Week 3: Physical development
Infant
Early childhood
Late childhood
Adolescence
Sleep- Why do we sleep
Evolutionary perspective
For protection
Animals sleep so they can hide from predators and therefore survive
Restorative function
Sleep replenishes the brain and body
Rebuilds the brain and body
Rests the body and brain from the days activities can wear out
Brain plasticity
Sleep is critical for brain plasticity
Sleep increases synaptic connections between neurons
Linked to improve consolidation of memories
Sleep
Newborns sleep approximately 18 hours a day ranging from 10-21 hours
Infants 0-2 years sleep approximately 13 hours a day ranging from 10-16 hours
Sleep improves memory, but loosing a few hours of sleep a night can have a negative affect on attention, reasoning, and decision making
By six months the majority of infants slept through the night, waking their parents only once or twice a week
Surveys indicate that 20-30% of infants have difficulties going to sleep and staying asleep all night
Studys found that infants who wake at night have later sleeping troubles when they are 4 years of age
REM sleep
Newborns spend about half of their sleep in rem sleep. At 3 months Infants spend 40% of their sleep in REM
In the first 3 months infants often begin their sleep cycle in rem
Researchers do not know why infants spend so much time in Rem. It could be possible that it is to promote brain development
REM is when children and adults dream. We do not know whether infants dream during REM sleep as they are unable to tell anyone
Shared sleeping
Sleeping arangements for newborns very from culture to culture
Some experts recommend shared sleeping and others are strongly against it
Some infants sleep in a crib
Some infants sleep in the same bed as their mother
The academy of paediatrics task force on infant positioning and sudden infant death syndrome(SIDS) argue against shared sleeping as in some cases shared sleeping could lead to SIDS as it is possible that the mother could roll over onto the baby
Shared sleeping is linked with higher incidence of SIDS especially when the parents smoke
SIDS
A condition that occurs when infants stop breathing, usually during the night and die suddenly with no known reason
2-4 months of age is when infants are most at risk of SIDS
AAP had recommended that infants be placed on their backs to sleep in order to reduce the risk of SIDS
Statistics show that infants who are placed to sleep on their back are at a lower risk of SIDS
Infants being placed on their back to sleep reduces their chances of overheating and increases their access to fresh air
Sleep and cognitive development
Infants who sleep longer at night are more likely to engage in a higher level of executive function at 4 years of age
Less sleep at 1 year of age results in attention problems at 3-4 years of age
Poor sleep consolidation in infancy was associated with language delays in early childhood
Nutrition
Nutritional needs and eating behaviour
It is recommended by experts that infants consume approximately 50 calories per pound they weigh each day
Infants transition from being fed by others to feeding themselves as their fine motor skills develop
The nutrition that infants get sets them up for later in life, which therefore demonstrates how important the right nutrition is
Breast v Bottle feeding
Benefits of breast feeding
Breast fed infants have fewer gastrointestinal innfections
Breast fed babies have fewer infections of the lower respiratory tract
Exclusive breast feeding for three months protects against wheezing in babies
Babies who were breast fed for 9 months or longer were less likely to develop ear throat and sinus infections
Breast fed babies are less likely to become obese or overweight
Breast fed babies are less likely to develop type 1 diabetes in childhood
Breast fed babies are less likely to experience SIDS
there are no psychological differences between babies who are breast fed and those who are bottle fed
Malnutrition in infancy
Many infants around the world are malnourished
Early weaning can cause protein deficiency and malnutrition in infants
Motor development
The dynamic systems view
Arnold Gesell once believed that motor skills were developed in a fixed order within specific time frames
Developmental milestones are not as fixed or due to hereditary as much as Gesell initially thought
Reflexes
Newborns have some basic reflexes which are genetically carried survival mechanisms
Rooting reflex
Occurs when the infants cheek is stroked or the side of the moth is touched
The response is to turn to that side to find something to suck
Sucking reflex
Occurs when newborns automatically suck an object placed in their mouth
Allows newborns to automatically suck on their mothers nipple before they have even associated it with food/milk
sucking and rooting reflexes disappear at 3-4 months whereas others such as coughing, sneezing, blinking, shivering and yawning persist throughout life.
Development of posture
Posture is a dynamic process that is linked with sensory information in the skin, joints, muscles, which tell us where we are in space
Stages of posture
1.Newborns cannot voluntarily control their posture
- at a couple of weeks old infants can hold their heads erect
- at about a month old they can lift their head while prone
- By 2 months of age, babies can sit while supported on a lap or an infant seat
5.At 6 or 7 months of age they can sit independently
- by 8-9 months of age infants usually develop the ability to stand with assistance
- By 10-12 months infants can usually stand alone
In order to be able to learn to walk infants need to be able to balance on one leg and shift weight from one leg to another
Body growth and change
Growth in height and weight is the most obvious physical change that marks the transition from infancy and into childhood
The average child grows 2 1/2 inches in height and gains 5-10 (2-5 kgs) pounds a year during early childhood
Brain development
The brain does not grow as rapidly as it did in Infancy
at three years of age the brain is 75% of its adult size
At six years of age the brain is 95% of its adult size
Although the brain has developed in capacity during infancy and childhood the structures inside continue to develop in late childhood and adolescence
Motor and perceptual development
In early childhood moving around in the environment becomes more automatic
From 3-5 children's gross motor skills slowly become more developed as children go from just walking and running to becoming more adventurous climbing on others and racing others.
Fine motor skills
From 3-5 years children significantly develop fine motor skill. for example building a block tower
A three year old is unable to place the blocks straight
A four year old has the desire and therefore the patience to get the blocks perfect
A five year old has the hand eye coordination to be able to carefully build a tall tower
Perceptual development
at 3-4 years of age children are able to detect boundaries between colours
at 4-5 years of age eye muscles have developed to allow children to read
Sleep
Experts recommend that young children get 11-13 hours of sleep per night
Consistent bed time routines are associated with more nightly sleep
More than 40% of children experience a sleep problem at some point in their development
Nutrition and exercise
What children eat affects their skeletal growth, body shape, and susceptibility to disease.
Too many children are eating way too many calories and therefore are becoming overweight or obease
Malnutrition in young children is often caused by poverty and therefore stunts children's development significantly
Guidelines recommend that young children get 15 or more minutes of physical activity per hour over a 12 hour period (3 hours per day total)
Body growth: slow and consistent, growing 2-3 inches each year
The brain
By late childhood the brain volume stabilises yet changes in various structures continue to occur
Motor development
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