Various Child Development Questions

Each question has to have a 140 word minimum. No special format needed. just make sure they are number. here are the questions: 1. Homeless children resemble institutionalized children in some ways (lack of adequate cognitive stimulation) but not in others (they are in the care of a parent). Describe one aspect of development that you think might be compromised for homeless children. Explain briefly a research method you could use to study this aspect of development.

2.One of the ambitious goals for Healthy People 2020, a U.S. government program, is to increase abstinence from drinking, smoking, and using illicit drugs among pregnant women (Office of Disease Prevention and Promotion, 2016). To achieve these goals, future parents need to be educated on the dangers of substance use during pregnancy. Select one risk factor (for example, alcohol, cigarette smoking, etc.) and write a short paragraph on the nature of the risk factor and the potential problems it can cause in the prenatal period and in later development. If you are interested in a factor that isn’t discussed in this chapter, look up some information from an authoritative source, such as the review paper by Ross et al. (2015), the NIDA (2016) website, and online publications on prenatal development from the CDC and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

3. Suppose you are collaborating with others to produce a community intervention program for families that live in urban poverty. Identify one distal and one proximal influence of living in poverty that are linked together, and likely influence child development in a negative way. Briefly describe how your community program would address these linked influences on child development.

4.You’ve probably heard advertisers claim that using certain products will allow you to tap into your baby’s potential for brain growth and make your baby smarter. Take a few minutes to conduct an internet search using the term “Brainy Babies” or “Baby Einstein” to find examples of some of these products on the Internet. How would you respond to these claims based on what you have learned about brain development and experience?

5. Many U.S. children attend child care, either in registered homes or centers, but research surveys have shown that the quality of these facilities varies widely. Use your knowledge of brain and cognitive development (Chapters 4 and 5) to propose equipment, toys, or activities caregivers could provide that would stimulate a specific aspect of brain or cognitive development (such as goal-oriented problem solving, attention, memory, categorization, or language).

6. The NICHD early child care study found that many children were placed in low-quality child care homes or centers, an all-too-common situation in the United States (Clarke-Stewart & Allhusen, 2005). What should be the features of high-quality child care from the perspective of optimizing social and emotional development? Identify one feature, and explain specifically how it would benefit children.

7. The two child maltreatment prevention studies discussed at the end of this chapter focused on altering behavior within the family microsystem, but other ecological systems beyond the family are relevant. Describe one strategy that social policy makers might follow to reduce the number of potential child maltreatment victims. How would you know that the strategy was working?

8. What ideas do you have for a business venture, non-governmental organization or community project that would help promote language, literacy, or numeracy skills in low-income neighborhoods?

9.About 70 percent of parents of 3- to 5-year-olds use child care for some portion of their child’s week. From a social policy standpoint, what are some important changes you would recommend to improve the quality of child care in the United States? Defend your answer in terms of the anticipated impact of your proposed changes on children’s socioemotional development.

10. How might a neuroscientist use children’s interest in video games to design an experimental or longitudinal study determining whether intense amounts of practice in a particular skill causes measurable changes in the brain? Sketch out the type of skill that might be promoted in a video game, which areas of the brain might be affected, and how you would determine if these brain areas were affected by experience playing the game.

11. Opinions of developmental scientists and educators differ regarding the usefulness of IQ tests to benefit children’s lives or education. What is your position? If you see a continuing need for IQ tests, give an example of how they can be used. If you don’t see a continuing need, what would you do instead of giving IQ tests in typical situations where they are used (assessing the impact of prenatal or birth problems, assessing the impact of early environmental disadvantage, and placing a special needs child or a gifted child in the appropriate educational program)?

12. Reflect on what you’ve learned about the psychological impact of bullying and review Denham et al.’s (2011) model of emotion regulation in Figure 12.2. If you were advising a child on how to cope with bullies, what is an example of one of the three types of emotion regulation (coping emotionally, cognitively, or behaviorally) that could help this bullied child?

13. Adolescent risk-taking, whether due to brain development, social influences, or a combination of the two, is a societal problem. Describe one way parents, teachers, counselors, or producers of media for teens (such as apps, video games, TV, movies, and music videos) can help reduce adolescent sensation-seeking and risk-taking. Choose a specific example of risk-taking behavior among contemporary teens that you have observed or read about.

14. One expert said that public health efforts to limit adolescent smoking, substance abuse, early sexual behavior, and automobile accidents should focus less on educating the adolescent to be wiser, more informed, and less impulsive and more on limiting opportunities to engage in risky behavior (Steinberg, 2007). Examples of opportunity-limiting policies include raising the price of cigarettes, more vigilantly enforcing laws against the sale of alcohol to minors, expanding adolescents’ access to contraceptive services, and raising the driving age. Do you agree or disagree with this proposal? Why?

15. One expert said that public health efforts to limit adolescent smoking, substance abuse, early sexual behavior, and automobile accidents should focus less on educating the adolescent to be wiser, more informed, and less impulsive and more on limiting opportunities to engage in risky behavior (Steinberg, 2007). Examples of opportunity-limiting policies include raising the price of cigarettes, more vigilantly enforcing laws against the sale of alcohol to minors, expanding adolescents’ access to contraceptive services, and raising the driving age. Do you agree or disagree with this proposal? Why?