Chapter 7 Early Childhood Ages 3 through 5

Chapter 7 Early Childhood: Ages 3 through 5

Objectives • Analyze the physical development of children ages 3 through 5. • Analyze the cognitive development of children ages 3 through 5. • Analyze the socio-emotional development of children ages 3 through 5. continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Objectives • Compare and contrast various developmental theories relating to preschoolers. • Identify developmentally appropriate guidance techniques for preschoolers. • Identify developmental milestones preschoolers achieve. © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Physical Characteristics and Growth • Preschoolers are children between the ages of 3 through 5 • By the end of this stage, children’s body proportions are similar to those of an adult • Individual differences in both height and weight become more apparent during early childhood continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Physical Characteristics and Growth • During early childhood, children are often in motion • Throughout early childhood, gross-motor skills are refined • This refinement of skills takes practice and balance and shows postural control continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Physical Characteristics and Growth • Putting simple puzzles together is a good activity for building hand eye coordination • As young children develop their fine-motor skills, the preference for handedness becomes more apparent continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Physical Characteristics and Growth • Because young children are so physically active, good nutrition, or fuel, is essential • The United States Department of Agriculture created a food guidance system called My. Plate to help people make healthful food choices continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Physical Characteristics and Growth • The My. Plate food guidance system divides foods into five groups continued ©USDA © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Physical Characteristics and Growth • As children expand their food preferences, caregivers need to be concerned about food intolerances and food allergies • Read food labels to avoid foods that may trigger intolerances or allergies and remove any offending foods from the diet continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Physical Characteristics and Growth • Physical activity and play are important to a child’s physical, cognitive, and socio -emotional development • Some researchers say play is the main job of young children ©wong sze yuen/Shutterstock. com continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Physical Characteristics and Growth • On average, preschoolers need between 11 to 13 hours of sleep each night and about one nap per day • Establishing a healthy, regular sleep routine is important to ensure the preschooler is getting enough sleep continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Physical Characteristics and Growth • The progress of toilet learning varies among individual children • By age 3, preschoolers significantly improve their ability to control bathroom habits • Enuresis, or difficulty in controlling bathroom habits overnight, is a common condition for preschoolers and improves with time continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Physical Characteristics and Growth • To ensure teeth are healthy and growing in properly, preschoolers usually visit the dentist twice per year • There are many illnesses common in childhood • Many children receive inoculations to help prevent these illnesses, but they can still become sick continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Physical Characteristics and Growth • An allergy is a reaction that develops because of the immune system’s overreaction to a normally harmless substance in the environment • Children who suffer from allergies are also more likely to have asthma continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Physical Characteristics and Growth • Preventive health care can help reduce the risk of contracting illnesses • Optimizing the health of preschoolers includes ensuring preschoolers have sufficient nutrients to properly grow, develop, and strengthen their immune systems © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Checkpoint 1. What bodily and facial changes can be expected in early childhood? ü Children add about 2. 5 to 3 inches in height and 3 to 5 pounds each year; bodies, legs, and arms lengthen; and body fat diminishes. Facial features are slimmer and smiles become gapped as baby teeth fall out. continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Checkpoint 2. Describe typical gross- and fine-motor skills of children in early childhood. ü (Answers will vary, but may include: ) grossmotor skills: running, jumping, twirling, climbing, throwing and catching a ball, riding a bike, shooting a basketball; fine-motor skills: holding a pencil and crayon, putting puzzles together, playing a musical instrument, folding paper, building a tower of blocks, using scissors, brushing their teeth, self-dressing, stringing beads continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Checkpoint 3. Define postural controls and give an example. ü being able to achieve and maintain a state of balance while performing an activity (Examples will vary. ) 4. What is the difference between a food intolerance and a food allergy? ü A food intolerance is a reaction to food that is unpleasant, such as digestive problems. A food allergy occurs when a food triggers a response by the body’s immune system, which can cause severe reactions. continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Checkpoint 5. List five common types of allergies. ü (List five: ) milk, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts, soy, wheat, fish, and shellfish 6. What are three ways to optimize the health of preschoolers? ü following My. Plate, being physically active, and scheduling regular health checkups © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Cognitive Characteristics and Growth • Throughout early childhood, children seek rational answers to explain what they know through observation and experience • Piaget called this phase the preoperational stage of thinking as it represents a time when children’s use of symbolic and logical thinking grows continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Cognitive Characteristics and Growth • Operations refer to the formal or logical processes that are organized mental processes • In this stage, children continue to explore their world, learning more and more as they organize their experiences continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Cognitive Characteristics and Growth • Young children gradually move from using intuition to more rational and logical thinking • The preoperational stage is marked by three characteristics – Centration – Lack of conservation – Egocentrism continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Cognitive Characteristics and Growth • Vygotsky believed that children learn what they know through social interaction • Parents and caregivers should provide as many opportunities for creative and imaginative play as possible ©Rena Schild/Shutterstock. com continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Cognitive Characteristics and Growth • As the brain develops, there are windows of opportunity for optimizing the development of critical skills • Lengths of time for physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional development windows vary • Providing children with rich experiences and activities will stimulate brain development continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Cognitive Characteristics and Growth • Language is an important part of cognitive development in early childhood • Children can focus on their inward thoughts, often referred to as metacognition • Children think about what they remember, or metamemory continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Cognitive Characteristics and Growth • Typically, young children learn phonology, followed by morphology, syntax, semantics, and then pragmatics • Phonology refers to the sounds that make up words • Morphology includes word structures and formations continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Cognitive Characteristics and Growth • Syntax refers to sentence structure, or when words are combined to form grammatical sentences • Semantics refers to the meaning of words • Pragmatics refers to using language properly • Humor can be used positively as a form of self-expression and language development continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Cognitive Characteristics and Growth • Learning what is considered culturally right or wrong is a process • Younger children respond to rewards and punishments instead of making moral decisions • They are in Kohlberg’s first level of moral development, or preconventional morality © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Checkpoint 1. Describe Piaget’s preoperational stage of thinking. ü Young children begin to use more rational thought processes, including symbolic and rational thinking. continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Checkpoint 2. Describe Vygotsky’s ideas of how children learn new skills through play. ü Children learn through social interaction. Gross -motor skills develop as brain pathways are pruned and refined. As children play, the objects they use encourage imaginative thinking, and their concepts move from more realistic to abstract. continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Checkpoint 3. What are windows of opportunity? ü ideal time frames for optimizing the development of critical skills because the brain is most receptive to learning 4. Give two examples of how language develops in early childhood. ü Children learn phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics, followed by pragmatic use of language. continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Checkpoint 5. According to Kohlberg’s theory, how do children in early childhood solve moral problems? ü by using preconventional morality, in which children respond to rewards and punishments instead of making moral decisions © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Socio-emotional Characteristics and Growth • In their eagerness to do a task independently, children often fail • This failure can cause guilt, lowering their self -esteem • Erikson called this stage of socio-emotional development initiative versus guilt continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Socio-emotional Characteristics and Growth • Giving choices and encouraging children to practice decision making is part of the democratic parenting style • An authoritarian parenting style tends to be controlling and corrective • A permissive parenting style tends to let children control situations continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Socio-emotional Characteristics and Growth • Especially in the preschool years, frequent conflicts between siblings occur • Modeling problem solving and conflict resolution to young children is effective • Guidance and discipline are used to redirect children into a safe or socially acceptable manner continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Socio-emotional Characteristics and Growth • Three main types of discipline are – power assertion, which involves using physical means to punish or deny children privileges – love withdrawal, which includes threatening to remove love, even temporarily, from the caregiver and child relationship – induction, which uses logic and explanation to address a child’s action or behavior continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Socio-emotional Characteristics and Growth • Preschoolers are not used to experiencing strong feelings and do not always control their emotions • Preschoolers seek emotional approval and attention from others • Understanding the preschooler’s concerns can help adults address the cause of the preschooler’s emotions continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Socio-emotional Characteristics and Growth • Young children play differently with friends than they do with adults • Often, 3 -year-olds use functional play • By age 4, they begin more constructive play • Children move from associative play to cooperative play continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Socio-emotional Characteristics and Growth • By 3 years of age, most children identify their gender • Gender identity is a child’s sense about being a girl or a boy • Gender roles are expectations about how boys or girls should act, how they should feel, and what should be of interest to them © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Checkpoint 1. According to Erikson, what socio-emotional tasks do children in early childhood need to solve? ü initiative versus guilt 2. What are social relationships like in early childhood? ü Family relationships provide support, encouragement, and instruction to become independent. Friendships are important and help children learn how to interact socially. continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Checkpoint 3. Describe three main types of discipline. ü Power assertion involves using physical means to punish or deny children privileges. Love withdrawal involves threatening to remove love, even temporarily, from the caregiver and child relationship. Induction uses logic and explanation to address a child’s action or behavior. continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Checkpoint 4. Describe four types of play. ü functional play—uses repetitive motions such as rocking a doll; constructive play— involves creating something; associative play—when children interact while involved in parallel play; cooperative play—when children participate in constructive play together continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Checkpoint 5. What is gender identity? Give an example of a gender role. ü a child’s sense about being a boy or a girl (Examples will vary. ) © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Special Needs • During the preschool years, special needs become more evident • Preschoolers have certain physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional developmental milestones they reach during early childhood continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Special Needs • Most elementary schools have screening tests for preschoolers to detect special needs • Although screening is usually a formal or standardized procedure, informal observation is equally important • The best person to informally observe a child is the caregiver continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Special Needs • One behavioral disorder that can become evident during preschool is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) • ADHD does not have a cure, but can be treated with therapy and medications • At the preschool age, therapy is chosen before medications continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Special Needs • Another common disability that is apparent by early childhood is autism • Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a broad term that describes a developmental disability that leads to problems with social behaviors and communication continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Special Needs • Autism disorders often affect a child’s ability to communicate verbally and nonverbally • ASD can range from Asperger’s syndrome, a relatively mild form of autism, to autistic disorder, a more severe variation • There is no cure for ASDs, but therapies and medications may help treat some symptoms © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Checkpoint 1. Which types of special needs typically surface during early childhood? ü giftedness; physical, cognitive, or behavioral issues; attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) also become evident during preschool 2. What is ADHD? ü Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a behavioral disorder that includes hyperactivity, difficulty staying on task, and impulsiveness over time. continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Checkpoint 3. List five symptoms of ADHD. ü (List five: ) difficulty focusing, impulsive behavior, hyperactivity (fidgets, has trouble waiting), eager to speak and shows little to no hesitation to speak, lacks attention to detail, does not listen when directly addressed 4. What is an autism spectrum disorder (ASD)? ü a broad term that describes a developmental disability that leads to problems with social behaviors and communication © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Development of School-Readiness Skills • Preparation for school takes more than learning colors, saying the alphabet, or writing a name correctly • Age-appropriate cognitive skills are important • In addition to cognitive skills, social and physical development readies a child for school continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Development of School-Readiness Skills • Important social skills that help a young child prepare for later school years include – learning to share – following simple instructions – verbalizing thoughts and needs – interacting with other children continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Development of School-Readiness Skills • Appropriate physical development as seen in gross- and fine-motor skills is also important • Socially, motor skills help a child to fit in with his or her peers • Cognitively, motor development is related to learning continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Development of School-Readiness Skills • Preschool programs are available to children who are at risk for not being ready for school • Head Start is a government preschool program that serves the needs of young children, especially those who are disadvantaged © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Checkpoint 1. List three important social skills that help a young child prepare for later school years. ü (List three: ) learning to share, following simple instructions, verbalizing thoughts and needs, and interacting with others 2. How are motor skills related to social and cognitive abilities? ü Socially, motor skills help a child to fit in with his or her peers. Cognitively, motor development is related to learning. continued © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.

Checkpoint 3. Describe the Head Start program. ü Head Start is a government preschool program that serves the needs of young children, especially those who are disadvantaged. © Goodheart-Willcox Co. , Inc. Permission granted to reproduce for educational use only.