Chapter 6

Early Childhood Screening

❑ Newborns are screened by APGAR test
 (A) Activity/muscle tone.
 (P) pulse or heart rate.
 (G) Grimace/infantile reflex response.
 (A) Appearance… general appearance.
 (R) Respiratory rate
❑ Denver II Developmental screening test
 Screen children from birth to 6 years.
 Includes screening of
1. Personal and social skills(getting along with others
and taking care of self)
2. Fine motor-adaptive skills (eye-hand coordination
and hand skills like drawing and coloring)
3. Language skills (hearing, following directions and
speaking)
4. Gross motor skills(sitting, standing, walking,
jumping)
Factors influencing growth and
development in early childhood
 Genetics play a key role… in child appearance,
behavioral development and normal growth.
 Other environmental factors include… gravitational
forces, compression and traction forces and
biomechanical forces.
 Healthy nutrition, proper eating , adequate rest , sleep,
safety, physical activity and healthy psychosocial
environment.
Factor influencing growth and
development in children ages 7-21
During preadolescent and adolescent years life style
behaviors include
 Limited Physical activity
 Poor nutrition
 Poor stress management
 Exposure to infected agents
 Sun exposure
 Substance abuse
 1/3 of students do not participate in vigorous physical
activity
 similarly 1/3 of students in this age group watch TV
more than 3 hrs/day
 Other health risk include sufficient under age alcohol
use, cocaine use desire to commit suicide and cigarette
use.
Special consideration for screening
children and youth
 Screening preadolescent and adolescent may involve parents or
may be perform in the absence of other adult.
 They are particularly concern about body image and self concept.
 Question should address potential eating disorders, depression
or suicidal thinking.
 Open question could include the following :
 how would you describe your extra curricular activities?
 How would you describe your general health?
 Have you had any loss of interest in favorite activities?
The activity profile for children and youth is a short survey
that can identify levels of physical activity.
A more comprehensive screening tool includes information about
the :
▪ Teenagers medical history
▪ School information
▪ Family information
▪ Self information
▪ Health behavior and family history

It is helpful to link high risk behavior related to physical health

concern , family dysfunction , substance abuse, emotional and
social dysfunction
Fitness during childhood
The average American child watch 28 hrs of TV a week and studies
shows that parents rather than children choose this activity for
leisure time activity. Reasons given by parents include the
following:
▪ Providing the parent freedom from entertaining the child
▪ Preventing the child from becoming bored.
▪ Socializing in regards to popular television shows.
▪ Watching t.v is not considered harmful.

✓ The child develop a sedentary life style that can lead to obesity.
✓ TV should be limited to 1-2 hrs./day and alternative game s and
activities, specially physical exercises should be encouraged for
healthy life style behavior
Assessing fitness in children
 Before recommending specific physical activities for children a
physical therapist should assess level of fitness.
 Test used by this program to determine baseline level of fitness
include curl-ups and partial curl-ups
 endurance run for cardiorespiratory endurance,
 pull up and push ups for upper body strength
 a sit and reach test for f lexibility
 BMI for body composition.
Exercise for children and youth
▪ Physical activity produces overall physical , psychological and
social benefits for children and youth. Inactive children a likely
to become inactive adult. As with adults , physical activity can
improve fitness in children and youth.
▪ Controlling weight
▪ Reducing blood pressure
▪ Rising HDL (good) cholesterol
▪ Reducing the risk of diabetes and some kind of cancer
▪ Improve psychological well being, gain more self confidence and
higher self-esteem.
 The American heart association recommends that all
children age 5 and older should participate in at least 30
mints of enjoyable moderate intensity activities
everyday.
 Sufficient exercise for children with reduce endurance
can be achieved by providing two 15 mints periods or
three 10 minutes periods in which they can engage in
vigorous activities appropriate to their age, gender, and
stage of physical and emotional development.
➢ The AHA strategic plan was develop by a panel of
leading scientist and health educators
▪ Increasing awareness of physical, psychological and
social benefits of physical activities.
▪ Increasing knowledge and about the types and levels
of physical activity.
▪ Increasing behavioral change skills that promote
physical activity.
▪ Increasing physical activity level.
➢ The AHA suggest that programs be designed to help
children and youth adopt the following behavior.
 Engage in regular, moderately intense physical activity or at
least 30 mint day
 Engage in vigorous activity… to improve cardiorespiratory
fitness for 3 or more days per week(30 minutes).
 Learn and use self-management skills(e.g goal setting,
monitoring)
 Know the amount and types of physical activity associated
with the benefits and participate in variety of these.
 Increase physical activity by reducing non-school
sedentary time spent watching T.V, playing video games
etc.
 Develop skill and learn how to participate In
developmentally in appropriate physical activities.
SUGGESTED SPORTS ACTIVITIES FOR
CHILDREN AND YOUTH
 physical activities can be suggested for each age group.
 These activities based upon physical and psychosocial
development of children as they mature.
 It is important to offer a variety of activities that are
age-appropriate
PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN
Age 2 to 3
 Activities that will most likely provide the appropriate
physical activity include unstructured playtime with
other children.
 It also include running and walking in a yard or
playground, swinging or sliding on a child-sized
playground set, water play.
 At this age, all activities should be closely supervised
and provided on soft play surfaces
Physical Activities For Children Ages
4 to 6
 As children mature to elementary school age, they are
capable of higher-level balance and coordination
activities.
 They also are capable of sharing toys, such as a ball,
and engaging in social activities with other children.
 Children ages 4 to 6 enjoy dancing, playing games like
hopscotch or tag, jumping rope, playing catch with a
lightweight ball, and riding a tricycle or a bike with
training wheels
Physical Activities For Children ages 7
to 10
 Children who are 7 and older are capable of
understanding the concept of team sports and are
more cautious about safety issue.
 Sports activities popular with in this age group include
baseball, gymnastics, soccer, swimming, and tennis.
Physical Activities For Children Age 10
and Older
 As the child reaches adolescence and matures into and
adult-sized physique, more demanding physical
activity is allowable.
 However precaution are needed to avoid overstressing
developing musculoskeletal structure.
 Popular physical activities for children and youth who
are 10 and older include biking, organized team sport,
aerobic exercise and strength training, hiking, rowing,
running, track and field events, and football.
Precautions
 Careful while participating in activities that
involve sudden, forceful external rotation of
the ankle and foot.
 Children and youth should be advised wear
protective athletic gear
 Avoid overuse injuries
 Pre-participations physical examinations(PPEs)
 Poorly healed injuries and joints
 Heart and vision problems
Exercise prescription for Children
 Anaerobic exercises for a short duration increases
with age.
 Blood lactate level also increases with age
 Increase in muscle mass
 Energy store
 Improved muscular coordination
Using FITTE formula
 F = Frequency: ACSM suggests that strength training
session should be limited to twice per week.
 I =intensity: resistance exercises should not be done at
maximal weights or to the point of muscular fatigues.
 T= time/duration: ACSM recommends performing 1-2
sets of 8-10 exercises emphaszing all major muscle
groups.
 T= Type: variety of exercises that work different major
muscle groups during a work out.
 E= Enjoyment: participate in physical activity for the
sake of enjoyment
Suggestions for youth strength training
 The Mayo clinic offers following instructions
1. Provide instruction: child proper breath and
exercise techniques.
2. Supervise: reinforce safety and good techniques.
3. Warm up, cool down: 5-10 mints of a warm up
activity such as walking, jogging. And each work out
with a cool down including some light stretching.
4. Think light weight, controlled repetitions:
12-20 repetitions of a light weight as effective as
dumbbells weights.
5. Rest between workouts:
rest period of at least a day between workouts.
2-3 sessions per week.
6. Track progress:
how to fill out exercise plan.
how many repetitions to be performed.
how much weight to be used
7. Add weight gradually:
only when child masters proper for should weight be
added.
8. Keep it fun:
vary the routine to avoid boredom and monotony.
Strength training for children and
youth
 Strength training can be a safe and effective activity for
this age group provided that the program is properly
designed in competently supervised
 Strength training refers to a systematic and progressive
program of exercises designed to increase an
individuals ability to exert or resist force
 Professionals offers the following guidelines and
principles
❖Strength training should be supervised and monitor
closely by appropriately trained professionals
❖The participants must be able to understand the key
principles of strength training and acknowledge that
physical fitness, and not power lifting and body
building, are the goals of resistance training
❖The primary focus should initially be directed toward
learning proper techniques for all exercise movements
(including warm up and cool down periods)
❖Movements should be performed with control,
avoiding any fast or jerky movements that could tear
soft tissue and with an emphasis on full ROM multi
joint ex. Vs. single joint ex.
Flexibility exercises for young athletes
 General fitness can be accomplished through regular
ex. Program
 Children and youth engage in physical activity to
maintain fitness
 Flexibility ex. Is helpful in preventing injury during
competition in sport activities. Athletes must to each
one of the exercises carefully, speed is not important
Assignment
 Common Health Problems of infants and Young
Children.(page 75-79)