Lifespan Physical Development

1. LifespanPhysical Development Feldman: Module 3-1

2. .Gross motor development involves large muscle groups and activities that generally have to do with locomotion Fine motor development involves smaller muscle groups and activities such as reaching and grasping Motor Development

3. Perspectives on Motor Development • Nature-focused view: • Developmental maturation • Nurture-focused view: • Dynamic systems theory: the child develops new motor skills by adapting and adding to old ones to meet his/her goals

4. Dynamic Systems Theory of Motor Development Mastery of motor skills involves acquiring increasingly complex systems of action. Each new skill is a joint product of: 1) Central nervous system development 2) movement capacities of the body 3) goals of the child 4) environmental supports for the skill

5. Newborn Reflexes blinking Babinski grasping Moro rooting stepping sucking swimming

6. Gross motor development follows a generally universal sequence. Cephalocaudal and proximodistal trends are evident. There is no fixed maturational timetable. Gross Motor Development

7. Age Norms (in Months) for Gross Motor Skills*

8. Organized Sports in Childhood - Negatives • Negatives • Too much pressure to perform • Physical injuries • Distraction from academic work • Unrealistic expectations as an athlete • Wrong values • Possible exploitation

9. Gross Motor - Adulthood • Gross motor skills improve in adolescence • They peak in the 20’s • They decline through the remainder of adulthood

10. Fine Motor Skills

11. Newborn grasping reflex palmar grasp – can be varied 4-5 months, transfer objects from hand to hand 1 year – pincer grasp (Trying to push infants beyond their readiness may backfire.) Sequence of Grasping Behavior

12. Reaching affects cognitive development because it opens up new ways of exploring the environment. Infants use proprioceptive cues to reach as early as 4 months Fine Motor Skills - Infancy

13. Fine Motor – Early Childhood • Fine motor progress is apparent in • Children’s care of their own bodies • Drawing and painting

14. Self-Help Skills • 2-3 years zips, puts on clothes • 3-4 years button (large buttons) • 5-6 years ties shoes • 2-3 years uses spoon • 3-4 years serves self food • 4-5 years uses fork • 5-6 years uses knife

15. Drawing and Painting • 3-4 years • copies vertical line/circle • Draws a “tadpole” person • 4-5 years • Cuts with scissors • Copies triangle, cross, some letters • 5-6 years • Draws person with 6 parts • Copies some numbers, simple words

16. Fine Motor – Middle Childhood • Increased myelination of CNS • 6-year-olds can hammer, paste, tie shoes, fasten clothes • 7 years – use pencil & print smaller • 8-10 years – write cursive & use hands independently • 12 years – approach adult skill levels • Girls outperform boys

17. Fine Motor – Older Adulthood • Slower motor behavior • Neural noise – irregular neural activity in the CNS • Strategy – may have to slow to perform accurately • Can learn new motor tasks, but more practice required

18. Influences on Physical Growth & Health • Genetics • Infectious disease • Childhood injuries • Hormones • Emotional well-being • Nutrition

19. Influences on Physical Growth & Health - Immunization • Immunization has caused a dramatic decline in childhood diseases in the industrialized world • 24% of American preschoolers lack essential immunizations (40% in poverty) • Availability of care • Misconceptions (MMR & autism)

20. Influences on Physical Growth & Health – Emotional Well Being • Psychosocial dwarfism • Caused by extreme emotional deprivation • Appears between 2 & 15 years of age • Can interfere with the production of GH • Very short stature • Immature skeletal age • Severe adjustment problems • Can be treated

21. The Growth Spurt of Puberty • Most rapid growth since infancy • Average of age 9 for girls; 11 for boys • Girls grow 3.5 inches/year; boys 4 inches • 50% of body weight gained in adolescence • Also changes in leg length and facial structure

22. Why Does Puberty Happen Earlier than it Used to? • Nutrition ? – Better than in earlier times • Hormones ? – Found in food supply • Stress ? • Fat ?

23. Stress Theory of Early Puberty • Hypothalamus  pituitary sex glands  produce gonadotrophins • Androgens (testosterone) • Estrogens (estradiol) • Pituitary  thyroid gland  produces growth hormone • Cortisol (stress hormone) may trigger early onset (pituitary activity)

24. Fat Theory of Early Puberty • Weight affects the timing of menarche (106 +/- 3 pounds) • Athletes and anorexics become amenorrheic • Fat and leptin may also be influential

25. Adulthood

26. Normal Physical Development:Early & Middle Adulthood • Early Adulthood, peak muscle tone & joint function • Senescence • Middle Adulthood – gradual changes, lose height, gain weight, in 40s & 50s skin sags, wrinkles, age spots, hair thins, thicker finger- and toenails, yellow teeth

27. Changes in Middle Adulthood (cont’d) • Sarcopenia – age-related loss of muscle mass & strength • Lose 1-2% per year starting at age 50 • Exercise can help to reduce this loss • Also lose bone from the late 30’s; this accelerates in the 50’s

28. Changes in Middle Adulthood • Cholesterol increases • LDL – leads to atherosclerosis • Blood Pressure increases; sharply for women at menopause • Metabolic disorder – hypertension, obesity, insulin resistance, high cholesterol, low HDL, weight gain (Part of normal aging?); weight loss & exercise help • Lungs become less elastic

29. Adult Health - Reproductive System • The 20’s are ideal for reproduction. Risks of miscarriage and chromosomal disorders are reduced. • First births to women in their 30’s have increased in the past two decades • Dramatic rise in fertility problems in the mid-thirties (14 to 26%)

30. Changes in Middle Adulthood - Sexuality • Climacteric – loss of fertility • Menopause – ceasing of menstrual cycles (average age 52) • Drop in estrogen, hot flashes, nausea, fatigue, rapid heartbeat • Gradual decline for men (no andropause)

31. Adult Health Immune System • Capacity declines after age 20, partially due to thymus and inability to produce mature T cells • Stress and depression can also weaken the immune system

32. Adult Health - States of Mind • Western stereotype: deterioration is inevitable • In one study, people with positive self-perceptions of aging live 7 ½ years longer • More optimistic elders are about capacity to cope with physical challenge, better they are at overcoming threats to health • Low SES elders are less likely to believe they can control their health, to seek medical treatment, or to follow doctors’ orders.

33. Biological Theories of Aging • Cellular clock (Hayflick) • 70-80 cell divisions, based on telomeres • 120-year lifespan • Free-radical • Calorie restriction • antioxidants • Mitochondrial • Cellular energy producers • Linked to free radical theory • Hormonal Stress • hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis • Stress & decline in immune function

34. Santrock: Chapter 4Feldman: Modules 4-1 & 4-2 • Injury and Illness through the Lifespan

35. Children

36. Influences on Physical Growth & Health - Immunization • Immunization has caused a dramatic decline in childhood diseases in the industrialized world • 24% of American preschoolers lack essential immunizations (40% in poverty) • Availability of care • Misconceptions (MMR & autism)

37. Influences on Physical Growth & Health – Otitis media • 70+% of American children have had at least one bout by age 3 • Xylitol may be a preventative • Tubes remain controversial • Child-care settings should control infection • May cause problems in language development due to hearing problems

38. Asthma • 19% of N.A. children have chronic diseases and conditions • Asthma accounts for 1/3 of chronic illness and is the most common reason fro school absence • Incidence has increased dramatically, 8% of U.S. children—boys, low SES, parents smoke, born underweight most at risk

39. Injuries in Early Childhood • Leading cause of childhood mortality in industrialized countries. • Motor vehicle collisions are the most frequent source of injury at all ages & the leading cause of death among children over 1 year old • Auto accidents, drownings and burns are the most common accidents of early childhood

40. Injuries in Middles to Late Childhood • The rate of injury fatalities increases into adolescence with rates for boys rising considerably above those for girls. • MV accidents are still the leading cause of death, with bicycle accidents next. • Parents often overestimate children’s safety knowledge and behavior

41. Obesity: U. S. & Western Nations There has been a marked rise in obesity in the U.S. and other Western nations. Percentage doubled since 1980; quadrupled since 1965 U.S. may have 2nd highest rate 15% of U.S. children 6-11 overweight

42. Causes of Obesity • Genetics • SES (diet); high fat, low-cost foods • Family stress (comfort food) • Pastimes (TV, videogames) and lack of exercise • Fast-food and busy schedules • Learned food preferences (schoolcafeterias)

43. Middle Adulthood: Illness & Disability • Cancer & cardiovascular disease are the leading causes of death. Cancer alone among women. • Motor vehicle collisions decline, falls resulting in fractures & death nearly double. • Personality traits that magnify stress, especially hostility and anger, are serious threats to health.

44. Cancer – Middle Adulthood • The death rate multiplies tenfold from early to middle adulthood. • Lung cancer has dropped in men (fewer smoke) and increased in women. • Cancer occurs when a cell‘s genetic program is disrupted, leading to uncontrolled growth. • Damage to the p53 gene is involved in 60% of cancers. This gene stops defective DNA from multiplying. • Having the BRCA1 or BRCA2 tumor-suppressing gene is protection against breast cancer.

45. Adult-Onset Diabetes • Causes abnormally high levels of blood glucose • Incidence doubles from middle to late adulthood • Effects 10% of the elderly • Inactivity and abdominal fat deposits greatly increase risks • Treated with controlled diet, exercise, and weight loss

46. Health & Disease in Older Adulthood • Generally a continuation and intensification of problems that began in middle adulthood.

47. Physical Disabilities • Cardiovascular illness and cancer increase dramatically and remain the leading causes of death • Respiratory diseases also rise sharply • Emphysema, mostly from smoking • Pneumonia, 50 types • Stroke is the 4th most common killer • Hemorrhage or blockage of blood flow in the brain