Читать книгу Lifespan Development - Tara L. Kuther - Страница 204

Individual differences are the norm when it comes to growth; children grow at different rates. However, some children show significantly slower growth than other children their age. Some infants display failure to thrive, a condition in which their weight is below the fifth percentile for their age, meaning that they weigh less than 95% of same-age children (S. Z. Cole & Lanham, 2011). Their caloric intake is insufficient to maintain growth (Larson-Nath & Biank, 2016). Children with failure to thrive may be irritable and emotional, lack age-appropriate social responses such as smiling and eye contact, and show delayed motor development. Untreated, failure to thrive is accompanied by delays in cognitive, verbal, and behavioral skills that make it difficult for the child to achieve success in school, home, and peer environments.

Failure to thrive can be caused by medical conditions., such as gastrointestinal and other health problems. Sometimes socioemotional and contextual factors contribute to failure to thrive, such as an insecure attachment to caregivers, parents with physical or mental health problems, emotional neglect and abuse, and, especially, living in poverty and experiencing contextual stressors such as violence within the community (Feigelman & Keane, 2017; Homan, 2016). Pediatricians typically treat failure to thrive by providing the child with the nutrients necessary to grow normally. They may also work with other health professionals such as psychologists and social workers to address underlying medical and psychosocial contributors (Feigelman & Keane, 2017). Although nutritional interventions can alleviate many of the effects of malnutrition on physical development, some children might show long-term cognitive and psychosocial deficits.