On completion of this chapter the reader will be able to: • Identify the major biologic, psychosocial, cognitive, moral, spiritual, and social developments that occur during the preschool years. • List the benefits of imaginary playmates. • Prepare preschoolers for preschool or daycare experience. • Provide parents with guidelines for sex education. • Provide parents with guidelines for dealing with a child’s fears, stresses, aggression, and sleep problems. • Recognize the causes of stuttering during the preschool years. • Offer parents suggestions for preventing speech problems. • Recognize the feeding patterns of preschoolers. • Provide anticipatory guidance to parents regarding injury prevention based on the preschooler’s developmental achievements. evolve.elsevier.com/wong/essentials Sexual exploration may be more pronounced now than ever before, particularly in terms of exploring and manipulating the genitalia. Questions about sexual reproduction may come to the forefront in preschoolers’ search for understanding (see Sex Education, p. 415, and in Chapter 15). During the preschool years, language becomes more sophisticated and complex and becomes a major mode of communication and social interaction (Fig. 13-2). Through language, preschool children learn to express feelings of frustration or anger without acting them out. Both cognitive ability and environment—particularly, consistent role models—influence vocabulary, speech, and comprehension. Vocabulary increases dramatically, from 300 words at age 2 years to more than 2100 words at the end of 5 years. Sentence structure, grammatical usage, and intelligibility also advance to a more adult level. Language development during these early years predicts school readiness (Harrison and McLeod, 2010) and sets the stage for later success in school (Reilly, Wake, Ukoumunne, and others, 2010). Television and other media also have their place in children’s play, although each should be only one part of children’s total repertoire of social and recreational activities. Parents and other caregivers should supervise the selection of programs, watch and discuss programs with their children, schedule limited time for television viewing, and set a good example of television viewing (American Academy of Pediatrics [AAP], 2007). Children enjoy and learn from educational programs; however, television viewing may limit time spent in other meaningful activities such as reading, physical activity, and socialization (AAP, 2007). Table 13-1 summarizes the major developmental achievements for children 3, 4, and 5 years of age. TABLE 13-1 GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT DURING THE PRESCHOOL YEARS Usual weight gain of 1.8–2.7 kg (4–6 pounds) Average weight of 14.5 kg (32 pounds) Usual gain in height of 7.5 cm (3 inches) per year Average height of 95 cm (37.5 inches)
Health Promotion of the Preschooler and Family
Promoting Optimal Growth and Development
Development of Sexuality
Social Development
Language
Play
PHYSICAL
GROSS MOTOR
FINE MOTOR
LANGUAGE
SOCIALIZATION
COGNITION
FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS
Age 3 Years
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Health Promotion of the Preschooler and Family
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