I. Heredity The characteristics, potential, tendency and limits of growth and development of children are influenced by genetic factors of both parents. Race, family genetic information has a profound impact: such as skin, hair color, facial features, height, sexual maturity, etc.; hereditary diseases, whether chromosomal aberrations or metabolic defects have a significant impact on growth and development: two, gender The growth and development of boys and girls have their own characteristics, the average height (length) and weight of girls is generally smaller than that of boys of the same age. Girls begin puberty about 2 years earlier than boys, at this time, physical growth increased dramatically, their height and weight more than boys, although boys begin puberty later, but the continuation of time than girls for a longer period of time, their physical finally or more than girls. Girls have an earlier ossification center, lighter bones, wider pelvis, narrower shoulder spacing, more developed subcutaneous fat, and less developed muscles than boys. Therefore, male and female criteria should be separated when evaluating pediatric growth and development.
Endocrine growth and development is mainly regulated by various hormones, among which growth hormone, thyroid hormone and sex hormone are particularly important. Lack of growth hormone leads to short stature; lack of thyroid hormone not only causes short stature but also impairs brain development; sex hormone can promote epiphyseal fusion and affect long bone growth, so early puberty can make the final height relatively short.
The development of the fetus in the uterus is affected by the living environment, nutrition, emotion and disease of the mother: early pregnancy, such as toxic infection, can lead to congenital malformation of the fetus; severe malnutrition of the mother can cause miscarriage, premature birth and fetal physical growth and retarded brain development; the mother receives drugs, x-ray exposure, environmental toxic pollution and mental trauma, etc., which can hinder the development of the fetus. Intrauterine growth retardation can affect the growth and development of the child after birth.
V. Nutritional adequacy and deployment Reasonable nutrition is the material basis for the growth and development of children, to ensure the healthy growth of children is an extremely important factor, the younger the age of the more influenced by nutrition. Long-term nutritional deficiencies will first lead to weight gain, or even decline, and will eventually affect the growth of height and make the body’s immune, endocrine, neuromodulation and other functions are low.
Sixth, the living environment Good living environment, health conditions such as adequate sunlight, fresh air, clean water, etc. can promote the growth and development of children, and vice versa, it will bring adverse effects. Living system, care, upbringing, exercise reasonable arrangements for the physical and intellectual growth of children play an important role in promoting. The warmth of the family, the loving care and good example of parents, as well as excellent school education and social education, have far-reaching effects on the formation of children’s character, moral character, emotional stability and spiritual and intellectual development.
Seven, disease disease on the growth and development of children’s disruption is very obvious. Acute infections often cause weight loss; chronic diseases affect both weight and height growth; endocrine diseases often cause delayed skeletal growth and neurological development; congenital diseases such as congenital heart disease, trisomy 21, chondrodysplasia, etc., have a more pronounced impact on physical and mental neurological development.
Understanding the laws of growth and development of children and the role of internal and external factors can enable medical and educational personnel to create favorable conditions and prevent unfavorable factors to promote normal growth and development of children according to the developmental characteristics of different ages; on the other hand, it can judge and evaluate the development of children more correctly according to the laws of development, discover deviations and deficiencies in a timely manner, and trace the causes to correct them. It also helps to diagnose, treat, and prognosticate certain diseases of children. Therefore, it is necessary for child workers to master the basic knowledge in this area.