Physical development in childhood is influenced by biological factors such as heredity, genetics, and ethnicity, as well as environmental factors such as nutrition, air pollution, and abuse. The effects of these factors vary from child to child, and it is difficult to predict their exact impact.
There are many factors that influence physical development in childhood. They are divided into two main categories, namely biological aspects and environmental influences. These different factors generally have more or less influence during the various stages of childhood. The particular effects of each factor also vary from child to child. Determining the exact effect each factor will have on a particular child is nearly impossible, but in most cases there will be some degree of influence.
Biological factors that influence physical development in childhood include heredity, genetics, and ethnicity. Illness and physical abnormalities greatly affect a child’s physical development. Nutrition also plays an important role and includes not only feeding the baby, but also prenatal nutrition and the health of the baby’s mother.
In regards to heredity and ethnicity, a child’s physical attributes are largely determined by his or her parents. For example, if there is a family history of short stature, it is likely that the child will not grow very tall. Similarly, ethnicity often determines developmental factors such as skin or hair color. This not only includes obvious characteristics, such as hair color and height, but can also include “hidden” characteristics, such as the child’s predisposition to gain weight.
Additionally, some conditions related to physical development in childhood are genetically linked to the child. For example, an endocrine deficiency such as hypothyroidism often stunts a child’s skeletal development. Other physical conditions or illnesses can also impact a child’s physical development. For example, if a child develops a severe lung infection in infancy, her lungs may not develop properly and the child may have lifelong residual effects. When serious illnesses are encountered in the early stages of childhood growth, they generally have a greater impact on later development.
Nutrition plays a huge role in physical development during childhood. If prenatal nutrition is deficient, a baby is likely to show developmental delays. Similarly, if a child does not get enough vitamins and other nutrients in his or her early years, the body will not be able to grow properly. This is a tremendous and easily apparent problem in parts of the world plagued by malnutrition.
While environmental factors are often associated with emotional development, they also play a role in physical development. For example, studies have shown that children grow faster during the spring and summer months than they do during the fall and winter. Thus, children raised in warmer climates usually grow at a faster rate than those raised in colder climates. As another example of environmental impact, children raised in areas where air pollution is a problem tend to have a higher incidence of asthma and other respiratory problems and are more prone to developmental problems. Of course, issues such as abuse and neglect, also viewed as environmental influences, have a serious effect on physical development during childhood.
Sometimes, the categories of biological and environmental factors overlap and become more difficult to distinguish. For example, socioeconomic factors, such as poverty levels, can cause a child to be undernourished, which in turn will impact a child’s physical development. As another example, a child born to a migrant family and subjected to child labor may not get the adequate amount of sleep and rest to allow his or her body to develop normally.
No two children develop the same way. Likewise, no two children will react exactly the same to biological and environmental factors. Consequently, while it is possible to identify what factors will influence physical development in infancy, it is often quite difficult to predict what those effects will be.
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