Chapter 37: The Preschooler and Family
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. What activity can the nurse expect of a healthy 3-year-old child?
a. The child is able to jump rope.
b. The child can ride a two-wheeled bicycle.
c. The child can skip on alternate feet.
d. The child can stand on one foot for a
few seconds.
ANS: D
Three-year-olds can accomplish the gross motor skill of standing on one foot for a few seconds.
Jumping rope, riding a two-wheeled bike, and skipping on alternative feet are gross motor skills
of 5-year-old children.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Comprehension REF: p. 1076 | Table 37-1
OBJ: Nursing Process: Assessment
2. In terms of fine motor development, what is a 3-year-old child expected to do?
a. Tie shoelaces.
b. Use scissors or a pencil very well.
c. Draw a person with seven to nine parts.
d. Copy (draw) a circle.
ANS: D
Three-year-olds are able to accomplish the fine motor skill of drawing a circle. Tying shoelaces,
using scissors or a pencil very well, and drawing a person with multiple parts are fine motor
skills of 5-year-old children.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Comprehension REF: p. 1076 | Table 37-1
OBJ: Nursing Process: Assessment
3. In terms of cognitive development, what is expected of a 5-year-old child?
, a. The child can use magical thinking.
b. The child is able to think abstractly.
c. The child can understand the conservation
of matter.
d. The child may be unable to
comprehend another person’s
perspective.
ANS: A
Magical thinking is the belief that thoughts can cause events. Abstract thought does not
develop until the school-age years. The concept of conservation is the cognitive task of school-
age children aged 5 to 7 years. Five-year-olds cannot understand another’s perspective.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Comprehension REF: p. 1079 OBJ:
Nursing Process: Assessment
4. Which phrase is most descriptive of a preschooler’s understanding of time?
a. A preschooler has no understanding of
time.
b. A preschooler associates time with events.
c. A preschooler can tell time on a clock.
d. A preschooler uses terms like
yesterday appropriately.
ANS: B
In a preschooler’s understanding, time has a relation to events, such as, “We’ll go outside after
lunch.” Preschoolers develop an abstract sense of time at age 3 years. Children can tell time on
a clock at age 7 years. Children do not fully understand the use of time-oriented words until
age 6 years.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Comprehension REF: p. 1079
OBJ: Nursing Process: Assessment
5. A 4-year-old boy is hospitalized with a serious bacterial infection. He tells the nurse that he is
sick because he was “bad.” What is the best way for the nurse to interpret this comment?
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. What activity can the nurse expect of a healthy 3-year-old child?
a. The child is able to jump rope.
b. The child can ride a two-wheeled bicycle.
c. The child can skip on alternate feet.
d. The child can stand on one foot for a
few seconds.
ANS: D
Three-year-olds can accomplish the gross motor skill of standing on one foot for a few seconds.
Jumping rope, riding a two-wheeled bike, and skipping on alternative feet are gross motor skills
of 5-year-old children.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Comprehension REF: p. 1076 | Table 37-1
OBJ: Nursing Process: Assessment
2. In terms of fine motor development, what is a 3-year-old child expected to do?
a. Tie shoelaces.
b. Use scissors or a pencil very well.
c. Draw a person with seven to nine parts.
d. Copy (draw) a circle.
ANS: D
Three-year-olds are able to accomplish the fine motor skill of drawing a circle. Tying shoelaces,
using scissors or a pencil very well, and drawing a person with multiple parts are fine motor
skills of 5-year-old children.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Comprehension REF: p. 1076 | Table 37-1
OBJ: Nursing Process: Assessment
3. In terms of cognitive development, what is expected of a 5-year-old child?
, a. The child can use magical thinking.
b. The child is able to think abstractly.
c. The child can understand the conservation
of matter.
d. The child may be unable to
comprehend another person’s
perspective.
ANS: A
Magical thinking is the belief that thoughts can cause events. Abstract thought does not
develop until the school-age years. The concept of conservation is the cognitive task of school-
age children aged 5 to 7 years. Five-year-olds cannot understand another’s perspective.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Comprehension REF: p. 1079 OBJ:
Nursing Process: Assessment
4. Which phrase is most descriptive of a preschooler’s understanding of time?
a. A preschooler has no understanding of
time.
b. A preschooler associates time with events.
c. A preschooler can tell time on a clock.
d. A preschooler uses terms like
yesterday appropriately.
ANS: B
In a preschooler’s understanding, time has a relation to events, such as, “We’ll go outside after
lunch.” Preschoolers develop an abstract sense of time at age 3 years. Children can tell time on
a clock at age 7 years. Children do not fully understand the use of time-oriented words until
age 6 years.
DIF: Cognitive Level: Comprehension REF: p. 1079
OBJ: Nursing Process: Assessment
5. A 4-year-old boy is hospitalized with a serious bacterial infection. He tells the nurse that he is
sick because he was “bad.” What is the best way for the nurse to interpret this comment?
