MODULE 12

Cephalocaudal and Proximodistal Pattern The cephalocaudal trend is the postnatal growth from conception to 5 months when the head grows more than the body.

Applies to the development of the fetus also applies in the first months after birth. The proximodistal trend is the pre-natal growth from 5 months to birth when the fetus grows from the inside of the body

outwards. Applies in the first months after birth, as shown in the earlier maturation of muscular control of the trunk and arms, followed by that of the hands and fingers.

Height and weight It’s normal for newborn babies to drop 5 to 10 percent of their body weight within couple of weeks of birth. This is due to

the baby’s adjustment to neonatal feeding. Breastfed babies are typically heavier than bottle-fed babies through the first six months. After six months, breastfed babies usually weigh less than bottle fed babies. An infant’s length increases by about 30 percent in first five months. A baby’s weight usually triples during the first year but slows down in the second year of life.

Brain development Myelination or myelinization, the process by which the axons are covered and insulated by layers of fat cells, begins

prenatally and continues after birth. At birth the newborn’s brain is about 25% of its adult weight by the second birthday the brain is about 75% of its adult weight.

Motor developmentReflexes

Sucking reflex: initiated when something touches the roof of an infant’s mouth. Rooting reflex: Evident when an infant’s cheek is stroked the baby responds by turning his/her head in the direction of the

touch and opening their mouth for feeding. Gripping reflex: babies will grasp anything that is place in their palm Curling reflex: when the inner sole of a baby’s foot is stroked, the infant responds by curling his/her toes. Startle/Moro reflex: infants respond to sudden sounds or movement by throwing their arms and legs out. Galant reflex: shown when infant’s middle or lower back is stroked next to the spinal cord. The baby will respond by curving

his or her body towards the side which being stroked. Tonic neck reflex: demonstrated in infants who are place in their abdomens. Whichever side the child’s head is facing, the

limbs on that side will straighten while the opposite limbs will curl.

Gross motor skillsFine motor skills

Skills that are involve a refined use of the small muscles controlling the hand, fingers and thumb. The development of this skill allows one to be able to complete task such as writing, drawing and buttoning. The ability to exhibit fine motor skills involves activities that involve precise eye-hand coordination.

Sensory and Perceptual development The newborn senses the world into which he/she is born through his/her senses of vision, hearing, touch, taste, and smell.

Ideally, as he/she advances physically his/her sensory and perceptual abilities also develop. Can newborns see? Newborn’s vision is about 10 to 30 times lower than normal adult vision. Infants look at different things

for different length of time. Infant preferred to look at patterns such as faces and concentric circles rather than color or brightness (1963 cited by Santrock, 2002. Experiment conducted by Robert Fantz) Based on this results it is likely “pattern perception has innate basis”

Can newborns hear? The sense of hearing in an infant develops much before the birth of the baby.

Can infants differentiate odors? By MacFarlane (1975) “young infants who were breastfed showed a clear preference for smelling their mothers’ breast pad when they were 6 days old

Can newborn feel pain? Do they respond to touch? They do feel pain. Newborn males show higher level of cortisol (indicator of stress) after a circumcision than prior to surgery.

Can newborns distinguish the different tastes? In study conducted with babies only two hour old babies made different facial expressions when they tasted sweet, sour, and bitter solutions

Are infants capable of intermodal perception? In a study conducted by Spelke and Owsley (1979) it was found out that as early as at 3 ½ months old, infants looked more at their mother when they also heard her voice and longer at their father when they also heard his voice.

What infants and toddler can do physically?0-6 months: Startles to loud sound; visually follows moving object from side to side/up and down; reacts to pain by crying; 7-12 months: Reacts with pleasure when he smells something nice; pushes and/or pulls moderately; walks without tiring easily13-18 months: Plays without tiring easily, able to keep pace with playmates; 19-24 months: Sustains physical activity for at least 3-5 minutes

Motor skills development (Gross motor skills)0-6 months: Holds head steadily; moves arms and legs equally to reach at dangling objects; rolls over; bounces when held standing, 7-12 months: Sits alone, creeps or crawls with ease; stands without support; stands from sitting position without help13-18 months: Walks without support; walks backwards; walks up the stair with hand held (2 feet on each step); walks down the stairs with hand held (2 feet each step); jumps in place; kicks balls but little controls of direction and speed; maintains balance; can move body to imitate another person.19-24 months: Walks up and down stair with alternating feet w/o help; kicks and throws a ball with control direction and speed

Motor skills development (Fine motor skills)0-6 months: hands open most of the time; brings both hand together toward dangling objects; uses either hand interchangeably to grasp object; uses all 5 fingers in a raking motion to get food; grasp objects with the same hand all the time7-12 months: pulls toy by the string; bangs two large blocks together; pick up object with thumb and index finger; grasp all objects w/ the same hands all the time.13-18 months: puts small objects in/out of container; unscrews lids; unwraps candy/food; holds thick pencil or crayon with palmar grip (all 5 fingers); scribble spontaneously19-24 months: colors with strokes going out of the lines

Personal care and hygiene (daily life)0-6 months: sucks and swallows milk from breast or bottle; begins to take semi solid food by the end of 6 months; keep reasonably still while being dressed, undress, bathed and while diaper is being changed7-12 months: holds feeding bottle by himself; helps hold cup for drinking; chews solid foods well; feeds self with finger foods; scoops with a spoon with spillage13-18 months: feeds with self-assistance; no longer drinks in feeding bottle; participate when being dressed; removes shoes or sandals19-24 months: gets drink unassisted; removes loose sando; removes socks; brushes teeth after meal w/o adults supervision

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