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SayPro DESCRIBE THE ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES ON DEVELOPMENT INCLUDING DELAYS;
Child development is a gradual unfolding of biologically determined characteristics and traits that arises as the child learns from experiences. In developing countries, more than 200 million children under five years fail to reach their potential in cognitive and social development due to poverty, poor health, nutrition, and deficit care. Most of these children live in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa and many of them are exposed to multiple risks including poverty, malnutrition, poor health and un-stimulating home environment, which detrimentally affecting their development. Health associated to poverty, nutrition and social factors hinders from attaining to their full developmental potential. Other factors that compromise overall development during pregnancy and after birth are parent’s behavioral, dietary deficiencies, chronic infections, exclusive breastfeeding, inadequate feeding practices and lack of stimulationThe environment affects children differently than adults. Because their bodies are still growing, children are at greater risk if they are exposed to environmental contaminants. Contaminants are anything that can cause something to become unclean, polluted, or not pure. They can be found anywhere and some are unsafe. A toddler playing in dirt contaminated with high levels of lead can become sick from lead poisoning. A child with asthma playing outside when the air quality is bad may have an asthma attack.Noise Children’s reading abilities, cognitive development, physiological indicators, and motivational tasks are affected by exposure to noise. The most common noises that children are exposed to are transportation (e.g. cars, airplanes), music and other people. Evans’ research reveals significant reading delays for children living near airports and exposed to airport noise. He and his colleagues found these delays in reading to occur at noise levels far below those required to produce hearing damage or loss.Chronic and acute noise exposure also affects cognitive development, particularly long-term memory, especially if the task is complex. Short-term memory appears to be less affected, but this is dependent upon volume of noise. One way that children adapt to chronic noise is by disregarding or ignoring auditory input. A consequence of this coping strategy is that children also tune out speech, which is a basic and required component of reading. As a result, not only are children’s reading abilities affected, but also their abilities at tasks that require speech perception.Noise levels also indirectly influence children’s cognitive development via their effect on the adults and teachers who interact with children. Teachers in noisy schools are more fatigued, annoyed, and less patient than teachers in quieter schools. Teachers in noisy schools also lose instruction time due to noise distractions and have a compromised teaching style.Crowding Research demonstrates that crowding has an effect on interpersonal behaviours, mental health, motivation, cognitive development, and biological measures. Family size has not been found to be a critical factor in crowding. Rather, Evans identifies density, or number of people per room, as the crucial variable for measuring effects of crowding on children’s development.Regarding child development, Evans has found that 10-12-year-old children are more likely to withdraw in overcrowded situations. Children may engage in withdrawal behavior as a means of coping with an overstimulating environment. Evans’ research also reveals that a highly concentrated number of children in an activity area results in more distractions and less constructive play among preschool-aged children.Overcrowding also influences parenting behaviours. Parents in crowded homes are less responsive to young children. Evidence of parental unresponsiveness begins early—before a child is one year old, and occurs at all income levels. Overcrowding also strains parent-child relationships. Parents in overcrowded homes are more likely to engage in punitive parenting, which in turn, affects the level of children’s distress. Evans’ research shows that strained parent-child relationships negatively influence social, emotional, and biological measures (e.g. elevated blood pressure) in 10- to 12-year-old children.NutritionNutrition is important before and during pregnancy and is most influential non-genetic factors in foetal development. Women with preconception healthy Body Mass Index (BMI) tend to gain an appropriate amount of weight during pregnancy and women with BMI below 19.1 have fivefold increase in delivering low birth weight baby. Maternal under nutrition is a risk factor for foetal growth restriction and adverse perinatal outcomes.Inadequate intake of good nutrition and mother’s poor nutritional status during pregnancy are indicative of intrauterine growth restriction whereby affecting brain development. Low maternal weight before conception is associated with an increased risk of low birth weight and symmetrical growth restriction and pregnancy loss. In developing countries, intrauterine growth restrictions is mainly due to poor maternal nutrition and infections, which makes up to 11% of births. Furthermore, low birth weights babies are more likely to be stunted by age of two years.Breast milk is ideal and best food for infants, it provides a unique nutrient constituting of proteins, carbohydrates and fats needed for optimal cell function and growth. Breastfed babies are less likely to develop obesity and will have lower cholesterol level in their later life. Fatty acid in breast milk develops brain and thus enhances cognitive development and visual acuityMacro and micro nutrients are essential for normal growth and development and it is more important during pregnancy. Vitamin A is essential for vision, cellular differentiation, immune function and bone remodelling. Iodine is essential trace element to prevent goitre and cretinism, deficiency with it results in developmental delay and other health problems.MercuryThe impacts of exposure to mercury on children’s cognitive functioning are well documented. Low-level maternal mercury exposure damages infant sensorimotor functioning and 6-year-old children’s IQ scores and language developmentPolychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)Prenatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which are used in the manufacture of vinyl and other plastic compounds, has been linked with children’s cognitive and socioemotional functioning.
Tsakani Stella Rikhotso | Monitoring & Evaluation OfficerSayProWebsite: www.saypro.onlineCell: 27 (0) 713 221 522Email: tsakaniStudy and Qualifications www.saypro.onlineOur Company www.saypro.online |
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