Deck 4: C: Growth and Health

Question 1

What are the characteristics of malnourishment and how should it be treated?

Answer 1

A good answer will include the following key points:
∙ Characteristics:
∘Malnourishment is indicated by being small for one's age.
∘Malnourishment happens in third world countries and in industrialized nations.
∘Malnourishment is particularly dangerous during infancy because growth is so rapid at that time.
∘Malnutrition affects intelligence and the ability to pay attention.
∘Malnourished children tend to be listless, inactive, unresponsive, and lethargic.
∙ Treatment:
∘The most successful treatments involve both improving a child's diet and parent training to teach them how to provide experiences that foster their children's development.

Question 2

Define experience-expectant growth and experience-dependent growth. Give examples of each.

Answer 2

Experience-expectant growth refers to the fact that in human evolution, infants have typically been exposed to certain types of stimuli at specific points in development. This stimulation helps to strengthen some connections in the brain and eliminate others (use it or lose it). The example given in the text is that a seed depends on a water-filled environment to grow properly-the young brain depends on a stimulating environment to do the same. There are many examples where an under stimulating environment resulted in poor cognitive growth (Genie; the children being raised in understaffed orphanages).
Experience-dependent growth refers to changes in the brain that are not linked to specific points in development and that vary across individuals and across cultures. Some examples might include learning to play an instrument, learning to speak a second language, learning complicated physical movements involved in dance or gymnastics, etc.

Question 3

Your friend sees you buying baby food and formula for the food bank and says "I don't think many babies end up at food banks!" What would you tell her about malnutrition in Canada and about the importance of early nutrition on growth?

Answer 3

Almost 1 in 7 Canadian children lives in poverty. Children accounted for 37 percent of food bank users in Canada in 2008. Malnourishment is very damaging during infancy because growth is occurring so quickly during these years. When children have a history of being malnourished, they often have difficulty maintaining attention in school and are easily distracted. Therefore, ensuring that young children do not go without food is very important for their cognitive development.

Question 4

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, what are some recommended guidelines for dealing with picky eaters?

Question 5

What are some things that correlate with obesity and what are the features of effective weight-loss programs?

Question 6

What methods have scientists used to map functions onto particular brain regions?

Question 7

You want to prepare your child for her approaching puberty by discussing physical changes associated with puberty. What are the first signs that puberty has begun and what physical changes will occur later? Discuss the characteristics of puberty for girls and for boys.

Question 8

Describe the behaviours regulated by each of the following regions of the brain: left hemisphere, right hemisphere, frontal cortex.

Question 9

You have an 11-year-old daughter and your best friend has an 11-year-old son. Your friend thinks that your daughter has entered puberty and is wondering when his son will begin puberty and what physical events will occur during puberty. What can you tell your friend about puberty in general and the differences in onset of puberty in boys and girls?

Question 10

Your friend Lafon has a newborn son named Lamar. Lamar was a healthy full-term infant who weighed 7 pounds 6 ounces at birth. While you and Lafon are shopping for clothes for Lamar in a very expensive children's store, you notice that Lafon is loading her cart with lots of 0-3 month size clothes. You ask Lafon if she thinks it's a good idea to spend so much money on clothes that Lamar will outgrow very quickly. What can you tell Lafon about physical growth during the first year of life that may change her mind about these clothes?

Question 11

Your friend Dorothy is upset because her adopted 13-year-old daughter is overweight. No one else in the family has a weight problem. What can you tell Dorothy about the influence of heredity and environment on one's weight? What advice can you give Dorothy about weight loss in children?

Question 12

Describe neurons, cell bodies, dendrites, and axons.

Question 13

Your friends have an 18-month-old who often becomes fussy when he is in his car seat for long periods of time so they will take him out of the car seat. What can you tell your friends that might make them change their minds about this unsafe practice?

Question 14

Your friend Felicia is the mother of a 13-year-old daughter, Yvonne. Felicia is concerned that Yvonne is anorexic because she "eats like a bird." What can you tell Felicia about the causes and symptoms of anorexia that will help her identify if Yvonne is anorexic?