infancy and toddler hood

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Infancy and ToddlerhoodPhysical, Cognitive,

and Language Development

4




Infancy and Toddlerhood

Physical, Cognitive, and Language Development

� The Developing Brain

� The Neonatal Period

� Physical and Motor Development

� Sensory and Perceptual Development

� Cognitive Development

� Language Development




Physical Development

� During first two yeas of life²the periods

known as infancy and toddlerhood²

developmental change is more rapid and

more dramatic than during any other 2-

year period in the lifespan

� Neurological functioning underlies much of

infant development




The Developing Brain

� The brain governs every aspect of our existence

� We are born with most of the neurons we will have for

the rest of our lives

� Neurons get dedicated to certain functions and make

connections with other neurons in order for development

to occur

� Brain experiences a growth spurt between birth and age

3

� By age 3, the brain is 90% of its adult weight




Brain Development

� The infant brain has plasticity

± Functions can be reassigned to other brain

areas ± But plasticity makes brain vulnerable to

environmental assaults

± Early experiences have profound

consequences on brain and thus later

cognitive development




The Neonatal Period� The first month of life is referred to as the

neonatal period

� Babies must recover from the birth process andadjust to the functioning of their bodies¶ organ

systems� Neonates experience 6 behavioral states:

± waking

± crying

± alert inactivity

± drowsiness

± regular sleep

± irregular sleep




Neonatal Stage

� Learning and Habituation

± Learning is readily observable from birth

± Infants habituate to their surroundings ± Habituation is also used as a research technique

� Neonatal Assessment

± Hospitals perform evaluations to assess neurological

and behavioral functioning

± The Newborn Behavioral Observation system (NBO)

± Parents who observe the assessment become moreaware of their newborn¶s individuality




Physical and Motor

Development� The Gesell Scales summarize the physical

and motor capabilities of average children at

different ages� Environmental influences can impact on the

timing and rate of development

� Physical growth and motor development are

linked to brain, cognitive, and social

development




Growth in Height and Weight




Growth Trends




Physical and Motor

Development� First Four Months

± Physical growth is rapid

± Weight doubles

± Bodies begin to length

± By 4 months, skin has lost its newborn look

± Vision and hearing have improved

± Teeth begin to emerge at 4 months




Physical and Motor

Development� From 5 months to 8 months

± Development of fine motor skills, used to

perform tasks that require coordination and

dexterity (grasping, for instance)

± Gross motor skills develop, as large muscles

develop and strengthen ± Most 8-month-olds can sit without support and

can stand with support




Physical and Motor

Development� From 9 months to 12 months

± By 12 months, they are 3 times heavier

than at birth

± They begin to walk

± Cognitive and perceptual development progresses

± They are leaning to play social games, like ³hiding´

± They can manipulate their environment, getting intothings like cabinets




Physical and Motor

Development� From 13 to 18 months

± At 18 months, they weigh up to four timestheir birth rate

± They are not yet able to climb stairs or kick aball

± They begin to feed themselves and can partly

undress themselves ± They try to repeat what they see others doing,

like reading, talking on phone, even sweepingthe floor




Physical and Motor

Development� From 19 to 24 months

± They weigh over four times their birth rate

± By 24 months, then can pedal a tricycle, jump,climb steps, throw a ball

± They can dress or undress with assistance.

± They can begin to scribble




Physical Development: Overview

of the First Two Years� 0-4 Months

± Activities: Eyes can focus, reflexes becomevoluntary

± Milestones: Discovery of hands and fingers,beginning of social smiling

� 5-8 Months

± Activities: First tooth, fine and gross motor skill development, social games

± Milestones: Visually guided reach, sitting up,creeping/crawling





of the First Two Years� 9-12 Months

± Activities: Self-feeding, drinking from cup

± Milestones: Standing and walking,development of ³pincer grasp´

� 13-18 Months

± Activities: Stacking blocks, dress self, uses

crayons, ³imitation´ games

± Milestones: Walk without support, climbing

stairs





of the First Two Years� 19-24 months

± Activities: pedal tricycle, can jump, can throw

a ball

± Milestones: High interest in exploring

environment




Nutrition and Malnutrition

� For being a wealthy and obese nation, it is hard tobelieve that 20 to 24% of U.S. children suffer fromnutritional deficiencies, a lot of it the result of eatingempty calories

� Nearly 1/3 of the world¶s children suffer growth stuntingas a result of malnutrition

� Half of the deaths of children under the age of 5 are dueto malnutrition

� The effects of malnutrition in early years are long-lasting

� Brain size suffers, leading to deficits in attention andinformation processing




Nutrient Deficiencies

and Their Effects




Nutrition and Malnutrition

� K washiorkor is a condition caused by proteininsufficiency, especially common in famine-plagued Africa

� Marasmus is a condition of wasting away of themuscles caused by insufficient quantity of food

� Breast feeding is encouraged because itprovides children the proper blend of nutrients, issterile, and provides better immunity

� Culture determines when children are weaned:as early as 3 or 4 months or as late as 2 to 3years




Percentage of Babies Being

Breastfed in Developing Nations




Sensory and Perceptual

Development� Vision and Visual Perception

± Born with blurry vision

± Focusing ability develops by 3 to 4 months

± Ability to discriminate between colors improves by 6 months

± Infants engage in selective visual attention, and are especially

drawn to pictures of their mothers and other human faces

± Depth perception develops by about 6 months, according to the

visual cliff research paradigm





Development

� Hearing and Auditory Perception

± Acuity of hearing improves so that by 6 months they

have well-developed auditory perception ± Infants can localize the sources of sounds within the

first days of life

± Infants are especially attentive to human speech,

preferring their mother¶s voice





Development

� Touch, taste and smell are fully operational atbirth

� They discriminate among sweet, salty, sour, andbitter tastes

� They can distinguish the smell of their mother by4 months

� Touch is well developed, even in newborns

� Newborns also feel pain





Development

� Infants gradually integrate sensory

perceptions²sensory integration

� They can match a film to its matchingsoundtrack by 4 months

� Sensory integration becomes better refined as

development proceeds

� For instance, they can recognize something

risky and avoid the danger




Cognitive Development

� Cognitive development refers to the growth

and refinement of the intellectual processes of

thinking, learning, perceiving, remembering,

and understanding

� Infants may be born with the ability to perceive

the world in categories

� Piaget believed that infants construct their world through schemes




Piaget¶s Sensorimotor Period

� Ages 0 to 24 months

� Children adapt to their environment and adjusttheir mental schemes by assimilation and

accommodation. Together, they represent whatPiaget called adaptation to the environment

� They learn about the world through their sensesand bodies and through the manipulation of

objects� By 8 months, they develop object permanence,

the ability to have a mental conception of anobject when it is not present




Cognitive Development� Children begin to imitate behavior or others by 6 or 7

months

� Any earlier than that, their seeming imitation may be

reflexive

� Only at 18 months did Piaget believe children could

engage in deferred imitation

� By 11 or 12 months, children can begin to engage in

symbolic representation²thinking about something

that is not present, pretending




An Overview of Sensorimotor

Development




Language Development

� Language development includes learning tospeak or produce oral language, learning themeaning of words, the rules of language, andlearning to read and write

� R eceptive language ± understanding spokenor written words

� Productive language ± producing languagethrough speech and writing




Linguistic Terminology




Words and Sentences

� Most children speak their first words at the

end of their first year

� Their vocabulary rapidly grows� They employ overextensions, referring to

all animals as dogs, for instance

� Before they use several words at a time,they use one word²holophrases²to

convey complex ideas




Examples of Overextensions

of Words




Language Development

� By 21 months, children begin to acquire vocabulary at a

fast rate

� They become sensitive to the ways words are used

� They begin to put words together into short sentences,known as telegraphic speech

� Language development is a complex interaction between

biology and environment




Summary

� During the first two years of life, change is morerapid than at any other period during the lifespan

� One of the most important developmentalchanges in infancy and toddlerhood is the brain

� The brain develops by adding new connectionsamong neurons and pruning away connections

that are not needed� At this early age, the brain is very plastic and

can adapt to the environment. This poses greatopportunity as well as risk




Summary

� During the first month of life²the neonatal period²thechild has to adjust from the birth process

� During the first four months of life, physical growth israpid

� Fine motor skills begin to develop at 5 to 8 months of age

� At about 12 months, 50% of infants are standing andtaking their first steps, and beginning to feed themselvesand play social games

� By the age of 2 years, they can pedal a tricycle, throw aball, and begin to dress themselves




Summary

� Sensory and perceptual development at thisstage involve attainment of binocular vision,improvement of their hearing, and the integrationof several sensory perceptions at one time.

� Cognitive development is closely linked to thedevelopment of sensation and perception.

� Piaget believed that infants possess mentalstructures (schemes) that function like

categories of thought.� Their schemes are bases on their sensations

and perceptions, in what Piaget called thesensorimotor stage.




Summary

� Language development is an important part of infancy and toddlerhood. Babies learn language,and learn to use language, in stages.

� The stages begin with babbling, proceed to theone-word stage, and then to telegraphic speech.

� It is believed that humans are born with theneurological capacity for language, but languagemust develop in the context of communication

with others.� As in most important aspects of human

development, language development involvesbiological, environmental, and cultural factors.

infancy and toddler hood

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