Physical%20Development%20in%20Middle%20Childhood

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Chapter 11
Child Development, 3/e by Robert Feldman

• Physical Development in Middle Childhood

Created by Barbara H. Bratsch
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• In what ways do children grow during the school
  years, and what factors influence their growth?
• What are the nutritional needs of school-age
  children, and what are some causes and effects of
  improper nutrition?
• What sorts of health threats do school-age
  children face?
• What are the characteristics of motor development
  during middle childhood, and what advantages do
  improved physical skills bring?
• What safety threats affect school-age children,
  and what can be done about them?
• What sorts of special needs manifest themselves
  in the middle childhood years, and how can they
  be met?

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Physical Development in Middle Childhood

• Slow and Steady it is not unusual for children
  in middle childhood to vary as much as 6-7 inches
  in height

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Nutrition

• Children receiving more nutrients have more
  energy and feel more self-confident

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Childhood Obesity

• Obesity is defined as body weight more than 20
  above average for a person of similar height and
  age. At least 13 of US children are obese a
  proportion that has tripled since the 1960s

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Balanced Diet?
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Asthma

• Asthma is a chronic condition characterized by
  periodic attacks of wheezing, coughing, and
  shortness of breath

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Psychological Disorders

• Childhood Depression
• Anxiety Disorders

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Motor Development

• Gross motor skills- muscle coordination improves
  so children can better learn to ride bikes,
  skate, skip rope, and swim
• Fine motor skills- Myelin in the brain increases
  significantly from 6-8 years old so skills such
  as cursive writing or using a keyboard are easier
  to master

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Gross Motor Skills
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Safety and Children

• Auto accidents rank as the most frequent source
  of injury to children between the ages of 5 and 9
• Fires, burns, drowning, and gun-related deaths
  follow in frequency

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Injury
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Children with Special Needs

• Visual impairment difficulties in seeing that
  may include blindness or partial sightedness
• Auditory impairment a special need that
  involves the loss of hearing or some aspect of
  hearing
•  Speech impairment speech that deviates so much
  from the speech of others that it calls attention
  to itself, interferes with communication, or
  produces maladjustment in the speaker
• Stuttering substantial disruption in the rhythm
  and fluency of speech the most common speech
  impairment

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Learning Disabilities

• Learning disabilities difficulties in the
  acquisition and use of listening, speaking,
  reading, writing, reasoning, or mathematical
  abilities
• Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) -
  a learning disability marked by inattention,
  impulsiveness, a low tolerance for frustration,
  and a great deal of inappropriate activity

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• Least restrictive environment the setting most
  similar to that of children without special needs
• Mainstreaming an educational approach in which
  exceptional children are integrated as much as
  possible into the traditional educational system
  and are provided with a broad range of
  educational alternatives
• Full inclusion the integration of all students,
  even those with the most severe disabilities,
  into regular classes and all other aspects of
  school and community life