Development during infancy

Introduction
 Developmental milestones
• Developmental milestones are things/activities most children
can do by a certain age
• develop at their own speed and pace
• how they play, learn, speak, behave, and move (like crawling,
walking, or jumping).
• 1st year: focus their vision, reach out, explore, and learn about
the things that are around them.
 Physical development during infancy(0-2 years)
• learning to achieve large physical tasks, or gross motor skills,
such as crawling and walking.
• motor skills generally develop from the center of the body
outward and from head to tail.
• need time and space to explore and manipulate objects in their
environment
• place babies on their belly on the floor so they can use muscles
• 2 months- backs continue to strengthen, raise their head and
chest up, rest their body on elbows when lying on their
stomachs.
 Physical development cont:
• At 2 months-kick and bend legs in prep for
crawling
• 3 months: hold their bodies in symmetry.
• 4 months: can maintain control of their
head and hold it steady while they're
sitting up with help or lying on their belly.
• 5 months: roll, wiggle all their limbs while
they lie on their belly
• strengthens crawling muscles
• 6 months: sit up by themselves for brief
periods and try standing with support.
• skills build one on top of another
 Physical development cont:
• 7 months: crawl
• 8 months: sit up for extended
periods and can stand with support
• 9 months: reach and play with toys
while maintaining their balance
• use of baby walkers, or devices that
hold babies upright delay process
• walkers and other devices should
not be used.
 Physical development cont:
• 10 months, stand on their own
• 11 months: learn to walk with
support
• 12 months: first toddling steps
• 15 months, babies begin to climb
stairs,
• 18 months: more stable
• move more easily, feet around
objects and walk backwards,
sideways, in circles and run.
• Towards 2 years: toddlers
develop complex gross motor
skills such as throwing objects for
a distance and kicking
• 2 years: jump in place and
balance on one foot, peddle
• Very mobile but practicing to
stop.
 Social development
• develop bonds of love and trust with parents and others as part
of social and emotional development.
• involves learning to interact with other people, understand and
control emotions.
• process of learning to communicate, share, and interact with
others takes many years to develop well into teenage years, or
even young adulthood.
 Between the ages of 0-3 months
• See clearly within 33cm from
her/his face
• Be comforted by a familiar adult
• Respond positively to touch
• Quiet when picked up
• Listen to voices
• Smile and show pleasure in
response to social stimulation
 Between the ages of 3-6 months

• Give warm smiles and laughs

• Recognize faces
• Cry when upset and seek comfort
• Show excitement by waving arms and legs
• Notice a difference between two people based on the way they
look, sound, or feel
• Smile at herself in the mirror
• Enjoy looking at other babies
• Pay attention to her own name
• Laugh aloud
 Between the ages of 6-9 months

• Express several different clear emotions

• Play games like Peek-a-boo
• Show displeasure at the loss of a toy
• Respond when talked to or make gestures
• Start to understand your different emotions (e.g., baby might
frown when you speak in an angry tone of voice)
• Show more comfort around familiar people, and anxiety
around strangers
• Possibly comfort self by sucking thumb, or holding a special
toy/ blanket
 Red flags
• child is not responding to sounds
• child is not smiling or responding as expected
• child avoids close contact or cuddling
• child is inconsolable at night
• child can’t seem to self-soothe or calm herself
• child has no interest in games like peek-a-boo
 Between the ages of 9-12 months
• Show happiness to see her parents’ face, toys, or a mirror
• Know strangers from family, and cry when parent goes away
• Give affection and love
• Pay attention to simple commands such as "no" and "give it to
me"
• Respond by turning to look when you call name
• Imitate some of actions (e.g. waving, pretending to talk on the
phone)
• Have fear with new situations
• Understand the word “no”, but will not always obey
 Red flag
• not showing interest in other children his age
• does not respond to you the way you expect her to
• has extreme difficulty waiting for something he wants
• very rigid about her routine, food items, clothing, etc
• has limited or fleeting eye contact with others
• does not imitate any of your actions
• does not respond when you call her name
• does not follow your point when you try to show something, or
bring attention to something
• doesn’t take turns in a simple turn-taking game like chase or peek-
a-boo
Cognitive development

Jean Piaget (1920s)

 Cognitive development
• Cognitive, or brain development means the learning process of
memory, language, thinking, and reasoning.
• Learning language is more than making sounds (“babble”)
• language development: Listening, understanding, and knowing
the names of people
• reasoning and understanding capabilities differ depending on
age
 sensorimotor stage(birth to 2 yrs)
• Chn learn by doing:
• looking,
• hearing,
• touching,
• grasping, and
• sucking
• coordinate movements of the body with incoming sensory data
• infants learn that certain actions lead to specific consequences
• understand cause‐and‐effect relationships
 sensorimotor stage divided into six substages
• Stage 1: reflexive activity (birth to 1mth) • stage 3: secondary circular reactions (4 to
➢ use reflexes(simply act out) 8mths)
➢ cognitive capabilities are limited ➢ explore impact of behaviors on the
environment
• stage 2: primary circular reactions (1 to ➢ repeat actions onto their environment
4mths) ➢ experiment with toys and other objects(track
➢ engage in behaviors that accidentally produce with eyes)
specific effects(e.g., pleasure). • stage 4: coordination of secondary schemes(8
➢ repeat the behavior to obtain the same effect to 12mths)
(on own body). ➢ infants purposefully carry out goal‐directed
➢ E.g., suck on a pacifier or scream!!!!(Erikson- behaviors(mimic).
trust) ➢ put different activities together to achieve a
goal
➢ Object permanence-knowledge that
out‐of‐sight objects still exist(appears at 9
months)
 intentional, goal-directed behaviors

• coordination of secondary
schemes(8 to 12mths)
 sensorimotor stages cont:
• stage 5: tertiary circular reactions • stage 6: representational thought
(12 to18mths) (18 to 24mths)
➢ toddlers explore cause‐and ‐effect ➢ exhibit representational (symbolic)
relationships by intentionally thought)
manipulating causes to produce ➢ internalize symbols as objects e.g.,
novel/different effects. E.g., wave people, places, and things.
hands ➢ learn scripts, or routines,
➢ Still unaware of dangers ➢ uses words to refer to specific
➢ cross-modal recognition memory- items, e.g., milk, dog, papa, or
see a mental picture of object in mama.
hand without necessarily looking at ➢ grasp the idea of past, present, and
it (senses at work) future at 21 months.
 Cognitive dev
• Infants interact with environment entirely through reflexive
behaviors
• reflexes provide the basis for schemas
• infant's innate thinking processes termed schemas
• Schemas coordinate sensory, perceptual, and motor
information for developing mental representations.
• Infants follow their instincts and involuntary reactions to get
food, attention etc
• engage in intentional, goal-directed behaviors
 Major highlights of cognitive behavior
• goal-directed behavior
• object permanence
 cognitive development
• cognitive development occurs • Adaptation involves children
from two processes: adaptation changing their behavior to meet
and equilibrium. situational demands.
• E.g., give example

• two subprocesses of adaptation:

assimilation and accommodation.
Assimilation
• Assimilation-building on what
you already know-chick to bird .
All birds are not chicks.
• the process of adopting the
language and culture of a
dominant social group or nation,
or the state of being socially
integrated into the culture of the
dominant group in a
society: assimilation of
immigrants into American life.
 Accommodation and equilibrium
• Accommodation-occurs when we • equilibrium-search for balance between
change our existing schema to self and the world.
accommodate new information. • Match chn's adaptive functioning to
Schemas, or organized knowledge, situational demands
help us understand and interpret • E.g., realizes he is not center of the world
but 1 member of family
our world. An example of
accommodation is modifying your
understanding of the concept of a
car to include a specific type of
vehicle once you learn about trucks
 Evaluation of Piaget’s theory
• infants and toddlers are active • not so distinct and clearly defined
learners who purposefully see, • All chn do not pass through the
touch, and do. stages in same way or
• Consistently develop additional order(decalage).
cognitive skills • Not as egocentric or as easily
• stimulate professional interest in deceived as Piaget believed
the cognitive world of children. • Preschoolers may empathize with
others(put themselves in others
shoes)
• young children may make
inferences and use logic.
 Critisism cont:
• develop cognitive abilities in relation to particular social and cultural contexts
• develop differently within enriched or deprived cultural environments
• High SES better than low SES
• Chn understand symbols as early as 3 mths.
• Pay more attention to balls that seem to roll than stationery
 Memory
• ability to encode, retain, and recall information over time
• Researchers are unclear about the exact nature of infantile memory
• how long the memories last, how easily memories are retrieved
• long‐term memories formed during the first 6 month
• recognize and remember primary caretakers and env.
• Help them understand basic concepts and categories
 Language Development
• representational thinking, lays the foundation for language
• mouths, tongues, and ears used to mimic the sights and sounds of other people.
• interact with your child as much as possible
• initial communication-cry when hungry, tired, or uncomfortable
• Cooing at 3 mths
• 3-4 mths-consonants sounds e.g b, k,
• 4 months, put vowel sounds and consonant sounds together to form nonsense
words e.g., gaga
 Language dev. Cont:
• Non-verbal-cling, push them away, and turn their heads when they dislike
something(5 mths).
• Babble-6 mths
• Wait for their turn at 7mths
• Real words-mama, milk(9-12) (holophrastic speech)
• receptive language more developed than expressive language
• Observational learning (imitation) and operant
conditioning (reinforcement) play major role
Personality development

http://www.healthofchildren.com/P/Personality-
Development.html#ixzz4tPgl9CgA
 Definitions
• organized pattern of behaviors and attitudes that make a person distinctive
• occurs by the ongoing interaction of temperament , character, and
environment.
• Temperament(nature) -genetically determined traits that determine
approach to the world and how the child learns about the world.
• Environment(nurture)- both nature and nurture influence the
development of a person's personality
• Character-the set of emotional, cognitive, and behavioral patterns learned
from experience
• Dependent on inborn traits and early experiences.
 Erikson’s stages of development
• Influence personality

• What are the stages?

 Infancy(0-18mths)
• Trust vs mistrust- Well-nurtured • Badly handled,
and loved, • the infant becomes insecure and
• infant develops trust and learns "basic mistrust
security and
• optimism.
 Toddlerhood (early childhood:18mths-2yrs)
(3-4yrs)
• Autonomy or Shame- self- • stormy tantrums ,
confidence, if well nurtured • stubbornness, and negativism,
depending on the child's
temperament.
 Preschool years(3-5)
• Learning Initiative or Guilt • fearful,
(Purpose)- use imagination; • is unable to join groups, and
• to broaden skills through harbors guilty feelings
active play and fantasy;
• cooperate with others; and lead
as well as to follow
 School years to junior high
• Learning Industry or Inferiority • mistrusting child doubts the future and
(Competence)- feels inferior
• relating with peers according to rules
• from free play to structured rules and
team sports
• learning basic intellectual skills
(reading, arithmetic)
• If trusting, autonomous, and full of
initiative, will quickly learn to be
industrious
 Adolescence(begins at 13 or 14).
• Learning Identity or Identity • self-doubt
Diffusion (Fidelity)- • adopting a negative identity, e.g.,
• self-certainty and experiments delinquency.
with different constructive roles
• looks forward to achievement
 Family and Culture
• Plays a significant role in personality development
• community-centered cultures(e.g., Asia, Africa)
• cooperation is considered a more important value than
competitiveness
• Individualistic (First world)

• Read about Carl Rogers’ contribution to personality

 Personality disorders

• Why is it difficult to deal with children who have personality

disorders?
Social development

Infancy(0-2 years)
 Definition
• involves learning to interact with
other people, understand and
control your own emotions.
• affects how baby plays with other
children and adults during dev.
• less able to learn from cues if
with delayed milestones.
 Activities to encourage development
• 0-6 mnths: talk and sing to baby • 6-12months: allow baby to crawl
while changing diaper, and move away,
• Bathe or rock. • exploring her surroundings.
• Put toys close enough to her face • Read books and give her toys she
• point and say parts of body, e.g can chew.
ears and nose, • Begin teaching child rules.
• Put baby in multiple positions to • give child love and attention,
strengthen muscles • taking care of needs as soon as
they arise.
 Social development
• emotions go hand in hand with social development
• Expresses anger, happiness, excitement or fright in first 6
months.
• 6 -12 months: child gets angry when needs are not met
• smiles when content and relaxed.
 Social development
0-3months 3-6 months
• comforted by a familiar adult • Give warm smiles and laughs
• Respond positively to touch • Cry when upset and seek comfort
• Quiet when picked up • Show excitement by waving arms and
• Listen to voices legs
• Smile and show pleasure in response • Smile at herself in the mirror
to social stimulation • Pay attention to her own name
• Laugh aloud
 Social dev cont:
6-9 months 9-12months
• Express several different clear • Identifies strangers, and
emotions • cry when parent goes away
• Play games like Peek-a-boo • Give affection and love
• Show displeasure at the loss of a toy • Pay attention to "no" and "give it to
me"
• Respond to you when you talk to her
or make gestures • Respond by turning when name is
called
• Start to understand your different • Imitate (e.g. waving, pretending to talk
emotions on phone)
• fear new situations
 Red flag(9 months)
• not responding to sounds
• not smiling or responding
• avoids close contact or cuddling
• inconsolable at night
• no interest in games like peek-a-boo
 Red flag 12 months
• not showing interest in other children his age
• extreme difficulty waiting for something he wants
• very rigid about her routine, food items, clothing, etc
• does not imitate any of your actions
• does not follow your point
• doesn’t take turns in a game like chase or peek-a-boo