Physical Development

1
Physical Development

• Early Childhood

2
BODY GROWTH

• 2 to 3 inches (6-7cm) in height and about 5
  pounds (2-3kg) in weight are added each year.
• Children become thinner.
• Children lose primary teeth by preschool years.

3
Asynchronies in Physical Growth

• General growth curve
• Rapid growth during infancy
• Slower middle childhood
• Rapid during adolescence
• Exceptions Reproductive and lymph systems

4
BRAIN DEVELOPMENT

• The brain increases to 90 percent of adult weight
  between 2 and 6 years.
• Increase in synaptic connections
• Increase in myelination
• The two hemispheres of the cortex develop at
  different rates.
• The left hemisphere shows dramatic activity
  between 3 and 6 years and then levels off. WHY?
• Activity in the right hemisphere increases slowly
  throughout early and middle childhood.
• Significant development occurs in the prefrontal
  cortex

5
Nutrition

• Slowed growth leads to an appetite decrease
• Picky eaters seen as adaptive,safe
• Need a high-quality diet
• By 7, low-SES about 1 inch shorter

6
Childhood Injuries

• Accidents are the leading cause of childhood
  mortality.
• Auto, fires, and drowning are the most common.
• Motor vehicle collisions first cause of death for
  children over 1

Injury Mortality for Children
7
MOTOR DEVELOPMENT

• Gross Motor Development
• Center of gravity shifts downward to the trunk,
  and balance improves.
• Preschooler's gait becomes smooth and rhythmic.
• Now steadier
• New skills like throwing and catching balls,
  tricycles, and swinging on bars and rings
• High level of activity

8
Fine Motor Development

• Self-Help Skills
• Gradually become self-sufficient at dressing and
  feeding
• Shoe-tying around age 6
• Drawing and Writing
• First drawings of a person by age 3 or 4

9
Cultural Variations in Drawing

• In cultures that emphasize art, children's
  drawings are more sophisticated.
• Schooling supports drawing.
• Figure drawing varies by culture but follows the
  same sequence.

U.S. Childs Drawing
New Guinea Childs Drawing
10
Printing

• Exposure to lines and shapes leads to trying to
  print letters and, later on, words.
• Not until reading do kids distinguish between
  mirror-image forms.