Theme 4 Difference Between Children and Adults CORREGIDO

Vicerrectorado de Docencia
Unidad de Apoyo a la Formación Académica
Psycholinguistics and Sociolinguistics

Theme n.° 4
Difference between children and adults
Índex
Page
4.1 How are Children Different from Adults? 3
4.2 Key Difference between Kids and Adults 8
Complementary Resources 16
References 17
Self-evaluation 18
Theme n.° 4 Difference between children and adults

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4.1 How are Children different from Adults?
As a matter of fact, this topic will be analised from different aspects of the
anatomical system, psychological behaviour, cognitive and the physical
appearence of children and adults. Once the child becomes 18 years old, he
has the same characteristics as the adult. However, it is evident some main
differences between children and adults such as: skin, subcutaneous tissue,
water in the body, muscles, external ear structure, anatomy of the eye, bone
skeletal structure, spinal cord and brain, respiratory tract, digestive organs,
cardiovascular system and urinary system, among others.
Talking about the anatomical differences, they are also seen in their
brain structure are striking. The brain tissue in the child is more sensitive,
calvarium is thinner, subarachnoid space is narrower. Children have thinner
skin than adults. Their epidermis is thinner and under-keratinized, compared
with adults. As a result, children are at risk for increased absorption of agents
that can be absorbed through the skin. On the other hand, in adults, gluteal
muscles are used in intramuscular applications, while in infants, rectus femoris
and vastus lateralis muscles are commonly used. These differences are
important for further doctors´diagnosis and treatment. Nurses should take these
differences into account in pediatric drug applications in the clinic and in the
care of children. Considerer the fact that children are not small adults.

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Let´s review the size of a child’s body, the head is large and heavy,
balanced on a neck poorly supported by weak muscles and ligaments, and so
both head and cervical spine are easily injured. A child's bones are more
flexible because their chemical composition is different from that of adult bones.
This means a kid's bone might bend or “bow” instead of breaking.
Figure 1:
Child and Adult Skeletal System
Source: https://www.istockphoto.com/es/foto/esqueleto-evoluci%C3%B3n-
gm136191262-13697318
Biomechanical maturation of the spine is a progressive process that only
starts to resemble the adult spine after age 8–9 years old. The pattern of injuries
is determined by these progressive changes. Most spine injuries in children
occur in the cervical region; in younger patients, these are more often

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subluxations or dislocations, more often in the upper cervical spine, and more
often associated with neurological injury.
The bones in children are more fragil that makes easier to break up as it
is said: “The calvarium (skull) is thin in young children; this, with the sutures and
fontanels, allows for easy deformation, with or without fracturing, under external
pressure” (Hsieh A, 2014, p 45), more fragile brain tissue. An adult's bones are
harder, more brittle and more likely to break than bend.
The occurring in the fluid-filled space around the brain between the
arachnoid membrane and the pia mater, through which major blood vessels
pass, better expressed in “Thinner subarachnoid space, Brain demands greater
amounts of oxygen and glucose” (Figaji AA.2017, p 35),
There are more differences between chlidren and adults to mention.
They also differ mentally. Some psychological researches demonstrate that
children have a greater tendency than adults to make decisions based on
emotions, such as anger or fear, rather than logic and reason. This happens
frequently in them because they have not reached their madurity yet. They react
just by instinct, inner or external motivation. The biggest difference between
childhood and adulthood takes place in terms of stress levels. Childhood is a
less stressful time of life, as opposed to adulthood, because being an adult

5
means obligated to pay bills, food, education, being responsible for family and
lastly having the stress of a job.
From the point of view of the Psychology, there are some cognitive
differences between children and adults. From 0 to 12 years old, the child
goes across a period of brain plasticity, that allow to adapt the stimuli, organizes
the teaching of formal educatiuon, in order to build up the attitudinal and
aptitude components of his/her personality. The child learns by playing, it is the
most efficient way to achieve significant learning and fully exploit cerebral
plasticity. This phrase means that the neurons have organized, they have
migrated in learning, hence the terminology.
While the adult, the period of plasticity is maintained, but in proportion to
the brain of the child it is less, because it has reached the maximum level of
attitudinal and aptitude developments, and learning is based on the
development of abilities, skills and with the generation of habits to reach
competences in the affective, volitional and attitudinal level.
In adults, the learning process is performed in their own environment and
problem situations. Children's learning is enhanced by rewards and critical
situations as punishments. To recognise their acquired learning and also to

6
encourage them to learn more, they are provided with rewards like high grades
and verbal praise.
Figure 2
Human skeleton: Adults vs, Infants
Source: https://www.quora.com/Babies-have-more-bones-than-adults-Why-are-
they-not-so-stable-and-sturdy-then
Figure 3
How every child can thrive by five?
Source: Molly Wright: How every child can thrive by five | TED

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This video provides information how a game could change the world.
"What if I was to tell you that a game of peek-a-boo could change the world?". It
also suggets forms parents and caregivers can support children's healthy brain
development, behavior and well-being as well.
4.2 Key difference between Kids and Adults
Who is a Child?
A child is a young human being under the age of 18. Considering the
Biologically part, an individual can be considered a child only until puberty.
Nevertheless, in most countries, a person who is under the age of 18 is
considered a child. In every society, children are given prominence (importance)
because they will become the citizens of the society one day.
In many societies, children usually live with their parents and relatives, in
foster care or similar setting. It is the societal belief that children are unable to
make important decisions alone due to the fact of lack of awareness of society
and have less experience. Children should not be treated as the same as adults
and should be loved and cared for. The development of children occurs through
the formal and informal education that they receive both within the premises of
the school and also at home and their surrounding environment.

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“All work and no play make Jack a dull boy”. This old saying has always
been extremely relevant in our lives. In addition, it is quite important for children
to indulge in extra-curricular activities to ensure their holistic development.
Figure 4
Extracurricular activities important for children.
Source: https://rubypark.com/extracurricular-activities-for-children/
Who is an Adult?
An adult is fully grown person, who has already formed and reached
his/her maturity level. On the contrary to childhood, adulthood is viewed in
different ways, Biologically, untill they get their puberty, so that, they become
citizens who have a variety of duties and responsibilities in different social
institutions. Unlike children, the adults can live by themselves, they are
independent can make decisions. They have many legal rights such as in the

9
case of voting, getting married, etc. As you can see, the status and the roles of
an adult is different to that of a child.
Childhood is a time of physical growth and development. Children’s
bodies grow and change as they mature from infants to toddlers to preschoolers
to school-aged kids. They learn new skills like walking, talking, and using the
toilet. And they develop socially, emotionally, and cognitively as they interact
with the world around them.
Adulthood is a time of stability. Adults’ bodies have stopped growing (with
the exception of some people who continue to grow taller into their 20s. And
while adults do continue to learn new things throughout their lives, they don’t
usually experience the same type of major developmental leaps that children
do. Here some remarkable characteristics of Adult and Child.
Age:
Child: A child is under the age of 18.
Adult: An adult is over 18.
Independent vs Dependent:
Child: A child is dependent.
Adult: An adult is independent.
Decision making:
Child: A child cannot make serious decisions by himself.
Adult: An adult can take serious decisions by himself.

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Living Arrangements:
Child: A child lives with a family or in foster care.
Adult: An adult can live alone.
Rights:
Child: A child is denied certain legal rights such as right to vote, marry, etc.
Adult: An adult enjoys certain legal rights such as right to vote, marry, etc.
Source: https://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-adult-and-vs-
child/
Figure 5
Fun Socializing Activities for Adults
Source: https://craftsyhacks.com/socializing-activities-for-adults/
Once it is understood the difference between children and adults. It
seems to be necesary to point out 5 key differences between kids and adults

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that you need to be aware of. Obviously, they are no exactly the unique ones, it
will depend on the culture of each country, state, región and so on.
Physical development
Actually, it is hardly to say that grown people can be expected to have a
minimum height, a reasonable strength, grown hands, etc. Children are not only
as developed as adults; they also differ tremendously by age. The aspects to
pay attention are: physical size, which might be important considering how they
approach a product, or how they sit on a chair, hand size, limited eye-hand
coordination and fine motoric, which affects their ability to interact with a
product.
Cognitive development
Second, children are still developing their cognitive abilities. People can
expect adults to have similar mental abilities that allow them to communicate
with each other in a natural way. Adults can be asked to perform tasks, trust
that they will object if further information is required, and people can expect their
answers to be correct, or at least related to the core question. On the contrary,
children possess differing cognitive abilities which in turn, are important to be
familiar with. As children get older, they continuously learn new things and their
thinking becomes more abstract, they tend to see the world from a different
perspective.

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Social development
The social development is an important factor when working with
children, they lack polite rules of behaviuor. Adults have learned social rules
and values, they know how to be empathic and respectful. It´s important to
remak that people should be treated kindly and respectfully in spite of the age,
the dialogue must be in both directions in order to convey meaning. Instead,
children can be very self centered. They prize their own needs and interests
above others. By the time kids get older, they change their minds and become
familiar with the concept of empathy.
Concentration
Adults are usually attracted to participating in activities if they have some
rewards. For example, money, a gift card, or as little as some coffee and a
piece of cake. Anyway, once they know what they are going to do clearly, no
matter the length of the activity they are exposed to, they Will do it willingly. This
does no happen with children. Children might be easy to excite and they will be
happy to participate. Keep in mind that children are very spontaneous, easily
distracted, and their concentration span is very limited. So, motivation is
needed.
Experience
Last but not least, children are likely to have little or no knowledge. Adults
have had a lifetime to gather experiences on all kind of occasions and in all kind

13
of situations. Children have much less experience. Neither they are trained as
to apply familiar concepts to new situations. Limited knowledge can cause
uncertainty and discourage kids to participate in any activity.
The main difference between children and adults is that children are still
growing and developing while adults have reached their full physical and mental
potential. This means that children need different types of care, education, and
support than adults do.
Certainly, these characteristics are not the only ones to consider, some
authors mention that there are more, even considereing the case of sex,
because boys and girls do not have the same behaviour and attitude. The most
important is to know how to manage these cases and think about the stages
they go through very similar to a cycle.
https://uxkids.com/5-key-difference-between-kids-and-adults/
Figure 6
What Makes the Different | Joshua Bingwa | TEDxYouth@BrookhouseSchool

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Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3WKlaMJaE0g
This video shows a great performance for love and drama, invention, the
intention is to find differences on childen´s and adults’ speeches. Actually, some
are evidenced.
Figure 7
Teaching Young Learners vs. Adult Learners - The Differences you Can Expext
| ITTT TEFL BLOG
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EITbnFkvbqI&t=22s
This video shows what a good TEFL teacher must understand that there
are a lot of differences between young learners and adult learners, but also,
they have some similarities. The following differences and similarities between
these two types of students are the most common any teacher will notice having
worked in both situations.

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Complementary Resources
https://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-adult-and-vs-child/
International Journal of Scientific Research and Management (IJSRM) Website:
www.ijsrm.in ISSN (e): 2321-3418 DOI: 10.18535/ijsrm/v8i05.mp02
Video How little people can make a big difference | Charlie Cooper |
TEDxJCUCairns
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7Z-Hq-xvxM
Charlie Cooper is a nine-year-old boy who tells the story of how the buddy
bench at Trinity Beach State School came to be a tool to address bullying. He explains
how to manage a negative situation into a positive outcome.

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References
Figaji AA. (2017) Anatomical and Physiological Differences Between Children
and Adults Relevant to Traumatic Brain Injury and The Implications for
Clinical Assessment and Care. Front Neurol. 8 (685): 1-15.
Hsieh A. (2014) Emergency Medical Technician with Online Practice. ISBN:
978-1-118-76817-4. Pg: 288, e-book.
Steinberg, D. & Sciarini N. (2006) An Introduction to Psycholinguistics. London:
Longman.
Warren, P. (2013) Introducing Psycholinguistics. Cambridge University Press.
https://uxkids.com/5-key-difference-between-kids-and-adults/
https://eduedify.com/differences-and-similarities-between-childrens-and-adults-
learning/

17

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Vicerrectorado de Docencia

Unidad de Apoyo a la Formación Académica

Psycholinguistics and Sociolinguistics

4.2 Key Difference between Kids and Adults 8

Theme n.° 4 Difference between children and adults

4.1 How are Children different from Adults?

anatomical system, psychological behaviour, cognitive and the physical

cardiovascular system and urinary system, among others.

calvarium is thinner, subarachnoid space is narrower. Children have thinner

skin than adults. Their epidermis is thinner and under-keratinized, compared

muscles are used in intramuscular applications, while in infants, rectus femoris

Theme n.° 4 Difference between children and adults

balanced on a neck poorly supported by weak muscles and ligaments, and so

This means a kid's bone might bend or “bow” instead of breaking.

Child and Adult Skeletal System

Biomechanical maturation of the spine is a progressive process that only

is determined by these progressive changes. Most spine injuries in children

Theme n.° 4 Difference between children and adults

often associated with neurological injury.

harder, more brittle and more likely to break than bend.

pass, better expressed in “Thinner subarachnoid space, Brain demands greater

amounts of oxygen and glucose” (Figaji AA.2017, p 35),

There are more differences between chlidren and adults to mention.

They also differ mentally. Some psychological researches demonstrate that

children have a greater tendency than adults to make decisions based on

just by instinct, inner or external motivation. The biggest difference between

childhood and adulthood takes place in terms of stress levels. Childhood is a

less stressful time of life, as opposed to adulthood, because being an adult

Theme n.° 4 Difference between children and adults

lastly having the stress of a job.

the teaching of formal educatiuon, in order to build up the attitudinal and

aptitude components of his/her personality. The child learns by playing, it is the

migrated in learning, hence the terminology.

While the adult, the period of plasticity is maintained, but in proportion to

attitudinal and aptitude developments, and learning is based on the

development of abilities, skills and with the generation of habits to reach

competences in the affective, volitional and attitudinal level.

In adults, the learning process is performed in their own environment and

problem situations. Children's learning is enhanced by rewards and critical

situations as punishments. To recognise their acquired learning and also to

Theme n.° 4 Difference between children and adults

and verbal praise.

Human skeleton: Adults vs, Infants

How every child can thrive by five?

Theme n.° 4 Difference between children and adults

development, behavior and well-being as well.

4.2 Key difference between Kids and Adults

Biologically part, an individual can be considered a child only until puberty.

Nevertheless, in most countries, a person who is under the age of 18 is

considered a child. In every society, children are given prominence (importance)

the school and also at home and their surrounding environment.

Theme n.° 4 Difference between children and adults

to indulge in extra-curricular activities to ensure their holistic development.

Extracurricular activities important for children.

his/her maturity level. On the contrary to childhood, adulthood is viewed in

citizens who have a variety of duties and responsibilities in different social

Theme n.° 4 Difference between children and adults

an adult is different to that of a child.

Childhood is a time of physical growth and development. Children’s

with the world around them.

Adulthood is a time of stability. Adults’ bodies have stopped growing (with

do. Here some remarkable characteristics of Adult and Child.

Child: A child is under the age of 18.