Chapter 4: Middle Childhood

1. Chapter 4: Middle Childhood Module 4.1 Physical Development inMiddle Childhood

2. PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT IN MIDDLE CHILDHOOD

3. Slow but steady… Height changes Weight changes Only time in lifespan when on average girls taller than boys Variation in heights up to 6 inches not unusual See How We Grow! 200

4. Cultural Patterns of Growth • Sufficient or insufficient nutrition • Disease • Genetic inheritance • Familial stress 200

5. Should hormones be used to make short children grow?

6. Benefits of Adequate Nutrition Relationship to social and emotional functioning • More peer involvement • More positive emotions • Less anxiety • More eagerness to explore new environments • More persistent in frustrating situations • Generally higher energy levels 201

7. What would Ugly Betty’s life be like in a real elementary school?

8. Obesity • Most common causes: • Genetic factors • Lack of physical activity • Unhealthy eating patterns • Combination of these factors • Only in rare cases is being overweight caused by a medical condition such as a hormonal problem 202

9. Costs of Childhood Obesity Obese children • More likely to be overweight as adults • Greater risk of heart disease, diabetes, and other diseases 202

10. The other side of “fat” • Even very young children are aware of society's fixation on thinness • Lowered self-esteem has been associated with being overweight in girls as young as 5 • Attitude was closely correlated with parents' perceptions 202

11. Review and Apply REVIEW • In middle childhood, height and weight increase gradually. • Differences in height and weight are influenced by both genetic and social factors. • Adequate nutrition promotes physical, and cognitive development, while overnutrition and a sedentary lifestyle may lead to obesity. 203

12. Review and Apply APPLY • What are some aspects of U.S. culture that may contribute to obesity among school-age children? 203

13. MOTOR DEVELOPMENT

14. Gross Motor Development • Improved muscle coordination 204

15. Do boys and girls differ in motor skills? • Gender differences in gross motor skills became increasingly pronounced during middle childhood, • Boys outperform girls • Little or no difference when equal participation in exercise/activities • Influenced by societal expectations 204

16. Fine Motor Development • Necessary for wide range of school-related tasks • Influenced by increase in amount of myelin speeds up electrical impulses between neurons 205

17. Health and School-agers • Middle childhood is period of robust health • Routine immunizations have produced considerably lower incidence of life-threatening illnesses • More than 90 percent of children in middle childhood have at least one serious medical condition but most are short term illnesses 205

18. Other Health Risks • Accidents • Motor vehicles • Bikes • Fires and burns • Drowning • Gun-related deaths • Reduced by use of seatbelts and helmets 205

19. Safety in Cyberspace • Newest threat to the safety of school-age children comes from Internet and the World Wide Web • Parent and Caregiver Resources: • The Serious Risks of Cyberspace • Child Safety on the Information HighwayRisks Online • Safety Net for the Internet: A Parent's Guide 205

20. PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS

21. Identifying the Problem • Psychological disorders in children overlooked for years • Incidence • Symptoms inconsistent from those of adults • Antidepressant drugs used for treatment have never been approved by governmental regulators for use with children 206

22. FOR Depression and other psychological disorders treated successfully using drug More traditional nondrug therapies that largely employ verbal methods simply are ineffective AGAINST Long-term effectiveness of antidepressants with children not known Use of antidepressants on developing brains and long-term consequences more generally not known Correct dosages for children of given ages or sizes no known Drugs As Treatment 206

23. Depression • Key defining features of major depressive disorder in children and adolescents are same as they are for adults • Way symptoms are expressed varies with developmental stage of child 206

24. Review and Apply REVIEW • Gross motor skills continue to improve during the school years. • Muscular coordination and manipulative skills advance to near-adult levels. • Threats to safety include accidents, a result of increased independence and mobility, and unsupervised access to cyberspace. 207

25. Review and Apply APPLY • How would you design an experiment to examine the roots of gender differences in gross motor skills? What impediments would you encounter in doing so? 207

26. Children with Special Needs • Visual impairments • Auditory impairments • Speech impairments • Learning disabilities 207

27. Do you see what I see? • Difficulties in seeing • Blindness (20/200 after correction) • Partial sightedness (20/70 after correction) 208

28. Say what? • Loss of hearing or some aspect of hearing • Affects 2 percent of school-age children • Varies across number of dimensions 208

29. Children who do not hear • Children with speech-language impairment have an impairment of their speech and/or language structures and functions • Parts of the body used in speaking and understanding - the brain, nerves, mouth and throat - may be damaged or not developing or working properly • Level of speech-language impairment can range from mild to severe • Impairment may be obvious before school or not show itself until the child has difficulty learning at school 208

30. I am talking to YOU! Definition • Impairment of speech articulation, voice, fluency, or the impairment or deviant development of language comprehension and/or expression • Impairment of use of spoken or other symbol system that adversely affects educational performance 208

31. Stuttering • Substantial disruption in rhythm and fluency of speech • Most common speech impairment; 20 percent of all children go through stage • No clear-cut answers to the causes of stuttering 208

32. Learning Disabilities Discrepancies Between Achievement and Capacity to Learn • Difficulties in acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematical abilities • 2.8 million children in US • Dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia • ADD/ADHD 209

33. The Basic Definition in Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) • “Learning disability” = umbrella term • IN GENERAL: • disorder is found in one or more of basic psychological processes involved in understanding or using language, spoken or written • disorder may manifest itself in imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations 209

34. Developmental Reading Disability • Dyslexia affects 2 to 8 percent of elementary school children • Reading difficulties • Inability to separate sounds in words • Problems sounding out words 209

35. Developmental Writing Disabilities • Writing involves several brain areas and functions (dysgraphia) • Brain networks for vocabulary, grammar, hand movement, and memory must all be in good working order • Developmental writing disorder may result from problems in any of these areas 209

36. Developmental Arithmetic Disability • Arithmetic involves recognizing numbers and symbols, memorizing facts, aligning numbers, and understanding abstract concepts like place value and fractions • Any of these may be difficult for children with developmental arithmetic disorders, also called dyscalculia 209

37. What are the most common signs of ADHD? • Persistent difficulty in finishing tasks, following instructions, and organizing work • Inability to watch an entire television program • Frequent interruption of others or excessive talking • Tendency to jump into a task before hearing all the instructions. • Difficulty in waiting or remaining seated • Fidgeting, squirming 209

38. Diagnostic Criteria Behaviors must: • Be excessive, long-term, and pervasive • Appear before age 7, and continue for at least 6 months • Create a real handicap in at least two areas of a person's life, such as school, home, work, or social settings • Different than "normal" distractibility or overstressed lifestyle prevalent in our society 209

39. ADHD Treatment Controversy • Ritalin or Dexadrine reduce activity levels in hyperactive children and are routinely prescribe • Effective in increasing attention span and compliance BUT side effects considerable and long-term health consequences unclear • Help scholastic performance in short run BUT long-term evidence for continuing improvement is mixed 210

40. Are there other treatments for ADD/ADHD? • Behavioral therapy • Diet 210

41. Informed Consumer of Development Keeping Children Fit • Make exercise fun. Gear activities to the child’s physical level and motor skills. • Be an exercise role model. • Encourage the child to find a partner. Start slowly. • Urge participation in organized sports activities, but do not push too hard. • Don’t make physical activity, such as jumping jacks or push-ups, a punishment for unwanted behavior. • Provide a healthy diet. 210

42. Review and Apply REVIEW • Many school-age children have special needs, relating to vision, hearing, and speech that can impact their social relationships and school performance. • Learning disabilities include difficulties in acquiring and using language, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematical abilities. • Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder poses attention, organization, and activity problems for 3% to 5% of school-age children. 211

43. Review and Apply APPLY • If hearing is associated with abstract thinking, how do people who were born deaf think? 211