Growth and Development Q 34
A 3-year old boy with vesicoureteral reflux is scheduled for ureteral reimplantation. His father plans to go home during the surgery to get his favorite toy. When the father left, the boy asked the nurse when will his father be back? The nurse’s best response is:
A. “Your daddy will be back later this afternoon”
B. “Your daddy will be back at 11 am”
C. “Your daddy will be back after you wake up”
D. “Your daddy will be back within 2 ½ hours”
Correct Answer: C. “Your daddy will be back after you wake up.”
A preschool child understands the concept of time through events and symbols. Following and being involved with a familiar sequence of routines and schedules enhances their time awareness of the present, past, and future. Preschoolers also need to build on these experiences, because time is such an abstract concept for young children. For them, it is rather intangible.
Option A: Between ages 4-5, a child begins to have an understanding of time but it is still vague. Before and after are time concepts understood by preschoolers. Although 3- and 4-year-olds have the ability to describe events that happen in the past and know specific words that describe past events (“last week” or “a few days ago”), they may not always get the duration of the time exactly right.
Option B: Between ages 6 to 8 years old, children learn the concept of minutes in an hour, number of hours in a day, and can compare time. Of course, recognizing the parts of the day is the most basic way children become aware of the passage of time. Their capacity to learn about time increases as they become aware of how events reoccur at specific times during the day.
Option D: Kindergartners want to know what time it is and are beginning to understand that certain things (like the start and end of school) happen at a defined time each day. Make a photographic timeline for the day at school, marking each event with a picture of the clock at that time and the time written numerically.