NUR 2310C PEDS Exam 1-4 Bundle Actual Exam 2026/2027 –
Complete Pediatric Nursing Questions with Detailed
Rationales | 100% Verified | Pass Guaranteed – A+ Graded
SECTION A: Exam 1 – Pediatric Foundations, Growth &
Development (Q1–Q25)
Q1: According to Erikson's stages of psychosocial development, which developmental
task should the nurse assess in a healthy 3-year-old child?
A. Trust vs. mistrust
B. Initiative vs. guilt [CORRECT]
C. Industry vs. inferiority
D. Autonomy vs. shame and doubt
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: A 3-year-old (toddler transitioning to preschool) is in the initiative vs. guilt
stage; trust vs. mistrust is infancy, autonomy vs. shame and doubt is the toddler stage
(1–3 years, largely mastered by age 3), and industry vs. inferiority applies to school-age
children.
Q2: Which statement by a parent about a 5-month-old infant indicates a developmental
red flag requiring further evaluation?
A. "She reaches for her toys."
B. "He rolls from back to front but not the other way."
C. "She cannot sit without support yet."
D. "He does not babble or coo at all." [CORRECT]
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Babbling/cooing should be present by 4–6 months; absence is a red flag.
Reaching (4–5 months), rolling one direction by 5 months, and sitting unsupported
(achieved ~6 months) are all age-appropriate.
,Q3: A parent of a 2-year-old reports the child "says 'no' to everything, throws tantrums,
and insists on feeding himself." Based on Erikson, the nurse interprets this behavior as:
A. Regression requiring intervention
B. Developmentally appropriate expression of autonomy [CORRECT]
C. Evidence of poor parental discipline
D. Sign of oppositional defiant disorder
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The toddler (autonomy vs. shame and doubt) demonstrates negativism,
tantrums, and self-feeding as normal autonomy-seeking; it is not regression, poor
parenting, or pathology.
Q4: A 6-year-old child is hospitalized. To promote a sense of industry per Erikson, which
activity is MOST appropriate for the nurse to provide?
A. A puzzle the child can complete and feel proud of [CORRECT]
B. A structured daily schedule controlled entirely by staff
C. An opportunity to make all decisions about care independently
D. A doll for imaginative role-playing
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: School-age children (industry vs. inferiority) need tasks that build
competence and mastery. Total staff control or independent decision-making is
developmentally inappropriate; doll play is more typical of preschoolers.
Q5: Using Piaget's theory, the nurse anticipates that a 4-year-old child will:
A. Reason logically about abstract concepts
B. Engage in egocentric, magical thinking [CORRECT]
C. Understand conservation of volume
D. Use deductive hypothesis testing
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Preoperational thinkers (2–7 years) are egocentric, use magical thinking, and
cannot grasp conservation or abstract logic; those abilities emerge in concrete
operational and formal operational stages.
,Q6: A 14-year-old hospitalized patient asks detailed questions about how chemotherapy
works and debates treatment fairness with staff. According to Piaget, this reflects:
A. Concrete operational thought
B. Preoperational thought
C. Formal operational thought [CORRECT]
D. Sensorimotor thought
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Adolescents in formal operational thought reason abstractly, question
authority, and consider hypothetical possibilities; concrete operational thought is limited
to tangible logic.
Q7: According to Kohlberg's theory of moral development, a 9-year-old child who follows
rules "because that's the rule and everyone must obey" is demonstrating which
level/stage?
A. Preconventional — punishment and obedience orientation
B. Preconventional — instrumental exchange orientation
C. Conventional — good boy/good girl orientation
D. Conventional — law-and-order orientation [CORRECT]
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: The law-and-order (authority and social-order) stage of conventional morality
is typical of school-age children who value rules for maintaining order; preconventional
stages are driven by punishment or self-interest.
Q8: A nurse performing a developmental assessment notes a 9-month-old cannot sit
without support, has no babble, and does not transfer objects between hands. The
nurse's BEST action is to:
A. Reassure the parent that boys develop more slowly
B. Document the findings as normal and recheck at 12 months
C. Refer the child for further developmental evaluation [CORRECT]
D. Advise increased "tummy time" only
Correct Answer: C
, Rationale: Sitting unsupported, babbling, and transferring objects are all expected by
6–9 months; multiple missed milestones warrant referral. Reassurance or passive
rechecking delays early intervention.
Q9: Which growth pattern is expected for a healthy infant during the first year of life?
A. Birth weight doubles by 6 months and triples by 12 months [CORRECT]
B. Birth weight triples by 6 months
C. Length increases by 50% in the first 6 months
D. Head circumference exceeds chest circumference by 12 months
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Infants typically double birth weight by ~4–6 months and triple it by 12
months; height increases ~50% in the first year (not 6 months), and chest
circumference surpasses head circumference by ~2 years.
Q10: When plotting a child's measurements on a growth chart, the nurse identifies that
the child tracks consistently along the 25th percentile for height and weight. This
indicates:
A. Failure to thrive requiring intervention
B. Normal growth following the child's genetic curve [CORRECT]
C. Obesity risk requiring dietary counseling
D. A plotting error that must be recalculated
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Consistent tracking along a percentile curve is normal growth; concern arises
with crossing percentiles or falling below the 3rd–5th percentile, not stable growth at
the 25th.
Q11: A parent asks when the anterior fontanelle typically closes. The nurse correctly
responds:
A. By 2 months
B. By 6 months
C. By 12–18 months [CORRECT]
D. By 4 years
Complete Pediatric Nursing Questions with Detailed
Rationales | 100% Verified | Pass Guaranteed – A+ Graded
SECTION A: Exam 1 – Pediatric Foundations, Growth &
Development (Q1–Q25)
Q1: According to Erikson's stages of psychosocial development, which developmental
task should the nurse assess in a healthy 3-year-old child?
A. Trust vs. mistrust
B. Initiative vs. guilt [CORRECT]
C. Industry vs. inferiority
D. Autonomy vs. shame and doubt
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: A 3-year-old (toddler transitioning to preschool) is in the initiative vs. guilt
stage; trust vs. mistrust is infancy, autonomy vs. shame and doubt is the toddler stage
(1–3 years, largely mastered by age 3), and industry vs. inferiority applies to school-age
children.
Q2: Which statement by a parent about a 5-month-old infant indicates a developmental
red flag requiring further evaluation?
A. "She reaches for her toys."
B. "He rolls from back to front but not the other way."
C. "She cannot sit without support yet."
D. "He does not babble or coo at all." [CORRECT]
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Babbling/cooing should be present by 4–6 months; absence is a red flag.
Reaching (4–5 months), rolling one direction by 5 months, and sitting unsupported
(achieved ~6 months) are all age-appropriate.
,Q3: A parent of a 2-year-old reports the child "says 'no' to everything, throws tantrums,
and insists on feeding himself." Based on Erikson, the nurse interprets this behavior as:
A. Regression requiring intervention
B. Developmentally appropriate expression of autonomy [CORRECT]
C. Evidence of poor parental discipline
D. Sign of oppositional defiant disorder
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The toddler (autonomy vs. shame and doubt) demonstrates negativism,
tantrums, and self-feeding as normal autonomy-seeking; it is not regression, poor
parenting, or pathology.
Q4: A 6-year-old child is hospitalized. To promote a sense of industry per Erikson, which
activity is MOST appropriate for the nurse to provide?
A. A puzzle the child can complete and feel proud of [CORRECT]
B. A structured daily schedule controlled entirely by staff
C. An opportunity to make all decisions about care independently
D. A doll for imaginative role-playing
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: School-age children (industry vs. inferiority) need tasks that build
competence and mastery. Total staff control or independent decision-making is
developmentally inappropriate; doll play is more typical of preschoolers.
Q5: Using Piaget's theory, the nurse anticipates that a 4-year-old child will:
A. Reason logically about abstract concepts
B. Engage in egocentric, magical thinking [CORRECT]
C. Understand conservation of volume
D. Use deductive hypothesis testing
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Preoperational thinkers (2–7 years) are egocentric, use magical thinking, and
cannot grasp conservation or abstract logic; those abilities emerge in concrete
operational and formal operational stages.
,Q6: A 14-year-old hospitalized patient asks detailed questions about how chemotherapy
works and debates treatment fairness with staff. According to Piaget, this reflects:
A. Concrete operational thought
B. Preoperational thought
C. Formal operational thought [CORRECT]
D. Sensorimotor thought
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Adolescents in formal operational thought reason abstractly, question
authority, and consider hypothetical possibilities; concrete operational thought is limited
to tangible logic.
Q7: According to Kohlberg's theory of moral development, a 9-year-old child who follows
rules "because that's the rule and everyone must obey" is demonstrating which
level/stage?
A. Preconventional — punishment and obedience orientation
B. Preconventional — instrumental exchange orientation
C. Conventional — good boy/good girl orientation
D. Conventional — law-and-order orientation [CORRECT]
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: The law-and-order (authority and social-order) stage of conventional morality
is typical of school-age children who value rules for maintaining order; preconventional
stages are driven by punishment or self-interest.
Q8: A nurse performing a developmental assessment notes a 9-month-old cannot sit
without support, has no babble, and does not transfer objects between hands. The
nurse's BEST action is to:
A. Reassure the parent that boys develop more slowly
B. Document the findings as normal and recheck at 12 months
C. Refer the child for further developmental evaluation [CORRECT]
D. Advise increased "tummy time" only
Correct Answer: C
, Rationale: Sitting unsupported, babbling, and transferring objects are all expected by
6–9 months; multiple missed milestones warrant referral. Reassurance or passive
rechecking delays early intervention.
Q9: Which growth pattern is expected for a healthy infant during the first year of life?
A. Birth weight doubles by 6 months and triples by 12 months [CORRECT]
B. Birth weight triples by 6 months
C. Length increases by 50% in the first 6 months
D. Head circumference exceeds chest circumference by 12 months
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Infants typically double birth weight by ~4–6 months and triple it by 12
months; height increases ~50% in the first year (not 6 months), and chest
circumference surpasses head circumference by ~2 years.
Q10: When plotting a child's measurements on a growth chart, the nurse identifies that
the child tracks consistently along the 25th percentile for height and weight. This
indicates:
A. Failure to thrive requiring intervention
B. Normal growth following the child's genetic curve [CORRECT]
C. Obesity risk requiring dietary counseling
D. A plotting error that must be recalculated
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Consistent tracking along a percentile curve is normal growth; concern arises
with crossing percentiles or falling below the 3rd–5th percentile, not stable growth at
the 25th.
Q11: A parent asks when the anterior fontanelle typically closes. The nurse correctly
responds:
A. By 2 months
B. By 6 months
C. By 12–18 months [CORRECT]
D. By 4 years
