INFANCY AND TODDLERHOOD
THE FIRST 2 YEARS
BIOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
weight: by 5 months, birth weight
by 1 year,
by 2 years,
gain a lot of baby fat that
temperature
by 2nd year, most slim down, but not very muscular
, helps infant to maintain a constant body
height: by end of 1st year, height is
by 2 yrs,
tend to grow in spurts especially during this time
development follows certain trends or patterns
cephalocaudal: development happens from the head downward
typically, children’s heads are larger but body catches up by 2 yrs
proximodistal: development happens inward and then goes outward
EX:
Sleep
will sleep anywhere from 16-18 hrs a day; ½ of that time is in REM sleep
as mos. go by, amt. of REM sleep declines and more quiet sleep (slow-wave sleep) is increased, esp. around 3 or 4
mos.
wake up multiple times during the night, but by 1 yr will sleep through the night ( can happen sooner)
Brain Dvlpt
at birth, an infant’s brain is about
of its adult wt, by 2 years,
we are born with all the neurons we are going to have and usually we have more than we will ever need
they are not all connected with dendrites and synapses
during the first 2 years, the synapses and dendrites grow at an increasingly rapid pace
cortex: most of the neurons are in the cortex, the outer layer of the brain, gray matter
many of those neurons may never be used and goes through a process called pruning: if neuron isn’t
being used, it will lose its synapse and lie dormant until it’s needed in the future so don’t lose the neuron completely
plasticity: if one part of the brain is damaged, another part can take over that functioning usually because
all of those connections hadn’t been made yet; also more likely to develop more dendrites, which also helps to
make more/new connections
children do have the highest levels of plasticity and having that flexibility allows the child to be able to still
learn new things
Motor Skills
Gross motor skills: large muscle movements that allow infants to crawl, walk, roll over, etc.
usually begin rolling over around
sit alone around
crawl –
pull up and stand holding on to something –
stand alone and walk alone –
Fine motor skills: small muscle movements including reaching and grasping
start off batting at things but don’t actually touch the object until around
before 6 mos. difficult to reach for, grasp, and hold on to an object, but can by
grasp –
grasping small things with fingers –
scribbling –
SIDS
sudden infant death syndrome: a healthy infant dies in their sleep
no known cause or definite prevention
suggest babies sleep on their backs and their has been an association between babies sleeping on their
backs and a decrease in SIDS
in 1990,
babies in US died from SIDS
numbers are lower by ½ b/c parents began putting baby to sleep on back instead of stomach
Nutrition
Breast milk and formula:
breast feeding is the natural way
is more sterile and no warming up the milk
is readily available
helps protect against respiratory and intestinal illnesses
gives the right amt of fat and protein
has all nutrients that baby needs
helps boost newborns immune system b/c contains antibodies
easily digestible
allows for a smoother transition from breast to solid foods
bottle feeding isn’t the exact same but comes as close as possible so it is the next best thing to provide
nutrition for baby; formula is much better than a few years ago and is naturally better than cow’s milk if breast milk
isn’t available
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
Piaget and Sensorimotor Stage
assimilation: we use current ideas to make sense of the external world
one way that an infant assimilates is through grasping
they know how to grasp things, how can they make sense of the object and how does it fit into they
way they see, feel the object
accommodation: change your idea based upon new information
an infant will grasp a square object one way, but when grasp a round object, have to change the
way they grasp to accommodate for the new shape
infants move back and forth from assimilation to accommodation
if learn something new that doesn’t fit into their way of seeing things, will take the new information and
accommodate it into their way of thinking
then they go back to assimilation until the next new thing is to be learned
goal-directed behavior: b/t 8 and 12 mos., behaviors become more purposeful and intentional
EX:
Memory
infants have more of a problem storing new memories and typically this is because the hippocampus isn’t fully
functioning until around
tends to be easier to remember and they remember it longer
can retain information if use
around the middle of the 2nd year, can remember things a lot better and will remember complex actions; you can
tell them to do 2 or three different things and will remember it esp. if they have watched someone do it already
Language Development
Motherese: using high-pitched, simple, and repetitive speech when talking to infants
babies actually prefer motherese and react to it more
is also called baby talk
Cooing: begins around 2 mos. and make vowel sounds
oo and aahh
Babbling: around 4 mos., will add consonants to the vowels
dadadada mamamama babababa
by 8 to 12 mos. the babbling begins to sound more like actual language
1st words: around 12 mos. first recognizable words
usually mama or daddy
Sentences: 20-26 mos. will begin by saying 2-word sentences and then move on to 3-word sentences
typically use overextension where one word is used to describe anything similar to the original
object
EX:
PSYCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
temperament: inborn predispositions that form the foundations of personality
easy: usually very happy and cheerful; adapts easily to new experiences; tend to have good
sleeping and eating habits
slow-to-warm-up: not very active and show almost nonchalant reaction to certain things in their
environment; moods tend to be negative; adjust slowly to new experiences
difficult: daily routines tend to be irregular because they are fussy; very slow in adjusting to new
experiences; reactions are usually negative and intense
goodness of fit: when the parent adjusts environmental influences to the child’s temperament
while still encouraging the child to adapt
Emotional Development
1st year: at first, main emotions are
; smile when full, sleeping, or in response
to gentle touches and sounds
then begin to show interest in other things, like a bright object
will laugh around
anger and fear come along a little later
separation anxiety: become fearful and angry when caregiver leaves,
2nd year: begin to show pride, shame, embarrassment, and guilt; also begin to show self-awareness and that they
are an individual
attachment: an emotional bond between an infant and its caregiver; usually formed around
needs
secure attachment: caregiver provides warm and consistent attention when attending to the infant’s
safe base behavior: infant can comfortably put distance between themselves and the caregiver
without feeling anxiety
insecure-avoidant: developed when the parent is very inconsistent in their caregiving; parent may seem
annoyed with the child or show avoiding behavior around the child; parent tends to be neglectful
insecure-resistant: parents are kind of wishy-washy in their caregiving; children are the same; will cry for
attention but when caregiver gives them attention, will push caregiver away.