Child Development

born with involuntary reflexes triggered by specific stimuli eg knee jerk

Adaptive(survival) reflexes - suckling, rooting, grasping

Primitive(controlled by medulla and mid brain) startle, sole of foot

Perceptual - focus both eyes on the same spot, baby follows movement with eyes

able to hear sounds and locate things by sound, able to taste, identify odours

Motor Skills - unable to hold up head, lack of coordination, unable to roll or sit up

ONE STRIKING FEATURE - repeptitive way of performing limited skills

movements not voluntary and not random

Sleeping - newborns sleep 90% of the time, circadian rhythms 2-3 hours cycle

Growth patterns - neither smooth or contineous, body parts grow at different rates

Bones - skull is separated by fontanels that allow bone to be compressed without damage

bones fuse by 12-18 months and are softer due to higher water content

Bone hardening patterns - cephalocaudal(head downward) or Proximodistal(trunkoutward) 

Muscle -  small with high water content

Fat - subcutaneous fat laid down at 34 weeks (pre natal), peaks at nine months

girls have more fat at birth

Myelination varies with site and age , those which function first are mylinated first

long phases of myelination - risk of damage 

begins earliest in lower brain stem spinal cord -starts mid gestation

myelination reaches cerebral hemispheres by birth

cortical myelinationshows anatomical sequences 

myelination mainly affects speed of transmission

cannot be taken or completed with adolescence

Synaptic density - maximal in striate cortex at 8 months ,density declines at adolescence

4 months - reaches for objects

6 months - sits alone

8 months - stands with help

10-12 months - crawls

14 months -  walks alone

18-24 months - sypnatic pruning

from birth many skills are present 

0-2 months - visually discrimnate mother from strangers

scans to identify objects

2-4 months - depth perception

4-8 months - discrimnates soghts and sounds

8-12 months - facial perception

1-3 months - imitation of gestures

6-7 months - memories

9-12 months - solve problems

14 months - new solutions to problems

18-24 months - early pretend play

Language development

2 months - 'coos'

6 months - 'babbles'

8-12 months - gestures

18- 24 months - 3 - 50 word vocabulary

0-2 months - distress excitement

1-3 months - social smiling

4 months - pleasure, delight

6-8 months - fear, attachment

11-13 months - stranger fear and anxiety

16 months - pride, shame, peers

22-24 months - pretend play

2 years - runs, climbs stairs

3 years - rides tricycle, draws

4 years - kicks, throws

5 years - hops and skips, ball games

6 years - jumps rope, skips

2 years - play sequences

3 years - physical perspective

4 years - classifies shape, size and colour

5-6 years - number and quantity

Language development 

2 years - 2 word sentances

3 years - 3-4 word sentances

4-6 years - improved speech questions

2-3 years - self definition based on comparison of age, size and gender

4-6 years - categorical self based on physical properties

Social Development

2 years - co operative play

3 years - empathy

4 years - early signs of friendships

5 years - sociodramatic play

6 years - roles in plays

6 years - jumps rope

7 years -2 wheeled bike ride

8 years - rides bike well

9-10 years - first stage of breast development

10-12 years - early menarche

11-12 years genital development in boys

12 years - growth spurt in girls

Cognitive development

6-7 years - memory strategies

8 years - sense of self worth

12 years - space and volume

6 years - strong sex stereotypes

8 years - sense of self worth

9-10 years - inner and complex qualities

Social development

same sex groups

regular friendships

12 years - girls height spurt

13 years - average age of menarches 

15 years - boy growth spurt

Cognitive development

12-15 years - early basic operations

17 - 18 years - consilladated formal operations

12-13 years - depression, self esteem decreases

13-16 years - self identity rise

18 years - clear identity

Social

12 years - cliques

14 years - crowds

16 years - pair

12 - 16 years - intimate friendships

12-13 years - parent/child conflict

14-16 years - maximum peer impact

Attention Deficit Hyper activity disorder

thoughts shift, distracted, unable to sit still, harms relationships

common behavioural disorder, causes life of pain

Symptons - inattention, boredom, difficult learning new things, cant sit still, impulsivity, inappropiate comments, may hit when upset

Causes - noone knows, may be die to additives or sugar

What can look like ADHD - underachievement due to disability, attention lapses, hearing problems, anxiety and depression

Treatments available - medication, methyphendiate(ritalin) reduce hyperactivity