The Play Years: Biosocial Development

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The Play Years Biosocial Development
The Developing Person Through Childhood and
Adolescence by Kathleen Stassen Berger
Seventh Edition
Chapter 8

• Slides prepared by Kate Byerwalter, Ph.D., Grand
  Rapids Community College

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Growth Patterns from 2-6 years

• Children become slimmer, more muscular, and gain
  almost 3? and 4½ lbs per year.
• Growth is influenced by
• Ethnic and cultural practices
• Socioeconomic status
• Genes
• Nutrition

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Make It Real Memories of Meals

• How did your caregivers handle mealtimes when you
  were little? (e.g., Were you required to clean
  your plate?)
• Do you think the mealtime practices affected your
  eating habits as an adult in any way?

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Eating Habits in the Play Years

• Young children tend to be picky eaters who insist
  on rituals.
• Example a toddler refuses to eat foods that are
  touching each other, or she wants to drink only
  from a certain cup
• Too much fat and sugar, and too little iron,
  calcium, and zinc are problems.

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It must be just right.
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Brain Development

• There is considerable brain development in the
  play years.
• For example, by age 5, the brain is 90 of its
  adult weight.

PHOTODISC
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The Importance of Myelination

• Myelination speeds up neural transmission,
  leading to improvements in memory, impulse
  control, and contemplation.
• Both maturation and practice affect this process.

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Connecting the Brains Hemispheres

• The corpus callosum myelinates rapidly during the
  play years.
• This leads to more efficient communication
  between hemispheres.
• Therefore, kids can more easily perform actions
  that involve both halves of the brain or body.

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The Left-Handed Child

• Along with genes, experience affects hand
  preferencejust ask any natural left-hander
  whose teacher forced him to be right-handed!
• Most societies favor right-handedness.

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The Whole Brain

• Although each hemisphere of the brain specializes
  in certain functions (i.e., lateralization), the
  whole brain is involved in every cognitive skill.
• The brains of young children compensate more
  easily for the effects of brain damage, should it
  occur.

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Planning and Analyzing

• The prefrontal cortex (or frontal lobe) is
  essential for higher order cognition, including
  planning and impulse control.
• This begins to develop during the play years
• But is not fully mature until early 20s
• Development helps with impulse control (e.g.,
  Simon Says).

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Attention

• The prefrontal cortex helps regulate attention,
  influencing impulse control.
• Perseveration is the tendency to stick to one
  thought or action.
• Example Your niece sings the Barney song the
  entire ride across town.

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The Limbic System

• The limbic system is crucial for the expression
  and regulation of emotions.

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Parts of the Limbic System

• Amygdala registers emotions, especially fear and
  anxiety
• Its increased activity in early childhood can
  lead to nightmares, irrational fears

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Parts of the Limbic System

• The hippocampus processes memory, especially of
  locations.
• However, memories of location are fragile in
  childhood, and young children might forget where,
  when, or how a fact was learned.

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Parts of the Limbic System (cont.)

• Hypothalamus produces hormones that regulate the
  body, including stress hormones
• Too much stress in childhood can destroy neurons
  of the hippocampus, leading to permanent memory
  and learning deficits.

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Brain Damage

• Shaken baby syndrome leads to brain damage or
  death.
• A mothers clinical depression can lead to
  neglect, altering the childs brain and
  increasing his/her risk of depression.
• Institutionalization creates underactive limbic
  systems and lack of lateralization.

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Development of Motor Skills
TONY FREEMAN / PHOTOEDIT
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Gross Motor Skills

• These involve large muscle movements
• Examples crawl, walk, run, jump, skip
• They develop through maturation and practice
  (especially play with peers).

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Fine Motor Skills

• These involve small muscle movements
• Examples holding a spoon, buttoning, tying
  shoes, pouring juice, cutting food, scribbling,
  etc.
• These are more difficult to master, requiring
  muscular control and patience

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Artistic Expression

• Young children love to draw, dance, build, and
  often show perseveration in doing so!
• Their artistic abilities increase with age.
• Example Many children first draw a tadpole a
  face and two sticks for the body.

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Artistic Expression
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Avoidable Injuries

• Young children ages 1-4 yrs are the most
  vulnerable age group to accidental death.
• Examples Falls, swallowing poison, burning,
  drowning, and choking are common causes.
• Parents, legislators, and others can help provide
  injury control.

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Three Levels of Prevention

• Primary prevention actions that prevent injury
• Secondary prevention reduces dangers of
  high-risk situations
• Tertiary prevention actions taken after an
  adverse event occurs to reduce harm

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Three Levels of Prevention (cont.)

• Example Prevention of Pedestrian Deaths
• Primary sidewalks, speed bumps, etc.
• Secondary requiring flashing lights on school
  buses, using crossing guards
• Tertiary laws against hit and run drivers, well
  trained ambulance drivers

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Parents, Education, and Protection

• Educating parents is important.
• But laws seem to be most effective.
• e.g., fences around swimming pools, child safety
  seats, etc.

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Make it Real Child Maltreatment

• Have you ever wondered whether a particular child
  was being maltreated? Have you ever confronted a
  parent about it?

MISHAWAKA POLICE DEPARTMENT / GETTY IMAGES
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Terminology

• Child maltreatment harm or neglect of children
  under age 18 years
• Child Abuse Deliberate harm
• Child Neglect Inaction that leads to harm
• Neglect is twice as common as abuse

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Reporting Child Maltreatment

• Teachers, social workers, doctors, etc. are
  required by law to report cases
• Substantiated maltreatment means a reported case
  was investigated and verified
• In the U.S., there are about 3 million reported
  and 1 million substantiated cases per year

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Warning Signs of Maltreatment

• Failure to thrive an otherwise healthy infant or
  young child does not gain weight
• Post-traumatic stress disorder easily startled,
  nightmares, headaches, etc.
• Hypervigilance excessive watchfulness

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Consequences of Maltreatment

• Abused and neglected children are at higher risk
  of
• Death, sickness, brain damage, malnutrition, lack
  of stimulation, poor social skills (aggressive or
  withdrawn), substance abuse, depression,
  behavioral problems
• Not to mention the intense feelings of loss of
  the perfect family

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Prevention

• Primary stable neighborhoods, income equality,
  social support
• Secondary home visits, high-quality child care
• These must consider cultural values, and
  strengthen parenting skills
• Tertiary remove the child from the home

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Permanency Planning

• Permanency planning involves setting goals and a
  timetable for long-term care of a child.
• Foster care is legally sanctioned care of a child
  by nonrelatives.
• Kinship care is care by relatives.
• Adoption is an option, but is difficult to
  achieve.