PSYCH211 Chapter 5: Chapter 5. Physical Development in Infancy and Toddlerhood (1/2)

• School: University of Waterloo
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYCH211
• Professor: Kathleen Bloom

Document Summary

As the (cid:272)hild"s o(cid:448)erall size i(cid:374)(cid:272)reases, parts of the (cid:271)od(cid:455) gro(cid:449) at differe(cid:374)t rates. Two growth patterns describe these changes: 1) cephalocaudal trend 2) proximodistal trend. Cephalocaudal trend: fro(cid:373) the lati(cid:374) for (cid:862)head to tail(cid:863); duri(cid:374)g the pre(cid:374)atal period, the head develops more rapidly than the lower part of the body. At birth, the head is of total body length and the legs only 1/3. By age 2, the head is only 1/5 and the legs . Proximodistal trend: gro(cid:449)th pro(cid:272)eeds, literall(cid:455) fro(cid:373) (cid:862)(cid:374)ear to far(cid:863); fro(cid:373) the (cid:272)e(cid:374)ter of the (cid:271)od(cid:455) outward. In the prenatal period, the head, chest, and trunk grow fast then the arms and legs and finally hands and feet. Sex differences- girls are shorter, lighter, and have higher amount of fat to muscle than boys. Girls are advanced in development of other organs. Children of the same age differ in rate of physical growth; some make faster progress toward mature body size than others.