Order 157066: CHDV/Article Term Paper
Chapter 5: The first 2 years – Biosocial Development
CHDV 1400
California State University, Los Angeles
Alma Villanueva, MA
Overview
BODY CHANGES
SLEEP
BRAIN DEVELOPMENT
PERCEIVING & MOVING
SURVIVING IN GOOD HEALTH
Body Size
4 months – weight 2x
12 months – weight 3x
Slows down after the first year
Weight is mostly fat
3
Percentile
# that indicates rank compared to other similar people of same age
0 to 100
50th percentile– Average
Why is it useful?
Failure to Thrive : Serious medical condition in early infancy
insufficient weight gain or inappropriate weight loss)
4
Importance of Sleep
Good sleep
Normal brain development
Emotional regulation
Learning
Academic success
Psychological adjustment
Sleep deprivation
Poor health
Physical or psychological problems
5
Sleep
15 to 17 hours/day
Hours decrease with maturity
Full-term & well-fed babies sleep more
LBW babies fed every 2 hours
6
REM
½ newborns sleep is REM
Rapid Eye Movement
Flickering eyes & rapid brain waves
Indicates dreaming
Until about 3 mos.
7
Brain Development
Newborn skull size - disproportionately large
By 2 y/o – almost 75% of adult weight
Head circumference measurement
Head-sparing – protects the brain’s dev. during malnutrition
Brain Development
Neurons- nerve cell
Most are created prenatally
Far more than infant will need
Important in processing brain messages
Where are they located?
Brain stem
automatic responses
(heartbeat, breathing, temperature)
Mid-brain
emotions/memory
Cortex
70% of neurons
Outer layers of the brain
Thinking, feeling, & sensing
Prefrontal Cortex
Most prolonged development
Virtually inactive in infancy
Gradual growth
Planning
Impulse control
Anticipation
Brain Cells
Each Neuron contains 1 Axon & Many Dendrites
Axons – Sends electrochemical signal to dendrites of another neuron
Dendrites – Receives electrochemical signals from an axon of another neuron
Synapses – the way of communication b/n 2 neurons (axon & dendrite)
Neurotransmitters carry information for the axons to send
Brain Development
Transient Exuberance
Huge increase of dendrites
5 fold increase birth – 2years
Temporary
Pruning
Unused connections atrophy & die
Environment is important
Experience
Experience-expectant brain functions
Brains need and expect certain basic common experiences
Must occur for normal brain development
People to see, things to grab, etc.
Experience-dependent brain functions
Brain functions depend on particular experiences
Might happen
Culture and family specific
Additional skills developed over the life span (that the brain does not expect)
e.g. making an igloo
Harming the Brain
Lack of stimulation
Over stimulation
Stress
Shaken Baby Syndrome
Breaks neural connections
Severe social deprivation
Sensation & Perception
At birth, sensation (detecting a stimulus) is apparent
See, hear, smell, taste, touch
Vision last to mature
Perception (making sense of it) comes a bit later with exp.
Requires cognition
Movement
What is the growth pattern for a human being?
Infants control head control upper body arms legs
Gross Motor Skills
Large body movements
Arms, legs
Crawling (8 – 10 mo.)
Environment
Not all infants crawl – isn’t a must
Walking
3 factors to walk
Muscle strength
Brain maturation with the motor cortex
Practice
| 9 months | Step when held |
| 10 months | Stand momentarily |
| 12 months | Walk unassisted |
Fine Motor Skills
Small body movements
Hands, fingers, toes
Picking up a coin, drawing, feeding
6 months – stare and grab wanted object
1 year – pincer movement & self feeding
Surviving in Good Health: Immunization
Between 1950 & 2010, about 2 billion children died before age 5
Immunization: Protection against disease via antibodies
Dramatic Success
Small pox
Polio
Measles
Problems w/ immunization
Parents afraid of side effects
Risk of disease > risk of side effects
No access to rural areas
2 to 3 million children die/year
Nutrition
“Breast is Best”
Colostrum – thick, high-calorie fluid at birth
Sterile & Body Temp.
Iron, Vitamins & nutrients
Digestible
Protects from diseases, obesity, diabetes, & heart disease
Breast is best
Preterm babies
Milk adjust with age (quality)
Milk adjust in quantity to demand
Add digested food about 6 months
World Health Organization (WHO) recommends continued breastfeeding up to 2 years but at least 12 months
Malnutrition
Protein-calorie malnutrition
Infant doesn’t get enough food
Severe illness, weight loss, death
Stunting
Failure to grow normal height due to chronic malnutrition
Wasting
Severely underweight due to chronic malnutrition