Chapter 8: Early Childhood- Biosocial Development Flashcards
Myelination
Myelin is a fatty coating on the axons that speeds signals between neurons.
Impulse Control
Ability to postpone of deny the immediate response to an idea or behavior.
Perseveration
Stick to one thought or action for a long time.
Injury Control/Harm Reduction
Practices to prevent dangerous activities. Accidents are not random and injuries can be less harmful if proper controls are in place.
Child Maltreatment
Intentional harm to anyone under 18 years old.
Child Abuse
Deliberate action that impairs a child’s physical, emotional, and sexual well-being.
Child Neglect
Failure to meet child’s basic physical, emotional, or educational needs.
Substantiated Maltreatment
Harm that has been reported.
Reported Maltreatment
Harm about which someone has notified authorities.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Disorder happening after a shocking or frightening event, like rape or severe beating. May include flashbacks, sleeplessness, and many other after maths.
Foster Care
Children are taken from biological parents and entrusted to another family. Needs are reimbursed to parents for children.
Kinship Care
Form of foster care in which a relative of maltreated child, becomes caregiver.
Adoption
Adult or couple is granted joys of being a child’s parents.
Permanency Planning
Finding a long term living place for children that are maltreated. Goal is to avoid repeated harm to child.
Growth Patterns
- Children become slimmer as lower body lengthens.
- Well-nourished children each year grow 3 inches and gain 4 1/2 pounds.
- Center of gravity from breast bone to belly button.
Nutrition (Obesity)
- Children need much less calories than infants to reject obesity. Obesity more of a problem in U.S. than malnutrition.
- Lower-income families more vulnerable to obesity, causing heart disease and diabetes.
Nutritional Deficiencies
- Most children in developed nations consume over the limit calories, sometimes by customs (calcium).
- About 3-8% of children are allergic to a food, mainly healthy ones.
Healthy Eating
- Children will eat whatever their community presents.
- This makes life-long tastes affecting their health.
Oral Health
- Tooth decay affecting 1/3 of U.S. children by too much sugar and little fiber.
- This effects formation of teeth, jaw, and speech.
Size of Brain
Age 2: 75% of weight at adulthood is in the child already, and sprouting and pruning of dendrites has already happened.
Age 6: brain reaches 90% of adult weight.
Speed of Thought
- Faster thinking due to extensive myelination.
- Increase in myelination involves speed of thinking for age.
- Lifelong process, and a decrease in myelination in adults.
Hemispheres
2 Parts: Corpus Callosum, and Lateralization.
Corpus Callosum
Nerves connecting left and right hemispheres of brain. Allows communication between both hemispheres.
Lateralization
Certain functions in each side of the brain, one side is usually dominant. Left side controls right side, vice versa.
Both Sides of Brain
Left Side: verbal skills, math, and details.
Right Side: spatial ability, music, and creativity.
Impulse Control
Poor Impulse Control: task to task, need adult supervision, and cannot stay quiet.
Perseveration: opposite of poor impulse control, children are stuck on one thought.
Limbic System
- Amygdala
- Hippocampus
- Hypothalamus
Amygdala
Deals with emotions, like fear and anxiety.
Hippocampus
Central processor of memory.
Hypothalamus
Responding to amygdala and hippocampus sending hormones throughout the body.
Exposure to Stress
Harm: permanent learning and memory deficits, also depression and ADHD.
Helps: cognitive and memory growth in adults, anxiety and arousal are motivators.
Improved Motor Skills
- Motor skills improve by muscle growth, brain maturation, and guided practice.
- They learn to ride bikes and kick balls by age 6.
Artistic Expression
- Children are natural artists with creativity.
- These skills improve with practice and maturation.
Injuries and Abuse: Accidents
- All parents want to protect their children and foster their growth.
- Some children die from uncommon cases.
- 2 to 6 year olds more common from this.
Avoidable Injuries
Fire, drowning, poison, motor vehicle deaths, and falls are common injuries. Things are much safer today than years ago.
Levels of Injury Prevention
- Primary Prevention
- Secondary Prevention
- Tertiary Prevention
Primary Prevention
Actions changing background conditions preventing an unwanted event. Like air bags in vehicles.
Secondary Prevention
Actions averting harm in a high risk situation. Like requiring children to travel in car seats.
Tertiary Prevention
Actions taken after an event occurs usually to prevent further harm. Like immediate access to a trauma center.
Consequences of Maltreatment
- Children are mistreated and neglected. This usually brings many social deficits.
- Effects are devastating and may carry into adulthood.
Preventing Child Maltreatment
Primary: Macrosystem and Exosystem
Secondary: Focus on identifying and intervening
Tertiary: Focus on limiting harm after maltreatment.
