Lifespan Development

 

 

During ear1y childhood, the brain reaches about 7096 of its total weight with the growth
of white matter (protects the brain) and grey matter (responsible for covering cerebral
regions). However, the grey matter cells still need to be connected in order to activate
the full function of the brain. There are a number of different areas of the brain that will
connect during the early childhood period of rapid growth- Using your understanding of
brain development and Piaget’s pre-operative stage of cognitive development,
respond to the following scenario-

Early Childhood Interventions

You work as an early childhood specialist with an at-risk population of children through
Head Start. One of your job functions is to assess children for possible developmental
learning delays. To do this, you have to understand how poor nutrition, exposure to
infectious diseases, and lack of parental knowledge related to accessing services
could interfere with the cognitive development of young children.

Using your knowledge of basic brain development and Piagetian theory, respond to the
following questions.

1. What developmental problems do you expect children in your Head Start program to
have because of living in a lower socio-economic neighborhood? Explain your
response-

2. According to Piaget, children ages two to seven are in the pre- operative stage of
development- Using the scenario above, explain the importance of make-believe play
and its uses in working with children- Create a plan for using play with 3-year-old
clients that would allow you to assess cognitive development-

Topic #2:

Because young children’s cognitive systems are still immature, particularly their prefrontal cortex (center of planning and logic), they tend to express emotions as
soon
as they are felt. Their Iimbic systems (activates emotions) develop earlier in life than
parts of the cerebral cortex, so one of their important tasks is learning to identify and
appropriately express emotions. Socializing becomes more important, and they further
develop their sense of self through these interactions. Keep this in mind as you
respond to the following questions.

1. Research child-raising practices of the culture of your choice and predict their
psychosocial development (Erilcson’s theory) based on your research. Be sure to
support your ideas using specific information from the initiative versus guilt stage of
development.

2. Using the same research that you collected for the first question, develop a plan to
help parents (of your chosen culture) teach their young children appropriate ways to
express their aggression. Use your understanding of social learning theory to create
your plan.