Nurse 232: Growth and Development of Kate Pearson

GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT

KATE PEARSON

Meet the School-Age child:

Nutrition:

Kate Pearson is 10-year-old American girl with dark blonde hair and brown eyes. Her interests include singing, voguing and crushing over boys at school. She is average in height for her age and slightly “bigger” than other girls in her group. Unfortunately, her appearance has made her the target of bullying from other kids of her age-group. This sparked her struggle with body image issues.

School-aged children should be eating a well-balanced diet to promote growth. They develop a taste for a variety of foods. Typically, the quality of their diet is influenced by the family’s eating pattern because they usually eat the same food that is prepared for by the family. (Perry, Hockenberry, Lowdermilk, Wilson, 2014.) Healthy diet recommendations should be followed from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“Assessment Technologies Institute® (ATI) RN Nursing Care of Children Edition 10.0: Content Mastery Series Review Module,” 2016).

Expected Growth and Development Physical and Motor: Kate demonstrates a posture more similar to adults and has full development of her teeth, except her wisdom teeth.

Mental: Kate attends 5th grade. She reads books for her own personal enjoyment. She knows how to us a phone for practical use.

Adaptive: Kate helps her mother cook. She washes and dries her own hair. She can look after herself and the needs of her brothers.

Personal-Social: Kate has a best friend. She has a crush on a classmate at school of the opposite sex. She wants to please her mother in any way she can and she idolizes her father. She is very affectionate towards her family.

Kate’s parents are aware of her weight and try to make sure she doesn’t overeat. The mom tries to prepare healthy food for her. She is aware that other kids look at Kate differently and believes its because she is heavier compared to others. Her dad, on the other hand, believes they shouldn’t be so strict with her diet because she’s still young. He does his best to not let it affect her self-esteem and treats her out to whatever she wants to eat, such as her favorite, ice cream!

Per daily recommendations for her age group, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Kate should be eating 1.5 cup serving of fruit, 2 cups of vegetables, 3 oz equivalent of grains, 5 oz equivalent of protein, and 3 cups dairy.

3 oz 1.5 cups

2 cups

3 oz

5 oz

(https://www.choosemyplate.gov/)

Sample meal for Kate • Fruit: 1 small apple Vegetables: 1 cup baby carrots • Grains: 1 regular slice 100% whole grain bread • Protein: 1 sandwich slice of turkey • Dairy: 1 cup low-fat yogurt

Jack and Rebecca Pearson are the parents of the “Big 3.”

Jack is the breadwinner of the family and works day in and day out to make sure they have everything they need. Rebecca gave up her dreams as a singer to look after her children. Together, they are nurturing towards their children and have an authoritative parenting style, where they set clear rules and expectations within the family and allow for frequent communication.

Kate is definitely a daddy’s girl. Jack is very protective over his little girl because he knows she gets bullied over her weight. He says ”yes” to everything she wants because he doesn’t want to disappoint her. He never fails to make sure she feels loved. Rebecca thinks that Jack is not preparing her for the real world if he continues to coddle her this way.

On the other hand, Kate has a strained relationship with her mother. Kate feels very insecure around her, who she would describe as “beautiful and thin” with the perfect voice. She often compares her own singing capabilities to her mother’s and feels like she will never live up to her talents.

She has two siblings, Kevin and Randall. She is a surviving member of a triplet pregnancy, alongside Kevin. Randall is their adoptive brother who happened to be born on the same day. Dubbed as the ”Big 3”, they have a unique relationship with one another. Kevin and Randall don’t get along easily and fight like most siblings. Kate is left in the middle, as she gets along with both. She feels a closer bond with Randall because they get along more.

And as the eldest, Kevin is always looking out for her and making sure that no one hurts her.

School-age children see things from another person’s point of view. They progress from perceptual thinking to conceptual thinking, in which they make judgements based on reason rather than what they see. Cognitive tasks that school-aged children complete is mastering the concept of conservation and developing classification skills (Perry, 2014).

School-age children are in the Industry vs.

Inferiority stage. A sense of industry is achieved when the child is able to carry out tasks and complete them. A sense of accomplishment is established when the child is able to cooperate, compete with others and cope effectively. Realistically, children will feel some degree of inferiority because they will not master every skill they attempt (Perry, 2014).

In the early school-age years, they know rules and expectations but do not understand the reasoning behind them.

Their judgement is guided by rewards and punishments. In the later schoolage years, they are able to judge the intentions of an act. They understand the concept of treating others as they like to be treated (Perry, 2014).

Kate is well aware of how other people think and feel. For instance, she sensed her father was troubled by things at work. She asks him “Dad, is everything okay at work?” She then cupped his face with her hands and told him that “Everything is going to be okay.”

Kate feels a sense of inferiority when it comes to her singing capabilities. She was set to sing a song at her school’s talent show but opted out the last minute after hearing her mother singing the same song in the shower.

She felt very discouraged because she believed she would never be as good as her mother.

Kate understands the concept of treating others as she would like to treated. When she is getting bullied for her weight, she doesn’t say anything mean or spiteful in return because she wouldn’t want to treat them the way they are treating her.

Respect

Kate displays a very respectful attitude and behavior towards others.

This can be attributed to how her parents raise her and how they teach and instill this quality in her.

Some displays of respect include saying please and thank you, not raising her voice at her parents, and treating her brothers nicely.

Family

Kate has a very tightknit family. Jack and Rebecca always make time for their children and plan fun family activities that they can all participate in, from playing football outdoors to camping in the forest to pool days.

They all celebrate the Super Bowl together as a family tradition.

Friends

Kate has a hard time making friends because the kids at school are “embarrassed to hang out with her.” Despite this, Kate has one best friend at school, Sophie.

Sophie happens to be Kevin’s crush so he tries to ”steal” her away from her sister.

School Kate is in grade 5. She is a good student and completes her homework and assignments. She is well behaved in the school setting and doesn’t get into any trouble.

Problems/Concerns: #1 NUTRITION School-age children are at an increased risk of obesity (Hagan, Shaw, and Duncan, 2017). Kate’s weight is higher than the average weight of other kids her age. Also, at this age, girls begin to think about dieting and weight loss, which can put Kate at risk for developing an eating disorder (Hagan et al., 2017).

Anticipatory Guidance: Kate’s parents should be a role model for her and practice their own healthy eating behaviors. They should also be aware of dangers of dieting for weight loss and foster a healthy attitude towards food.

Intervention: Only nutritious foods and drinks should be made available at home. Ensure that the rest of the family is eating the same healthy meals (her brothers are not exempted!) Don’t make her feel bad if she slips up with healthy eating.

#2 PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT School-age children enter a stage of rapid sexual development and they are aware of sexual themes and content (Hagan et al., 2017). Kate has developed a crush over a boy in her class. Even though it is just a sweet, innocent crush, she should be taught sexual safety early on.

Anticipatory Guidance: Kate should be encouraged to ask questions and her parents should be prepared with answers that are appropriate to her level of understanding.

Interventions: Kate’s parents should start giving her sex education and encourage ongoing conversation. Kate should be taught the importance of delaying sexual behavior because she is still young. Teach Kate to never keep secrets and encourage her to express any interest in the opposite sex and address any questions she may have regarding private parts.

Problems/Concerns: #3 SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT Friendships are essential to a child’s social development (Hagan et al., 2017). However, Kate is bullied by other kids her age. They once wrote her a note that said, “We don’t want you to hang out with us anymore. You embarrass us.” On another occasion, on her 10 th birthday, she invited her “friends” to her party but no one showed up except her one and only best friend.

Anticipatory Guidance: Kate’s parents should supervise her activities with peers. They should encourage her to bring her best friend to their home and help her feel welcome.

Intervention: Kate’s parents should help guide Kate to make good choices of whom she should spend time with.

#4 QSEN COMPETENCY: SAFETY The Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) defines safety: Minimizes risk of harm to patients and providers through both systemic effectiveness and individual performance (QSEN Competencies, n.d.)

The Pearson family love to go to their local community pool. It is often crowded with other children and their families. Swimming places Kate’s safety at risk in which she can drown.

Anticipatory Guidance: Kate’s parents should make sure to teach her how to swim. They should also supervise her when she is around any large bodies of water.

Intervention: Teach Kate how to swim. Kate should wear floatable devices. Keep a close eye on Kate when visiting the community pool.

References Assessment Technologies InstituteÂŽ (ATI) RN Nursing Care of Children Edition 10.0: Content Mastery Series Review Module (10th ed.) [Adobe Digital Editions Version]. (2016). Retrieved from https://www.atitesting.com Choose MyPlate. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.choosemyplate.gov/ Hagan, J. F., Shaw, J. S., & Duncan, P. M. (2017). Bright futures: Guidelines for health supervision of infants, children, and adolescents. Elk Grove Village, IL: Bright Futures/American Academy of Pediatrics.

Perry, S. E., Hockenberry, M. J., Lowdermilk, D. L., & Wilson, D. (2014). Maternal Child Nursing Care (5th ed.).

St. Louis, MO: Mosby: Elsevier.

QSEN Competencies. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://qsen.org/competencies/pre-licensure-ksas/#safety

Images: • https://www.nbc.com/this-is-us/photos/season-2/the-fifth-wheel/3041814 • https://nerdbreak.com.br/2018/04/23/trailer-de-meu-ex-e-um-espiao/parker-bates-as-young-kevin-mandymoore-as-rebecca-mackenzie-hancsicsak-as-young-kate-lonnie-chavis-as-young-randall-and-milo-ventimiglia-asjack-in-this-is-us-1/ • https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5555260/mediaviewer/rm2520778496 • https://choosemyplate-prod.azureedge.net/sites/all/themes/cmp_responsive/images/myplate_slider.png • https://www.nbc.com/this-is-us/photos/season-2/number-three/3038997 • https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5555260/mediaviewer/rm2548718336 • https://www.nbc.com/this-is-us/photos/season-2/the-fifth-wheel/3041803 • http://www.ibtimes.com/us-cast-meet-chrissy-metz-justin-hartley-other-actors-playing-mandy• https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5555260/mediaviewer/rm3303693056 • https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5555260/mediaviewer/rm304298240 • https://www.nbc.com/this-is-us/photos/season-2/the-20s/3035325