XIII Glossary
Adolescence: Begins at puberty and ends in early adulthood, typically between the ages of 12 and 18. (Chapter 13.3)
Animism: The belief that inanimate objects have lifelike qualities and can act on their own. (Chapter 13.3)
Anticipatory guidance: Education about emerging developmental issues that the child and/or family may encounter. (Chapter 13.4)
Associative play: Sharing objects and making up games and rules with other children, but the child is still focused on their own actions. (Chapter 13.3)
Autonomy: When toddlers begin to assert their independence and develop a sense of self. (Chapter 13.3)
Babbling: Infants add consonants and repeat syllables such as “nananananana.” (Chapter 13.3)
Babinski reflex: When the bottom of their feet are stroked, the infant’s toes fan upward. (Chapter 13.3)
Centration: Refers to a child’s tendency to focus on one aspect of a situation, object, or problem while ignoring other relevant features. (Chapter 13.3)
Cephalocaudal: From head to toe. (Chapter 13.3)
Child development: The stages a child goes through from birth until adulthood. (Chapter 13.3)
Classical conditioning: Individuals learn conditioned responses to stimuli. (Chapter 13.2)
Cognitive domain: Intelligence, wisdom, perception, problem-solving, memory, and language. (Chapter 13.3)
Cooing: A gurgling, musical vocalization. (Chapter 13.3)
Cooperative play: Children shift their focus to other children’s actions and work together for a common goal. (Chapter 13.3)
Development: Changes that occur as an individual matures across their life span. (Chapter 13.3)
Developmental disabilities: Impairments in physical, language, learning, or behavioral areas that can affect a child’s daily functioning and persist throughout their lifetime. (Chapter 13.4)
Early childhood: Spans ages three to five; also known as the preschool years. (Chapter 13.3)
Echolalia: Repeating words and phrases spoken by others. (Chapter 13.3)
Ego: An element of psychosexual development that develops through interaction with others and satisfaction is sought via practical strategies. (Chapter 13.2)
Egocentrism: The inability to distinguish between one’s own perspective and someone else’s perspective. (Chapter 13.3)
Emotional dismissal: When a parent ignores or denies a child’s emotions, which hinders emotional development. (Chapter 13.3)
Emotional regulation: The process of noticing, managing, and responding to one’s emotions. (Chapter 13.3)
Fine motor movements: Small muscle movements of the hands, fingers, toes, and eyes, enabling actions such as grasping and picking up objects or coordinating eye movements. (Chapter 13.4)
Functional amblyopia: Also called lazy eye; caused by imbalanced eye muscles and occurs when one eye is not used as much as the other eye. (Chapter 13.4)
Gross motor movements: Large muscle movements of the arms, legs, head, and torso, enabling actions such as walking, running, or maintaining head control. (Chapter 13.4)
Growth: An increase in size, such as in height, weight, or head circumference. (Chapter 13.3)
Growth charts: Graphs that display expected height, weight, and head circumference by age and sex, using percentile lines. (Chapter 13.4)
Health screenings: Health assessment performed with the goal of detecting health issues early and implementing treatment for optimal outcomes. (Chapter 13.4)
Id: The individual’s biological, instinctual, unconscious drive that is involved in seeking pleasure and gratification. (Chapter 13.2)
Infants: A young child in the early stages of life, typically defined as being between birth and 12 months of age. (Chapter 13.3)
Koplik spots: White raised bumps inside mouth. (Chapter 13.4)
Literacy: The understanding of language, encompassing reading, writing, listening, and speaking. (Chapter 13.3)
Magical thinking: The belief that thoughts, feelings, or rituals can influence events in the material world. (Chapter 13.3)
Meningitis: Inflammation of the meninges. (Chapter 13.4)
Middle childhood: Spans ages six to twelve years. (Chapter 13.3)
Moro reflex: In response to a loud noise, the infant’s arms and legs extend and their back arches; also called the startle reflex. (Chapter 13.3)
Motor skills: The ability to move. (Chapter 13.3)
Negative reinforcement: Removing an undesirable stimulus from the environment to encourage a specific behavior. (Chapter 13.2)
Newborn: The first month of life. (Chapter 13.3)
Nightmares: Frightening dreams that usually awaken the sleeper. (Chapter 13.4)
Night terrors: Similar to nightmares in that the child appears to wake up, but they are very upset, often screaming, and are not consolable and not aware that someone is trying to help them feel better. (Chapter 13.4)
Normal growth rate: The child’s measured growth points closely follow the same percentile line on the chart over time. (Chapter 13.4)
Object permanence: The understanding that something continues to exist even when it is out of sight. (Chapter 13.3)
Palmar grasp: Infants tightly grasp any object placed in their palm. (Chapter 13.3)
Parallel play: Play with similar toys independently but near other children. (Chapter 13.3)
Parotitis: Inflammation of the parotid glands. (Chapter 13.4)
Physical domain: Height and weight, motor skills, sensory capabilities, and the propensity for disease and illness. (Chapter 13.3)
Play: A pleasurable activity engaged in for its own sake. (Chapter 13.3)
Positive reinforcement: Refers to using anything an individual is interested in and motivated to obtain to reward desired behavior. (Chapter 13.2)
Proximodistal: From the center of the body outward. (Chapter 13.3)
Psychosocial domain: Emotion, self-perception, and interpersonal relationships with families, peers, and friends. (Chapter 13.3)
Punishment: Refers to using an unpleasant or painful stimulus to discourage a specific behavior, such as the use of spanking with children. (Chapter 13.2)
Reflexes: Involuntary movements in response to stimulation. (Chapter 13.3)
Separation anxiety: Fear triggered by the departure of a loved one. (Chapter 13.3)
Sleepwalking: Also known as somnambulism; a sleep disorder that causes individuals to walk or perform other activities while they are still asleep. (Chapter 13.4)
Social learning theory: A type of behaviorism but suggests that individuals learn by observing and imitating others. (Chapter 13.2)
Stepping reflex: When the infant’s feet touch a flat surface, their legs move as if walking. (Chapter 13.3)
Strabismus: Misalignment of the eyes, causing them to point in different directions. (Chapter 13.4)
Stranger anxiety: Fear triggered by the presence of unfamiliar people. (Chapter 13.3)
Superego: The voice of one’s conscience that distinguishes between right and wrong and creates feelings of guilt. (Chapter 13.2)
Tantrum: A brief episode where a toddler expresses anger or frustration with behaviors such as screaming, flailing, going limp, crying, throwing objects, or holding their breath. (Chapter 13.4)
Toddler: Age one to three years. (Chapter 13.3)
Unstructured play: Play that is freely chosen, led by the child, and not directed by adults. (Chapter 13.3)
Well-child visits: Routine visits with a health care provider that provide opportunities to monitor growth and development, screen for medical problems, provide anticipatory guidance, and promote safety and wellness. (Chapter 13.4)