Chapter 11 Introduction

Middle Childhood: Biosocial Development

  • A Healthy Time
    • Slower Growth, Greater Strength
    • Physical Activity
  • Health Problems in Middle Childhood
    • Childhood Obesity
    • A VIEW FROM SCIENCE: What Contributes to Childhood Obesity?
    • Asthma
  • Brain Development
    • Coordinating Connections
    • Measuring the Mind
  • Children with Special Needs
    • Causes and Consequences
    • Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
    • A CASE TO STUDY: Lynda Is Getting Worse
    • Specific Learning Disorders
    • Autism Spectrum Disorder
    • Special Education
    • Gifted and Talented

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WHAT WILL YOU KNOW?

  1. What would happen if more parents let their children “go out and play”?

    Besides physical fitness benefits, body movement improves brain functioning through improved cerebral blood flow and increased neurotransmitters. Neighborhood play is particularly beneficial because it is flexible. The play is active, interactive, and inclusive—ideal for children. It teaches ethics and cooperation. Many parents fear “stranger danger,” so they keep their children inside instead of allowing free play in the neighborhood. However, the risks of obesity are greater than the risk that a child would be abducted.

  2. Should the epidemic of childhood obesity be blamed on parents, schools, or policies?

    There are “hundreds if not thousands of contributing factors” for childhood obesity (Harrison et al., 2011). Genetic factors contribute to metabolism, body type, and appetite. In addition to contributing their child’s genes, parents play a role through feeding decisions (such as breast-feeding or not and allowing their children to drink soda or not), exercise patterns, and family size. Children play a role in their own body size by utilizing their pester power over food and physical activity. There are cultural factors that contribute to food choices and activity levels, as well. Schools that require significant homework may deprive children of opportunities for physical activity, and the food choices available in the cafeteria and vending machines influence children’s diets. Policies that affect the prevalence of parks, bike paths, and sidewalks can encourage or discourage physical activity, and subsidies for certain food commodities can make healthy or unhealthy food more or less expensive and available. In short, a dynamic-systems approach is needed to explain the epidemic of childhood obesity.

  3. Why are IQ tests not used as often as they were a few decades ago?

    Because researchers have realized that IQ scores can change over time, many have lost confidence in IQ tests. Newer thinking focuses on the idea that intelligence is comprised of many abilities. Older IQ tests measured a single intelligence factor, g. More modern models, such as Gardener’s theory of multiple intelligences, assert that there are a variety of skills that reflect intelligence. Another criticism of classic IQ tests is that they are culturally specific. A child who comes from another culture may score poorly because of his or her lack of cultural understanding rather than because of low intelligence.

  4. How helpful are diagnosis, special education, and medication for children with special needs?

    Specifics of diagnosis, prognosis, medication, and education are debatable; no child learns or behaves exactly like another, and no educational strategy always succeeds. Various strategies are apparent not only for children with disabilities but also for those who are unusually gifted and talented.

In the middle of the second grade, my family and I moved a thousand miles. I entered a new school where my accent was odd; I was self-conscious and lonely. Cynthia had a friendly smile, freckles, and red hair. More important, she talked to me; I asked her to be my friend.

“We cannot be friends,” she said, “because I am a Democrat.”

“So am I,” I answered. (I knew my family believed in democracy.)

“No, you’re not. You are a Republican,” she said.

I was stunned and sad. We never became friends.

Neither Cynthia nor I realized that all children are unusual in some way (perhaps because of appearance, culture, or family) and yet capable of friendship with children unlike themselves. Cynthia and I could have been good friends, but neither of us knew it. Her parents had told her something about my parents’ politics that I did not understand. Cynthia left the school later that year, friendless; I made other friends.

This chapter describes not only the similarities among all school-age children but also differences that may become significant—in size, health, learning ability, and more. At the end of this chapter, we focus on children with special needs—children who need friends but have trouble finding them.