preschool Learning Objectives What characterizes young children’s socioemotional development? What roles do families play in young children’s development? How are peer relations, play and television involved in young children’s development? Emotional Development Emotions are strong feelings deriving from one’s circumstances, mood, or relationships with others. Self- conscious (evaluative) emotions first appear at about 2½ years. Pride is felt when a successful outcome results in joy. Guilt results from judging efforts as failure. Emotional development is heavily influenced by parents’ responses. Young Children’s Understanding of Emotions: From ages 4 to 5 children show increased ability to reflect on emotions. Self-regulation of emotions continues. Parents play an important role in its development through emotional coaching by nurturing and using praise. Emotional dismissal is when a parent ignores and denies. Emotions also play a big role in peer relations. Moody, negative children experience greater peer rejection. Emotionally positive children are popular. Children controlling emotional responses are more likely to show social competence (Gordon & Browne, 2017; Hyson, 2014). Moral Development Moral Development refers to rules and regulations about what people should do in interactions with other people. Piaget extensively researched children. He wrote about two distinct stages of how children think about morality. Here is a chart outlining Piaget’s Theory of Moral Development, heteronomous morality and autonomous morality. Imminent justice is the belief that if a rule is broken, punishment will be meted out immediately. This is characteristic of heteronomous morality. Autonomous morality realizes that punishment is not inevitable. Social and Emotional Development in Preschool | 147 Gender Gender is the social and psychological dimension of being male or female. A gender role is a set of expectations of how females or males should think, act, and feel. Gender typing is a process for acquiring thoughts, feelings and behaviors considered appropriate for one’s gender in their culture. There are many things that impact children’s beliefs about gender. Peer Influence Gender plays an important role in interaction with peers. Children prefer same-sex groups by age 3, and this preference increases through age 12. Gender also impacts social situations. Boys in preschool engage in rough and tumble play and are very competitive. Girls engage in collaborative discourse. More time in same-sex groups is linked to more gender-stereotyped behavior (Berk, 2017). 148 | Social and Emotional Development in Preschool Teacher Influence Teachers also have a strong influence on beliefs about gender. Boys’ academic problems tend to be ignored more frequently. They experience more learning problems, receive more criticism, and are more likely to be stereotyped as having a behavior problem. Teachers often spend more time disciplining boys and more time giving girls academic tasks to complete. School and Media Influences On television, females are often portrayed as less competent. Most prime-time characters are male and traditional roles are reinforced. Most advertising continues to reflect traditional roles. Gender Schema organizes the world in terms of female and male. Children gradually develop schemas of what is gender-appropriate and gender-inappropriate in their culture. Socialization is also influenced by parenting styles, sibling relationships and the context of the family structure. There are four different parenting styles: Authoritative: clear expectations, firm consequences Authoritarian: harsh, strict punishment, child does not have a voice Neglectful: uninvolved, disinterested Indulgent: no limits, caregiver gives child everything they ask for (Jensen & Arnett, 2019). Child Abuse Punishment sometimes leads to abuse. Types of maltreatment, which include physical maltreatment, child neglect, and sexual and emotional abuse, are all causes for concern. Here are some warning signs to be aware of: questionable patterns of injuries, age-inappropriate sexual knowledge, poor hygiene, food hoarding, and stealing and behavioral extremes. Developmental consequences of abuse: Poor emotional regulation, attachment and peer relation problems, school difficulties, psychological problems and a later risk of violence and substance abuse. As a teacher, you are a mandated reporter and legally you must report any suspicion of abuse. Sibling relationships and birth order: Sibling relationships can be both pleasant and aggressive. Siblings treat children differently than parents do. Extensive sibling conflict can be linked to poor outcomes. Birth order can affect sibling relationships. Importance of Play Play is a pleasurable activity engaged in for its own sake. It can increase health, release tensions and help children control conflicts. Play also helps with cognitive development. Therapists often use play therapy to help children work through problems. Social and Emotional Development in Preschool | 149 Social Development in Preschool: Friendship In infancy and toddlerhood, social interactions with peers are often limited to proximity and to parents’ choice. However, upon entering preschool, children suddenly have the chance to play with new peers, in new settings. Unlike early playdates, which are closely monitored and in which parents may choose to intervene to redirect play and to initiate cooperative play, in preschool, children are more likely to be encouraged to play with one another without a great deal of adult guidance, for the purpose of creating social skills. In a new setting, with new peers, there is often a pattern to the development of social interactions. Preschool children will not always follow these exact phases, but they are most common and early childhood educators can use this pattern to help set up their classroom for new students, to help move them through the stages. Nonsocial Play: It may seem counterintuitive, but the first type of play that many preschool students engage in is “nonsocial”, which just means that children play at the same time and perhaps even in the same area, but their play is self-centered. Even in a group of 4-5 children, you may see each child playing with an individual toy, talking to themselves and not one another, and following an internal plan for the play that is not shared with or dependent on what any of the other children are doing. Parallel Play: As preschoolers become more accustomed to the group setting of the classroom, their play begins to be more social as well. Parallel play describes activities that children participate in while physically near each other and often using the same toys, but the intention is still mostly internal, and the social aspect occurs only in an effort to share (or not share) space and objects. For example, two children may be playing in a block center with the same set of blocks, but each is building a separate structure that is not a shared project. This sort of play is an important first step in helping children understand how to share resources (toys and space) and to become aware of other children in their environment. This period of parallel play can be challenging for children who have limited experience with same-age peers because they may not be used to having to negotiate sharing toys with other children who also don’t know how to navigate this new social world! Associative Play: As preschool children get better at parallel play, they will gradually start to incorporate one another into games and activities. This might start out as joining their two block towers or sharing crayons during an art project. The intention of the play may not yet be shared since each child likely has his or her own ideas about what the purpose of the game is; however, they are working together more overtly and are probably speaking to one another to figure out next steps (Gordon & Brown, 2017. This language is likely to be directive “Give me that.” as opposed to negotiating phrases such as “should we use that block?”) Cooperative Play: Finally, as preschool children settle into the rhythm of group play and social interactions, they become more comfortable and able to talk to peers. They develop more cognitive awareness of their own intentions, and play becomes cooperative. At this stage, children are playing together intentionally, sharing objects and purpose for games and activities. They may be making up games with shared rules or planning projects together. Now the block building is a joint effort to make the tallest tower, with language being used to negotiate how that will be done. Games have rules, although those may be questioned and changed repeatedly as play goes on! Television, Prosocial Behavior and Aggression: Watching too much television can cause aggression. Children who watch less television are more likely to engage in prosocial behavior, develop higher level cognitive skills and experience greater achievement (Gordon & Brown, 2017; Shaffer, 2000). Media Attributions Stages of Moral Development © Doris Buckley via. the ROTEL Project is licensed under a CC BY-NC-SA (Attribution NonCommercial ShareAlike) license 150 | Social and Emotional Development in Preschool