16 Jul As children grow older, play becomes more social, influenced by brain maturation, playmate availability, and the physical setting. In 1932, the American sociologist Mildred Par
This is a 2 part assignment, first you will read scenarios and identify the type of play. Then, you will discuss the importance of play for development. See below for details:
PART ONE
As children grow older, play becomes more social, influenced by brain maturation, playmate availability, and the physical setting. In 1932, the American sociologist Mildred Parten described the development of five kinds of social play, each more advanced than the previous one. Parten thought that progress in social play was age-related in that younger children engaged in the less advanced social play and older children engaged in more advanced social play. However, contemporary research finds much more age variation. See if you can recognize the five patterns of social play in these scenarios.
1) Jill and Hannah are playing in a sandbox at the par Jill is building sandcastles, and Hannah is making a lake. Jill asks Hannah if she can use the shovel, and Hannah gives Jill the shovel. What type of social play is represented?
2) In a child-care classroom, a group of children play a board game on the floor Evan stands across the room and watches the group of children. What type of social play is represented?
3) A group of children from the neighborhood gathers in Nico’s front yard. They decide to play a game of kickball They determine where the bases will be and pick teams. The children begin playing kickball. What type of social play is represented?
4) Gemma and Camilla are riding bikes in the pa Holly rides in one direction, and Libby rides in the other direction. What type of social play is represented?
5) André is building a block tow He is so absorbed in what he is doing that he does not notice the group of boys behind him who are building a fort out of blocks. What type of social play is represented?
PART TWO
Many developmentalists believe that play is the most productive as well as the most enjoyable activity that children can undertake. Whether play is essential for normal growth or is merely fun is a point of debate. The controversy underlies many of the disputes regarding preschool education, which increasingly stresses academic skills. Consider the following hypothetical situation.
You learn that a preschool program for children ages 3 to 5 wants to eliminate all free-play time so that children can spend more time working on spelling, reading, and math. The program currently allows 2 hours of free-play time, both inside and outside, throughout the 6-hour day, but if the programming changes, children will no longer have this opportunity. You are currently in a developmental psychology class and have just learned about the importance of play for children.
To educate the public on this topic, you decide to write a letter to the editor of the local newspaper. (Note: You will not actually be sending the letter to the editor.) Write a one paragraph letter to the editor (half a page or so) identifying at LEAST SIX main points about the importance of play in the letter. Note- Points will be taken off if you do not follow instructions on format.
Videos to watch
Stage 2 – Preoperational – Lack of Conservation https://youtu.be/GLj0IZFLKvg
Egocentrism and Perspective Taking – https://youtu.be/RDJ0qJTLohM
Early Childhood: Body and Mind
chapter five
Invitation to the Life Span
Kathleen Stassen Berger | Fourth edition
1
Body Changes (part 1)
Growth Patterns
Weight and height increases and the relationship between these measurements changes.
Average body mass index (BMI) is lower than at any other time of life.
Children become slimmer as the lower body lengthens.
Center of gravity moves from the breastbone down to the belly button.
BMI = ratio of weight to height.
By the end of early childhood, the infant’s protruding belly, round face, short limbs, and large head are distant memories.
2
Body Changes (part 2)
Nutrition
Children in food-insecure households are more likely as adults to overeat when they are not hungry.
In low-income family cultures, parents tend to guard against undernutrition and rely on fast foods, so their children are especially vulnerable to obesity.
Many parents of overweight children believe their children are thinner than they actually are.
Appetite decreases between ages 2 and 6 because young children naturally grow more slowly than they did as infants.
3
Body Changes (part 3)
Nutrition
Weight gain in early childhood is fluid and may be influenced by parental and child care dietary choices for children.
Oral health
Teeth are influenced by diet and health.
Tooth decay correlates with obesity.
Infected teeth may indicate or create health problems.
Allergies
Food allergies
About 3 to 8 percent of all young children have a food allergy, usually to a healthy, common food.
Cow's milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, soy, wheat, and shellfish are frequent culprits.
Diagnostic standards and treatments vary.
5
Brain Development (part 1)
Size
By age 2, a child's brain weighs 75 percent of what it will in adulthood.
The brain reaches 90 percent of adult weight by age 6.
Myelin development contributes to this increased weight.
This brain scan of a 38-year- old depicts areas of myelination (the various colors) within the brain. As you see, the two hemispheres are quite similar, but not identical. For most important skills and concepts, both halves of the brain are activated. Myelin is a fatty coating on the axons that speeds signals between neurons. A gradual increase in myelination makes 5-year-olds much quicker at thinking than 3-year-olds, who are quicker than toddlers.
6
Brain Development (part 2)
From ages 2 to 6, maturation of the prefrontal cortex has several notable benefits.
Sleep becomes more regular.
Emotions become more nuanced and responsive.
Temper tantrums decrease or subside.
Uncontrollable laughter and tears are less common.
Inside the Brain: Connected Hemispheres
Corpus callosum
Is part of the brain that grows and myelinates rapidly during early childhood.
Consists of a band of nerve fibers that connects the left and right sides of the brain.
Facilitates communication between the two brain hemispheres.
Lateralization
Begins with genes.
Refers to the specialization in certain functions by each side of the brain, with one side dominant for each activity.
8
The Left-Handed Child
Left-handedness
Shown in some newborns
Discouraged and not accommodated in many cultures or contexts
Is advantageous in some professions
Can you identify any of these?
Dexterity in Evidence She already holds the pen at the proper angle with her thumb, index finger, and middle finger — an impressive example of dexterity for a 3-yearold. However, dexter is Latin for “right” — evidence of an old prejudice that is no longer apparent here.
9
Impulsiveness and Perseveration
Brain maturation (innate) and emotional regulation (learned) eventually allow most children to focus and switch as needed within their culture.
Before such maturation, many young children jump from task to task; they cannot stay quiet.
Other children engage in perseveration.
No young child is perfect at regulating attention, because immaturity of the prefrontal cortex makes it impossible to moderate the limbic system. Impulsiveness and perseveration follow
Engaging perseveration, some children persevere in, or stick to, one thought or action, unable to quit.
10
Stress and the Brain
Relationship between stress and brain activity depends on age and degree of stress.
Developmentally appropriate stress aids cognition.
Excessive stress-hormone levels early in life may permanently damage brain pathways, especially in maltreated children.
Shrinkage of various brain regions and white matter
Thinking During Early Childhood (part 1)
Piaget: Preoperational thought
Preoperational means “before (pre) logical operations (reasoning processes).”
The child's verbal ability permits symbolic thinking and explains animism.
Preoperational thought is symbolic and magical, not logical and realistic.
Symbolic thought: A major accomplishment of preoperational intelligence that allows a child to think symbolically, including understanding that words can refer to things not seen and that an item, such as a flag, can symbolize something else (in this case, a country).
12
Thinking During Early Childhood (part 2)
Obstacles to logic
Centration
Characteristic of preoperational thought, whereby a young child focuses (centers) on one idea, excluding all others
Egocentrism
Young children's tendency to think about the world entirely from their own personal perspective
Focus on appearance
Characteristic of preoperational thought, whereby a young child ignores all attributes that are not apparent
13
Thinking During Early Childhood (part 3)
Obstacles to logic
Static reasoning
Characteristic of preoperational thought, whereby a young child thinks that nothing changes; whatever is now has always been and always will be.
Irreversibility
Characteristic of preoperational thought, whereby a young child thinks that nothing can be undone; a thing cannot be restored to the way it was before a change occurred.
Thinking During Early Childhood (part 4)
Conservation and logic
Conservation
Principle stating that the amount of a substance remains the same (i.e., is conserved) when its appearance changes
Easy questions; obvious answer
(above left) Sadie, age 5, carefully makes sure both glasses contain the same amount. (above right) When one glass of pink lemonade is poured into a wide jar, she triumphantly points to the tall glass as having more. Sadie is like all 5-year-olds; 7-year-olds know better.
15
Thinking During Early Childhood (part 5)
One Logical Concept (Conservation), Many Manifestations
According to Piaget, until children grasp the concept of conservation at (he believed) about age 6 or 7, they cannot understand that the transformations shown here do not change the total amount of liquid, checkers, clay, and wood.
16
Thinking During Early Childhood (part 6)
Vygotsky: Social learning
Every aspect of children's cognitive development is embedded in the sociocultural context.
Children learn from guided participation through mentors.
Mentors
Present challenges
Offer assistance (without taking over).
Add crucial information.
Encourage motivation.
Most shirts for 4-year- olds are wide- necked and without buttons, so preschoolers can put them on themselves. But the skill of buttoning is best learned from a mentor, who knows how to
increase motivation.
17
Thinking During Early Childhood (part 7)
Zone of proximal development (ZPD)
Vygotsky's term for the skills that a person can exercise only with assistance, not yet independently
Scaffolding
Temporary support that is tailored to a learner's needs and abilities and aimed at helping the learner master the next task in a given learning process
Thinking During Early Childhood (part 8)
Overimitation
Universal
Tendency of children to copy an action that is not a relevant part of the behavior to be learned
Common among 2- to 6-year-olds who will imitate adult actions that are irrelevant and inefficient
Thinking During Early Childhood (part 9)
Language as a tool
Vygotsky considered language pivotal.
Private speech involves internal dialogue when talking to self.
Social mediation advances and expands understanding
STEM learning
Practical use of Vygotsky’s theory concerns STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) education.
Social mediation function of speech occurs as mentors guide mentees in their zone of proximal development, learning numbers, recalling memories, and following routines.
20
Thinking During Early Childhood (part 10)
Executive function
Involves cognitive ability to organize and prioritize the many thoughts that arise from the various parts of the brain
Is comprised of working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control
Allows the person to anticipate, strategize, and plan behavior
Relates closely to emotional regulation throughout life
Thinking During Early Childhood (part 11)
Contrast between Piaget and Vygotsky
Piaget highlighted the child’s own curiosity and brain maturation in learning.
Vygotsky stressed mentors, especially parents and teachers, in guiding children’s learning.
But…both theories recognized that young children are prodigious learners who strive to understand their world.
Children’s Theories (part 1)
Theory-theory
Children naturally attempt to explain everything they see and hear.
They develop theories about intentions before they employ their impressive ability to imitate.
23
Children’s Theories (part 2)
Theory of mind
Person's theory of what other people might be thinking
Emergent ability, slow to develop but typically beginning in most children at about age 4
Can be seen when young children try to escape punishment by lying
In order to have a theory of mind, children must realize that other people are not necessarily thinking the same thoughts that they themselves are. That realization is seldom achieved before age 4.
24
Children’s Theories (part 3)
Brain and context
Child's ability to develop theories correlates with the maturity of the prefrontal cortex and with advances in executive processing.
Executive functions lead to better understanding of false belief.
Context, experience, and culture are relevant.
A View from Science: Witness to a Crime
Younger children
Are sometimes more accurate than older witnesses who are influenced by prejudice and stereotypes.
May confuse time, place, person, and action.
Can develop false ideas from words, expressions, and scaffolding memories.
May believe an abusive act is OK is an adult says it is.
Optimizing witness effectiveness
Reducing stress, especially toxic stress
Balancing arousal and reassurance
Using appropriate interviewing techniques
26
Language Learning (part 1)
A Sensitive Time
Brain maturation, myelination, scaffolding, and social interaction make early childhood ideal for learning language.
Early childhood is a sensitive period (or best time) to master vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation.
Language is pivotal to every kind of cognition in early childhood.
27
Language Learning (part 2)
Vocabulary explosion
The average child knows about 500 words at age 2 and more than 10,000 at age 6.
Verbs, adjectives, adverbs, conjunctions, and many nouns are mastered.
Fast-mapping
Speedy and sometimes imprecise way in which children learn new words by tentatively placing them in mental categories according to their perceived meaning
Picture books offer opportunities to advance vocabulary though scaffolding and fast-mapping.
28
Language Learning (part 3)
Logical extension
Closely related to fast-mapping
Occurs when children use a word to describe other objects in the same category
Bilingual children
Often code-switch in the middle of a sentence
Realize which language to use by age 5
Language Learning (part 4)
Acquiring grammar
Grammar of a language
Structures, techniques, and rules that communicate meaning
Overregularization
Application of rules of grammar even when exceptions occur
Makes language seem more “regular" than it actually is
Pragmatic
Practical use of language, adjusting communication to audience and context (words, tone, grammatical form)
Difficult aspect of language
Evident by age 4
By age 4, many children overregularize the final s for pluralization, talking about foots, tooths, and mouses. This is actually evidence of increasing knowledge:
Many children first say words correctly (feet, teeth, mice), repeating what they have heard.
Later, when they grasp the grammar and try to apply it, they overregularize, assuming that all constructions follow the regular path
30
Language Learning (part 5)
Learning two languages
Early childhood is the best time to learn a new language.
For children to develop two languages, they must speak as well as hear two languages
Mastering two language before age 6 seems to contribute to lifelong neurological benefits.
If English fluency is lacking, language-minority children often have lower school achievement, diminished self-esteem, and inadequate employment.
31
Language Learning (part 6)
Language losses and gains
Language shifts
Becoming more fluent in the school language than in their home language
Balanced bilingual
Being fluent in two languages, not favoring one over the other
Occurs if adults talk frequently, listen carefully, and value both languages
32
Language Learning (part 7)
Five effective strategies for children of all income levels, languages, and ethnicities
Code-focused teaching
Book-reading
Parent education
Language enhancement
Preschool programs
1. Code-focused teaching. In order for children to read, they must “break the code” from spoken to written words. It helps if they learn the letters and sounds of the alphabet (e.g., “A, alligators all around” or, conventionally, “B is for baby”).
2. Book-reading. Vocabulary as well as familiarity with pages and print will increase when adults read to children, allowing questions and conversation.
3. Parent education. When teachers and other professionals teach parents how to stimulate cognition (as in book-reading), children become better readers. Adults need to use words to expand vocabulary. Unfortunately, too often adults use words primarily to control (“don’t touch” or “stop that”), not to teach.
4. Language enhancement. Within each child’s zone of proximal development, mentors can expand vocabulary and grammar based on the child’s knowledge and experience.
5. Preschool programs. Children learn from teachers, songs, excursions, and other children. (We discuss variations of early education next, but every study finds that preschools advance language acquisition, especially if the home language is not the majority language.)
33
Early-Childhood Education (part 1)
Research on costs and benefits
Program research focused on children from low- SES families; all provided intense education from well- trained teachers.
Perry (High/Scope) program
Abecedarian
Child-Parent Centers
Early-Childhood Education (part 2)
Research on costs and benefits
Conclusion
Early education, when done well, results in benefits that become most apparent when children are in the third grade or later
Early-Childhood Education (part 3)
International early-childhood education
Currently, in most developed nations, over 90 percent of 3- to 5-year- olds attend school paid for by the government.
In nations where major government funding is scarce, preschools that are privately or religiously funded proliferate.
Norway heavily subsidizes preschool education for every child from age 1.
36
Early-Childhood Education (part 4)
Home versus preschool
Quality matters.
If the home educational environment is poor, a good preschool program aids health, cognition, and social skills.
If a family provides extensive learning opportunities and encouragement, the quality of the preschool is less crucial.
Early-Childhood Education (part 5)
Child-centered or developmental programs
Emphasize children's natural inclination to learn through play rather than by following adult directions.
Encourage self-paced exploration and artistic expression.
Show the influence of Vygotsky (children learn through play with other children with adult guidance) and Piaget (emphasis children will discover new ideas if given a chance).
38
Early-Childhood Education (part 6)
Examples of child-centered programs
Montessori schools emphasize individual pride and accomplishment, presenting literacy-related tasks.
Reggio Emilia approach is a famous Italian early-childhood education program that encourages each child's creativity in a carefully designed setting.
Waldorf programs emphasize creativity, social understanding, and emotional growth; prize imagination.
39
Early-Childhood Education (part 7)
Teacher-directed programs
Stress academic subjects taught by a teacher to an entire class.
Help children learn letters, numbers, shapes, and colors, as well as how to listen to the teacher and sit quietly.
Are often influenced by behaviorism.
Are much less expensive, since the child/adult ratio can be higher.
40
Early-Childhood Education (part 8)
Project Head Start
Federally funded in early 1960s to provide preschool education for 4-year-olds from low-SES families or with disabilities
Current goals shifted from lifting families out of poverty to promoting literacy, providing dental care and immunizations, and teaching standard English
Early-Childhood Education (part 9)
Project Head Start
New 2016 requirements include 6 hour days and 180 days yearly with priorities for children who are homeless, have special needs, or are learning English.
Historical data suggest most Head Start children advanced in language and social skills, but non-Head Start children caught up in elementary school
Head Start children maintained superiority in vocabulary.
Opposing Perspectives: Comparing Child-Centered and Teacher-Directed Preschools
,
Early Childhood: The Social World
chapter six
Invitation to the Life Span
Kathleen Stassen Berger | Fourth edition
1
Emotional Development (part 1)
Emotional regulation (effortful control)
Ability to control when and how emotions are expressed
Preeminent psychological task between 2 and 6 years of age
Self-concept developed within this process
Emotional regulation influences
Maturation
Learning
Family and culture
Effortful control, executive function, and emotional regulation are similar constructs, with much overlap, at least in theory ( Scherbaum et al., 2018 ; Slot et al., 2017 ). Executive function
emphasizes cognition; effortful control emphasizes temperament; both undergird emotional regulation. Many neurological processes underlie these abilities; all advance during early childhood.
2
Emotional Development (part 2)
Initiative versus guilt
Erikson's third psychosocial crisis
Children undertake new skills and activities and feel guilty when they do not succeed at them.
Protective optimism encourages trying new things.
Optimistic self-concept protects young children from guilt and shame and encourages learning.
Emotional Development (part 3)
Pride
includes gender, size, and heritage (U.S.)
Involves cognition that supports understanding of group categories
Prejudice
Often involves feelings of superiority to children of other sex, nationality, or religion
Proud Peruvian In rural Peru, a program of early education (Pronoei) encourages community involvement and traditional culture. Preschoolers, like this girl in a holiday parade, are proud to be themselves, and that helps them become healthy and strong.
4
Emotional Development (part 4)
Brain maturation
Neurological advances
Growth of prefrontal cortex at about age 4 or 5
Myelination of the limbic system
Improved behaviors and abilities
Longer attention span
Improved capacity for self-control
Emotional regulation and cognitive maturation develop together, each enabling the other to advance
5
Emotional Development (part 5)
Emotional regulation and cognitive maturation develop together, each enabling the other to advance.
Maturation matters
Learning matters
Culture matters
6
Emotional Development (part 6)
Motivation propels action and is derived from personal or social context.
Intrinsic motivation
Drive, or reason to pursue a goal
Comes from inside a person
Apparent in intrinsic joy, invented dialogues, and imaginary friends
Extrinsic motivation
Drive, or reason to pursue a goal
Arises from the need to have achievements rewarded from outside
7
Emotional Development (part 7)
Praise
Distinction between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation is crucial in understanding how and when to praise something the child has done.
Effectiveness of praise tied to:
Praise of particular production and not general trait
Specific praise for effort and not generalized statement
The distinction between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation may be crucial in understanding how and when to praise something the child has done.
8
Play (part 1)
Play is the most productive and enjoyable activity that children undertake.
Play is universal.
Has occurred for many thousands of years
Reported in every part of the world
Vygotsky on play
Makes children “a head taller” than their actual height.
Real or Fake? This photo may be staged, but the children show the power of imagination—each responding to his or her cape in a unique way. Sociodramatic play is universal; children do it if given half a chance.
9
Play (part 2)
Playmates
Young children play best with peers.
Most infant play: Solitary or with parent
Toddlers: Slowly become better playmates
Young children: Best with peers
Peers provide an audience, role models, and sometimes competition.
Play (part 3)
The historical context: A century ago
Families had more children and fewer working mothers.
Children played outside with neighboring children of several ages.
Older children looked out for the younger ones.
Games allowed each child to play at their own level.
As children grow older, play becomes more social, influenced by brain maturation, playmate availability, and the physical setting.
11
Play (part 4)
Types of play: Parten (1932)
Solitary play
Onlooker play
Parallel play
Associative play
Cooperative play
Research on children today find much more age variation than Parten did.
Why do you think this occurs?
Solitary play: A child plays alone, unaware of any other children playing nearby.
Onlooker play: A child watches other children play.
Parallel play: Children play with similar toys in similar ways, but not together.
Associative play: Children interact, observing each other and sharing material, but their play is not yet mutual and reciprocal.
Cooperative play: Children play together, creating and elaborating a joint activity or taking turns.
Research on contemporary children finds much more age variation than
Parten did, perhaps because family size is smaller and parents invest heavily in each child, rarely telling them to “go out and play and come back when it gets dark.”
12
Play (part 5)
Social play
Two general kinds of play
Solitary
Social
Form of play changes with age, cohort, and culture.
Play with peers is one of the most important areas in which children develop positive social skills.
Finally Cooperating The goal of social play—cooperation—is shown by these two boys, who at ages 8 and 11 are long past the associative, self-absorbed play of younger children. Note the wide open mouths of laughter over a shared video game—a major accomplishment.
13
Play (part 6)
Rough-and-tumble play
Mimics aggression through wrestling, chasing, or hitting with no intention to harm.
Contains expressions and gestures (e.g., play face) signifying that the child is “just pretending.”
Is particularly common among young males.
Advances children's social understanding but increases likelihood of injury.
May positively affect limbic system development.
Ample space, distant adults, and presence of friends increase likelihood of rough-and-tumble play.
14
Play (part 7)
Sociodramatic play
Allows children to act out various roles and themes in stories that they create.
Sociodramatic play enables children to:
Explore and rehearse the social roles.
Test their ability to explain.
Practice regulating their emotions.
Develop a self-concept.
Joy Supreme Pretend play in early childhood is thrilling and powerful. For this dancing 7-year-old from Park Slope, Brooklyn, pretend play overwhelms mundane realities, such
as an odd scarf or awkward arm.
15
Play (part 8)
Good Over Evil or Evil Over Good?
Boys everywhere enjoy “strong man” fantasy play, as the continued popularity of Spider-Man and Superman attests.
These boys follow that script. Both are Afghan refugees now in Pakistan.
Play (part 9)
Learning by Playing
Fifty years ago, the average child spent three hours a day in outdoor play.
Video games and television have largely replaced that, especially in cities.
Children seem safer if parents can keep an eye on them, but what are they learning?
The long-term effects on brain and body may be dangerous.
Do you agree or disagree?
Pediatricians, psychologists, and teachers all report extensive research that screen time reduces conversation, imagination, and outdoor activity ( Downing et al., 2017 ). Overall, the American Academy of Pediatrics (2016) recommends no more than an hour a day of any screen time for preschoolers and suggests that supervision prevents violent or sexual media, avoiding racist and sexist stereotypes. However, many young children watch more than recommended, unsupervised, not only in the United States but also in other nations.
17
Challenges for Caregivers (part 1)
Styles of Caregiving
Parenting styles vary within nations, ethnic groups, neighborhoods—even families.
Baumrind’s categories
Parents differ on four important dimensions.
Expressions of warmth
Strategies for discipline
Communication
Expectations for maturity
On the basis of these dimensions, three parenting styles were identified. A fourth style was suggested by other researchers.
Expressions of warmth: From very affectionate to cold and critical
Strategies for discipline: Parents vary in whether and how they explain, criticize, persuade, ignore, and punish.
Communication: Some parents listen patiently to their children; others demand silence.
Expectations for maturity: Parents vary in the standards they set for their children regarding responsibility and self-control.
18
Challenges for Caregivers (part 2)
Baumrind’s styles of caregiving
Authoritarian parenting: High behavioral standards, strict punishment of misconduct, and little communication
Permissive parenting: High nurturance and communication but little discipline, guidance, or control
Authoritative parenting: Parents set limits and enforce rules but are fle
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