Growth and Development of Infants

Patterns of Physical Development Head to toe Lift head to see object Muscle control: pick up Walk towards Near to far: trunk outward Wave arms Grab with palm of hand Pick up with thumb and fingers Simple to complex Eating with fingers Spoon and fork

Weight Lose some after birth 1-2 lbs/month 1st 6 months 1 pound/month in 2nd 6 months Birth weight: Doubled by 6 month Tripled by 1 yr 20-22 lbs: avg. wt. of 1 yr old Heredity, feeding habits, and physical activity

Height Avg newborn =20 inches Avg 1 year =30 inches Heredity: influences height more than weight

Proportion Large: head and abdomen Short/small: arms and legs Head grows rapidly b/c brain development Soft spots allow head to grow and close

1st Year Physical Developments

Sight: Improves Rapidly Blurry at first, within week can focus on object 7-10 inches away 1 month, focus on objects 3 feet away By 3 ½ months, vision almost as good as an adult Prefer patterns with high contrast and faces alternating stripes, bull’s eyes Prefer color red

Depth Perception 2nd month: recognize that object is three-dimensional, not flat

Hand-Eye Coordination Develop hand-eye coordination: Move hands and fingers in relation to what is seen 3-4 months: reach for what they see Essential for: Eating Catching a ball Coloring Tying shoes

Hearing develops before birth At birth, can tell general direction sound is coming from Prefer human voice soothing voice calms loud voice alarms

Smell and Taste Within 10 days can tell mom’s smell Can distinguish taste by 2 weeks old show preference for sweet taste Learn about world by using mouth

Voice Cry becomes softer as lungs mature Physical growth of throat muscles, tongue, lips, teeth, and vocal cords Tongue and mouth interior change making speech development possible

Teeth Begin to develop in 6th week of pregnancy Primary teeth begin to appear between 6-7 months of age Complete set by 20 months (1 year, 8 months) Teething can be painful process Can refuse food or drool a lot, increased desire for liquid, coughing, and fever how to help minor teething pain: teething biscuits or rubber teething rings rub ice cube on gums to ease pain temporarily teething medication

Motor Skills Abilities that depend on use and control of muscles Mastering motor skills requires intellectual, social, emotional, and physical development Control head by 1 month 2-3 months can lift their chest By 9 months crawling- adds opportunity for learning

GROSS MOTOR: FINE MOTOR: Gross motor skills - development of large muscles and the ability to move from place to place or do physical activities that involve the large muscles of the body, arms and legs. Fine motor skills - development of small muscles and the ability to control use of the hands and feet, and do activities that involve the small muscles of the fingers, toes and other parts of the body. GROSS MOTOR: growth occurs first in a child's torso (trunk of the body). Rolls from back to side or tummy Sits alone Reaches for a parent with arms Crawls about on the floor Pulls self to a sitting position Pulls self up to stand next to a support (couch) Stands alone with support Takes steps alone with support, then without support -Walks backward Crawls up stairs with support FINE MOTOR: Reaches for dangling objects or toys Grasps object using palm and fingers Passes a toy or object between hands Puts objects in mouth to explore Uses a pincer grasp (thumb and finger) to hold food or object Grasps and uses toys to play or keep attention Reaches for objects, such as a spoon to feed self

Comparing Emotional and Social Development Emotional Development is the process of learning to recognize and express one’s feelings and to establish one’s identity as a unique person Healthy emotional development leads to a person that can handle stress, shows empathy towards others, and has self-confidence  Social Development is the process of learning to interact with others and to express oneself to others Healthy social development leads to a person who shows tolerance for others, can communicate well with others, and listen to different points of view before acting Both social and emotional development are connected Influences include bond between parent and child, atmosphere of home, and temperament of child

Attachment Babies have a need for physical contact Attachment- bond between parent and child Requires more than physical contact, there should be interaction as well A gentle massage can soothe a baby and promote bonding A baby who is left alone most of the time except for physical care may fail to respond to people and objects Research from Baylor University: abused and neglected children had brains 20-30% smaller than average Infants smiles can fade, cries weaken, and can become withdrawn when no attention or encouragement is offered  Failure to Thrive- baby does not grow and develop properly  How you care for a baby helps build trust Keep fed, dry, warm vs. rigid schedule of feeding and no comforting when crying

A Baby Who Cries Needs Attention and Care: Is there a physical problem? Diaper change or hungry? Too cold or too hot? If the baby does not need any of these, the baby needs comfort

Comfort Measures to Try Cuddle with baby in a rocking chair Move the baby to a new position Talk softly to the baby or sing Offer a toy to interest and distract the baby Stroke the baby’s back to give comfort

Tips for Good Sleep Habits Get into a routine A bath helps- try lavender baby lotion afterwards Try swaddling young infants/newborns Babies like a dimly lit cool(but comfortable) room Try playing music Rocking usually helps

Self-Comforting Techniques Suck on a pacifier, thumb, or fist pacifier safety: never tie pacifier to a string and hang around baby’s neck check for cuts and tears clean often Blanket or stuffed toy

Signs of Social Development in Infancy The first days of life- babies respond to human voices  One month- usually stop crying when lifted or touched, face brightens when sees a familiar face Two months- smile at people, enjoy watching people Three months- turn head in response to a voice, want companionship and physical care Four months-laugh out loud, look to others for entertainment Five months- show interest in other family members, cry when left alone in room, start to babble Six months- love company and attention Seven months- prefer parents over other family members or strangers Eight months- prefer to be in a room with other people, can usually crawl Nine to ten months- active socially, love attention Eleven and twelve months- friendly and happy, sensitive to emotions around them, like to be the center of attention

Learning in the First Year Hear, see, taste, smell, and feel are the building blocks of learning for infants A baby’s ability to learn from the senses is called perception Ex: newborn sees object, 3 month old realizes that it’s three dimensional, then develops hand-eye coordination to grasp and handle object

4 abilities that show a baby’s growing and thinking power in the first year of life: 1. Remembering- information from the senses is interpreted ex: baby stops crying when someone comes in the room because he knows that he is likely to be picked up 2. Making associations- linking two things together  ex: baby associates parent with receiving comfort 3. Understanding cause and effect- the idea that one action results in another action or condition ex: baby shuts his eyes, it gets dark; baby opens his eyes, it get light again As motor skills develop, cause and effect learning changes can pull string on a toy to make it move they have an understanding of their own power to make things happen Babies learn by repetition baby drops a bowl on the floor from the high chair to be sure that every time it hits the ground parents can become frustrated

4. Paying attention- a baby’s attention span grows longer attention span- the length of time a person can concentrate on a task without getting bored if an object is presented over and over again, the baby’s response will become less enthusiastic bright babies have a short attention span- they tend to lose interest sooner than babies of average or below average intelligence beyond infancy, children with above average intelligence have a longer attention span

Milestones of Language Development 1-6 months: coos, gurgles, and squeals; experiments different sounds by changing the shape of the mouth 7-12 months: respond to their name, add actions to words such as “bye-bye”; connect words to meanings 13-18 months: vocabulary grows and can use words in combinations such as “no nap” 18 months-2 years: can learn 12 words a day, use words to express feelings 2-2 ½ years: construct 3 and 4 word sentences, use pronouns 2 ½ -3 years: speak in longer sentences, use past and present tenses, use plurals, understand that order of words can affect the meaning in a sentence

Activity You are looking for a child care provider for your infant. What are three things that you will look for when choosing your provider? Make a list with three questions that you will ask the potential caregivers when you interview them.