Children's Needs

  

There are a plethora of needs that children need met. I would like to focus on play, fitness, and growth mindset. Young children need plenty of play to develop important neural pathways and connections. Sensory information taken in through the experiences in play are the foundation of the creation of the neural networks.






These developments will be necessary for children to be able to succeed academically when they begin elementary school. Ginsburg (2007) shared, "Play is essential to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and youth" (para. 7).

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (n. d.), stated, "Childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years" (para. 1). While society has acknowledged that there is a childhood obesity epidemic, nationally, obesity in children is still on the rise.

Skinner and Skelton (2014) shared that although it has stabilized to a certain degree, it is still increasing. Specifically, 17.3 percent of children aged two to 19 years were obese between 2011 to 2012 and over the last 14 years obesity has increased. I invite you to watch my piece for dissemination video on childhood obesity.



Dr. Carol Dweck's growth versus fixed mindset has strong implications for teachers and students. Dr. Dweck is a world leading researcher in motivation and is the Lewis and Virginia Eaton Professor of Psychology at Stanford University (Mindset, 2010). Her research focused on why people succeed and how to foster success. This led her to fixed versus growth mindset. In a fixed mindset intelligence is static. Persons with a fixed mindset avoid challenges, give up easily, sees effort as fruitless, ignores feedback, and is threatened by the success of others. In contrast, growth mindset is the perspective that intelligence can be developed. Persons with a growth mindset embrace challenges, see effort as a path to mastery, learn from criticism, and are inspired by others' successes. Her work is the basis of the book Mindsets in the Classroom: Building a Culture of Success and Student Achievement in Schools by Mary Cay Ricci.

It is important for teachers and parents to foster a growth mindset within children. For instance, a Columbia University survey shows that 85 percent of American parents think it's important to tell their kids that they are smart, when in fact it may actually be harming them (Bronson, 2007). Dweck's research on mindset illustrates the need to praise effort, rather than intelligence. Planting the seeds of effort and growth into children from a young age would prepare them for the academic and growth opportunities to come. Moreover, it could be the foundation for developing a love of learning. I invite you to watch the videos to learn more about how the brain works and what this means for growth versus fixed mindset. Neuroplasticity  Mindset and Success

Resources

Ginsburg, K. R. (2007, January). The importance of play in promoting healthy child development and maintaining strong parent-child bonds | From the American Academy of Pediatrics | Pediatrics. Retrieved from http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/119/1/182

Skinner, A. C., & Skelton, J. A. (2014). Prevalence and trends in obesity and severe obesity among children in the United States, 1999-2012. JAMA Pediatrics,168(6), 561-566. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2014.21

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Obesity prevention | Healthy schools | The centers for disease control and prevention. Retrieved September 30, 2015, from http://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/obesity/facts.htm