Lifespan Development Chapter 5 Summary

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In Chapter 5 of Essentials of Life Span Development we learned about the physical and cognitive development in early childhood. The average child grows 2 and a half inches in height and gains 5 and 7 pounds a year during early childhood. Growth patterns vary from one child to another, though. Some of the brain’s increase in size in early childhood is due to increase in the number and size of dendrites, some to myelination. From ages 3 to 16, the most rapid growth in the brain occurs in the frontal lobes. Gross and fine motor skills increase dramatically during early childhood. Too many young children in the United States are being raised on diets that are to high in fat. The child’s life should be centered activities, not meals. Other nutritional concerns include malnutrition in early childhood and the inadequate diets of many children living in poverty. Accidents are the leading cause of death in young children. A special concern is the poor health status of many young children in low-income…show more content…
Preoperational thought is characterized by two substages: symbolic function and intuitive thought. Centration and lack of conservation also characterize the preoperational stage. Vygotsky’s theory represents a social constructivist approach to development. Vygotsky argues that it is important to discover the child’s zone of proximal development to improve the child’s learning. Young children make substantial strides in executive and sustained attention. Significant improvement in short term memory occurs during early childhood. Theory of mind is the awareness of one’s own mental processes of others. Children begin to understand mental states involving perceptions, emotions, and desires at 2 to 3 years of age and at 4 to 5 years of age realize that people can have false
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