Developing Engaging Activities for Diverse Age Groups- Designing Infant, Early Childhood, and Adolescent Programs for Your Community Center Proposal

Developing Engaging Activities for Diverse Age Groups- Designing Infant, Early Childhood, and Adolescent Programs for Your Community Center Proposal

Activity for Infants

According to Hills et al. (2007), infants below the age of 1 year need to be physically active several times a day in different ways. One of the activities that educators and parents can encourage is interactive floor-based play for children who are already mobile. However, if the infant is not yet mobile, the recommended physical activity is a prone position for at least 30 minutes. This is also called tummy time, which is spread over the whole day while the infant is awake. Examples of the physical development milestones in infants below the age of one are holding their head up with some support, beginning to push up when they are placed in a prone position (tummy time), and making smoother movements with their legs and arms (Mossler, n.d). More often, this happens within two months of their age. Our assignment writing help is at affordable prices to students of all academic levels and disciplines.

When they are four months, they start holding their head steady without needing any support; they push their legs down when their feet are placed on a hard surface, they bring their hands to their mouth, roll over from their tummy to back and start pushing up to elbows when placed to lie on the tummy. When they reach six months old, they roll over from back to tummy and from tummy to back. At 9 months, they crawl, sit without any support, and pull to stand. At one year, they move to a sitting position without any help, and they can even stand alone. According to Hewitt, Stanley & Okely (2017), tummy time has had a positive effect on the head shape and development of the infant. When an infant is placed in a prone position, they are given a chance to practice lifting their head up, lifting their head and turning their head at the same time, moving their legs, as well as pushing their arms up. This way, the infant’s head, trunk muscles, shoulder, and neck muscles master motor skills like pushing up in order to sit, crawl, sit, and roll (Hewitt, Stanley & Okely, 2017).

Encouraging Walking for Middle Children above the Age of 1 Year

Caregivers can encourage their children at this age to run and walk by sending them or calling them. In the earlier stages, children start walking with stumbles as they put their arms up until they can walk properly. With time, they start walking faster and running. Some even learn to jump, throw, skip and hop. The developmental milestones that come with this activity include climbing up and down from furniture without any support, throwing a ball, standing on tiptoes, kicking balls, and running (WHO, 2019). As the parent encourages the child to walk towards them, they eventually become accustomed to the muscle movements and balance that are needed to walk and do it independently, making them stronger day after day to run.

Activity for Teenagers

Educators can introduce a play activity that is fun yet encourages aerobics among teenagers. This activity can be a baseball game where teenagers are committed to playing at least thrice a week. The milestone that supports the use of this activity includes being able to do several push-ups because of the strengthening of the muscles. Another milestone is improved academic performance because of the increased attention as a result of physical exercise (Sigelman & Rider, 2017). Morelli (2022) attests that during the middle adolescence stage, adolescents keep honing their gross motor skills as they continue experiencing an increase in cardiopulmonary endurance strength and muscle mass. A research study on competitive athletes shows a positive connection between the dynamic strength of the muscles and the years of playing extracurricular activities such as soccer, basketball, and jogging (Brown, Patel & Darmawan, 2017). Thus, time spent in sports activities leads to skills and strength and, thus, physical development.

References

Brown, K. A., Patel, D. R., & Darmawan, D. (2017). Participation in sports in relation to adolescent growth and development. Translational pediatrics, 6(3), 150.

Hewitt, L., Stanley, R. M., & Okely, A. D. (2017). Correlates of tummy time in infants aged 0–12 months old: A systematic review. Infant Behavior and Development, 49, 310-321.

Hills, A. P., King, N. A., & Armstrong, T. P. (2007). The contribution of physical activity and sedentary behaviors to the growth and development of children and adolescents. Sports medicine, 37(6), 533-545.

Morelli, A. O. (2022). Child Development Theory: Middle Childhood (8-11): Physical Development: Motor Development. https://www.gracepointwellness.org/1272-child-development-theory-middle-childhood-8-11/article/37676-physical-development-motor-development

Mossler, R.A (n.d.). Birth and the New Born. Randi Faris/ Corbis.

Sigelman, C.K. & Rider, E.A. (2017). Life-Span Human Development, 9e. Boston: Cengage Learning.

World Health Organization. (2019). Guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behavior and sleep for children under 5 years of age. World Health Organization.

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This week, we begin working on elements that will become part of your Community Center Proposal Final Project. If you have not already done so, go to Week 5—Final Project and thoroughly review the instructions for creating the proposal.

Developing Engaging Activities for Diverse Age Groups- Designing Infant, Early Childhood, and Adolescent Programs for Your Community Center Proposal

This week, you will create three activities that will become part of your center’s infant, early childhood, and adolescent rooms.
Before beginning this assignment, read Chapters 4 and 5, Sections 14.2 and 15.2 in your textbook, and Physical Development: Motor Development (https://www.gracepointwellness.org/1272-child-development-theory.