Body Growth in Middle Childhood - correct answer ✔✔-slow, regular pace
-girls shorter and lighter until about age 9, when trend reverses
-lower portion of body grows fastest
-bones lengthen, broaden
-muscles very flexible
-all permanent teeth appear
Height Worldwide - correct answer ✔✔-shortest children: South America, Asia, Pacific Islands, Africa
-tallest children: North and Central Europe, Australia, Canada, United States
Trends in Physical Growth - correct answer ✔✔from one generation to next, trend in industrialized
countries toward larger & heavier children
-Appears early in life
-Increases over childhood; early adolescence
-Declines as mature body size reached
mostly due to improved health & nutrition
gains in height have stabilized, but weight continues to increase
Brain Development in Middle Childhood - correct answer ✔✔weight of the brain increases by 10%, with
considerable growth in white and gray matter
-synaptic connections and myelination combine with synaptic pruning, resulting in greater lateralization
of cerebral hemispheres
-children acquire complex abilities
-neurotransmitters and hormones may affect cognition and behavior.
,Common Health Problems in Middle Childhood - correct answer ✔✔Vision - Myopia: nearsightedness,
most common vision problem
Hearing - Otitis media (middle ear infection) common, but if repeated may cause hearing loss
Malnutrition
Obesity
Bedwetting: nocturnal enuresis 1/10 children. Biological, can use medication or urine alarm
Illnesses; first two years of school, exposure, developing immune system. Chronic diseases 5-20%:
asthma and sever illnesses 2%
Injuries: motor vehicle, bicycle, pedestrian
Health Education for School-Age Children - correct answer ✔✔-children's understanding of the biological
processes underlying health and illness increases with age
-school age is especially important for fostering healthy lifestyles
-school age children combine biological explanations with cultural ideas: ex: negative attributions with
aids
Nutrition in Middle Childhood - correct answer ✔✔Causes of poor nutrition:
- Little focus on eating
- Fewer meals with family
- Too few fruits and vegetables
- Too many fried foods and soft drinks
- Poverty and lack of nutritional food
,Children report they feel better and focus better after eating healthy foods.
Lingering malnutrition can lead to permanent physical and mental damage
Obesity - correct answer ✔✔32% of US children overweight, 17% obese
-dramatic rise in overweight and obesity has occurred in many Western nations
-obesity rates are also rapidly increasing in developing nations
-rises with age from 21% of preschoolers to 35% among older students
-causes: overweight parents, low SES, parents' feeding practices, low physical activity/TV, cultural food
environment
Nutrition Problems in Middle Childhood - correct answer ✔✔-Little focus on eating
-Fewer meals with family
-Too few fruits and vegetables
-Too many fried foods and soft drinks
-Poverty and lack of nutritional food
Motor Development in Middle Chidlhood - correct answer ✔✔-gross motor skill improvements:
flexibility, balance, agility, force
-fine motor skill gains: writing, drawing
-individual differences: body build, sex, family encouragement, SES, school and community lessons
available
Physical Play in Middle Childhood - correct answer ✔✔-child-organized games with rules
-sports
, -invented games
-video games
-adult-organized sports
-physical education
Providing Developmentally Appropriate Sports - correct answer ✔✔-build on children's interests:
emphasize enjoyment, let kids contribute
-teach age-appropriate skills: limit practices
-discourage unhealthy competition: focus on personal and team improvement
Cons to Organized Activites - correct answer ✔✔lose out on:
-practice negotiation and cooperation
-practice turn taking
-practice communicating your own ideas and preferences
-practice leading and following
-practice memory for rules and abilities of others
-practice perspective taking
-practice teaching and learning skills from peers
-practice listening
Rough and Tumble Play - correct answer ✔✔friendly chasing and play fighting
-emerges in preschool years and peaks in middle childhood
-common in many mammals and across cultures
-more common among boys
-may help establish dominance hierarchy
Recess - correct answer ✔✔-7% of US schools no longer provide recess
-50% have recess once a day