1. Infant growth and Development

2. Learning targets
Identify the four major influences on an infant’s growth and development
Summarize how a baby typically grows in the first year.

3. Key Terms Developmental Milestone Stimulating environment Growth chart
Reflex
Gross motor skill
Fine motor skill

4. Influences on growth and development
Growth and development are often used interchangeably – they are NOT the same thing.
Growth refers to changes in size
Development refers to increases and changes in physical, intellectual, emotional, and social skills.
Developmental Milestones – a key skill used to check a child’s progress.
Researchers have found that both heredity and environment play important roles in a baby’s growth and development
Heredity
Nutrition
Health
Environment

5. heredity
Genes provide a blueprint for the development of the human body
Genes come from our parents
Determines our physical traits (hair/eye color) and larger traits like intellectual potential or artistic abilities
Just because we have particular genes does not mean we exhibit those traits

6. nutrition Proper nutrition fuels development
Nutrition affects many aspects of a baby’s physical growth and development
Bone strength
Brain development
height

7. health
Healthy babies are more likely to eat well and have the energy to be active
An infant with poor health is at risk of falling behind developmentally.

8. environment
An infant’s experiences are an important part of development
Brain development is linked to the quantity and variety of experiences a child has.
Failure to achieve normal brain development in the infancy stage can have lifelong effects.
A stimulating environment promotes brain development
An environment in which the baby has a wide variety of things to see, taste, smell, hear, and touch.

9. Discuss… Interaction with toys helps stimulate development in a baby.
How can toys help a baby develop?

10. Growth and development in the first year
Weight
Length
Body shape
Proportion
Development
Patterns of physical development
Senses
Voice
Reflexes
Motor Skills
Hand-Eye Coordination

11. Growth in the first year
Weight
Length
Body shape

12. weight Weight gain is one of the best signs of good health
Infants gain weight rapidly
In the first six months infants gain about 1-2 pounds per month
The next six months the average monthly weight gain is 1 pound
A baby’s birth weight doubles in the first few months and triples by the first year.
Boys tend to weigh slightly more than girls during infancy.

13. length
Babies are measured while laying down which is why it is referred to length rather than height.
Average newborn measures 20 inches
A year later the average is 30 inches

14. Think about it…
Why are infants weighed without clothes on but older children and adults are weighed fully clothed?

15. Average lengths and weights
Males
Females
Age
Length (in)
Weight (lbs)
Birth
19 ¾
7 ½
19 ½
3 months 24 13
23 ½
12 ¼
6 months
26 ½
17 ½
25 ½
15 ½
9 months 28
20 ½
27 ½
18 ¾
12 months 29
22 ½ 21
A baby’s length and weight increase rapidly during the first year.
- Should a parent be concerned if their child’s length or weight does not match the averages on the growth chart?

16. Body shape
Newborns tend to hold themselves in a tightly curled position
Fists clenched
Legs bent
Feet curved inward
Arms and legs are skinny and the abdomen is large
Babies gradually stretch out their arms and legs and uncurl their fingers.
Legs and feet generally straighten out over the first six months
Babies look chubby by three months of age
Lose that look as they grow longer and become more active.

17. proportion
Proportion refers to the size relationship between different parts of the body.
Compared to the rest of the body the baby’s head and abdomen are large
Head grows rapidly during the first year
More than half the total growth of the head occurs during this time

18. Development in the first year
Patterns of physical development
Senses
Voice
Reflexes
Motor Skills
Hand-Eye Coordination

19. Patterns of physical development
Head to Foot
Babies first develop some control of head movement
Control of the legs and feet occurs more slowly
Near to Far
Infant’s development starts close to the body and moves outward
Waving of arms later develops into precise hand and finger movements
Simple to Complex
Develop large muscle groups first – neck, arms, torso, legs
When baby’s have control over these areas they move to more complex tasks

20. senses Vision Hearing Touch Smell and Taste
Blurry at first, can only see objects about 7-10 inches away.
By 3 months they can see up to three feet away.
See in 2D (like a picture) until the second month
Hearing
Develops before birth
Newborns respond to voice rather than words
By 7 months a baby will recognize their parent’s voice
Touch
Not enough brain development to explore through touch
Becomes more important as the first year progresses
Smell and Taste
Smell develops after birth and develops quickly
By two weeks babies can tell the difference between water, sour, sugar or salt solutions.

21. Vision

22. voice
Change in voice is a result from the physical growth of the throat muscles, tongue, lips, teeth, and vocal cords
Begin babbling vowel sounds such as ooh and ah at around 2 months of age
Important to talk and sing to babies as much as possible.

23. reflexes A reflex is an automatic, instinctive response.
Newborns begin life with many reflexes
The sucking reflex – when something is put near the infants mouth, allows baby to feed.
The rooting reflex – when the baby’s cheek is stroked the baby turns toward the side of their face that was stroked.
Other reflexes
Grabbing a finger when placed in the hand
Stepping motions when feet touch the floor.

24. Motor skills Two basic types of motor skills
Gross motor skill – skill that involves the large muscles of the body such as those of the legs and shoulders
One of the first motor skills infants acquire is control of the head.
Fine motor skill – involves the smaller muscles of the body such as those in the fingers.
By three months babies’ clenched fists have relaxed and they can open and close their hands.

25. Hand-eye coordination
The ability to move the hands and fingers precisely in relation to what is seen.
Newborns have poor hand-eye coordination.
Develops as vision and motor skills improve
Around 3 or 4 months babies can begin to reach and grab for objects they see and bring them to their mouths.
By the end of their first year, babies can pick up an object and put it in another place.

26. Review How does growth differ from development?
Of the five senses which develops before birth?
What is a baby’s vision like before birth?
What are the four major influences on an infant’s growth and development?
What is the rooting reflex?
Describe the head to foot, near to far, and simple to complex patterns of development.