PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

IN CHILDREN AND
ADOLESCENTS

1
 Mechanisms of Physical
Growth
• Sleep is essential for growth since 80%
of growth hormone is secreted during
sleep

• Proper nutrition is particularly

important during infancy when growth
is rapid
2
Growth Spurt
• Slows throughout childhood.
• Puberty brings forth the most rapid increases
in growth since infancy.
• Occurs two years earlier for girls (age 9) than
boys (age 11) on average.
• The peak of pubertal change occurs at 11.5
years for girls and 13.5 years for boys.
3
Growth Spurt (Continued from previous slide)

 Weight gain follows roughly the same timetable as

height gain.
 Girls gain hip width while boys gain shoulder width.
 The later growth spurt of boys produces a greater leg
length in boys than in girls.
 Boys’ facial structure becomes more angular during
puberty, whereas girls’ facial structure becomes
rounder and softer. 4
 Adolescent Growth Spurt and
Puberty

• During the adolescent growth spurt children may

gain 20-25 pounds in 1 year
• Events and timing of sexual maturation differ for
boys and girls
• Pituitary gland signals other glands to release
hormones
• Timing of puberty is regulated by genes,
nutrition, and health
• Boys usually see early maturation as a good
5
thing; girls usually do not
Motor Development

© 1999 John Wiley and Sons, Inc.

PATTERNS OF MOTOR CONTROL
HEAD REGION
Eye Control
• Optic Nystagmus – response of the eyes to a
succession of moving objects (12 hrs. after birth)
• Ocular pursuit – 3rd and 4th weeks
• Horizontal – 2nd and 3rd month
• Vertical – 3rd and 4th months
• Circular – several months later
7
PATTERNS OF MOTOR CONTROL
HEAD REGION
SMILING
• Reflex smiling in response to tactual
stimuli– 1st week of life
• Social smiling – 3rd and 4th months

HEAD HOLDING – one month to six months

8
PATTERNS OF MOTOR CONTROL
TRUNK REGION
Rolling – side to side – 2 months, back to side – 4
months, complete rolling – 6 months
Sitting – 4 to 9 months

ARM AND HAND REGION

Hands – Thumb opposition – grasping between 3 to 4
months, picking – 8 and 10 months
Arms – reaching for objects by 6 to 7 months, picking
up a small object by one year
9
MUSCLE-FAT RATIO

• Fat tissues develop more rapidly

than muscle tissues

• Teeth – by the onset of puberty,

has 28 of the 32 permanent teeth

10
LATE CHILDHOOD SKILLS
• SELF-HELP SKILLS – eating, dressing,
bathing and grooming

• SOCIAL HELP SKILLS – helping at home and

in the play group

11
LATE CHILDHOOD SKILLS
• SCHOOL SKILLS – writing, drawing,
painting, clay modeling, sewing, cooking,
woodworking

• PLAY SKILLS – throwing and catching balls,

riding a tricycle, skating, swimming

• HANDEDNESS – left-handedness , right- 12

handedness and ambidexterity
What is the
Psychological
Implications of Early
Motor Development?
• Motor skills allow for fun social
interaction
• Provide evidence of normal
development
• Enhances perceptual, cognitive,
and social development

14
 PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

THE BRAIN and the SENSES

The Brain
• weighs 1300 - 1400 g

• made up of about 100

billion neurons

• “the most complex living

structure in the universe”
Society for Neuroscience

• the site of the major

coordination in the
nervous system
Before birth/Pre natal

• 4 months --- 3 major regions (cerebrum,

cerebellum and medulla) of the brain are
clearly separated
Before birth
• Middle of 6th month ---- fissure (central
fissure) marking the border between
centers of sensation and voluntary
muscles control appear

• Cerebrum expands, cortex folds into many

other fissures
Brain development
• At birth – brain contains 100 billions
neurons; no patterns of wiring

• 1 year – brain produces trillions

connections between neurons
THE NERVOUS SYSTEM
PARTS OF THE BRAIN
•1 meninges
• 2. cerebrum
• 3. Cerebellum
• 4. thalamus
• 5. hypothalamus
• 6. medulla oblongata
• 7. pons
Lobes of the cerebrum
Frontal Lobe
•Primary Motor Cortex – controls
movements of the body.

•Broca’s Area – Controls facial neurons,

speech production . Located on Left
Frontal Lobe.
 Parietal Lobe
• The Parietal Lobe of the brain is located deep to the
Parietal Bone of the skull.
• It plays a major role in the following
functions/actions:
- Senses and integrates sensation(s)

- Spatial awareness and

perception
(Proprioception - Awareness
of body/ body parts in space
and in relation to each other)
Lobes of the Brain – Occipital Lobe
• The Occipital Lobe of the Brain
is located deep to the Occipital
Bone of the Skull.

• Its primary function is

the processing,
integration, interpretation,
etc. of VISION and visual
stimuli.
 Temporal Lobe
• The Temporal Lobes are located on the sides of the
brain, deep to the Temporal Bones of the skull.

•They play an integral

role in the following
functions:
- Hearing
-Organization/Comprehension of
language

- Information
Retrieval (Memory and
Memory Formation)
The Cerebellum

• “little brain”
• 11% of brain’s
weight
• Co-ordination of
body movement,
balance and posture
Thalamus
• Relay station for incoming sensory
signals and outgoing motor signals
passing to and from the cerebral cortex
Hypothalamus
• Contains neural centers for hunger, thirst, and
body temperature.

• Contributes to the regulation of sleep,

wakefulness, emotions, sexual arousal, anger, fear,
pain, and pleasure.

• Coordinates sympathetic and parasympathetic

reflexes.
Pons

• Regulation of sleep and wakefulness

Medulla/medulla oblongata

• Controls autonomic activities including heart rate,

and ventilation rate (breathing)

Medulla

Cerebral
Hemispheres

Cerebellum
SENSORY CAPACITIES - VISION
AT INFANCY:
 Visual field is only about half of
adults

 Color vision is either totally absent

or minimal due to the undeveloped
state of the cones

 Muscle weakness causes the

inability to focus both eyes
SENSORY CAPACITIES - VISION
AT INFANCY:

 Optic nystagmus (ability to follow

moving object and then move eyes
backward appears during the 1st
week of life
SENSORY CAPACITIES - VISION
BABYHOOD/CHILDHOOD
• By 3 mos., eye muscles are well-enough
coordinated to enable them to see things
clearly
• Cones are well developed to enable them
to see colors
SENSORY CAPACITIES: audition

AT INFANCY:
• Hearing is the least developed of all
the senses at birth (middle ear is
filled with amniotic fluid for several
days after birth)
SENSORY CAPACITIES: audition

AT INFANCY:
• Hearing improves within the 1st 3 to
4 days after birth
• Infants respond to the human voice
than do other sounds
BABYHOOD/CHILDHOOD:
• Hearing develops rapidly
SENSORY CAPACITIES: olfaction

AT INFANCY:
• The cells for smell, located in the
upper part of the nose are well
developed at birth

• Cells for taste located on the

surface of the tongue and in the
cheek areas are well developed.
SENSORY CAPACITIES: olfaction &
gustation
AT INFANCY:
•Smell and Taste continue to
improve during babyhood
SENSORY CAPACITIES: cutaneous

• All sense organs relating to touch,

pressure, pain and temperature
are present in well-developed
forms at birth.