Pre-schooler

• Preschooler


  1. 5 years old
• Physical growth


  • Slows
• Control of the body and coordination

  • Increase greatly
• Worlds


  • Get larger as they meet relatives, friends, and neighbors
• Physical Development


  1. Grow more in height than in weight

  2. Appear taller and thinner than toddlers

  3. Posture gradually becomes more erect as the pelvis is straightened and the abdominal muscles become stronger

  4. Extremities of the body grow more quickly than the body trunk, making the child's body appears out of proportion

  5. Brain almost reaches its adult size by 5 years
• Height


  • Grow about 5 to 6.25 cm (2.0 to 2.5 in.) each year
  • By 4 years old - doubled their birth length to about 102 cm (41 in.)
• Weight


  • Weight gain is slow
  • By 5 years old - 3 to 5 kg (7 to 12 lb) added to their 3-year-old weight
  • Approximately between 18 and 20 kg (40 and 45 lb)
• Vision


  • Generally hyperopic (farsighted), that is, unable to focus on near objects
  • Emmetropic (it refracts light normally)
  • Myopic (nearsighted), unable to focus on objects that are far away
  • Normal vision for the 5-year-old is approximately 20/30
• Hearing


  Reached optimal levels, and the ability to listen (attend to and comprehend what is said)
• Taste


  • Show preferences by saying "yummy," "yucky-shows refusal"
  • By 3 years old, display food "jags," refusing to eat some foods or only eating a few particular foods
• Motor Abilities


  1. Able to wash hands, face and brush their teeth

  2. Shows self-conscious about exposing their bodies and go to the bathroom without telling others

  3. Run skillfully and can jump three step

  4. Balance on their toes, dress themselves without assistance
• Psychosocial Development (Erik Erikson)


  • Initiative vs. guilt
  • Solve problems in accordance with consciences
  • Self-concept is viewed as determinant of success
  • Must learn what they can do
  • Imitate behavior, and their imaginations and creativity become lively
• To enhance self-concept


  • Provide opportunities for new achievements where the child can learn, repeat, and master
  • Example: offer a two-wheel bike with safety wheels. Mastery of these tasks provides the child with a sense of accomplishment
• Self-concept


  • Also based on gender identification (aware of the two sexes/gender)
  • Often imitate sexual stereotypes and begin identifying with the parent of the same sex
  • Mimic the parent's behavior, attitudes, and appearance
• Curiosity


  • Curious about their own bodies and sexual functions, as well as those of others, and will often ask questions
  • Answer questions calmly and frankly, using words and concepts the child understands. When parents overreact to a child's question, refuse to answer, or punish or shame the child, the child can become confused
• Psychosexual Development (Sigmund Freud)

  • Phallic stage
  • Organ focus is the genital area, and masturbation is common
  • Girls have penis envy
  • Electra or Oedipus complex-child focuses feelings of love chiefly on the parent of the opposite sex, and the parent of the same sex may receive some hostile feelings
• Adaptive Mechanisms


  • Identification
  • Introjection
  • Imagination
  • Repression
• Identification


  Perceives the self as similar to another person and behaves like that person
• Introjection


  Similar to identification. It is the assimilation of the attributes of others into oneself
• Imagination


  • Is forming a mental image of something not present to the senses or never before experienced and is an important part of preschoolers' lives
  • It make sense of the world and gives them a sense of control and mastery
  • Fantasizes in play ex: a chair becomes a beautiful throne to a girl, and she is the ruler of all she sees
• Repression


  Is the removal of experiences, thoughts, and impulses from awareness
• Social Relationships


  • Learn to play with a small number of their peers
  • Gradually learn to play with more people as they grow older
  • Participate more in the with neighbors, family guests, and babysitters, too
• Dogmatic


  Tend to believe that what they know is right
• Language Development


  • Four-year-olds love nonsense words such as "jump-jump" and can string them together much to an adult's exasperation
  • By 4 years old aggressive in their speech and capable of long conversations, mixing fact and fiction
  • By 5 years of age, speaking skills are well developed
• Drawing


  Draw a person including all the features
• Exaggeration


  Common among 4- and 5-year-olds
• Curiosity


  Play with their bodies largely out of curiosity
• Emotional Development


  • Learn about feelings know the words cry, sad, laugh, and the feelings
  • In response to stress protest behavior (kicking, screaming) is less likely to occur but usually have greater ability to verbalize stress
• Need for Love and Belonging


  • They need to feel that they are loved and are an important part of the family
  • Jealousy with siblings are common
• Adjustment to New Baby

  May need additional attention or special activities to help them through this adjustment period
• Sibling Rivalry


  Siblings may fight and argue and become aggressive due to competition for parental attention
• Spiritual Development (Fowler)


  • Intuitive-projective stage
  • Faith is a result of the teaching of significant others, such as parents and teachers
  • Learn to imitate religious behavior, for example, bowing the head in prayer, although they don't understand the meaning of the behavior
  • Require simple explanations, such as those in picture books, of spiritual matters
  • Use imaginations to envision such ideas as angels or the devil
  • Enroll in Sunday school or faith-oriented classes enjoys the social interaction of these classes
• Cognitive Development (John Piaget)

  • Phase of intuitive thought
  • Egocentric, but egocentrism gradually subsides as they experience their expanding world
  • Learn through trial and error, observation, imitation, and practice in play and make-believe
  • Think of only one idea at a time, not fully understand relationships between mother and father or sister and brother
  • Concerned about death as something inevitable, but they do not explain it
  • Reading and mathematical skills (e.g., recognizing and naming letters and numbers, counting, and "reading" age-appropriate books) begin to develop at this age
  • Like fairy tales and books about animals and other children
• Moral Development


  • Capable of prosocial behavior-any action that a person takes to benefit someone else like sharing, helping, protecting, giving aid, befriending, showing affection, and giving encouragement
  • Preschoolers do not have a fully formed conscience; however, they do develop some internal controls
  • Largely learned by modeling, initially of parents and later significant others
  • Usually behaves well in social settings
  • Perceive their parents as strict may become resentful or overly obedient
  • Usually control their behavior because they want love and approval from their parents
  • Moral behavior to a preschooler may mean taking turns at play or sharing
• Health Risks


  • Health problems similar to those they had in the toddler years. Respiratory tract problems and communicable diseases frequently occur as the preschooler interacts with other children at nursery schools and day care
  • Accidents and dental caries continue to be problems
  • Congenital abnormalities such as cardiac disorders and hernias are often corrected at this age
• Health Assessment and Promotion

  • MMDST-Metro Manila Developmental Screening Test is a screening test to note for normalcy of the child's development and to determine any delays as well in children 6 ½ years old and below
  • MMDST KIT- Preparation for test administration involves the nurse ensuring the completeness of the test materials contained in the MMDST Kit
• MMDST Kit Contents


  • MMDST manual
  • Test Form
  • Bright red yarn pom-pom
  • Rattle with narrow handle
  • Eight 1-inch colored wooden blocks (red, yellow, blue green)
  • Small clear glass/bottle with 5/8 inch opening
  • Small bell with 2 ½ inch-diameter mouth
  • Rubber ball 12 ½ inches in circumference
  • Cheese curls
  • Pencil
• Purposes of MMDST


  • Measures developmental delays
  • Evaluates 4 aspects of development
• Aspects of Development


  • Personal-Social
  • Fine-Motor Adaptive
  • Language
  • Gross-Motor
• Scoring


  • The test items are scored as either Passed (P), Failed (F), Refused (R), or Nor Opportunity (NO)
  • Failure of an item that is completely to the left of the child's age is considered a developmental delay
  • Failure of an item that is completely to the right of the child's age line is acceptable and not a delay