Chapter 5 Flashcards
Growth Patterns
Early Childhood: Body Changes
o Weight and height increases and the relationship between these measurements changes o Average body mass index (BMI) is lower than at any other time of life o Children become slimmer as the lower body lengthens. o Center of gravity moves from the breastbone down to the belly button
Nutrition
Early Childhood: Body Changes
• Obesity is a more frequent problem than malnutrition
• In low-income family cultures, parents tend to guard against undernutrition and rely on fast foods, so their children are especially
vulnerable to obesity
• Overfeeding is causing an epidemic of illnesses associated with obesity,
such as heart disease and diabetes
Nutritional deficiencies (Early Childhood: Body Changes)
• Children who eat more vegetables and fewer fried foods usually gain bone
mass but not fat
• Young children are compulsive about daily routine
– Toddlers need to be fed a variety of healthy foods before the child refuses anything new
Food allergies
Early Childhood: Body Changes
• About 8 percent of all young children have a food allergy, usually to a healthy, common food
• Cow’s milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, wheat, and shellfish are frequent
culprits
Oral health
Early Childhood: Body Changes
• Teeth are affected by diet and illness. • Tooth decay correlates with obesity – Too much sugar, too little fiber, sweetened beverages • Poor oral health in early childhood is detrimental to permanent tooth development. – Jaw malformation, chewing difficulties, speech problems
Cerebral cortex
Brain Development
Outer layers
Ultimate control and information-processing center
Prefrontal cortex
Brain Development
Outer layers
Performs brain’s “executive functions,” e.g. planning, selecting, and coordinating thoughts
Thalamus
Brain Development
Relays messages between lower brain centers and cerebral cortex
Spinal cord
Brain Development
Pathway for neural fibers traveling to and from brain; controls simple reflexes
Brain complexity
Brain Development
Neuroscientists have named and studied literally hundreds of parts of the brain, all of which are connected to other parts.
Limbic system
Brain Development
Parts of the brain that are crucial in the expression and regulation of EMOTIONS – Amygdala – Hippocampus – Hypothalamus
Amygdala
Brain Development
Tiny brain structure that registers emotions, particularly FEAR and ANXIETY
Neural centers in the limbic system linked to emotion
Hippocampus
Brain Development
Brain structure that is a central processor of MEMORY, especially memory for locations.
A structure in the limbic system linked to memory
Hypothalamus
Brain Development
Brain area that responds to the amygdala and the hippocampus to produce HORMONES that activate other parts of the brain and body
Controls maintenance functions such as eating; helps govern endocrine system; linked to emotion and rewards
Corpus callosum
Connected Hemisphere of the Brain
Axon fibers connecting two cerebral hemispheres
• Is part of the brain that grows and myelinates rapidly during early childhood.
• Consists of a band of nerve fibers that connects the left and right sides of the brain.
• Facilitates communication between the two brain hemispheres.
Lateralization
Connected Hemisphere of the Brain
- Begins with genes.
* Refers to the specialization in certain functions by each side of the brain, with one side dominant for each activity.
From ages 2 to 6, maturation of the prefrontal cortex has several notable benefits, e.g.
(Brain Development)
- Sleep becomes more regular.
- Emotions become more nuanced and responsive.
- Temper tantrums decrease or subside.
- Uncontrollable laughter and tears are less common.
Size at 2yrs vs 6yrs
• By age 2, a child’s brain weighs 75% of what it will in
adulthood.
• The brain reaches 90 percent of adult weight by age 6.
Speed of thought
Brain Development: Speed and Preservation
The primary reason for faster thinking is new and extensive myelination.
• By age 6, most children can see and immediately name an object—precursor of reading ability.
Myelin
Brain Development: Speed and Preservation
a fatty coating on the axons that speeds signals between neurons.
Maturation of the prefrontal cortex
Brain Development: Speed and Preservation
- Gradually enables children to focus attention and curb impulsiveness.
- Before such maturation, many young children jump from task to task; they cannot stay quiet.
Perseveration
Brain Development: Speed and Preservation
In a phenomenon called perseveration, some children persevere in, or stick to, one thought or action, unable to quit.
Left vs right brain
The Whole Brain
- Left-right distinction exaggerated
- No one exclusively left- or right-brained
- Both sides of brain usually involved in every skill
Plasticity and trauma
The Whole Brain
- In early years, the plasticity of the brain allows a lost function in one hemisphere to be replaced in the other half.
- Brain trauma and disease
Left-handedness
The Left-Handed Child
- Shown in some newborns
- Discouraged in many cultures – Difference-equals-deficit error
- Not accommodated in many contexts
- Now more accepted than a century ago
ADHD
Children with ADHD
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
• Imbalance between the left and right sides of the
prefrontal cortex and abnormal growth of the
corpus callosum seem to underlie ADHD.
• Children with ADHD are too impulsive for their age.
Piaget: Preoperational Thought (stage 2)
Thinking During Early Childhood
• Piaget’s theory of cognitive development
– Occurs from 4-7
– The child begins to go beyond recognizing and is able to use words and images to refer to objects.
• The child’s verbal ability permits symbolic thinking.
• Language frees the child from the limits of sensorimotor experience.
Centration
Thinking During Early Childhood: Obstacles to logic
Characteristic of preoperational thought, whereby a young child focuses (centers) on one idea, excluding all others
Egocentrism
Thinking During Early Childhood: Obstacles to logic
Young children’s tendency to think about the world
entirely from their own personal perspective
Focus on appearance
Thinking During Early Childhood: Obstacles to logic
Characteristic of preoperational thought, whereby a young child ignores all attributes that are not apparent
Static reasoning
Thinking During Early Childhood: Obstacles to logic
Characteristic of preoperational thought, whereby a young child thinks that nothing changes; whatever is now has always been and always will be.
Irreversibility
Thinking During Early Childhood: Obstacles to logic
Characteristic of preoperational thought, whereby a young child thinks that nothing can be undone; a thing cannot be restored to the way it was before a change occurred.
Conservation
Thinking During Early Childhood
Principle stating that the amount of a substance remains the same (i.e., is conserved) when its appearance changes
Overimitation
Thinking During Early Childhood
When a person imitates an action unnecessarily that are irrelevant and inefficient.
• Common among 2- to 6-year-olds who will imitate adult actions that are irrelevant and inefficient
• Tendency of children to copy an action that is not a relevant part of the behavior to be learned
Zone of proximal development (ZPD)
Vygotsky – Thinking During Early Childhood
Vygotsky’s term for the skills that a person can exercise only with assistance, not yet independently
Scaffolding
Vygotsky – Thinking During Early Childhood
Temporary support that is tailored to a learner’s needs and abilities and aimed at helping the learner master the next task in a given learning process
Lev Vygotsky: Social learning
Vygotsky – Thinking During Early Childhood
Every aspect of children’s cognitive development is embedded in the social context.
Mentors
Vygotsky – Thinking During Early Childhood
- Present challenges
- Provide guidance as knowledgeable sources.
- Offer assistance (without taking over).
- Add crucial information.
- Encourage motivation.
Theory-theory
Thinking During Early Childhood
a scientific theory relating to the human development of understanding about the outside world.
– Children attempt to explain everything they see and
hear.
– Children develop theories about intentions before
they employ their impressive ability to imitate.
Theory of mind
Brain and Context
A person’s theory of what other people might be
thinking. Children gradually realize that other people
do not always know and think what they themselves
do.
– Emergent ability, slow to develop but typically beginning in most children at about age 4
– Can be seen when young children try to escape
punishment by lying
Executive function (Brain and Context)
The cognitive ability to organize and prioritize the many thoughts that arise from the various parts of the brain, allowing the person to anticipate, strategize, and plan behavior
• Executive functions lead to better understanding of false
belief
• Child’s ability to develop theories correlates with the
maturity of the prefrontal cortex and with advances in
executive processing.
• Context, experience, and culture are relevant
Executive function (Brain and Context)
SMTHNNGN
Vocabulary
Language
• Brain maturation, myelination, scaffolding, and social interaction make
early childhood ideal for learning language.
• Early childhood is a sensitive period (or best time) to master vocabulary,
grammar, and pronunciation.
• The average child knows about 500 words at age 2 and more than 10,000
at age 6.
Vocabulary explosion
Language
Becomes more general
• Verbs, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, and many nouns mastered
Fast-mapping
Language
Speedy and sometimes imprecise way in which children learn new words by tentatively placing them in mental categories according to their perceived meaning
Grammar of a language
Language: Grammar
Structures, techniques, and rules that communicate meaning
Overregularization
Language: Grammar
Applying rules of grammar even when exceptions occur, making the language seem more “regular” than it actually is.
– E.G., comed instead of came
Pragmatic
Language: Grammar
– Practical use of language, adjusting communication to audience and context
– Difficult aspect of language
Learning two languages
Language
Language-minority children
– Often have lower school achievement, diminished
self-esteem, and inadequate employment
Two positions
Learning Two Languages
– Children who are taught two languages risk becoming
semilingual, with delayed, incomplete, and possibly
impaired development
– There is little evidence that learning two languages
confuses children.
• In the U.S., 15 percent of young children who enter school speak language other than English.
• Achievement related to being bilingual before age 6.
Language shifts
Language: Losses and Gains
Becoming more fluent in the school language than in their home language
Balanced bilingual
Language: Losses and Gains
Being fluent in two languages, not favoring one over the other
– Occurs if adults talk frequently, listen carefully, and value both languages
Homes and schools
Early Childhood Education
• Quality matters.
• If the home educational environment is poor, a good
preschool program aids health, cognition, and social
skills.
• If a family provides extensive learning opportunities and encouragement, the quality of the preschool is less crucial.
Child-centered or developmental programs
Early Childhood Education
- Emphasize children’s natural inclination to learn through play rather than by following adult directions.
- Encourage self-paced exploration and artistic expression.
- Show the influence of Vygotsky, who thought that children learn through play with other children with adult guidance.
Examples of child-centered programs: Montessori schools
Early Childhood Education
Emphasize individual pride and accomplishment, presenting literacy-related tasks.
Examples of child-centered programs: Reggio Emilia approach
Early Childhood Education
A famous Italian early childhood education program that encourages each child’s creativity in a carefully designed setting.
Teacher-directed programs
Early Childhood Education
- Stress academic subjects taught by a teacher to an entire class.
- Help children learn letters, numbers, shapes, and colors, as well as how to listen to the teacher and sit quietly.
- Make a clear distinction between work and play.
- Are much less expensive, since the child/adult ratio can be higher.
Preparing for life: Project Head Start
Early Childhood Education
• Most widespread early-childhood education
program in the United States
• Begun in 1965 and funded by the federal government
• Initially, the program was thought to be highly successful at raising children’s intelligence; ten years later, early gains were found to fade.
