Chapter 11 - Physical development, middle childhood Flashcards
Height and weight
- @ age 6, average N American child weighs 45 lbs and is 3.5 ft tall
- over next few years, 2-3” per year in height and 5 lbs in weight are added each year
Secular trends in physical growth
Changes in body size from one generation to the next - occurs in industrialized nations over past 150 years. Suggests that the larger size of children today is due to a faster rate of physical development
Malocclusion
Condition in which the upper and lower teeth do not met properly
Brain development
- Weight of brain increases only by 10% during middle childhood
- Significant growth of white matter (myelinated nerve fibers) and grey matter (neurons and supportive material)
Obesity
a greater than 20% increase over healthy weight, based on body mass index (BMI) , a ratio of weight to height associated with body fat. A BMI above the 85th percentile for a child’s age and sex is considered overweight, a BMI above the 95th percentile is obese.
Factors that contribute to childhood obesity
- heredity
- socioeconomic status
- early growth patterns
- family eating habits
- responsiveness to food cues
- physical activity
- television viewing
- early malnutrition
Nocturnal enuresis
Bedwetting during the night. Affects more boys than girls, with heredity being a major contributing factor.
Gross motor achievements between ages 6 and 12
- Flexibility
- Balance
- Agility
- Force
Rough-and-tumble play
Friendly chasing and play-fighting in childhood. Seems to originate in parents (esp fathers) physical play with their children. Resembles the social behavior of many other mammals.
Dominance hierarchy
A stable ordering of group members that predicts who will win when conflict arises.