Developmental Psychology

In conjunction with these types of play, they can be categorized and classified. Let’s look at the classifications below. • Functional Play: Includes simple, repetitive motions with or without toys • Constructive Play: Includes the use of objects to construct something (Like Legos) • Dramatic Play: Includes the use of imaginary situations (make believe) and Games with rules 5.8 Media in Early Childhood Statistics show that by the age of 16 children spend more time in front of the television, than they spend in a classroom. There is at least 1 television in the average American household, which typically is on for approximately 7 hours a day. Television can be a benefit or hinderance to children. There are a lot of influences, negative and positive on television. For example, some cartoons can be violent, and some can be nonviolent. Parents may become concerned with what is on television these days, but one of the most pressing concerns is the violence that is shown. There have been studies that looked into the effects watching violence has on children. There was one study that involved 2 groups of children. The first group was allowed to watch violent cartoons, while the other group watched nonviolent cartoons. When the children were done watching the cartoons, the children who watched the violent cartoons ended up being more aggressive towards their peers and other children. The children who watched the nonviolent cartoons did not show aggression. One of the potential issues of introducing violence to children is that they will become desensitized to violence. It was suggested that if children become desensitized to violence, they will think that violence is an acceptable behavior. 5.9 Childhood Fears All children have fears at one point in their life. Fear is the anxious response to objects or stimuli. Some fears are ok to experience. For example, a child sees a fire and responds by leaving the house. This is a healthy fear, as it teaches the child that fires are dangerous. There are some children who experience fears that cause them to be withdrawn from others, clingy to their caregiver and/or become anxious. The fear of dogs or even moving vehicles, decreases as a child ages, while the fear of anticipated and unpredictable things such as a car accident may increase. Studies show that female children tend to be more fearful than male children. If adults show fear towards an animal or situation, in the presence of a child, then the child may become wary of animals, or a situation similar to the one the parent reacted to. 5.10 Concerns in Early Childhood There are many events that may arise during early childhood that may affect a child’s development. Let’s look at a few below. • Child Maltreatment: o Approximately 1 million cases reported a year regarding the maltreatment of a child. o Includes physical, emotional, sexual abuse o Includes physical and emotional neglect

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