Physical Development
Growth!
Well first let’s talk about the most recognizable growth in young children. Their height and weight! *It is important to understand that a child must eat a balanced diet, get enough quality sleep and participate in exercise for proper muscle growth and a healthy weight.
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Strategies to help your child physically develop are throughout the text but a few specific ones are as follow: 1) Exercise is crucial to physical development in the young years. It is recommended that children get 60 minutes of exercise a day. A few ways to encourage this is limit T.V. time and lead by a positive example. Children can increase their physical activity by playing outside with friends or doing sports such as gymnastics, or soccer. Age 3 is the most active age of your child's life and physical exercise at a young age leads to healthy life long habits. Some of the benefits of being active include strong muscles and bones, better sleep, and weight control which reduces the chance of obesity and a the risk of type 2 diabetes. For more information on the benefits of physical activity visit kidshealth.org/parent/nutrition_center 2) With exercise comes the topic of safety which is a top priority in this age range. It is important to understand general safety in the house and safety laws in the car. As a caregiver it is your responsibility to have your child in a seat belt and the correct safety seat. In most states it is the law for children to be in a car seat or booster seat until they are 8 years old or 4 feet, 9 inches tall. It is also important to never leave your child unattended in a car. For more information on this visit dmv.org. General safety around the house is very important as well and this can include having cribs that meet criteria, covering outlets and keeping medicine and other potentially poisonous items out of children's reach. For a more detailed list visit: www.childrensmn.org/services/emergency-and-trauma/making-safe-simple/at-home |
Motor Skills:
During the First few years of your child's life they learned how to crawl, walk and start to say there first words, how exciting! However, these next few years your child's skills will be rapidly developing and becoming more complex.
Fine Motor Skills:
Skills that involve the small muscles.
During the First few years of your child's life they learned how to crawl, walk and start to say there first words, how exciting! However, these next few years your child's skills will be rapidly developing and becoming more complex.
Fine Motor Skills:
Skills that involve the small muscles.
- At age 3, children will still be working on picking objects up and handling them.
-They should begin to be able to create things such as a building out of blocks or a circle out of play dough.
-Toys such as the one to the left should begin to be used and mastered at this age.
-They should also be able to hold objects such as a crayon or pencil and begin to scribble.
Fun Fact: This is the age where your child will become right or left handed (using one as a preference). - At age 4, your child should begin improving their coordination.
-This includes holding a pencil or pen in a pincer grasp (how adults hold a pencil) instead of a palmar grasp. This also helps with children's eating ability allowing them to have full control of their fork or spoon.
-Also children will begin using more fine techniques such as twisting a lid of a jar, or snapping the buttons on their jeans. - At age 5, children will get more capable at holding a pencil and drawing things such as simple lines or coping shapes.
- At age 6, children on fine tuning their skills to prepare to go into the early school years.
- This includes writing shapes and letters
- More complicated self-care tasks such as brushing their own hair and teeth, bathing, and dressing and undressing.
Gross Motor Skills!
Skills that involve the large muscles of the body.
Toilet Training:
Exciting!!! Increase in independence.
Sleep...
This is most likely your favorite part of the day if you have children 6 or younger!!!
Skills that involve the large muscles of the body.
- Age 3, children begin to transition from a beginning "waddle" walk to a smooth confident walk.
-With better ability to walk, your child will begin to jump, hop and skip.
-Children will also gain the ability to toss and catch with large balls.
-Fun Fact: This is the most active year of your child's life, make sure to supply enough physical activity opportunities and encourage your child to learn new skills such as jumping. - Age 4, children will develop better whole body coordination and strength
-Typically this is the age when children will begin climbing up stairs, so watch out!
- Children in this age will also get stronger muscles being able to jump higher and catch/throw with more power and coordination. - Age 5, your child will get better and faster at running and other skills such as jumping or even riding a tricycle!
- Age 6, the ability of moving sideways comes into play!
-New activities such as playing on the jungle gym and using slides and swings independently.
- This is also the age where many children begin extracurricular sports such as karate, gymnastics, or soccer.
Toilet Training:
Exciting!!! Increase in independence.
- This is a mixture of fine and gross motor skills and should begin around the age of 2 or whenever your child shows signs of physical, emotional, and mental readiness.
-Fine motor: Dressing and Undressing
-Gross motor: walking to potty - Potty training usually occurs in steps.. That follow this pattern
a. Child notices warning signs of having to urinate or defecate
b. Child learns how to react when they feel this urge
Note: Nighttime potty training is the most difficult so do not rush this process and try to stay calm.
*According to mentalhelp.net boys may be harder and take longer to potty train - Most children are fully potty trained by age 5, when they enter the school years.
Sleep...
This is most likely your favorite part of the day if you have children 6 or younger!!!
- How much sleep should my child be getting each night?
-Most children in the 2-6 range need on average 11 to 13 hours of sleep a night.
-It is also important that your child is taking a mid-day nap - Should my child be sleeping through the night?
-Yes. It is common that most children sleep through the night and if they aren't there are a few possible reasons.
a) Adjustment problems in school
b) not enough wind down time before bed (recommended 30 minutes)
c) a non-structured bed time routine - Is sleep walking/sleep talking a problem?
- No, it is actually pretty common in young children (40%) and most of them will outgrow it. - Is my child's lack of sleep going to hurt them in the long run?
-It depends, a few nights here and there of disruptive sleep due to night mares or adjustment problems in school will be ok...
-However, lack of sleep is linked to depression, anxiety, peer problems, and accidental injury.
What Should My Child be Eating:
- As your child gets older their calorie needs increases.
- A typical 4 to 6 year old needs 1700 calories daily - Ways to prevent obesity include...
a. Avoid excess fat and sugar and encourage healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables.
-May be linked to worsened health, dental carriers, and behavioral problems
b. promote physical exercise
-the DRI for daily exercise is 60 minutes of aerobic activity
c. limit T.V time that can promote unhealthy eating habits
d. genetics (not preventable but a factor)
e. environment
-what the family eats often effects the child.
*For example if your family has chips and salsa every night for dinner this can become a very unbalanced/unhealthy diet.
- Abnormality: some kids may develop food neophobia which is a fear of trying new foods such as vegetables. This is usually outgrown by adulthood.
- Fun Tip: It is important your child tries a variety of foods... one way to do this is introducing new foods by having your child take a "no thank you bite"
- Advice: Do not force your child to try new foods or clear their plate before leaving the table this teaches the child to continue eating even when their body is telling them to stop and influences overeating. Instead help your child develop a like for certain foods by presenting them in a fun way and encouraging.
- According to the Centers for Disease Control 13.9% of preschool aged children were obese in 2004 and 18.8% of school aged children were obese.
- Characteristics of childhood obesity –While no group has fully escaped this trend, obese children: Are often male, older, and of non-European descent, have a low family income are sedentary and have parents who are obese as well.
*For this reason it is important you (the parent) give an example of a healthy life style to your child - Obesity can lead to many health problems in childhood like asthma, sleep apnea, and fatty liver disease. It can also causes health problems in adulthood including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension. Along with health problems obesity will also have an effect on your child's self-esteem.
-A lower self-esteem is due to the child's body image, and possible bullying/teasing from other classmates - In Summary, make sure your child is supported through their food choices and they know how to make a well balanced healthy food plan. Both your child's genetics and environment will affect their chance of developing obesity (BMI-95th percentile)
-My Plate is an excellent resource!! (choosemyplate.gov)
-Promote a healthy self-image and promote nonappearance traits like honesty and kindness
-EDUCATE, MODEL, AND ENCOURAGE!!!
Interesting Fact: There are two main types of obesity central obesity (visceral fat) and subcutaneous (right under the skin. Visceral fat is by far more dangerous.
-Abnormality: Atherosclerosis- a heart disease that begins in youth but only becomes apparent in adulthood.
Some causes include
a. children who are sedentary and have central obesity.
b. May have diabetes.
c. May have high blood pressure
d. May have high blood LDL cholesterol, and low HDL cholesterol
*Always consult your doctor if you are worried about your child's weight, or any other health problem.
If eating out: remember to still have your child eat a balanced meal.
-sometimes it helps to order of the regular menu and split the meal between your children
- when ordering drink choose low fat milk, water, or fruit juice
- be aware that restaurant portions are double the needed portions
-occasional sweets are ok
Most Importantly.. Safety:
Because the Early Childhood years are some of the most physically active years of your child's life their safety is a top priority, and it is important to know the facts.
Motor vehicle accidents are the number 1 cause of death in children aged 1 to 4.
-It is important to take precautionary measures to prevent this
*In Ohio it is law that children stay in car seats until they are at least 8 years old or 4 feet, 9 inches according to http://www.dmv.org/safety-laws.php.
*Seat belts are also law in the front seat an save lives.
General safety is also important and most accidents can be easily prevented with a few tips.-most accidents occur in the home so it is important to have home safety equipment such as fire alarms and cabinet locks, and being generally aware.
Is breakfast Really that important for my growing child?
Because the Early Childhood years are some of the most physically active years of your child's life their safety is a top priority, and it is important to know the facts.
Motor vehicle accidents are the number 1 cause of death in children aged 1 to 4.
-It is important to take precautionary measures to prevent this
*In Ohio it is law that children stay in car seats until they are at least 8 years old or 4 feet, 9 inches according to http://www.dmv.org/safety-laws.php.
*Seat belts are also law in the front seat an save lives.
General safety is also important and most accidents can be easily prevented with a few tips.-most accidents occur in the home so it is important to have home safety equipment such as fire alarms and cabinet locks, and being generally aware.
- Choking
-encourage your child to eat at the table, sitting up
- avoid certain foods when your child is young such as whole grapes, peanut butter, nuts, popcorn, raw celery/carrots and gum.
-When your child first begins eating solid foods introduce them slowly and start with single grain cereals to prevent choking and allergic reactions. - Food allergies- only about 8% of children effected
*A true food allergy occurs when a food protein enters the body and triggers an immune response.
*Anaphylactic: A life threatening allergic reaction that can be caused by tree nuts, peanuts, shellfish, eggs and many other foods
*If your child does have severe allergies an epi-pen - Be careful to not expose your child to tobacco or lead which can cause life long negative effects
-Tobacco exposure: can cause respiratory issues and vitamin depletion
-Lead exposure: can cause ADHD, lower IQ, kidney problems and lead to memory issues.
*lead can come from dirty water or paint that contains lead
*lead poisoning has been decreasing due to a law prohibiting paint with lead in it - In summary, make sure your children are in the hands of a responsible care giver who follows state laws, and puts your child safety as a top priority. If you have additional questions on the safety of your child contact your doctor or a professional.
Is breakfast Really that important for my growing child?
- Yes, a nutritious breakfast helps your child prepare for the day, ingest enough glucose to have energy and grow. -Breakfast has an effect on school performance
- School Lunches?
-Well, this is heavily talked about issue. Including the most current change of some school districts not allowing teachers or kids hand out and sweets such as cupcakes on their birthdays.
-The National School Lunch and Breakfast Program- ensures that school lunches are serving age appropriate servings with good nutritional value.
-Many schools feed children that would otherwise not be fed
*about 30 million children receive reduced cost or free school meals according to Nutrition Concepts & Controversies.