Physical development of infants Chapter 7 Physical development of infants

The terms growth and development are often used interchangeable but they are NOT. Growth refers to an infants change in size where development refers to changes in physical, emotional, social, and intellectual skills. An infants development follows three basic patterns: head to foot, near to far, and simple to complex. These are called the growth patterns.

Head to foot This starts during prenatal stage when a baby’s head takes the lead in development. As they grow their motor development (movement) moves from their heads down to their feet.

Near to far Fine motor development. Ex. At first babies can wave arms, then they can grab things.

Simple to complex At first babies muscles develop in their legs, arms, and torso. This is considered simple. After a while they can use these “simple” muscles to do complex things, like moving their head, rolling over, crawling, walking, etc.

Influences Researchers have found that both heredity and environment play a huge role is a child's growth and development. Heredity is out “nature” (our genes.) environment is our “nurture” (ex. Second hand smoke leading to asthma)

Weight & length Weight is one of the best indicators of a healthy baby. Most newborns loose about 10% of their weight in the first five days of their lives. After this, they begin to gain weight rapidly. Length is height, however it is called length because babies are measured laying down.

Body shape and proportion Babies hold themselves in a curled position, with hands closed and feet in. this imitates the position they have been in for the past 9 months. Babies are very un-proportional. Babies heads and stomachs are very big, but arms and legs are very small.

Vision At birth vision is blurry but after a week a baby can focus on items 7-10 inches away from their face. By one month they can see up to 3 feet away from their faces. By 6 months they can see just as far as the average adult. at first babies see in two dimensions, but in the second month they start to see three detentions. This is important because they can start to see depth perception and can learn how far an object is when reaching for it.

Motor skills Gross motor skills- large motor skills like jumping and running. (moving head and legs) Fine motor skills- small motor skills like writing or using scissors. (open and close hands)

questions How does growth and development differ? What are the three patterns of development? What is the difference between gross motor skills and fine motor skills? What's the difference between nature and nurture?