Growth and Devt

GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN

Understanding the growth and development is an essential virtue in planning care to infants and children. The child's ability to cope with stress, illness, hospitalization, or terminal illness is related to physical, cognitive, and psychosocial growth and development. Nursing care is designed to foster the individual child's growth and support his or her developmental needs.

DEVELOPMENTAL THEORIES

PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT (ERICKSON)

• Trust Versus Mistrust, Infant (birth to 1 year): Characterized by taking in through all the senses; loving care of a mothering person is essential to develop trust; must have basic needs met; attachment to primary caretaker.

The favorable outcome is faith and optimism.

• Autonomy Versus Shame and Doubt, Toddler (1 to 3 years): Characterized by increasing ability to control bodies, themselves, and their environment; seek independence, negativism, threatened by changes in routine, curious explorer.

The favorable outcome is self-control and will power.

• Initiative Versus Guilt, Preschool (3 to 6 years): Characterized by enterprise and a strong imagination; develop conscience; feelings of being punished; egocentric, inquisitive, rich fantasy life, and magical thinking.

The favorable outcome is direction and purpose.

• Industry Versus Inferiority, School-Age (6 to 12 years): Active learners, well-developed language skills and concept of time, concerns about body image, understands concept of death. Enjoy sorting and ordering, making collections, and super heroes. Exhibit cognitive conceit. Can assist with own care and appreciates rewards. Physically graceful and skilled; sports and clubs of same-sex peers are important.

The favorable outcome is competence.

• Identity Versus Role Confusion, Adolescent (13 to 18 years): Characterized by ability to deal with reality and abstractions, mood swings, changing body image; preoccupied with the way they appear in the eyes of others as compared to their own self-concept. Peers of both same and opposite-sex are very important to identity formation.

The favorable outcome is devotion and fidelity to others and to values and ideologists.