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1
Chapter 8: Physical Development

and Health in Early Childhood
WHAT’S TO COME
Physical Growth
Learning Objective 8.1: Describe the physical changes in young children’s height, weight, and
brain structure.
• How do children’s bodies change between ages 3 and 6?

• How does the brain change during early childhood?
Sleep
Learning Objective 8.2: Summarize common sleep problems and disturbances in early
childhood.
• What sleep patterns and problems tend to develop during early childhood?
• Why do some young children wet the bed?
Motor Development
Learning Objective 8.3: Summarize the continued development of fine motor skills and gross
motor skills and discuss the influences on handedness.
• How do motor skills develop during early childhood?

• What influences handedness?
Health and Safety

Learning Objective 8.4: Describe the common health risks of early childhood, and describe how
environmental influences can impact health.
• What are the risks of obesity?

• What are the risks of undernutrition?
• What are the common food allergies and why do they happen?
• How do we promote oral health?
• What are the common accidents and mortality rates?
• What are some environmental influences on health?
© 2013 by McGraw-Hill Education. This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not
authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated,
forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
2
TOTAL TEACHING PACKAGE OUTLINE
Chapter 8: Physical Development and Health in Early Childhood
Learning Objective 8.1 Discussion Topic 8.1

Describe the physical changes in young Independent Study 8.1
children’s height, weight, and brain
structure
Learning Objective 8.2 Discussion Topic 8.2

Summarize common sleep problems and Knowledge Construction Activity 8.1
disturbances in early childhood
Learning Objective 8.3 Discussion Topic 8.3, 8.4

Summarize the continued development of Independent Study 8.2
fine motor skills and gross motor skills Knowledge Construction Activity 8.1,
and discuss the influences on handedness 8.2, 8.3, and 8.4
Learning Objective 8.4 Lecture Topic 8.1, 8.2, and 8.3

Describe the common health risks of early Discussion Topic 8.5 and 8.6
childhood, and describe how Knowledge Construction Activity 8.5,
environmental influences can impact 8.6, and 8.7
health
Applied Activities: Students in Nursing, Applied Activity 8.1 and 8.2

Education, and other applied fields may
particularly enjoy these activities.
EXPANDED OUTLINE
I. Physical Growth
A. Height and Weight
• Children grow rapidly between ages 3 and 6 but less quickly than in infancy and
toddlerhood.
• At about age 3, they begin to take on the slender, athletic appearance of childhood.
• As abdominal muscles develop, the toddler potbelly tightens.
3
• The trunk, arms, and legs grow longer.

• The head is still relatively large, but the other parts of the body continue to catch up as
proportions steadily become more adultlike.
• Muscular and skeletal growth progresses, making children stronger.
• Cartilage turns to bone at a faster rate than before, and bones become harder, giving the
child a firmer shape and protecting the internal organs.
• The increased capacities of the respiratory and circulatory systems build physical
stamina and, along with the developing immune system, keep children healthier.
B. The Brain
• By age 3, the brain is approximately 90 percent of adult weight.

• The density of synapses in the prefrontal cortex peaks at age 4.
• Myelination of pathways for hearing is also complete around that age.
• By age 6, the brain has attained about 95 percent of its peak volume.
• From ages 3 to 6, rapid brain growth occurs in the frontal areas that regulate planning
and organizing actions.
• From ages 6 to 11, the most rapid growth is in an area that primarily supports
associative thinking, language, and spatial relations.
• During early childhood, a gradual change occurs in the corpus callosum, a thick band of
nerve fibers that links the left and right hemispheres.
o Progressive myelination of fibers in the corpus callosum permits more rapid
transmission of information and better integration between the hemispheres.
o This development, which continues until age 15, improves such functions as
coordination of the senses, memory processes, attention and arousal, and speech and
hearing.
II. Sleep
• Sleep patterns change throughout the growing-up years, and early childhood has its own
distinct rhythms.
• Bedtime may bring on a form of separation anxiety, and the child may do all he/she can to
avoid it.
• Children are likely to want a light left on and to sleep with a favorite toy or blanket.
o Such transitional objects, used repeatedly as bedtime companions, help a child shift from
the dependence of infancy to the independence of later childhood.
• Young children who have become accustomed to going to sleep while feeding or rocking,
however, may find it hard to fall asleep on their own.
4
A. Sleep Disturbances
• About 1 in 10 parents or caregivers of preschoolers say their child has a sleep problem.
• Sleep disturbances may be caused by:
o Accidental activation of the brain’s motor control system
o Incomplete arousal from a deep sleep
o Disordered breathing or restless leg movements
• These disturbances tend to run in families and are often associated with separation
anxiety.
• In most cases they are only occasional and usually are outgrown.
• Persistent sleep problems may indicate an emotional, physiological, or neurological
condition that needs to be examined.
• Possible sleep disturbances include night terrors, walking and talking while asleep, and
nightmares.
1. Night Terrors
• A child who experiences night terror appears to awaken abruptly from a deep sleep
early in the night in a state of agitation.
• The child may scream and sit up in bed, breathing rapidly and staring or thrashing
about.
• Yet he is not really awake.
• He quiets down quickly and remembers nothing about the episode the next morning.
• Night terrors generally peak between 2.5 to 4 years of age and decline thereafter.
2. Sleepwalking and Sleeptalking
• Walking and talking during sleep are fairly common in early and middle childhood.
• Sleepwalking and sleeptalking are generally harmless, and their frequency declines as
children age.
3. Nightmares
• Nightmares are common during early childhood.

• They usually occur toward morning and are often brought on by staying up too late,
eating a heavy meal close to bedtime, or overexcitement.
B. Bed-Wetting
5
• Most children stay dry, day and night, by age 3 to 5, but enuresis, repeated, involuntary
urination at night by children old enough to be expected to have bladder control, is not
unusual.
• About 10 to 15 percent of 5-year-olds, more commonly boys, wet the bed regularly,
often while sleeping deeply.
• Preschool children normally recognize the feeling of a full bladder while asleep and
awaken to empty it.
o Children who wet the bed do not yet have this awareness.
• Enuresis runs in families, suggesting that genetics may play a role.
o The discovery of the approximate site of a gene linked to enuresis points to heredity
as a major factor, possibly in combination with slow motor maturation, sleep apnea,
allergies, or poor behavioral control.
• Children and their parents need to be reassured that enuresis is common and not serious.
o Treatment is most effective if delayed until the child is able to understand and follow
instruction; it often includes either enuresis alarms that wake the child when he/she
begins to urinate or medications.
III. Motor Development
• Children ages 3 to 6 make great advances in motor skill developments—both gross motor
skills such as running and jumping, which involve the large muscles (Table 8.2), and fine
motor skills, which are manipulative skills such as buttoning and drawing that involve eye-
hand and small-muscle coordination.
• They also begin to show a preference for using either the right or left hand.
A. Gross Motor Skills and Fine Motor Skills
• Motor skills do not develop in isolation.

• The skills that emerge in early childhood build on the achievements of infancy and
toddlerhood.
• Development of the sensory and motor areas of the cerebral cortex permits better
coordination between what children want to do and what they can do.
• Their bones and muscles are stronger, and their lung capacity is greater, making it
possible to run, jump, and climb farther, faster, and better.
• The gross motor skills developed during early childhood are the basis for sports,
dancing, and other activities that begin during middle childhood and may continue for a
lifetime.
o However, children under 6 are rarely ready to take part in any organized sport.
6
• Young children develop best physically when they can be active at an appropriate
maturational level in unstructured free-play.
• Gains in fine motor skills, such as tying shoelaces and cutting with scissors, allow
young children to take more responsibility for their personal care.
B. Handedness
• Handedness, the preference for using one hand over the other, is usually evident by
about age 3.
• Handedness is not always clear-cut; not everybody prefers one hand for every task.
• Some researchers argue that handedness is more influenced by the environment since
such factors as low birth weight and difficult deliveries are related to increased
likelihood of left-handedness.
o As further evidence of environmental effects, children who attend schools are more
likely to be right handed than children who do not receive a formal education.
• Other researchers argue that handedness is more influenced by either a single gene or by
a variety of genes working together.
IV. Health and Safety
• In the United States, advances in public health have made many of the previously
common childhood illnesses, accidents, and deaths rare.
o However, children nonetheless continue to face risks to optimal development.
• Some children eat too much food and may become overweight or obese, while others
suffer from malnourishment.
• Some children need to be careful not to consume foods they are allergic to.
• Oral health is also an issue; not all children practice good habits or have access to
dentists.
A. Obesity
• Obesity is a serious problem among U.S. preschoolers.

• Obesity rates have tripled in the last 25 years and are related both to ethnicity and
family income.
• Worldwide, an estimated 22 million children under age 5 are obese.
• A tendency toward obesity can be hereditary, but the main factors driving the obesity
epidemic are environmental.
o A key to preventing obesity may be to make sure older preschoolers are served
appropriate portions.
7
• What children eat is as important as how much they eat.

o To avoid obesity and prevent cardiac problems, young children should get only about
30 percent of their total calories from fat, and no more than one-third of fat calories
should come from saturated fat.
• Prevention of obesity in the early years, when excessive weight gain usually begins, is
critical; the long-term success of treatment, especially when it is delayed, is limited.
o Early childhood is a good time to treat obesity, when a child’s diet is still subject to
parental influence or control.
B. Undernutrition
• Worldwide, undernutrition is an underlying cause in more than half of all deaths before
age 5.
• Because undernourished children usually live in extremely deprived circumstances, the
specific effects of malnutrition are hard to determine.
• Some studies suggest that some of the effects of malnutrition can be lessened with
improved diet and early education.
C. Food Allergies
• A food allergy is an abnormal immune system response to a specific food.

• Reactions can range from tingling in the mouth and hives to more serious, life-
threatening reactions like shortness of breath and even death.
• Ninety percent of food allergies can be attributed to seven foods:
o Milk
o Eggs
o Peanuts
o Tree nuts
o Fish
o Soy
o Wheat
• Food allergies are more prevalent in children than adults, and most children will
outgrow their allergies.
• Research on children under age 18 has demonstrated an increase in the prevalence of
food allergies over the past 10 years.
o Changes in diet, how foods are processed, and decreased vitamin D due to less sun
exposure have all been suggested as contributors to the increase in allergy rates.
D. Oral Health
8
• Poor oral health and untreated disease can impact quality of life.
• The two common areas of oral health that parents are concerned about are:
o Thumbsucking
o Tooth decay
• By age 3, all the primary (baby) teeth are in place, and the permanent teeth, which will
begin to appear at about age 6, are developing.
o Thus parents usually can safely ignore the common habit of thumbsucking in
children under age 4.
• Fluoride use and improved dental care have dramatically reduced the incidence of tooth
decay since the 1970s, but disadvantaged children still have more untreated dental
caries—or cavities—than other children.
• Tooth decay in early childhood often stems from overconsumption of sweetened milk
and juices in infancy together with a lack of regular dental care.
E. Accidental Injuries and Deaths
• Young children are naturally venturesome and often are unaware of danger.
• Although most cuts, bumps, and scrapes are “kissed away” and quickly forgotten, some
accidental injuries result in lasting damage or death.
o Indeed, accidents are the leading cause of death after infancy throughout childhood
and adolescence in the United States.
o Worldwide, more than 800,000 children die each year from burns, drowning, car
crashes, falls, poisonings, and other accidents.
• All 50 states and the District of Columbia require young children to ride in specially
designed car seats or wear seat belts.
o New recommendations suggest 4-year-olds should use forward-facing car seats with
a harness until they reach the top weight or height limit for their seat.
o Belt-positioning booster seats should be used until children are big enough to fit a
seatbelt properly, with the lap belt across their thighs and the shoulder belt snug
against the shoulder and chest.
• Airbags are designed to protect adults, not children.
o They have been shown to increase the risk of fatal injury to children under age 13
who are riding in the front seat.
• Most deaths from injuries, especially among preschoolers, occur in the home—from
fires, drowning in bathtubs, suffocation, poisoning, or falls.
o From 2001 to 2003, more than 50,000 children age 4 and under were treated each
year in U.S. hospital emergency departments for unintentional exposure to
prescription and over-the-counter medicines.
9
• U.S. laws requiring childproof caps on medicine bottles and other dangerous household
products, regulation of product safety, car seats for young children, mandatory helmets
for bicycle riders, and safe storage of firearms and of medicines have improved child
safety.
o Making playgrounds safer would be another valuable measure.
o Table 8.4 summarizes suggestions for reducing accident risks in various settings.
F. Environmental Influences on Health
• Genetic heritage, environmental factors, including socioeconomic status, race and

ethnicity, homelessness, and exposure to pollutants, play major roles in determining
why some children have more illnesses or injuries than others.
1. Socioeconomic Status
• The lower a family’s socioeconomic status (SES), the greater a child’s risk of illness,
injury, and death.
• Children in families with low SES are more likely than other children to:
o Have chronic conditions and activity limitations
o Lack health insurance
o Have unmet medical and dental needs
• Medicaid, a government program that provides medical assistance to eligible low-
income persons and families, has been a safety net for many poor children since 1965.
o However, it has not reached millions of children whose families earn too much to
qualify but too little to afford private insurance.
2. Race/Ethnicity
• Access to quality health care is a particular problem among black and Latino children,
especially those who are poor or near poor.
• According to the Children’s Defense Fund, 1 in 5 Latino children and 1 in 8 black
children are uninsured compared with 1 in 13 white children.
• Language and cultural barriers and the need for more Latino care providers may help
explain some of these disparities.
• Even Asian American children, who tend to be in better health than non-Hispanic
white children, are less likely to access and use health care.
3. Homelessness
10
• Homelessness results from complex circumstances that force people to choose

between food, shelter, and other basic needs.
o Since the 1980s, as affordable rental housing has become scarce and poverty has
spread, homelessness has increased dramatically in the United States.
• Families now make up 41 percent of the homeless population, representing some
800,000 to 1.2 million children, half of whom are under 5.
o Many homeless families are headed by single mothers in their twenties.
• Many homeless children spend their crucial early years in unstable, insecure, and often
unsanitary environments.
o They and their parents may be cut off from a supportive community, family, and
institutional resources, and from ready access to medical care and schooling.
o These children suffer more health problems than children from low SES families
who have homes, and they are more likely to die in infancy.
o They experience higher rates of several health problems including diarrhea;
respiratory, skin, and eye and ear infections; asthma; and other chronic diseases.
o Homeless children also tend to suffer severe depression and anxiety, and to have
neurological and visual deficits, developmental delays, behavior problems, and
learning difficulties.
4. Exposure to Smoking, Air Pollution, Pesticides, and Lead
• Smoking is bad for everyone, however, children, with their still-developing lungs and
faster rate of respiration, are particularly sensitive to the damaging effects of exposure.
• Parental smoking is a preventable cause of childhood illness and death.
• The potential damage caused by exposure to tobacco smoke is greatest during the early
years of life.
• Children exposed to parental smoke are at increased risk of respiratory infections such
as bronchitis and pneumonia, ear problems, worsened asthma, and slowed lung
growth.
• Air pollution is associated with increased risks of death and of chronic respiratory
disease.
• Environmental contaminants also may play a role in certain childhood cancers,
neurological disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and mental retardation.
• Children are more vulnerable than adults to chronic pesticide damage.
o There is some, though not definitive, evidence that low-dose pesticide exposure
may affect the developing brain.
• Lead poisoning can seriously interfere with cognitive development and can lead to
neurological and behavioral problems.
11
o Very high levels of blood lead concentration may cause headaches, abdominal pain,
loss of appetite, agitation, or lethargy, and eventually vomiting, stupor, and
convulsions.
• Children’s median blood lead levels have dropped by 89 percent in the United States
since 1976 to 1980 due to laws mandating removal of lead from gasoline and paints
and reducing smokestack emissions.
o Still, about 25 percent of U.S. children live in households with deteriorating lead
paint, a condition more prevalent in low socioeconomic neighborhoods.
TEACHING AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES
LECTURE TOPICS
Lecture Topic 8.1: Preschool Obesity
Students who are going to be teachers, nurses, or parents will benefit from a discussion on the
importance of changing eating and activity behaviors to support healthy development.
The number of obese preschoolers is increasing annually. Obesity in preschool children is
predictive of adult obesity, which is associated with a number of very serious health conditions.
Obesity is a clinical term that refers to a specific percentage of overweight. Usually it is
calculated by the Body Mass Index, rather than just number of pounds by age.
Preschoolers who are obese risk social isolation. By age 4, children indicate a preference
for normal-weight peers. By 5, preschool girls have been reported to have concerns about their
body images and weight, and have indicated that they were “on diets.” So there are two trends
occurring simultaneously; more preschoolers are seriously overweight and there is an increasing
consciousness and negativity toward overweight among young children.
Why are more preschoolers obese than in previous generations? More adults are obese, as well,
so the factors that affect children are probably the same ones that affect adults. These are as
follows:
• sedentary lifestyle
• “activities” that are not active: television, video games, computer use
• change in food availability; take-out is ubiquitous
• change in portion sizes: take-out food is often “supersized” so that people who eat this way
often become unaware of how much a portion really is
• marketing: many food products are advertised heavily, including advertising aimed at
children
Obesity is not simply an outcome of lifestyle, however. There appears to be a strong genetic
element in body shape and size. The complication in researching this subject is obvious, though.
12
The parents who supply the genes also supply the environment. Thus, it is not possible to
decipher the relative influences of nature and nurture on childhood obesity within a family.
Prevention is the best way to manage this problem. Prevention may be accomplished by a
multi-pronged approach.
• Family activities, such as sledding, playing ball, racing the dog, bike riding, should take
priority over television and video viewing. Kids are more likely to adopt and maintain an
active lifestyle if their parents play actively with them.
• Feed people, children and adults, healthy portions of healthful foods. Emphasize fruits and
vegetables; minimize processed foods. Limit sweet and high-fat snack foods, cereals, and
desserts.
• Support physical activities at school and day care. Active outdoor play every day is a must.
Weather is not usually a limiting factor if children dress for outdoor play. This needs to
become a regular part of the curriculum, not a special event.
• Encourage gross motor play with riding toys that you have to pedal, climbing equipment,
big and little balls to throw and catch, a sandbox for digging, containers for carrying water
and sand, and music to help kids keep moving.
Lecture Topic 8.2: Undernutrition
The problem of severe malnutrition, a condition that may affect 3 to 7 percent of the world’s
children, has received widespread media attention. Even so, the problem of undernutrition, a
condition that may affect 40 to 60 percent of the world’s children, is less widely understood.
Protein-energy undernutrition is one type of undernutrition that has long-term developmental
effects, and supplemental treatment does not appear to overcome all of the different types.
Janina R. Galler conducted a large-sample longitudinal study in Barbados comparing the
behavior and development of school-aged children who suffered from severe protein-energy
undernutrition during their first year of life with those of classmates who had no history of
undernutrition. The first year of life is a critical period for brain development, which depends on
adequate protein resources for normal development. The two groups were carefully screened so
that the only significantly different factor in their development was protein-energy undernutrition
during the first year of life.
Although they initially lagged behind in growth, the undernourished children eventually
caught up in physical growth to the children in the control group. However, the undernourished
children continued to exhibit cognitive and behavioral deficits, compared to their counterparts in
the study. The IQ scores of children in the early-undernutrition group were, on average, 12 points
lower than those of the children in the control group. The early-undernutrition group exhibited a
fourfold increase in symptoms of attention deficit disorder. The attention deficit disorder
syndrome appeared in 60 percent of the early-undernutrition group. The attention deficits
persisted through testing at age 18 and were associated with poor school performance and school
dropout rates.
13
The mechanisms by which undernutrition produces these deficits are not well understood.
Barrett has proposed a model in which the deficits result from “functional isolation.” During
periods of undernutrition, the infant becomes listless and inactive⎯behaviors that conserve
energy but functionally isolate the child from the stimulation and experiences necessary for
optimal development. Because such infants appear apathetic and withdrawn, caregivers interact
less with them, regardless of the caregiver’s prior interactional style. Undernourished infants also
spend less time exploring their physical and social environments. This model suggests that the
behavior of undernourished children leads to their experiencing less cognitive and social
stimulation.
Intensive intervention programs can remove many of the deficits, but promoting
programs that prevent early protein-energy undernutrition from occurring in the first place
appears to be a better policy to pursue.
Lecture Topic 8.3: Taste Disgusts
Would you eat or drink any of the following?

• a washed, dead grasshopper
• a piece of chocolate in the shape of feces
• a glass of milk after the removal of a dead, sterilized fly
• a glass of punch that contains a plastic cockroach
• spaghetti served in a thoroughly washed dog dish
• a bowl of soup that has been stirred by a clean, never-used fly swatter
• a glass of water that contains some of your own saliva
If you would try several of these items, you are braver than the average person. Three categories
of potential foods are usually rejected as disgusting. First, people reject foods that contain items
they have learned to think of as disgusting. Even if the food is properly prepared, most people do
not want to try worms on their pizza or eat chocolate-covered cockroaches. Second, people reject
foods that they believe will taste bad, even though they have never tasted them. Many people are
reluctant to try sushi (includes raw fish) or escargot (snails). Third, we tend to reject foods that
are offensive in appearance or odor.
Disgust at foods tends to develop between the ages of 3 and 6. The first area of food
rejection to develop tends to be based on sensory characteristics, such as taste and texture. Next,
people learn to avoid harmful foods. Finally, people learn to reject food on the basis of what it is
(such as snake or insect) and where it comes from (such as tongue or stomach). For adults,
especially, a critical psychological feature is contamination. That is, a food becomes inedible if it
is even associated with something offensive. The opening examples involve the contamination
feature.
14
One explanation for food rejection is that people use the laws of sympathetic magic in
determining what foods to reject. One law is the law of contagion, which states that when two
objects come into contact, they leave permanent traces on each other. This law may explain why
the majority of people would reject a glass of milk even after the removal of a dead, sterilized
fly. A second law is the law of similarity, which states that objects that look similar share
fundamental properties. This law may play a role when a person refuses to eat a piece of candy
formed in the shape of feces.
DISCUSSION TOPICS
Discussion Topic 8.1: Norms Across Cultures or Ethnic Groups
The material in this section provides a good opportunity to reinforce accurate understanding of
norms. Ask students to compare their own patterns of growth (or, where appropriate, those of
their children) to the norms of their culture or ethnic group. Use the discussion to emphasize that
norms do not indicate desirable or optimal development, nor do they indicate the wide range of
individual differences in height and weight of preschoolers. Emphasize that they indicate only
what constitutes typical development for preschoolers in different cultures.
Discussion Topic 8.2: Sleep Patterns
Ask students to share their own sleep patterns (or, where appropriate, those of their children)
when they were kids. If they cannot recall, they could ask their parents. This will make for an
interesting discussion.
Discussion Topic 8.3: Sex Differences in Motor Development
Although differences in proficiency levels for motor development of boys and girls in early
childhood may be a result of skeletal differences, the differences are just as likely to be a
reflection of societal attitudes that encourage different activities for boys and girls. Explore with
the class whether they perceive changes in contemporary society’s encouragement of different
activities for young girls and boys. Is the differential the result of past societal needs that no
longer exist? Were males as “hunters” encouraged to be active while females as “gatherers” were
encouraged to develop eye-hand coordination? What advantages are there for our society in
encouraging these differences today? Discuss the role of the tomboy. Are more or fewer young
girls tomboys today? Does continued use of the term indicate that expectations for different
behavior from girls and boys are just as strong as they have always been? Conclude the
discussion by focusing on the similarities and the high degree of overlap in proficiency in motor
skills between boys and girls at any given age.
15
Discussion Topic 8.4: Artistic Development
Collect drawings made by children or encourage your students to add to your collection. These
can be easily made into overhead transparencies to demonstrate the developmental progression
of children’s art as discussed in the text. In addition, students may be interested in the
psychological evaluation of children’s drawings (rather than just developmental). Goodenough-
Harris Draw-A-Person test and other projective personality tests are interesting to consider.
Remind students that drawings are not diagnostic, but represent both children’s thinking and
their perceptual-motor skills, and they are a very limited piece of information. However, students
seem to enjoy applying their knowledge of Kellogg’s stages and speculating about the symbolic
meanings of elements in the drawings.
Discussion Topic 8.5: Early Childhood Suicide or Homicide
The idea of early childhood suicide or homicide may be difficult for students to accept. The “age
of innocence” view of early childhood is widely held. Help students to explore this painful and
difficult subject by inquiring about their attitudes and beliefs about childhood innocence. How
aware are preschoolers? What do they understand about suicide? What about death?
Discussion Topic 8.6: Effect of Commercials on Children
Ask students to visit the following link and discuss any one “Take Action!” topic of their choice:
http://www.commercialexploitation.com/
INDEPENDENT STUDIES
Independent Study 8.1: Assessment of Kindergarten Readiness
In many communities, 4- and 5-year-olds must pass a kindergarten screening test in order to
enter school. As kindergarten curricula become increasingly academic, school systems depend
on screening measures to help identify children who might benefit from another year of
development before entering kindergarten. These tests assume that children may not be
developmentally ready for the kindergarten experience as a result of maturation. What kinds of
things do kindergarten screening measures look for? How useful is this kind of assessment? Do
some research using a database such as ERIC to discover how reliable and valid preschool
screening tools are and whether they accurately predict which children are “ready” for
kindergarten.
Independent Study 8.2: Canalization of Motor Skills in Early Childhood
16
Infant motor development is highly canalized; that is, the range of ages at which a particular
development occurs is fairly narrow. For example, babies are expected to roll over for the first
time sometime between 2 months and 5½ months of age. Does this narrow range of expectations
persist when we consider children of 3 to 5 years? Research the development of motor skills that
we usually associate with older children, for example, riding a bicycle. What factors influence
the age at which children acquire these more sophisticated skills? What does the research suggest
about the impact of family support and experience in contrast to biologically influenced “natural
ability?” Use a database such as ERIC or the journal Perceptual and Motor Skills to help you
find answers to these questions.
KNOWLEDGE CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES
Knowledge Construction Activity 8.1: Application of Terms
Divide the class into groups of four or five. Assign each group the task of generating an example
for a generative term from this chapter. The example that each group creates cannot be one that
has been used in class or in the book. They must think of a new application for the term that they
are given. Groups are allowed to use their books and notes. By creating their own example of the
term, they demonstrate an understanding of the term to the level of application. There are several
approaches that can be used in this exercise. Students may be given the entire list at once.
Another strategy is to give all of the groups the same term and then go around the room to
discuss outcomes. A third approach is to give each group a different term and see what examples
they can generate.
Some generative terms for Chapter 8:
Nightmare
Sleep terror
Family characteristics of enuresis
Gross motor skill
Fine motor skill
Left-hand disadvantages in a right-handed world
Knowledge Construction Activity 8.2: Perceptual Motor Development on the Playground
Have students observe 3- to 5-year-old children on a playground or at a park. How sophisticated

is their perceptual motor development? For example, how smoothly can they run? Can they walk
backward? Can they walk a straight line or circle drawn on the pavement? Jumping—how far,
how high, over barriers, jumping down from a height? How well can a preschooler hop, skip,
climb jungle gyms, climb ladders, throw and catch balls (various sizes), dribble, and so on?
17
Knowledge Construction Activity 8.3: Tracing Children’s Artistic Development
Form a working group

Get together with four other students to do this project. Your task is to create a gallery-like
display of children’s art that showcases the sequence of development described in your textbook.
Collect children’s art
Divide among group members the responsibility of collecting drawings made by children of
different ages. Students will have access to children of varied ages in their homes, workplaces, or
neighborhoods.
Ask each child to create a drawing that you will be keeping. Offer children a variety of media,
including crayons, markers, chalk, etc. Encourage children to write their own captions, but try
not to influence their art. For example, do not suggest what to draw, how to draw, or draw a
model for the child. On each drawing, write the child’s age in years and months and the date
collected. If the child wishes to dictate a caption or a story that goes with the drawing, write it
down.
Inspect your data
Put all of the drawings collected by your group together. Place them in the order of the ages of
the children and inspect them sequentially. Do you see age-related changes in children’s art?
Come to a consensus within your group about the stages of development of each of the artists.
Label each drawing with the stage it represents.
Create a display
Assemble the drawings on a large poster board or project board. Use your project board to
present your findings to the class. Did the children’s art that you collected reflect Rhoda
Kellogg’s stages of artistic development (scribble stage, basic form stage, and pictorial stage)?
Why or why not?
Knowledge Construction Activity 8.4: Exploring Handedness
Locate several pairs of left-handed scissors, a left-handed desk, a left-handed baseball glove, and
any other artifacts created for lefties. Encourage your right-handed students to try them out and
discuss the difficulties encountered by lefties in a right-handed world.
Have students write their names with their preferred hand. On the same sheet of paper, they
should write their name with the nonpreferred hand. Compare the results across the class. Are
there any students who found it nearly as easy to write with the nonpreferred hand as the
preferred hand? What other activities do these students do with either hand?
Your students might like to explore their own dominance patterns further. Ask them to fold their
arms and observe which arm is on top. Next, try to fold arms the other way. Do the same thing
with folding hands and observing which thumb is on the top. Imagine that you are kicking a ball;
18
which foot do you use? Each of these activities can provide insight into the processes involved in
right-, left-, and mixed-dominance.
Knowledge Construction Activity 8.5: Nutrition and Advertising to Children
Instruct your students to analyze two hours of Saturday morning children’s television. Have
students count the advertisements for food and analyze how many of these foods are healthy in
terms of fat, salt, and sugar content. How do these advertisements appeal to children? How do
they appeal to parents? Discuss how television influences children’s eating habits.
Knowledge Construction Activity 8.6: Interview a Preschooler
Assign students to interview preschoolers of different ages (3-year-olds, 4-year-olds, and 5-year-
olds). The students should question the preschoolers about their knowledge of the role of
nutrition in health. The students may need to be creative in their questioning in order to elicit
what the children know. For example, many preschoolers do not know about the basic four food
groups but freely respond to questions about whether they should drink milk every day. The
students will undoubtedly encounter many humorous replies to their questions.
Knowledge Construction Activity 8.7: Children in Hospitals
Interview pediatric nurses from a local children’s hospital. Discover the major causes of
childhood hospitalization. What are some common reactions to being left in a hospital? What
attempts are made to help children overcome fears and uncertainty about hospitals?
What is the average duration of a hospital stay? What are some common recovery
problems once a child has returned home? Are there any long-range effects of hospitalization?
Has the length of stay changed due to increased managed care?
APPLIED ACTIVITIES
Applied Activity 8.1: Young Children and Food
Watching little children eat can give you a good idea of the importance of fine motor
development. It is also very entertaining.
Locate a childcare program that has children from toddlers through preschool age. Obtain
permission to come and visit for lunchtime or snack time. When there, make arrangements to sit
with children of at least two different ages, 2- and 4-year-olds, for example, or 3- and 5-year-
olds. Watch how the children use their hands and mouths to eat their food. You will be observing
the type of grasp they are using, whether they are using one hand or both hands, how skilled they
are in getting food to the mouth (that takes some eye-hand coordination), and what happens to
19
the food when it does get there? When do kids learn to chew with their mouths closed? When do
they seem to use one hand in preference to both?
You will also be able to observe which foods they seem to prefer, and be certain to listen
to mealtime conversation. Who is social while eating? Who is methodical and systematic? Does
the activity level change from the beginning of the meal to the end? How do teachers manage the
activity and how do they support the development of fine motor skills?
Using the answers to these questions, write a brief (one page) description of your
mealtime visit to the childcare center. Be sure to identify any developmental changes you
observed. Include any suggestions you might have for managing mealtime with young children.
Applied Activity 8.2: Observing Motor Skills
Locate a community sports league for children. Depending on the season and the geographical
location, this might be soccer, basketball, baseball, or another sport. Many leagues have games
all day on weekend days, beginning early in the morning with younger children and including the
oldest players late in the afternoon.
Choose a weekend day when you can observe children from several different age groups
playing the same sport. For example, you might watch 5-year-olds, 8-year-olds, and 12-year-olds
of either or both genders. Observe the development of the children’s motor skills across ages.
The skills that you will observe will be sport-specific, but generally speaking you will be
looking for developmental differences in how forcefully and accurately children can kick or hit a
ball, shoot baskets, and run and stop. Also watch children’s eye-hand coordination. Do you see
changes with age?
Note also that there are individual differences between children of the same ages. Some
5-year-olds might be very skilled with a soccer ball, while others still have a lot to learn. What
factors might account for these individual differences?
Write a brief description (one to two pages) of the developmental changes you observed.
That is, tell how the motor skills of the children varied with their ages. Then include the
observations you made of individual differences. How will individual differences among 5-year-
olds, for example, interact with development to produce motor skills at age 10 or 12? What
predictions can you make?
The Ten-Minute Test
Name: __________
Answer the questions below utilizing the following terms:
transitional objects enuresis handedness

physical abuse physical neglect different
20
emotional abuse emotional neglect sexual abuse

gross sleep terrors fine
nightmares
1. __________ help(s) a child shift from the dependency of infancy to the independence of
later childhood.
2. ______________ motor skills are physical skills that involve small muscles and eye-hand
coordination.
3. ______________ is the preference for using one particular hand.
4. _________________ is a condition where the basic needs of a child such as food or safety
are not being met.
5. ______________ is an action taken to endanger a child involving potential injury to the

body.
6. _______________ is failure to meet a child’s basic bodily needs, such as food, clothing,
medical care, protection, and supervision.
7. ________________ is the failure to give a child emotional support, love, and affection.
8. _____________ are frightening dreams.
9. _____________ is repeated urination in clothing or in bed.
10. __________________ involve(s) waking from a deep sleep with no recall afterward.
Answers to the Ten-Minute Test
1. transitional objects
2. fine
3. handedness
4. physical neglect
5. physical abuse
6. neglect
7. emotional neglect
8. nightmares
9. enuresis
21
10. sleep terrors
Resources For Instructors
Books and Journal Articles
Borzekowski, D.L.G. & Robinson, T. (2001). The 30-second effect: An experiment revealing the
impact of television commercials on food preferences of preschoolers. Journal of the American
Diabetic Association, 101, (1), 42-46.
Horgan, K.B., Choate, M., & Brownell, K. (2001). Television food advertising: Targeting
children in a toxic environment. In D.G. Singer and J.L. Singer (Eds.), Handbook of Children
and the Media. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Institute of Medicine (U.S.), McGinnis, J.M., Gootman, J.A., & Kraak, V.A. (2006). Food
marketing to children and youth: Threat or opportunity? Washington, D.C.: National Academy
Press.
Powell, E.C. & Tanz, R.R. (2000). Cycling injuries treated in emergency departments: Need for
bicycle helmets among preschoolers. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 154, 1096.
Robinson, T.N., et al. (2001). Effects of reducing television viewing on children’s requests for
toys. Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 22, 3.
Internet Resources
National Coalition for the Homeless. Web address: www.nationalhomeless.org.

This site provides information about children and youth health and homelessness.
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Le donne dei
Cesari
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States
and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the
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you are located before using this eBook.
Title: Le donne dei Cesari
Author: Guglielmo Ferrero
Release date: March 23, 2024 [eBook #73236]
Language: Italian
Original publication: Milano: Athena, 1925
Credits: Barbara Magni and the Online Distributed Proofreading

Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from
images made available by the HathiTrust Digital Library)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LE DONNE

DEI CESARI ***
LE DONNE DEI CESARI
STATUA D’AUGUSTO
GUGLIELMO FERRERO
LE DONNE
DEI CESARI
EDIZIONI ATHENA
1925
MILANO — Via Vigentina, 7-9
PROPRIETÀ LETTERARIA
I diritti di riproduzione e di traduzioni sono riservati per tutti i paesi,
compresi la Svezia, la Norvegia e l’Olanda.
Copyright by G. Ferrero 1925
Si riterrà contraffatto qualunque esemplare di questa edizione che
non porti il doppio timbro a secco della Società Italiana degli Autori.
Arti Grafiche G. MONFRINI — Milano — Via Vigentina, 33
INDICE
PREFAZIONE.
La storia antica è una storia mascolina, in cui solo rare figure di

donne appariscono. C’è però un’eccezione: il secolo, che corre tra la
morte di Cesare e la morte di Nerone; nel quale tra i grandi della
terra che ressero nelle loro mani i destini dell’impero romano si
contano anche alcune donne.
Questa apparizione insolita di donne in una storia tanto mascolina
ha fatto perdere un po’ la testa alla storiografia antica, la quale in
loro presenza si è buttata a inventare favole con maggior
sbrigliatezza del solito. Tacito, Svetonio e Dione Cassio ci hanno
raccontato non la storia di quei tempi, ma un romanzo a tinte forti,
che fu per lungo tempo, e giustamente, una miniera per
drammaturghi e coreografi; ed ora è sfruttato con eguale fortuna dai
maestri della nuova arte che si dice muta. Ma per quanto da molti
secoli materia greggia per tutte le arti, questo romanzo è grossolano,
inverosimile, incoerente. La verità è molto più romanzesca e tragica,
che la leggenda raccontata dagli scrittori antichi.
Ho riassunto qui, in un racconto succinto e rapido, i risultati delle
ricerche fatte da me per rintracciare questa verità, senza indugiarmi
in discussioni critiche. Il lettore, che si fida, arriverà alla meta — la
verità — più speditamente e per una via quasi diritta. Il lettore, che
non si fida, e che chiede sospettosamente allo storico moderno le
malleverie da cui dispensa graziosamente gli storici antichi, farà il
difficile se non l’incredulo. Come gli garba e poco male; perchè
tanto, lui, alla meta non arriverà mai. Le menti ottuse dal filosofume
o dal criticume moderno — due malattie diverse ma egualmente
pericolose — non possono più intuire e sentire la verità di una storia;
perchè non posseggono più il senso della verità storica; e quando
questo senso è spento, nessuna argomentazione lo può supplire.
Intenda dunque questo piccolo libro chi può. Esso porta una
testimonianza nuova di una verità semplice, alla quale i nostri tempi
recalcitrano, appunto perchè ne avrebbero bisogno. Oggi non c’è
villano rifatto della politica e degli affari, che non creda di possedere
il genio innato del comando e la potenza creatrice dell’ordine;
l’autorità sembra essere diventata l’Eldorado dei rivoluzionari di
professione; e la disciplina è l’alibi grossolano della più scatenata
prepotenza. Questo libro dimostra invece che il fondare un principio
nuovo di autorità è un’impresa erculea, in cui neppur una classe
antica al comando e piena di gloria riesce, se non ha il coraggio e
l’abnegazione di sacrificarsi totalmente. Quando il potere è una cosa
seria, chi lo esercita ne è la prima vittima; quando chi lo esercita lo
sfrutta e lo gode, il potere allora è un’impostura.
La regola non falla mai. E questa storia delle donne dei Cesari è
della regola una delle prove più tragiche.
G. F.
Firenze, 1 marzo 1925.
I.
LA DONNA IN ROMA ANTICA.
«Molte cose, reputate illecite e sconvenienti presso i Greci», scrive

Cornelio Nepote, «sono permesse dal nostro costume. C’è forse un
Romano, il quale si vergogni di condurre la moglie ad un convito
fuori di casa? La padrona di casa non apparisce in tutte le famiglie,
nelle stanze anteriori, dove sono ammessi gli estranei? In Grecia,
no. La donna non accetta inviti fuori del parentado, e sta ritirata nella
parte interna della casa, quella che è detta il Gineceo, dove solo gli
stretti congiunti hanno adito».
Questo passo, uno dei più importanti della mediocre operetta, che
tormenta ancor oggi le prime scuole di latino, è uno spiraglio,
attraverso il quale noi possiamo guardar nell’interno della casa greca
e della casa romana; e vedere in che differivano. Roma fu, tra le
società antiche, quella in cui, nelle alte classi almeno, la donna godè
maggior libertà e autonomia, e più si eguagliò all’uomo, come una
compagna incaricata di uffici diversi, invece di essergli sottoposta,
come una schiava, destinata al suo piacere e al suo vantaggio. La
dottrina, sino a trent’anni fa molto in voga, che i popoli guerrieri
incatenano la donna alla casa, è smentita dalla storia di Roma. Se
anche nella storia di Roma ci fu un tempo, in cui la donna era
un’eterna pupilla, sottomessa all’autorità dell’uomo dalla culla al
sepolcro, del marito se non del padre, del tutore se non del padre o
del marito, quanto antico e remoto è questo tempo! Allorchè Roma
era il maggiore stato del mondo mediterraneo (e massime nell’ultimo
secolo della repubblica), la donna, salve poche e piccole limitazioni,
più di forma che di sostanza, ha già ottenuto l’indipendenza giuridica
e patrimoniale, premessa necessaria dell’eguaglianza morale e
sociale. Per quel che concerne il matrimonio, gli sposi possono
scegliere tra due regimi giuridici molto diversi: il matrimonio con
manus, che è forma più antica e in cui tutti i beni della moglie
trapassano in proprietà del marito, onde la donna non può
possedere nulla; il matrimonio senza manus, più recente, che
attribuisce al marito la proprietà della dote soltanto lasciando alla
donna tutti gli altri beni che possiede o che può acquistare. Siccome
si sa che, ad eccezione di qualche caso e per ragioni particolari, in
tutte le famiglie dell’aristocrazia e per comune consenso, i matrimoni
si facevano, nell’ultimo secolo della repubblica, senza manus, le
donne maritate avevano nelle classi ricche dei beni propri che
potevano amministrare come volevano, senza renderne conto a
nessuno. Nella stessa epoca conquistarono questo diritto, per la via
obliqua di finzioni giuridiche, anche le donne non maritate, le quali
avrebbero dovuto rimanere, secondo le antiche leggi, tutta la vita
sottoposte a un tutore, o scelto dal padre nel suo testamento o
indicato dalla legge, se il padre non lo sceglieva. Per liberare anche
queste donne si inventò da prima il tutor optivus, permettendo al
padre che invece di nominare per testamento il tutore della figlia, la
lasciasse libera di scegliersi essa il tutore, di scegliersi un solo tutore
generale, ovvero più tutori secondo gli affari; e anche di mutare il
tutore quante volte volesse. Per dare il mezzo poi alla donna di
mutare a piacere il tutore legittimo, se il padre non nominava il tutore
nel testamento, si inventò il tutor cessicius, ossia si permise di
cedere la tutela legittima. Ma se tutte le restrizioni imposte alla
libertà della donna non maritata dall’istituto della tutela venivano
meno, una restrizione continuava a sussistere: la donna non
maritata non poteva far testamento. E anche a questo si provvide,
sia con matrimoni fittizî, sia inventando il tutor fiduciarius. La donna,
senza conchiudere matrimonio, si assoggettava mediante la
coëmptio alla manus di una persona di sua fiducia, con il patto che il
coëmptionator l’avrebbe emancipata.
Insomma, nel matrimonio e fuori, alla fine della repubblica, non
c’erano quasi più disuguaglianze giuridiche, tra l’uomo e la donna,
quindi neppure disuguaglianze morali e sociali. I Romani non
pensarono mai che tra il mundus muliebris e il sesso maschile
occorresse scavar dei fossati, elevare dei muri, segnare dei termini
insuperabili, visibili o invisibili. Non vollero mai, per esempio,
separare le donne dagli uomini con il profondo fossato
dell’ignoranza. Per molto tempo le dame dell’aristocrazia romana
furono poco istruite; ma perchè gli uomini anch’essi diffidavano in
quel tempo dei libri, che non fossero i libri dei conti. Quando la
letteratura, la scienza, la filosofia ellenica furono ammesse nelle
grandi famiglie romane, come ospiti desiderati e graditi, nè la
prepotenza, nè l’egoismo, nè i pregiudizi degli uomini cercarono di
contendere alle donne la gioia, il conforto o il lume, che da questi
studi potevano scaturire. Oltre alla danza ed al canto, che erano
studi comuni alle donne, noi sappiamo che negli ultimi due secoli
della repubblica molte signore dell’aristocrazia romana ebbero
familiarità con il greco, maneggiarono poeti e storici, si infarinarono
persino — che Dio le perdoni — di filosofia, leggendo libri o avendo
commercio con famosi filosofi dell’Oriente. Nella casa la donna era
signora, a fianco e a pari del marito; il passo di Cornelio Nepote ci
prova che non era segregata, come la donna greca, ma riceveva e
praticava gli amici del marito, accompagnava costui alle feste ed ai
banchetti nelle case amiche, sebbene nei banchetti non potesse
come l’uomo sdraiarsi, ma dovesse per maggior verecondia sedere;
infine non era, come la donna greca, prigioniera tra le mura
domestiche. Poteva uscire liberamente, raccomandandosi però che
uscisse più che poteva in lettiga; non fu mai esclusa dai teatri,
sebbene il governo romano, per lungo tempo, si sforzasse di frenare
la passione degli spettacoli; potè frequentare i luoghi pubblici e
rivolgersi direttamente ai magistrati... Di non poche radunanze e
dimostrazioni, fatte dalle più ricche signore di Roma, tutte insieme,
nel Foro o in altri luoghi pubblici, per ottenere dai magistrati leggi od
altri provvedimenti ci è pervenuta memoria: basti ricordare la famosa
dimostrazione di cui parla Livio (34 1 sg.), nell’anno 195 a. C. per
ottenere l’abolizione della legge Oppia contro il lusso. Che più?
Abbiamo motivo di ritenere che già sotto la repubblica ci fosse a
Roma una specie di Club femminile, il così detto conventus
matronarum, che raccoglieva le dame delle famiglie più illustri della
città. Ed è certo che più volte il governo, nel pericolo, si rivolse
ufficialmente alle grandi dame di Roma, perchè aiutassero la
Repubblica, raccogliendo oro e argento o impetrando con solenni
cerimonie religiose il favore degli Dei...
Si intende quindi, che in tutti i tempi ci siano state a Roma, nelle
famiglie aristocratiche, delle donne, che amavano con passione la
politica. La fortuna delle grandi famiglie romane, la loro gloria, la loro
potenza, la loro ricchezza, dipendeva dalle vicende della politica e
della guerra; i capi di queste famiglie erano tutti senatori, magistrati,
diplomatici, guerrieri: più la moglie era intelligente, colta e
affezionata, meno poteva estranearsi alle vicende della pace e della
guerra, a cui la fortuna della famiglia, e non di rado anche la vita del
marito, erano legate!
II.
«Ma la famiglia contemporanea è dunque — domanderà a questo

punto il lettore — la copia fedele della famiglia antica? Siamo noi
ritornati, per un lungo cammino, là dove erano giunti quei nostri
lontani antenati?».
No. Se la famiglia moderna e la famiglia romana si rassomigliano per
certi rispetti, differiscono per altri, ed assai. Se il romano concedeva
alla donna l’indipendenza giuridica e patrimoniale, se non le
impediva di studiare e non le mercanteggiava quella libertà senza
cui un essere umano non può vivere anche per sè, non riconobbe
però mai, come più o meno apertamente lo riconosce la civiltà
moderna, che il fine e la ragione del matrimonio sia la felicità
personale dei due coniugi, o una loro personale elevazione morale
nella concordia dei caratteri e delle aspirazioni. Lo scopo del
matrimonio era, per dir così, esterno ad esso. Immune da fervori
mistici come refrattaria a tutte le suggestioni dello spirito filosofico,
almeno nell’azione; ambiziosa solamente di ingrandire e rafforzare lo
Stato di cui era padrona, l’aristocrazia romana non considerò mai la
famiglia e il matrimonio, come non considerò mai la religione e il
diritto, se non come organi dello Stato e strumenti di dominazione;
mezzi per accrescere la potenza delle grandi famiglie, per
cementare, imparentandole, le grandi stirpi di Roma, già strette
dall’interesse politico. Per questa ragione, se il Romano concesse
tanta libertà e riconobbe tanti diritti alla donna, non pensò mai che in
una grande famiglia la donna potesse rivendicare il diritto di
scegliersi il marito, e questo diritto limitò anche al giovane, almeno al
suo primo matrimonio. La scelta spettava ai padri, i quali di solito
fidanzavano i loro figli ancora fanciulli. Due famiglie amiche, i cui
capi si ritrovavano insieme a deliberare nel Senato o ad arringare nel
Foro o a parteggiare nei comizi, e i cui ragazzi si mescolavano
allegramente nei consueti sollazzi dell’età, pensavano un giorno che
quel ragazzo e quella bambina, sposandosi di lì a dieci o dodici anni,
avrebbero potuto stringere ancor più la loro amicizia? Ecco i due
fanciulli erano fidanzati, ed allevati nell’idea che un giorno, il più
presto possibile, sarebbero marito e moglie. Le nozze si
celebravano, pronuba la Ragione di Stato. E questa Ragione di
Stato, mediatrice di matrimoni, che tra i suoi strumenti annoverava
anche le faci nuziali, pareva a tutti una savia provvidenza pubblica; a
nessuno veniva in mente che essa facesse brutale violenza alla
libertà, al sentimento, al cuore dell’uomo e della donna, quando
provvedeva saviamente a far che lo Stato fosse ben governato,
distruggendo con questi maritaggi i semi della discordia, che così
facilmente attecchiscono nelle aristocrazie e a poco a poco la
sgretolano come quelle piante che, non seminate da nessuna mano,
crescono sui vecchi muri.
Questa è la ragione per cui di tutti i grandi personaggi romani si
conosce quante mogli ebbero, e di quale famiglia. Il matrimonio di un
senatore romano era un atto pubblico, e un atto importante; perchè
un giovane, o anche un uomo maturo, imparentandosi con certe
famiglie, veniva, per dir così, a sposare anche le loro responsabilità
e i loro interessi politici. Ciò fu più vero che mai nell’ultimo secolo
della repubblica, dai Gracchi in poi, quando l’aristocrazia romana,
per le ragioni che ho esposte in «Grandezza e Decadenza di
Roma», si scisse in due fazioni nemiche, di cui una cercò di
muovere contro l’altra gli interessi, le ambizioni, le cupidigie delle
classi medie e del popolo. I due partiti cercano di rinforzarsi con i
matrimonî; e questi seguono le vicende della lotta politica, che
insanguina Roma. La storia di Giulio Cesare e dei suoi matrimoni ci
somministra di ciò una prova curiosissima. La ragione prima per cui
Giulio Cesare fu l’erede e il continuatore dei Gracchi, il capo della
fazione che dai Gracchi deduceva le sue origini prime e i suoi titoli,
non deve cercarsi nè nelle sue ambizioni, nè nel suo temperamento
e tanto meno nelle sue opinioni; ma nella sua parentela con Mario.
Una sua zia aveva sposato Caio Mario, il modesto pubblicano fallito
che, buttatosi nella politica, era diventato il primo generale del suo
tempo, era stato eletto console sei volte, aveva vinto Giugurta,
sterminato i Cimbri e i Teutoni. L’homo novus divenuto celebre e
ricco, aveva cercato di nobilitarsi con un matrimonio in cospetto
all’antica aristocrazia orgogliosa dei suoi antenati; e aveva trovato
una sposa in una nobilissima, ma impoverita e decaduta famiglia
patrizia. Ma scoppiata la rivoluzione, messosi Mario a capo della
fazione che derivava dai Gracchi, vinta questa da Silla, la fazione
della vecchia aristocrazia, che aveva vinto con Silla, non perdonò ai
Giulii di essersi imbastarditi con quel suo acerbo nemico, li sospettò,
guardò bieco e perseguitò tutti; tra gli altri anche il giovane Cesare, il
quale era irresponsabile dei fatti e delle gesta dello zio, perchè era
ancora un ragazzo, quando la guerra tra Silla e Mario infuriava.
Così si spiega che la prima moglie di Cesare, Cossuzia, fosse la
figlia di un cavaliere e pubblicano. Per una famiglia di così antica
nobiltà, e patrizia per giunta, questo matrimonio era poco meno che
una degradazione; ma verso l’80 a. C. in pieno furore della fazione
sillana vittoriosa, quale famiglia senatoria avrebbe dato una sua
donna al nipote di Mario? Senonchè morta Cossuzia, pochi anni
dopo le nozze, Cesare fece un secondo matrimonio, molto diverso
dal primo, poichè sposò addirittura una nipote di Silla, Pompea,
imparentandosi con le famiglie, che erano come il cuore della
fazione sillana. Che cosa era accaduto, e come mai il nipote di
Mario, scampato per miracolo alla spada di Silla, poteva sposarne la
nipote nel 68? In quegli anni, a poco a poco, la città sconvolta da
tante discordie si era tranquillata; e obliati i più sanguinosi ricordi
delle guerre civili, ricominciava ad ammirare in Mario la spada e lo
scudo invincibili di Roma, l’eroe che aveva prostrato i Cimbri ed i
Teutoni! Essere il nipote di Mario ridiventava un titolo di gloria, da
nota di infamia, che per tanti anni era stata. Ma anche quella
bonaccia durò poco, chè le due fazioni, dopo breve tregua, ripresero
a guerreggiare. E alla prima occasione Cesare ripudia Pompea, per
sposare Calpurnia, la figlia di Lucio Calpurnio Pisone, console nel
58, senatore influentissimo nella sua fazione.
Come Cesare tutti i personaggi del suo tempo, si ammogliano, fanno
divorzio, si riammogliano secondo tira il vento sul Foro, nei comizi, in
Senato. Quando la ragione politica manca, c’è la ragione pecuniaria.
La donna poteva aiutare una carriera politica sia amministrando
bene la casa del marito, sia contribuendo alle spese con la dote o
con il suo patrimonio. Il canto, la danza, il greco, la poesia, la
filosofia, la politica non dispensavano la donna romana d’alto
lignaggio dal dovere di conoscere tutte le arti della buona massaia, e
massime il filare e il tessere. Lanam fecit. Siccome i numerosi
armenti posseduti dall’aristocrazia potevano somministrare ad ogni
famiglia la lana necessaria per vestirla tutta, padroni e servidorame
schiavo, se la materfamilias era esperta nelle arti di Aracne e sapeva
far lavorare in casa una piccola officina di schiave filatrici e tessitrici,
impedendo i furti e i pigri abbandoni, poteva provvedere a tutta la
famiglia il vestito senza l’ingente spesa necessaria ad acquistare le
stoffe dal mercante; risparmio notevole in tempi in cui la moneta era
così rara, e tutte le famiglie cercavano di spenderne meno che
potevano. La materfamilias aveva dunque, in ogni casa, un compito
che oggi diremmo industriale, poichè vestiva tutta la famiglia; e
secondo compiva questo ufficio, poteva giovare o nuocere
all’interesse comune.
Di maggior momento ancora la dote e i beni parafernali. Non solo
pareva ai romani savio e lodevole accorgimento che un membro
della nobiltà cercasse in moglie una donna ricca, affinchè il suo
patrimonio gli servisse per la sua carriera politica; ma reputava non
ci fosse onore più grande e più invidiabile fortuna per una donna
ricca, che di essere sposata per questo scopo da un uomo
eminente. Si chiedeva solo la rispettabilità della donna; ed anche su
questo punto, pare che, in certi tempi, si chiudesse qualche volta un
occhio, almeno se è vero che Silla aveva rifatto la fortuna della
famiglia con l’eredità di una greca, la quale proprio non aveva
guadagnato l’ingente fortuna che gli lasciò con il biblico sudore della
fronte. Ma potrebbe anche essere una malignità di nemici. Ad ogni
modo, quale fosse in questa materia l’opinione delle persone
dabbene, Cicerone e la sua vita ce lo dimostrano.
Nato in una famiglia di cavalieri di Arpino, molto rispettabile ed
istruita, ma non molto ricca, Cicerone potè fare quello che fece,
perchè aveva sposato Terenzia, che se non ricchissima, era più ricca
di lui, e che lo aiutò, con il suo, a vivere a Roma e a farsi strada.
Dopo una lunga convivenza abbastanza felice, per quanto si può
giudicare, Cicerone e Terenzia, già vecchi, vennero in discordia, e
fecero divorzio nel 46 a. C., non si sa bene per quali ragioni; pare
perchè Terenzia si rifiutò, durante le guerre civili, di assistere
Cicerone con il suo denaro, quanto egli voleva; ossia perchè in quel
cimento, non volle arrischiare tutto il patrimonio sulla pericolante
fortuna politica del marito. Ma il divorzio ridusse Cicerone, obbligato
a render la dote, in gravi strettezze, e allora come ne uscì? Con un
altro matrimonio, sposando a 63 anni Publibia, una ricchissima
giovinetta diciassettenne, di cui era, si aggiunga, tutore, e il cui
patrimonio doveva sistemare di nuovo il dissestato patrimonio del
grande oratore!
III.
Il matrimonio romano era dunque un barbaro commercio della carne

muliebre, fatta da una Ragione di Stato spietata e crudele? Sarebbe
errore credere che i Romani non sentissero i più teneri e dolci affetti
del cuore umano. Le lettere di Cicerone basterebbero a provarci
quanto teneramente anche i Romani sapessero amare la moglie ed i
figli. Senonchè degli affetti personali più teneri e più dolci, che la
letteratura, la musica, la religione, la filosofia, il costume hanno nei
nostri tempi accarezzati, lusingati, divinizzati come le supreme
ragioni del vivere, i Romani diffidavano, come troppo facilmente
fossero pericolosi alla prosperità e al bene dello Stato. Vorremmo noi
dunque denunciarli per barbari? Non dimentichiamo la diversità dei
tempi, che è tanto grande. La fiducia di cui gli uomini moderni sono
larghi all’amore, alla sua chiaroveggenza finale, alla sua potenza
benigna sulle cose del mondo; il diritto, figlio di questa fiducia, di
scegliersi, per viverci insieme, la persona dell’altro sesso verso cui
ciascuno di noi è sospinto da una attrazione personale più forte,
sono fiori germogliati in cima all’albero dell’individualismo moderno.
La facilità senza numero di cui godiamo oggi, per il lavoro, la coltura,
le fortune accumulate di secolo in secolo, ci permettono di allentare
la severa disciplina a cui tempi e popoli, costretti a menare vita più
pura, dovettero sottoporsi. Sebbene a noi il costume sembri duro e
barbaro pur è certo che quasi tutti i grandi popoli del passato e il
maggior numero dei popoli contemporanei che vivono fuori della
civiltà nostra, hanno concepito e praticato il matrimonio non come un
diritto del sentimento, ma come un dovere della ragione, per compire
il quale i giovani devono rimettersi alla saggezza dei vecchi e questi
avere di mira non la soddisfazione di una passione, di solito tanto più
fugace quanto più ardente, ma un calcolato equilibrio di qualità, di
attitudini, di mezzi.
I principî che regolavano il matrimonio romano, possono dunque
sembrare a noi contrari alla natura umana, ma sono invece i principî
a cui hanno ricorso tutti i popoli che non vollero affidare alla
passione, mobile come il mare, il compito di fondare le famiglie, in
tempi in cui la famiglia era un organo del consorzio sociale ben più
importante che oggi non sia, perchè assommava in sè molti compiti
— educazione, industria, governo — oggi divisi tra altri istituti.
Senonchè neppure la ragione è perfetta: anch’essa ha le sue
debolezze, come la passione: e quella Ragion di Stato pronuba, a
cui le donne dovevano sacrificare così gli appetiti del senso come gli
slanci del cuore, era anch’essa piena di pericoli e di inconvenienti,
che conviene conoscere, se si vuol capire la tragica storia delle
donne dei Cesari. Il primo inconveniente era la precocità dei
matrimoni, poichè tra i 18 e i 20 anni i maschi, tra i 13 e i 15 le
femmine erano quasi sempre sposati. L’inconveniente è insito nella
natura stessa dei matrimoni combinati dai genitori per autorità;
perchè troppo difficile sarebbe imporre ai figli la volontà dei vecchi, in
cosa in cui le passioni così facilmente si accendono, se si
aspettasse l’età in cui le passioni sono più ardenti e la volontà già
abbastanza vigorosa. Appena usciti di fanciullezza, l’uomo e la
donna sono più docili. Ma quanti pericoli in questi matrimoni precoci,
in una società in cui la donna maritata acquistava una libertà
considerevole, poteva praticare gli uomini, frequentare i teatri e i
ritrovi pubblici, affrontare tutte le tentazioni, le seduzioni e le illusioni
della vita!
Altro e non meno grave inconveniente era la facilità dei divorzi. Il
matrimonio essendo per la nobiltà romana un matrimonio politico, i
Romani non potevano ammettere che fosse indissolubile, e
riserbarono all’uomo il diritto di scioglierlo a piacere, anche quando
la moglie fosse innocente di qualsiasi rimprovero, solo perchè quel
matrimonio non conveniva più ai suoi interessi politici, e con mezzi
spicciativi, senza formalità; una semplice lettera! Nè basta ancora:
temendo che nei giovani l’amore potesse più che la ragione, la legge
accordava al padre il diritto di intimare il divorzio alla nuora, in luogo
e nome del figlio; cosicchè il padre poteva fare e disfare i matrimoni
dei figli suoi, come più credeva utile o conveniente, oltrepassando,
senza guardarla, la loro volontà. La donna, quindi, se nella casa era
eguale all’uomo e oggetto di un alto rispetto, non era però mai sicura
dell’avvenire; nè l’affetto del marito, nè la virtù, nè la ricchezza, nè il
lustro del nome l’assicuravano che essa finirebbe i suoi giorni nella
casa in cui era entrata giovinetta e sposa novella, poichè da un
giorno all’altro, la fatale politica poteva, non dirò scacciarla, ma
invitarla gentilmente ad uscire dalla casa dove erano nati i suoi figli.
Una lettera bastava a rompere un matrimonio! Cosicchè massime

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Chapter 8: Physical Development

• How do children’s bodies change between ages 3 and 6?

• How do motor skills develop during early childhood?

Health and Safety

• What are the risks of obesity?

TOTAL TEACHING PACKAGE OUTLINE

Chapter 8: Physical Development and Health in Early Childhood

Learning Objective 8.1 Discussion Topic 8.1

Learning Objective 8.2 Discussion Topic 8.2

Learning Objective 8.3 Discussion Topic 8.3, 8.4

Learning Objective 8.4 Lecture Topic 8.1, 8.2, and 8.3

Applied Activities: Students in Nursing, Applied Activity 8.1 and 8.2

A. Height and Weight

• The trunk, arms, and legs grow longer.

• By age 3, the brain is approximately 90 percent of adult weight.

2. Sleepwalking and Sleeptalking

• Nightmares are common during early childhood.

III. Motor Development

A. Gross Motor Skills and Fine Motor Skills

• Motor skills do not develop in isolation.

IV. Health and Safety

• Obesity is a serious problem among U.S. preschoolers.

• What children eat is as important as how much they eat.

• A food allergy is an abnormal immune system response to a specific food.

E. Accidental Injuries and Deaths

F. Environmental Influences on Health

• Genetic heritage, environmental factors, including socioeconomic status, race and

• Homelessness results from complex circumstances that force people to choose

4. Exposure to Smoking, Air Pollution, Pesticides, and Lead

TEACHING AND LEARNING ACTIVITIES

Lecture Topic 8.1: Preschool Obesity

Lecture Topic 8.2: Undernutrition

Lecture Topic 8.3: Taste Disgusts

Would you eat or drink any of the following?

Discussion Topic 8.1: Norms Across Cultures or Ethnic Groups

Discussion Topic 8.2: Sleep Patterns

Discussion Topic 8.3: Sex Differences in Motor Development

Discussion Topic 8.4: Artistic Development

Discussion Topic 8.5: Early Childhood Suicide or Homicide

Discussion Topic 8.6: Effect of Commercials on Children

Independent Study 8.1: Assessment of Kindergarten Readiness

Independent Study 8.2: Canalization of Motor Skills in Early Childhood

KNOWLEDGE CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES

Knowledge Construction Activity 8.1: Application of Terms

Some generative terms for Chapter 8:

Knowledge Construction Activity 8.2: Perceptual Motor Development on the Playground

Have students observe 3- to 5-year-old children on a playground or at a park. How sophisticated

Knowledge Construction Activity 8.3: Tracing Children’s Artistic Development

Form a working group