Final answer:
A nurse should use clear, concrete examples and logical explanations when discussing health with a 10-year-old. Their cognitive development supports understanding of cause-and-effect and planning to achieve goals, although they still have shorter attention spans than adults.
Step-by-step explanation:
Cognitive Development in 10-Year-Old Children
When explaining an illness to a 10-year-old, a nurse should remember that children at this age are capable of logical thinking and organizing facts when dealing with concrete information. They understand concepts like past, present, and future, which allows them to plan and work toward goals. Additionally, their ability to process complex ideas such as cause-and-effect relationships is developed; however, children's attention spans are not as long as adults and continue to expand with age.
A 10-year-old child's mind is adept at making generalizations, distinguishing essential from nonessential information, and understanding the relationships between different concepts. These cognitive abilities reflect the logical and mathematical modes of rational thought that children in this age group are developing. As such, when a nurse is explaining health-related concepts to a child, it would be effective to use clear, concrete examples and avoid abstract thinking that might be beyond their current cognitive stage.
It's also important to note that, at the age of 10, children are moving away from egocentric thinking and beginning to appreciate that others have different views and feelings. This cognitive growth allows them to understand situations from multiple perspectives and not just their own.