What I think about Child Development

Things that should be measured in middle childhood would be cognitive development, physical development,, social development

cognitive developmental- Brain development needs to be measured in order to help children cognitively in middle childhood. The reasons for this would be the child would be able to retain more information, have more control over their actions. The child should also be able to be adaptable to new situations.

“II. INFORMATION PROCESSING .

A. Brain development contributes to two basic changes in information processing.

1. Increase in information-processing capacity. A fairly rapid decline in time needed to

process information occurs during middle childhood.

2. Gains in inhibition. Inhibitory control-the ability to resist interference from irrelevant

information makes great strides during middle childhood.

B. Attention .

1. During middle childhood, attention becomes more controlled, adaptable, and planful.

2. Selectivity and Adaptability . a. Through the elementary years, children become better

at deliberately attending to just those aspects of a situation that are relevant to task goals. b.

Older children can flexibly adjust their attention to the momentary requirements of situations. C.

Attention strategy development follows a predictable, four-step sequence: 1) Production

deficiency-preschoolers fail to produce strategies when they could be helpful. 2). Control

deficiency-young elementary school children fail to control, or execute, strategies effectively. 3).

Utilization deficiency-slightly older children apply strategies consistently, but their performance

does not improve. 4). Effective strategy use-by mid-elementary school years, children use

strategies consistently, and performance improves.

3. Planning. a. School-age children scan detailed pictures and written materials for

similarities and differences more thoroughly than do preschoolers. b. On complex tasks, schoolage children make decisions about what to do first and next in an orderly fashion. C. The

development of planning illustrates how attention becomes coordinated with other cognitive

processes. d. Attentional difficulties are at the heart of the problems of children with attention

deficit hyperactivity disorder , a disorder in which children have great difficulty staying on task,

act impulsively, and may be hyperactive.

C. Memory Strategies .

1. Memory strategies are the deliberate mental activities we use to store and retain

information. “ (http://psych.ku.edu/dennisk/CP333/Cognitive%20Middle.pdf )

Physical development

Physically the child should be gaining weight, have bladder control, should be at their age appropriate weight and have age appropriate small and large motor skills. Without being measured these could be signs of juvenile diabetes, rickets, abuse or neglect. Loss or non-retention of small and large motor skills could be signs of delays.

“Growth slow in middle childhood, and wide differences in height and weight exist.

• Children with retarded growth due to growth hormone deficiency may be given synthetic growth hormone.
• Proper nutrition is essential for normal growth and health.
• The permanent teeth arrive in middle childhood. Dental heath has improved, in part because of use of sealants on chewing surfaces.
• Malnutrition can affect all aspects of development.
• Obesity, which is increasingly common among U.S. children, entails health risks. It is influenced by genetic and environmental factors and can be treated.
• Concern with body image, especially among girls, may lead to eating disorders.
• Because of improved motor development, boys and girls in middle childhood can engage in a wide range of motor activities.
• About 10 percent of schoolchildren's play, especially among boys, is rough-and-tumble play.
• Many children, mostly boys, go into organized, competitive sports. A sound physical education program should aim at skill development and fitness for all children.
• Many children, especially girls, do not meet fitness standards.”(http://psych.ku.edu/dennisk/CP333/Cognitive%20Middle.pdf )

“Children want to do things by and for themselves, yet they need adults who will help when asked or when needed."(http://psych.ku.edu/dennisk/CP333/Cognitive%20Middle.pdf )

• Social Emotional Development - I always say in social emotional that it is better to use this skill than memorize information. In order to succeed in life a person has to have social skills. They need to be able to work out problems and to have autonomy.
• Seven to nine-year-old children of the same age and sex help each other:
  • have fun and excitement by playing together,
  • learn by watching and talking to each other,
  • in time of trouble by banning together,
  • by giving support in time of stress, and
  • understand how they feel about themselves.
• Children need guidance, rules, and limits.
• They need help in solving problems.
• They are beginning to see things from another child's point of view, but they still have trouble understanding the feelings and needs of other people.
• Many children need help to express their feelings in appropriate ways when they are upset or worried.
• They need more love, attention, and approval from parents and you than” criticism.”(http://www.nncc.org/child.dev/mid.dev.html )

In what ways are school-age children assessed in other parts of the world? (Choose a country or region of the world for which you have a personal affinity. I wanted to compare American Middle Childhood to African forager Middle Childhood. The assessments are different because these children are being judged on their productivity instead of their social skills and how much they know.

“ The Aka acknowledges two stages of development corresponding to out notion of middle childhood; mona (weaning-7) and mona bokala and mona ngonda (males and females 8-12 respectively) In the Aka camp. There is nearly always at least one adult present, although this is not dependent upon there being children to look after, where there are few adults around, will they necessarily be a child's parent. Girls spent a mean of 36.8 percent of their time with a same-sex child as one their nearest neighbors, and boys spent about 45.4 percent of the time nearest to one other boy. Aka children performed twice as much work independent of adults than adult-dependent work, excluding childcare and work for villagers. They also spent more time emulating work in play than performing adult-dependent work.” (retrieved from http://anthro.vancouver.wsu.edu/media/PDF/boyette_hn_draft_6-09.pdf)