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Infant development is usually
divided into the following areas:
▪
Cognitive
▪
Language
▪
Physical
Fine motor (holding
a spoon, pincer grasp)
Gross motor (head
control, sitting, walking)
▪
Social
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT:
The physical development of the
infant begins at the head, then progresses to other parts of the body (for
example, sucking comes before sitting, which comes before walking).
Newborn - 2 months
▪
Can lift and turn
the head when lying on his or her back
▪
Hands are fisted,
the arms are flexed
▪
Neck is unable to
support the head when the infant is pulled to a sitting position
Babinski reflex --
toes fan outward when sole of foot is stroked
Moro
reflex (startle reflex) -- extends
arms then bends and pulls them in toward body, accompanied by a brief cry,
often triggered by loud sounds or sudden movements
Palmar hand grasp
-- infant closes hand and "grips" your finger
Placing -- leg
extends when sole of foot is stimulated
Plantar grasp --
infant flexes the toes and forefoot
Rooting and sucking
-- turns head in search of nipple when cheek is touched and begins to suck when
nipple touches lips
Stepping and
walking -- takes brisk steps when both feet placed on a surface, with body
supported
Tonic neck response
-- left arm extends when infant gazes to the left, while right arm and leg flex
inward, and vice versa
By 3 months of age
Motor Skills
▪
lift head when held at your shoulder
▪
lift head and chest when lying on his stomach
▪
turn head from side to side when lying on his
stomach
▪
follow a moving object or person with his eyes
▪
grasp rattle when given to her
▪
wiggle and kick with arms and legs
Sensory and Thinking Skills
▪
turn head toward bright colors and lights
▪
turn toward the sound of a human voice
▪
recognize bottle or breast
▪
respond to your shaking a rattle or bell
Language and Social Skills
▪
make cooing, gurgling sounds
▪
smile when smiled at
▪
communicate hunger, fear, discomfort (through
crying or facial expression)
▪
usually quiet down at the sound of a soothing
voice or when held
By 6 months of age
Motor Skills
▪
hold head steady when sitting with your help
▪
reach for and grasp objects
▪
play with his toes
▪
help hold the bottle during feeding
▪
explore by mouthing and banging objects
▪
move toys from one hand to another
▪
pull up to a sitting position on her own if you
grasp her hands
▪
sit with only a little support
▪
roll over
▪
bounce when held in a standing position
Sensory and Thinking Skills
▪
open his mouth for the spoon
▪
imitate familiar actions you perform
Language and Social Skills
▪
babble, making almost sing-song sounds
▪
know familiar faces
▪
laugh and squeal with delight
▪
scream if annoyed
▪
smile at herself in a mirror
By 12 months of age
Motor Skills
▪
drink from a cup with help
▪
feed herself finger food like raisinsgrasp small
objects by using her thumb and index or forefinger
▪
use his first finger to poke or point
▪
put small blocks in and take them out of a
container
▪
knock two blocks together
▪
sit well without support
▪
crawl on hands and knees
▪
pull himself to stand or take steps holding onto
furniture
▪
stand alone momentarily
▪
walk with one hand held
Sensory and Thinking Skills
▪
copy sounds and actions you make
▪
respond to music with body motion
▪
try to accomplish simple goals (seeing and then
crawling to a toy)
▪
look for an object she watched fall out of sight
(such as a spoon that falls under the table)
Language and Social Skills
▪
babble, but it sometimes “sounds like” talking
▪
say his first word
▪
recognize family members’ names
▪
try to “talk” with you
▪
respond to another’s distress by showing distress
or crying
▪
show affection to familiar adults
▪
show apprehension about strangers
▪
raise her arms when she wants to be picked up
understand simple commands
LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT
Crying is a vitally important
means of communication. By the third day of life, mothers can tell their own baby's
cry from that of other babies. By the first month of life, most parents can
tell if their baby's cry means hunger, pain, or anger. Crying also causes a nursing mother's milk to letdown (fill the breast). The
inherent biological response in most humans to an infant's crying ensures the
infant's survival.
The amount of crying in the
first 3 months varies in a healthy infant, from 1 - 3 hours a day. Infants who
cry more than 3 hours a day are often described as having colic.Colic
in infants is rarely due to a problem with the body.
Excessive crying can be associated with child abuse. Regardless of the cause, it is a
complex problem that deserves a medical evaluation.
0-2 months
▪
Alert to voices
▪
Uses range of
noises to indicate needs, such as hunger or pain
2-4 months
▪
Coos
4-6 months
•
Makes vowel sounds
("oo," "ah")
6-9 months
•
Babbles
•
Blows bubbles
("raspberries")
•
Laughs
9-12 months
•
Imitates some
sounds
•
"Mama"
and "Dada" are nonspecific (not used specifically for those parents)
•
Responds to simple
verbal commands, such as "no"
BEHAVIOR
The behavior of the newborn is
characterized by six states of consciousness:
•
Active crying
•
Active sleep
•
Drowsy waking
•
Fussing
•
Quiet alert
•
Quiet sleep
The ability to move smoothly
from one state to another is one of the most reliable signs of nervous system
maturity and health. Heart rate, breathing, muscle tone, and body movements
vary with each state.
Many bodily functions are not
stable in the first months after birth. This variability is normal and differs
from infant to infant. Stress and stimulation can affect:
•
Bowel movements
•
Gagging
•
Hiccupping
•
Skin color
•
Temperature control
•
Yawning
Periodic breathing, in which
breathing starts and stops again, is normal and is not a sign of SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). Some
infants will vomit or spit up after each feeding, but have nothing physically
wrong with them. They continue to gain weight and develop normally.
Other infants grunt and groan
distressfully while making a bowel movement but produce soft, blood-free
stools, and their growth and feeding remain good. This is due to immature
abdominal muscles used for pushing and does not require any intervention.
Sleep/wake cycles vary and do
not stabilize until a baby is 3 months old. These cycles occur in random
intervals of 30 - 50 minutes at birth and gradually increase as the infant
matures. By age 4 months, most infants will have one 5-hour period of
uninterrupted sleep per day.
Breast-fed infants will feed
about every 2 hours. Formula-fed infants should be able to go 3 hours between
feedings. During periods of rapid growth, they may feed more often.
Giving the baby water is not
necessary and could be dangerous. An infant who is drinking enough will produce
6 - 8 wet diapers in a 24-hour period. Teaching the infant to suck a pacifier
or his or her own thumb provides comfort between feedings.
SAFETY
Safety is very important for
infants. Base safety on the child's developmental stage. For example, around
age 4 - 6 months, the infant may begin to roll over. Therefore, take extreme
caution while the baby is on the changing table.
Consider the following
important safety tips:
•
Be aware of
potential poisons (household cleaners, cosmetics, medications, and even some
plants) in your home and keep them out of the infant's reach. Use drawer and
cupboard safety latches.
•
Do not allow older
infants to crawl or walk around in the kitchen while adults or older siblings
are cooking. Block the kitchen off with a gate or place the infant in a
playpen, highchair, or crib while others cook.
•
Do not drink or
carry anything hot while holding the infant to avoid burning the infant --
infants begin waving their arms and grabbing for objects at 3 - 5 months.
•
Do not leave an
infant alone with siblings or pets. Even older siblings are seldom prepared to
handle the potential emergency situations that may arise. Pets, even though
they may appear to be gentle and loving, may react unexpectedly to an infant's
cries or grabs, or may actually smother an infant by lying too closely.
•
Do not leave an
infant unattended on a surface from which the child can wiggle or roll over and
fall off.
•
For the first 5
months of life, always place your infant on his or her back to go to sleep.
This position has been shown to reduce the risk of SIDS (sudden infant death
syndrome). Once a baby can roll over by himself, the maturing nervous system
greatly reduces the risk of SIDS.
•
Never leave small
objects within an infant's reach -- infants explore their environment by
putting everything they can get their hands on into their mouth.
•
Place infant in a
proper car seat for every car ride, no matter how short the distance.
Use a car seat that faces backwards until the infant is at least 1 year old AND
weighs 20 pounds, or longer if possible.
- Then you can safely switch to a forward facing car seat. The safest place for the infant's car seat is in the middle of the back seat. It is vitally important for the driver to pay attention to driving -- not playing with the infant. If an infant needs assistance, safely pull the car over to the shoulder and park before trying to help the infant.
Use gates on stairways, and block off
rooms that are not "child proof" -- remember, infants may learn to
crawl or scoot as early as 6 months.
