1. Infant Growth and Development
7.1 pages

2. Influences on Growth and Development
Growth and development often used interchangeably
Growth – changes in size (weight/length)
Development – increases and changes in physical, emotional, social, or intellectual skills
Developmental milestone – a key skill used to check a child’s progress

3. Heredity Nature vs Nurture Genes provide a blueprint eye color
hair color
when teeth first emerge
diseases that may develop
intellectual potential
artistic abilities

4. Health Parents must guard children’s health Provide good nutrition
Provide a safe environment
Regular medical checkups and care

5. Environment Stimulating Environment promotes brain development
See, taste, smell, hear and touch
All experiences are stored in the brain, associations form
Secondhand smoke –
lead to poor health
SIDS
Respiratory infections, ear infections, bronchitis and asthma

6. Growth and Development During the First Year
From birth to age one
triple their birth weight
Increase their length by about 50%
Body Shape
Tightly curled position, fists clenched, legs bent, feet curved inward
Umbilical cord stump dries up/drops off within about 3 weeks
Growth chart – average weight and height at various ages for boys and girls as they grow at different rates.
Steady pattern of growth

8. Patterns of Physical Development
Head to Foot
Head control comes first
Then arms and hands
Legs and feet occurs more slowly
Near to Far
Starts close to the body and moves outward
Simple to Complex
Large muscle groups first

9. Senses
Vision
Blurry then 7-10 inches then 3 ft then at 6 months clarity/sharpness
Depth perception – three dimensional, judging distance
Slightly crossed or wondering eye – improve by 4th month
Hearing
Starts before birth
Respond to tone of voice, rather than words
Crucial for language development

10. Senses Touch Smell and Taste Gentle touch builds trust
Notice different textures
Smell and Taste
Can distinguish mother
Preference for sweet tastes
Explore world by putting things in their mouths

11. Brain development
Brain and Spinal cord are two of the first things to develop in an embryo
Heart and Brain – first trimester
Brain cells at birth – 100 billion

12. How much do you know?
What two factors play a significant role in a baby’s growth and development?
Heredity and environment
How can parents and caregivers help strengthen a baby’s connections in the brain?
They can make sure the baby has a stimulating environment –
give the baby a wide variety of things to see, taste, smell, hear and touch.
3. Of the five senses, which one develops before birth?
Hearing