A. Summarize the physical changes that occur in children during this age and the factors that influence these changes. Include a comparison of male and female.
The growth of children during early to middle childhood has slowed a bit compared to the growth rate during infancy. However, this is still a period of tremendous growth and development, as remarkable changes occur in the body proportions. As children lose their baby fats, their arms and legs start to stretch and come in proportion to the head and other parts of the body. Studies showed that on average, children add 2 to 3 inches in their height and about 5 pounds in their weight within a year, and they also become thinner as their torso lengthens and their spine straightens (Berk, 2008). These physical developments are also coupled with the improved posture and balance which are changes that contribute to better motor skills and coordination. Further, the skeletal growth of children continues during this stage, with the hardening of the bones in the different parts of the skeletal system. In terms of brain development, it was established that the brain increases in weight and undergoes tremendous reshaping and refining (Berk, 2008).
While the male and female body tends to have a similar body proportion and physical developments during this stage, there are slight differences that are noticeable between the two. In the early to middle childhood stage, children tend to grow slowly, though boys tend to be slightly larger, heavier and muscular than girls who are likely to retain their baby fats. Some of the factors that influence the changes in the physical development of children during early childhood includes nutrition, heredity, immunization, and the endocrine glands. All these factors play a vital role in the growth and development of the skeletal, and muscular system as well as other organs.
B. Describe the changes that occur in a child’s brain and nervous system during this time frame and the corresponding changes in cognition, problem solving and judgement.
The early childhood is also a time of rapid brain growth and development, as the several cognitive connections and complex network takes place. During this stage, brain development is characterized by what cognitive experts claim as the ‘blossoming’ of the brain, showing a “dynamic and elaborative anatomical and physiological changes” (Brown & Jernigan, 2012). Some of the manifestations of cognitive development during childhood is the ability of the child of symbolic thought in the performing a mental task. They manifest an increased tendency to use language and symbols; for instance, children have the ability to explain certain events. A story can be told out of order, and children within their early childhood phase are likely to recognize the deviation. As the child progresses towards middle childhood, they learn how to use symbols in artworks, specifically in giving realistic concepts in their drawings. Generally, a child of about 5 can be able to draw a simple human body, with identifiable body parts.
It was believed that boys and girls tend to differ in their cognitive development. That is, girls are perceived to have a better aptitude in language, while boys are likely to be better in technical aspects. There are several studies that proved the difference in cognition between boys and girls, for instance, studies showed that girls are more likely to outperform boys in word use. A research on the activity and preference revealed that girls tend to engage in person-oriented activities such as playing with other girls and other objects with human image, like dolls. On the other hand, boys tend to prefer playing with toys that symbolize machines. Despite the differences, there are scholars who argued that boys and girls have only a slight difference in cognitive development.
C. Summarize the major milestones in social and emotional development that take place in early and middle childhood.
In addition to the physical and brain development, the early childhood is also a time for a tremendous period of social and emotional development. It is during this stage that children develop their ability to get along well with others, especially with children their age. They tend to initially spend considerable time with their family, and eventually transition to enjoying an interaction with their friends and other kids in the neighborhood and school. As children develop their communication skills during this stage, they eventually acquire the ability “to focus inward in their own thoughts” (Santrock, n.d). The children develop self-understanding by first learning to communicate; that is, it is through the communication process that children learn external communication and transition towards inward speech. The process of transitioning from external to internal speech is helpful in the social and emotional development. The children’s inner speech is said to turn into an inner thought which defines their self-concept and the manner of emotional regulation.
The social and emotional development of boys and girls tend to be influenced by several factors such as the biological and environmental elements. There are biologically-based explanation of the boys’ temperamental disposition, and the girls' ability to be more emotionally expressive. While both boys and girls tend to show similar emotional expression during infancy, it was argued that girls tend to show lesser negative emotions during early and middle adulthood. However, some researchers claimed that there are in fact very little gender differences in emotional expression. That is, any noted difference are acquired due to socialization, teachings, and expectations of the immediate environment.
References
Berk, L. (2008). Physical development in early childhoo. In Infants and children: Prenatal through middle childhood. http://www.ablongman.com/html/productinfo/berkic6e/0205511384_ch8.pdf.
Brown, T., & Jernigan, T. (2012). Brain development during the preschool years. Neurophyschology Review, 22(4), 313-333.
Santrock, J. (n.d.). Physical and cognitive development. In Educational psychology. McGraw-Hill.
