Lecture No.

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1. Define growth, development and maturation.
2. Identify types of growth and development.
3. Mention principles of growth and development.
4. Identify the patterns of Growth and Development
5. Enumerate factors influencing growth, development and maturation
through the life span.
6. State the developmental age periods.
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Growth is an increase in the size, weight and height of an
individual. It is a quantitative change that can be easily
measured in metric or imperial units (physical changes).

Development is an improvement of one’s abilities and skills that

cannot be measured in metric or imperial units (changes
in skills & abilities including emotional & intellectual
progress)

Maturation: an increase in competence and adaptability. Its involves

growth in ability to perform skills, to think, to relate to
people, to trust, to have confidence in oneself.
 Domains of growth Domains of development
1. Motor: gross & fine motor skills (e.g.
1. Physical such as: weight, sitting, walking, running…..etc).
height, head and chest
circumferences. 2. Intellectual-Cognitive (Behavioral):
change in mental activities (reasoning,
2. Physiologic such as vital mental thinking, remember, language).
signs.
3. Moral-Emotional e.g. love, fear……..etc.
3. Sensation : (vision, touch,
hearing, taste and smell 4. Social: changes in individual’s
personality; relations; gender roles e.g.
self concept, friendship, development
sense of trust.
1. PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT:
Includes muscle coordination and control, growth in size and in proportion.
Examples: a child rolling over, lifting its head, or sitting up.
2. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT:
The ability of the brain to take in and process information.
Examples: a child recognizing their name, or recognizing a parent
3. SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT:
A child learning and discovering the expectations and rules for interacting with others. Examples: a
child smiling at mother, a child learning to share a toy with a friend.
4. EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT:
The ability to understand feelings and how to respond to them appropriately.
Example: a child feeling jealousy due to a new baby in the family, a child feeling love
5. MORAL DEVELOPMENT:
Identifying personal values.
Examples: right or wrong, behaving according to what others need, respecting human rights…etc
1. Principle of continuity: It starts with conception and ends with death

2. Principle of lack of uniformity in the developmental rate : Not all

body parts grow in the same rate at the same time.

3. Principle of individual difference: Each child grows in his/her unique

and personal way

4. Principle of uniformity of pattern: directions and sequence of

development which is uniform over the world and there is no difference
among them. In humans, physical development are categorical as two
standard pattern of development:
(A) Cephalocaudal (from head to toe) and (B)proximodistal(from
inward to outward).

5. Principle of proceeding general to specific responses

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6. Principle of integration : there is a movement from the whole to parts and from the parts to the
whole and in this way it is integration of the whole and its parts.

7. Principle of interrelation: What is achieved or not achieved in one or the other dimension in the
course of gradual and continuous process of development that surely affects the other
dimensions development.

8. Principle of predictability

9. Principle of spiral versus linear advancement: The child makes advancement during particular
period but takes rest in the next following period to consolidate his development. In advancing
further he turns back and then moves forward again like a spiral.

10. Principle of interaction: growth and development takes place due to the interaction of child
(heredity) with the environment.
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 Heredity /Genetics

The genetic inheritance of an individual is established at conception.

* It remains unchanged throughout life and determines such characteristic as:
a- gender.
b- Physical Characteristics (e.g., eye colour, potential height)
c- Temperament (e.g., response to stimuli in the environment)
d- learning style

An individual may also inherit a genetic abnormality, which may result in

disability or illness at birth or later in life
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 Gender (Sex)

On average, girls are born lighter and shorter than boys.

Boys tend to keep this height and weight advantage until pre puberty,
at which time girls surge ahead because they begin their puberty
growth spurt 1-2 year earlier than boys.

By the end of puberty (14 to 16 years), boys again tend to be taller

and heavier than girls.

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 Intelligence

Children with high intelligence do not generally grow faster

physically than other Children but they do tend to advance
faster in skills. That because they spends time with books or
mental games rather than with games that develop motor skills

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 Temperament*
Its affects how children react to new situations; is an
inborn characteristic set at birth.

Understanding that children are not all alike will help

the parents to deal with their children

some adapt quickly to new situations and others adapt

slowly, and some react intensely and some passively.

Temperament Types :Flexible (easy), Fearful (slow to

warm), and Feisty (difficult)

*For more information go to the file attached with this presentation 12

 Environmental factors:
 A-Prenatal environment.

 B- Post natal: *external environment (climate and season, and child ordinal position
in the family; Illness, injury). family violence, child abuse, parental attention and
affection, education, peer pressure, media, family size

 Cultural Influences (impact of child-rearing practices (Parenting styles)

 Socioeconomic status (access to healthcare; education; nutrition)

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 Prenatal period  Middle Childhood
• Conception to birth • School age
 Neonatal Period 6-12 years
• Birth to 1 month
 Late Childhood
 Infancy
• 1 month to 1 year • Adolescent
13-19 years
 Early Childhood
• Toddler  Adulthood
• 1-3 years • Early 20-40
• Preschool • Middle 40-65
• 3-6 years • Late > 65
 Assessment: Monitoring milestones, such as height, weight, and developmental tasks.

 Intervention: Suggesting age-appropriate activities and nutritional guidance; encouraging play

that promotes cognitive and motor skills, providing guidance on healthy eating habits, and
offering emotional support & health education.

 Support: Helping families understand developmental stages and providing emotional support.

 Anticipatory Guidance: Preparing parents for future developmental stages.

 A help address National Health Goals ( Reducing growth restriction among low-income
children; Reducing the prevalence of developmental disabilities; Reducing childhood obesity).
Tools For Assessing Growth & Development
•Growth Chart:
Anthropometry (Weight; Length/Height; Head Circumference).
Values of these measures are plotted on percentile charts, and compared
with those of the general population.
Those whose wt. or ht. falls below the 5th percentile are underweight or small
in stature.
Those whose measurements are above the 95th percentile are overweight or
large in stature.

•Development:
History of Milestones of Development.
Direct observation.
• Development Charts (Denever Developmental Screening Test II-DDST-II).
• Quick method for checking a child’s developmental
progress.
• Very commonly used screening tool
• Applicable for children from birth until 6 years of age.
• 10-20 minutes to administer
• The items are arranged in order of difficulty and are divided
into four major behavioral areas: personal-social, fine motor
adaptive, language, and gross motor.
• Identifies children at 25,75, and 90% completion of task
• Scored as concern if child completing task in shaded area
(75-90%)
• Scored as failure if not completed by time 90% complete
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=ShIDbcz
• Referrals warranted for one failure or two concerns HOyo
 Human growth and development is a complex and ongoing process that involves a mix of
physical, cognitive, emotional, social, and moral changes.

 Hormones influence growth and development. The degree of influence of the individual
hormones varies during the different stage of growth and development.

 The assessment of growth and development is an integral part of pediatric health care. However,
the examiner must keep in mind that our development is influenced by a wide range of factors,
including our genetics, our environment, and our culture & that may cause the child to deviate
from the norm.