Child growth and development

• Growth is an increase in physical size or a quantitative change, measured in pounds or kilograms.
• Development indicates an increase in skill or ability to function, measured by observing a child’s ability to perform specific tasks.
• Growth and development proceed in an orderly sequence, with growth in height occurring in only one sequence from smaller to larger.
• Development also proceeds in a predictable order, with the majority of children sitting before they creep, creeping before they stand, standing before they walk, and walking before they run.
• Coping with stress involves helping parents deal with stress by being aware of stress and identifying the source.
• Speech problems, such as stuttering, are a common problem in preschoolers.
• Pretend play is a stage in children's play where they engage in a mutual activity, but not working toward a common goal.
• Aggression is a behavior that attempts to hurt a person or destroy property.
• Modelling is the process of initiating the behavior of significant others.
• Frustration is the continuous thwarting of self satisfaction by parents disapproval.
• Factors influencing growth and development include genetics, gender, health, intelligence, temperament, environment, and nutrition.
• A theory is a systematic statement of principles that provides a framework for explaining some phenomenon.
• Developmental theories provide road maps for explaining human development.
• Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory is a developmental theory.
• Infants double their birth weight by 6 months of age, triple by 1 year, and during the first 6 months, average weight gain is 2 lb/month.
• Increases in height during the first year by 50%, growing from average birth length of 20 in to about 30 in (50.8 to 76.2 cm).
• Infant growth is most apparent in the trunk during the early months, and by the end of the first year, the child’s legs may still appear disproportionately short.
• Head circumference increases rapidly during the infant period to reflect that rapid brain growth, and some appear asymmetric from always being placed in one sleeping position.
• According to Erickson’s theory, the phase of vigorous and intense behavior and strong imagination is characterized by children exploring the physical world with all their senses and power, sometimes undertaking goals or activities that are in conflict with those of parents or others, and the lasting outcome is directions and power.
• Time out chair is 1 minute per year of age.
• Children generally have all 20 of their deciduous teeth by 3 years of age, and preserving these teeth is important as they hold the position for the permanent teeth as the child’s jaw grows larger.
• Discipline means setting rules or road signs so children know what is expected of them, and punishment is a consequence that results from a breakdown in discipline, from the child’s disregard of the rules that were learned.
• Ritualistic behavior in toddlers includes using only "their" spoon at mealtime and "their" washcloth at bath time, and refusing to go outside unless they locate their favorite cap.
• Average weight gain is about 4.5 lb (2 kg) a year, and height gain is also minimal: only 2 to 3.5 inches a year on average.
• Psychosexual development involves realizing that there are categories of objects, learning sex differences and sexually appropriate behavior, and there are two complexes in this stage: Oedipal complex and Electra complex.
• Gross and fine motor behaviour milestones include walking, running, climbing, refinement in eye-hand and muscle co-ordination by 36 months, riding a tricycle, walking on tiptoe, balancing on one foot for few seconds, and broad jumping by 3 years, skipping and hopping one foot, catching a ball reliably by 4 years, skipping on alternate feet, jumping rope, and beginning to skate and swim by 5 years.
• Negativism is a part of toddlers' identities as separate individuals, and they typically go through a period of extreme negativism, refusing to do anything a parent wants them to do and replying to every request with a very definite "no".
• Psychosocial development: Beginning development of sense of initiative (3-5 years), negative counterpart: guilt, egocentric in thought & behavior, alternates between reality and imagination, able to share but express idea of “mine”, less dependent on parents but needs reassurance & help, tolerates short separations from parents, significant decrease in ritualism & negativism, fears the dark, may have dream & nightmares, knows own sex.
• By the end of the first year, heart rate slows from 120 to 160 BPM, respiratory rate slows from 30 to 60 CPM, and liver remains immature, possibly causing inadequate conjugation of and inefficient formation of carbohydrate, protein, and vitamins for storage.
• By the end of the first year, kidneys remain immature and unable to concentrate urine, prone to dehydration.
• The loss of extrusion reflex when anything is placed on the anterior third of a newborn’s tongue, it is automatically extruded or thrust out of the mouth by the tongue, is a life-saving reflex because it prevents infants from swallowing or aspirating foreign objects that touch the mouth, and fades at 3 to 4 months.
• Bathing infants regularly, applying Desitin ointment to the diaper area, and changing diapers frequently are recommended for optimal infant care.
• Language development in 5 years involves a vocabulary of 2100 words, following commands in success, describing a drawing or picture, and knowing names of weeks, months and other associated words.
• Cognitive development in 3 years is a pre conceptual stage where the child is egocentric in thoughts and behavior, has a good orientation to time, place and person, talks about past and future and pretends to tell time, and has improved concept of space.
• Development of body image in 4 years involves recognizing that individuals have undesirable and desirable behavior, recognizing differences in skin color, and being conscious of being large or short.
• The boy wants to control his mother exclusively and he wants to free his self of his father to enable him to do so.
• The little boy sets out to resolve this problem by imitating, copying and joining in masculine(male sex behavior) dad-type behaviors.
• Moral development in 4 years involves understanding that punishment and obedience can judge whether an action is good or bad, and actions are directed towards satisfying their needs.
• This leads to the development of penis envy(the suppose wish of girl to have penis) and the wish to be a boy.
• The girl then represses her feelings (to remove the tension) and identifies with the mother to take on the female gender role.