Deck 5: Seciton 1: the First Two Years: Biosocial Development

Question 1

List three of the advantages and two of the disadvantages of breast-feeding.

Answer 1

Breast-feeding 1) encourages attachment between mother and child, 2) provides antibodies from the mother, 3) is more digestible than cow's milk and 4) contains more vitamins and minerals than cow's milk. 5) Breast-fed babies have fewer allergies, asthma, and stomach aches, too. 6) Babies who are exclusively breast-fed become obese less often and 7) have lower rates of diabetes and heart disease.
The disadvantages of breast-feeding include 1) the potential to transmit teratogens that the mother might ingest, 2) the other family members' inability to participate with the mother in the feeding, 3) the inconvenience of feeding on demand, 4) sore breasts and cracked nipples, and 5) mother must be well-fed and hydrated to produce enough milk.

Question 2

Explain the ways in which the developing brain attempts to protect itself under adverse circumstances such as malnutrition or neglect.

Answer 2

The growing brain protects itself through processes including head-sparing, in which the brain is the last part of the body to suffer from malnutrition, to self-righting, the inborn drive to remedy a developmental deficit. For example, 1) infants with no toys develop their brains by playing with whatever objects are available, and 2) infants with neglectful mothers may bond with someone else who provides daily stimulation. However, if a lack of stimulation, neglect, or maltreatment is sustained and severe enough, the brain may not be able to successfully recover from this early adversity.

Question 3

Describe the typical changes in weight and length that the average baby will experience across his or her first year of life. Explain the meaning of norms and percentile rankings.

Answer 3

The average baby doubles his or her birthweight by 4 months, and triples it by 1 year. The average baby grows 10 inches in the first year.
Norms are averages based on data from a population. Norms allow one to determine whether a particular baby is bigger, smaller, or average in comparison to his or her peers. Percentile ranks are based on norms. Babies who are average will score in the 50th percentile for height and weight. Babies who are smaller than average will have a lower percentile rank, and babies who are larger than average will have a higher percentile rank.

Question 4

Explain how biology and environment interact in the development of gross motor skills. What would you advise for parents who are worried that their 14-month-old baby hasn't begun walking independently yet?

Question 5

Describe what immunizations do for the individual and public health. Tell what might happen if children are not immunized.

Question 6

Describe parent/child sleeping practices from two different cultural perspectives. What is the reason for the particular practice in each culture?

Question 7

Describe how developed each of the five senses is at birth and how they further develop during the first months of life.

Question 8

Explain the changes that occur within the infant brain during the first two years of life and discuss the importance of pruning.

Question 9

Name three ways in which malnutrition can affect a young child.

Question 10

Differentiate between experience-dependent and experience-expectant circumstances and provide one example of each.