Question 1

A visitor arrives at a daycare center during lunchtime. The preschool children think that every time they have lunch a visitor will arrive. Which preoperational characteristic is being displayed?

Accepted Answer

Transductive reasoning is when two events occur together, they cause each other. The expectation that every time lunch is served a visitor will arrive is descriptive of transductive reasoning. Egocentrism is the inability to see things from any perspective than their own. Intuitive reasoning (e.g., the stars have to go to bed just as they do) is predominantly egocentric thought. Conservation (able to realize that physical factors such as volume, weight, and number remain the same even though outward appearances are changed) does not occur until school age.

Question 2

A 13-year-old girl asks the nurse how much taller she will get. She has been growing about 2 inches per year but grew 4 inches this past year. Menarche recently occurred. The nurse should base her response on which statement?

Accepted Answer

At the time of the beginning of menstruation or the skeletal age of 13 years, most girls have grown to about 95% of their adult height. They may have some additional growth (5%) until the epiphyseal plates are closed. Although growth cannot be definitively predicted, on average, 95% of adult height has been reached with the onset of menstruation. Pubertal growth spurt lasts about 1 year does not address the girl's question. Young women usually will grow approximately 5% more after the onset of menstruation.

Question 3

Which behavior is most characteristic of the concrete operations stage of cognitive development?

Accepted Answer

During the concrete operations stage of development, which occurs approximately between ages 7 and 11 years, increasingly logical and coherent thought processes occur. This is characterized by the child's ability to classify, sort, order, and organize facts to use in problem solving. The progression from reflex activity to imitative behavior is characteristic of the sensorimotor stage of development. The inability to put oneself in another's place is characteristic of the preoperational stage of development. The ability to think in abstract terms and draw logical conclusions is characteristic of the formal operations stage of development.

Question 4

An infant gains head control before sitting unassisted. The nurse recognizes that this is which type of development?

Accepted Answer

The pattern of development that is head-to-tail, or cephalocaudal, direction is described by an infant's ability to gain head control before sitting unassisted. The head end of the organism develops first and is large and complex, whereas the lower end is smaller and simpler, and development takes place at a later time. Proximodistal, or near to far, is another pattern of development. Limb buds develop before fingers and toes. Postnatally, the child has control of the shoulder before achieving mastery of the hands. Mass to specific is not a specific pattern of development. In all dimensions of growth, a definite, sequential pattern is followed.

Question 5

By what age does birth length usually double?

Accepted Answer

Linear growth or height occurs almost entirely as a result of skeletal growth and is considered a stable measurement of general growth. On average, most children have doubled their birth length at age 4 years. One and 2 years are too young for doubling of length. Most children will have achieved the doubling by age 4 years.

Question 6

According to Kohlberg, children develop moral reasoning as they mature. Which statement is most characteristic of a preschooler's stage of moral development?

Accepted Answer

Preschoolers are most likely to exhibit characteristics of Kohlberg's preconventional level of moral development. During this stage, they are culturally oriented to labels of good or bad, right or wrong. Children integrate these concepts based on the physical or pleasurable consequences of their actions. Obeying the rules of correct behavior, showing respect for authority, and engaging in behavior that pleases others are characteristics of Kohlberg's conventional level of moral development.

Question 7

A 12-year-old child enjoys collecting stamps, playing soccer, and participating in Boy Scout activities. The nurse recognizes that the child is displaying which developmental task?

Accepted Answer

Industry is engaging in tasks that can be carried through to completion, learning to compete and cooperate with others, and learning rules. Industry is the developmental task characteristic of the school-age child. Identity is the developmental task of adolescence. Integrity and intimacy are not developmental tasks of childhood.

Question 8

The nurse is observing parents playing with their 10-month-old child. Which should the nurse recognize as evidence that the child is developing object permanence?

Accepted Answer

Object permanence is the realization that items that leave the visual field still exist. When the infant searches for the toy under the blanket, it is an indication that object permanence has developed. Returning the blocks to the same spot on the table is not an example of object permanence. Recognizing that a ball of clay is the same when flattened out is an example of conservation, which occurs during the concrete operations stage from 7 to 11 years. Banging two cubes together is a simple repetitive activity characteristic of developing a sense of cause and effect.

Question 9

Trauma to which site can result in a growth problem for children's long bones?

Accepted Answer

The epiphyseal cartilage plate is the area of active growth. Bone injury at the epiphyseal plate can significantly affect subsequent growth and development. Trauma or infection can result in deformity. The matrix, connective tissue, and calcified cartilage are not areas of active growth. Trauma in these sites will not result in growth problems for the long bones.

Question 10

Parents of an 8-year-old child ask the nurse how many inches their child should grow each year. The nurse bases the answer on the knowledge that after age 7 years, school-age children usually grow what number of inches per year?

Accepted Answer

The growth velocity after age 7 years is approximately 5 cm (2 inches) per year. One inch is too small an amount. Three and 4 inches are greater than the average yearly growth after age 7 years.

Question 11

Which refers to those times in an individual's life when he or she is more susceptible to positive or negative influences?

Accepted Answer

Sensitive periods are limited times during the process of growth when the organism will interact with a particular environment in a specific manner. These times make the organism more susceptible to positive or negative influences. The sequential period, terminal points, and differentiation points are developmental times that do not make the organism more susceptible to environmental interaction.

Question 12

A nurse is conducting parenting classes for parents of children ranging in ages 2 to 7 years. The parents understand the term egocentrism when they indicate it means:

Accepted Answer

According to Piaget, children ages 2 to 7 years are in the preoperational stage of development. Children interpret objects and events not in terms of their general properties but in terms of their relationships or their use to them. This egocentrism does not allow children of this age to put themselves in another's place. Selfishness, self-centeredness, and preferring to play alone do not describe the concept of egocentricity.

Question 13

A father tells the nurse that his child is "filling up the house with collections" like seashells, bottle caps, baseball cards, and pennies. What should the nurse recognize the child is developing?

Accepted Answer

During concrete operations, children develop logical thought processes. They are able to classify, sort, order, and otherwise organize facts about the world. This ability fosters the child's ability to create collections. Object permanence is the realization that items that leave the visual field still exist. This is a task of infancy and does not contribute to collections. Preoperational thinking is concrete and tangible. Children in this age group cannot reason beyond the observable, and they lack the ability to make deductions or generalizations. Collections are not typical for this developmental level. The ability to use abstract symbols is a characteristic of formal operations, which develops during adolescence. These children can develop and test hypotheses.

Question 14

Parents express concern that their pubertal daughter is taller than the boys in her class. The nurse should respond with which statement regarding how the onset of pubertal growth spurt compares in girls and boys?

Accepted Answer

Usually, the pubertal growth spurt begins earlier in girls. It typically occurs between the ages of 10 and 14 years for girls and 11 and 16 years for boys. The average earliest age at onset is 1 year earlier for girls. There does not appear to be a relation to growth during infancy.

Question 15

A mother reports that her 6-year-old child is highly active, irritable, and irregular in habits and that the child adapts slowly to new routines, people, or situations. How should the nurse chart this type of temperament?

Accepted Answer

Being highly active, irritable, irregular in habits, and adapting slowly to new routines, people, or situations is a description of difficult children, which compose about 10% of the population. Negative withdrawal responses are typical of this type of child, who requires a more structured environment. Mood expressions are usually intense and primarily negative. These children exhibit frequent periods of crying and often violent tantrums. Easy children are even tempered, regular, and predictable in their habits. They are open and adaptable to change. Approximately 40% of children fit this description. Slow-to-warm-up children typically react negatively and with mild intensity to new stimuli and adapt slowly with repeated contact. Approximately 10% of children fit this description. "Fast-to-warm-up" is not one of the categories identified.

Question 16

Which statement is true about the basal metabolic rate (BMR) in children?

Accepted Answer

The BMR is the rate of metabolism when the body is at rest. At all ages, the rate is slightly higher in boys than in girls. The rate is increased by fever. The BMR is highest in infancy and then closely relates to the proportion of surface area to body mass. As the child grows, the proportion decreases progressively to maturity.

Question 17

A nurse has completed a teaching session for adolescents regarding lymphoid tissue growth. Which statement, by the adolescents, indicates understanding of the teaching?

Accepted Answer

Lymphoid tissue continues growing until it reaches maximal development at ages 10 to 12 years, which is twice its adult size. A rapid decline in size occurs until it reaches adult size by the end of adolescence. The tissue reaches adult size at 6 years of age but continues to grow. The tissue is well developed at birth.

Question 18

How is a child's skeletal age best determined?

Accepted Answer

The most accurate measure of skeletal age is radiologic examinations of the growth plates. These are the epiphyseal cartilage plates. Radiographs of the hand and wrist provide the most useful screening to determine skeletal age. Age of tooth eruption has considerable variation in children. It would not be a good determinant of skeletal age. Assessment of height over time will provide a record of the child's height but not skeletal age. Facial bone development will not reflect the child's skeletal age, which is determined by radiographic assessment.

Question 19

An infant who weighs 7 pounds at birth would be expected to weigh how many pounds at age 1 year?

Accepted Answer

In general, birth weight triples by the end of the first year of life. For an infant who was 7 pounds at birth, 21 pounds would be the anticipated weight at the first birthday; 14, 16, or 18 pounds is below what would be expected for an infant with a birth weight of 7 pounds.

Question 20

A school nurse notes that school-age children generally obey the rules at school. The nurse recognizes that the children are displaying which stage of moral development?

Accepted Answer

Conventional stage of moral development is described as obeying the rules, doing one's duty, showing respect for authority, and maintaining the social order. This stage is characteristic of school-age children's behavior. The preconventional stage is characteristic of the toddler and preschool age. At this stage, the child has no concept of the basic moral order that supports being good or bad. The postconventional level is characteristic of an adolescent and occurs at the formal stage of operation. Undifferentiated describes an infant's understanding of moral development.

Quiz 3: Developmental and Genetic Influences on Child Health Promotion