Infancy: Let’s start with Physical Growth

■ Weight (Average 7.5 lbs)■ Doubles by 4 months■ Quadruples by 24 months

■ Length■ 20 inches at birth■ 32-36 inches by age 2

■ Body proportions: no wonder junior can’t support his head at first

The Brain

■ Size increase (25% to 75%)■ Growth of new dendrites,

which form more connections■ Loss of connectors (pruning)■ Myelination for speed, and

proliferation support■ Variation in maturation

Motor Development

■ Newborn reflexes■ Automatic responses to stimuli■ Include sucking, rooting, palmer grasp,

and even a little walking / dancing■ NOT to be confused with Gross Motor Skills■ Intentional movements of arms, legs,

torso.■ These happen before Fine Motor Skills

Motor Development

■ Fine motor skills■ Precise movements of hand and

fingers (may use visual tracking)■ Eye-hand coordination ■ Enhances baby’s control of the world

by manipulating small objects ■ These take longer to acquire than

gross motor skills

Sensory Development

■ Vision-least developed sense at birth■ Newborn focus 8-16 inches away■ Problems scanning/tracking (initially)■ Binocular vision at 14 weeks (depth)■ Preferences for complex and unusual

objects show up by this time too■ Color vision poor■ Hearing-most developed sense at birth■ Taste, Touch and Smell all good

Nutrition: Ideal Diet

■ Breast milk – easier to digest than formula and helps our baby’s immune system develop

■ Breastfeeding costs less, however minimal support here in public or work places for mom’s privacy

■ When to avoid breastfeeding?■ Feeding formulas have shown some improvements

nutritionally. Lots of promotion for them.■ Fears about bonding issues with formula fed babies

have proven unfounded

Malnutrition

■ In developing countries:

■ Infantile Marasmus■ Kwashiorkor■ In United States:

■ Milk-anemia due to calcium blocking the absorption of iron

Photo Courtesy CDC

Cognitive DevelopmentLanguage and Thought

Jean Piaget gets us started with the Sensorimotor Stage

Between birth and age 2 our baby will begin to shift away from reflexes to problem solvingHe or she will learn how things work by repeating motor behaviorsStill experiences the world through direct contact

Stage One■ Birth to 1 month■ Reflexive actions■ Few schema

Stage Two■ 1-4 months■ 1st adaptations to the environment■ More schema

Stage Three■ 4-8 months■ Repeating actions■ Realizes she can impact on the world

Stage Four■ 8-12 months■ New adaptations and anticipation■ Look forward to upcoming events■ Object permanence achieved

Stage Five

■ 12-18 months■ Experimentation of little scientists■ Discovering features such as

gravity, simple cause and effect■ Trial and error learning

Stage Six

■ 18-24 months■ Mental combinations■ Child begins to “think” in order to

solve problems■ Less reliance on trial and error

learning■ Deferred imitation

COMMUNICATION – STEPS IN LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

■ Newborns have no language skills, but they are still effective with basic communication

■ Use cries, facial expressions, body posture

■ From 2 to 6 months cooing, squealing, babbling and laughing begin, along with pointing and gesturing

■ Taking turns in communication■ Deaf babies also vocalize & begin ‘signing’■ Receptive vocabulary better than expressive■ Begins limiting sounds to languages being heard

12-13 Months

■ First spoken words■ Holophrasic speech■ Underextension■ Overextension■ Vocabulary of about 50 words■ Deaf babies vocalizations disappear by

age 2

18-24 Months

■ Vocabulary growth spurt at 18 months■ Two word sentences at 21 months■ 3-5 word telegraphic (or “text message”)

speech at 24 months

Helping Children Learn to SpeakWhy baby talk?(child-directed speech)

Theories of Language Development

■ Infants teach themselves (Chomsky’s L.A.D.)■ (but must be in person)

■ Infants are taught via reinforcement – operant conditioning (Skinner)

■ Infants learn in order to communicate (Social-pragmatics)

■ All three theories have merit

Psychosocial Development in Infancy

A Look At Early Social Relationships and Emotions

Psychosocial Development: Let’s look first at Emotions

■ Attraction & withdrawal■ Social smiling (2 months), Laughter (3-5 mo)■ Fear, sadness, anger, jealousy (6-8 months)■ Stranger wariness and separation anxiety

■ Self-Awareness (15 months)■ The Rouge Test

■ Guilt, shame and embarrassment

Attachment Styles: Let’s start with Secure Attachments

■ Child receives care, concern and affection

■ Leads to a sense of trust and curiosity: note the tie in with Erikson?

■ Signaled by separation anxiety and stranger wariness

■ The most common attachment style

Insecure-Resistant■ Needs not consistently met■ Insecurity and fear of being alone■ Fussy, clingy, hard to satisfy

Insecure-Avoidant■ No attachment; needs not met■ Child does not seek comfort from

caregiver■ Child is neither curious nor clingy

Disorganized

■ Neither plays nor responds■ Actions of mother■ Cry, freeze, hit, retreat, etc.

Attachment StylesAlso vary by culture: Germany (insecure-avoidant); Japan (insecure-resistant)

Temperament

■ Inborn behavioral tendencies■ A way of relating to people, places

and things■ Not due to parenting■ Shaped into personality

New York Longitudinal Study

■ Activity and Rhythmicity■ Intensity and Mood■ Approach/Withdrawal■ Adaptability and Distractibility■ Persistence and Attention Span■ Sensory Thresholds

Temperament Types

■ Easy or flexible (40% of those categorized)

■ Difficult, active, or feisty (10%)■ Slow to warm up/cautious (15%)■ 35 percent are a combination■ Goodness of fit

Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages: Starting with Trust vs. Mistrust

■ Problems in developing trust may result from premature birth, or...

■ Parents who don’t show affection toward child (an unwanted pregnancy)

■ Upwardly mobile ambitious middle class parents who are too busy

■ Tension, irritability in the household(Stress and neurological development)

Erikson’s Trust Vs Mistrust

■ Requirements for developing trust■ Regular, adequate care■ Sufficient sucking■ Cuddling and physical contact■ Overall message that they are loved

Erikson’s Stage #2: Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

■ Found in 1-2 year old children■ Toddlers want independence or

autonomy■ Should be allowed to be independent

within safe limits■ Pride requires self-evaluation