development in early years of life, physical development, reflexes, motor development, gross and fine motor skills, Piaget's Cognitive theory

1. Infancy and
Toddlerhood
Infancy occupies the first two years of life, following the
brief two-week period of the neonate. During this time
there is a gradual but pronounced decrease in
helplessness. According to Bigner, this is the time when
the individual experiences a new independent existence
as opposed to the total dependence upon the mother for
survival before and immediately after birth.

2. Physical development:
An infant's physical development happens so rapidly that size, shape and
skills seem to change daily. During the first six months of life, growth
continues at the rapid rate characteristics of the prenatal period and then
continues to slow down. In the second year, the rate of growth slows down
rapidly. During the first year of life, increase in weight is greater than
increase in height; during second year the reverse is true.
Weight:
At the age of four months, the baby's weight has normally doubled. At one
year, babies weigh, on the average , three times as much as they did at birth,
or approximately 2 pounds. At the age of two, the baby weighs 25 pounds.
Increase in weight during babyhood comes mainly from an increase in fat
tissue.

3. ➢ Height:
At four months, the baby measures between 23 and 24 inch; and at one year,
between 28 and 32 inches; and at two years, between 32 and 34 inches.
Physical proportions:
Head growth slows down in babyhood, while trunk and limb growth increases. Thus
the baby gradually becomes less top-heavy and appears more slender and less
chunky by the end of the babyhood.
Body builds:
During the second years of life, as body proportions change; babies begin to show
tendencies towards characteristics body builds. The three most common forms of
body build are ectomorphic, which tends to be long and slender, endomorphic,
which tends to be round and fat, and mesomorphic which tends to be heavy, hard,
and rectangular.

4. Motor development:
Infants need to learn how to move and to use their bodies to perform
various tasks, a process better known as motor development. Over time,
they learn to move their body parts voluntarily to perform both gross
(large) and fine (small) motor skills.
When babies are born, they are equipped with a set of reflexes, or
automatic actions. Some reflexes help them perform basic tasks, such as
breathing freely and drinking milk, while other reflexes seem to have no
real purpose.
 As infants mature in the first few months of life and begin developing
the ability to voluntarily move and use their bodies, most of these
reflexes gradually and naturally fade away.

5. • Gross-motor skills and fine-motor skills are developed during infancy
and toddlerhood. Gross-motor skills involve the mastery of large
muscle movements, as well as the building of strength in muscle
groups like the arms, legs, and core. Examples of such skills for
infants and toddlers include reaching, rolling, crawling, and climbing.
 Fine-motor skills involve smaller, more precise movements,
particularly movements of the hands and fingers, such as grasping. As their
bodies grow, infants and toddlers progressively strengthen their muscles and
become better able to control their bodies. Each new motor skill that is
developed is the result of an earlier skill and a contributor to new skills.
Newborn infants do not have the strength to hold up their heads, however as
they learn and develop control of muscles, they will be able to support their
heads and move them from side to side to explore.

6. Cognitive development:
Babies are not only growing physically during the first 2 years of life, but
also cognitively (mentally). Every day while they interact with and learn
about their environment they are creating new connections and pathways
between nerve cells both within their brains, and between their brains and
bodies. While physical growth and change is easily observed and measured
in precise terms such as in inches and pounds, cognitive change and
development is a little harder to determine as clearly. Therefore, much about
what experts know about mental and cognitive development is based on the
careful observation of developmental theorists and their theories, such as
Piaget's theory of cognitive development.

7. • Piaget's Theory:
According to Piaget, newborns interact with their environment entirely
through reflexive behaviors. They do not think about what they're going to
do, but rather follow their instincts and involuntary reactions to get what
they need: food, air, and attention. Piaget believed that as babies begin to
grow and learn about their environment through their senses, they begin to
engage in intentional, goal-directed behaviors. Piaget separated infancy into
six sub-stages, which are reflexive activity, primary circular reactions,
secondary circular reactions, coordination of secondary schemes, tertiary
circular reactions, and beginning or representational thought.
 The first sub-stage is reflexive activity, which lasts from birth to
approximately 1 month. According to Piaget, while babies are engaging in
reflexive actions such as sucking when offered a bottle. Babies don't think
about behaving reflexively; they simply act out those reflexes automatically.

8. ➢ The second sub-stage is primary circular reactions, which spans the ages of
1 to 4 months. During this time, babies intentionally repeat actions that
bring them pleasure and desired outcomes. For example, a small infant
may suck on her fist because it feels good to her and it soothes her.
Next, babies begin to show secondary circular reactions. This sub-stage
lasts from about age 4 to 8 months. During this sub-stage, babies begin to
repeat actions onto objects outside their body that bring them pleasure and
desired outcomes.
Between ages 8 to 12 months, babies enter the coordination of secondary
schemes sub-stage. During this time, they begin to show intentional means-
end behavior, which means that babies begin to put different activities
together to achieve a goal because they've learned how cause and effect
works. Babies at this age will mimic what they see others doing. If they see
their caretaker clap, they will clap.

9. ➢ Next, between the ages of 12 to 18 months, toddlers enter the tertiary
(third) circular reactions sub-stage. During this period, toddlers continue
to explore their environment and create experiments to see how things
work. They will play with anything they can find.
Finally, between the ages of 18 and 24 months, toddlers enter the beginning
of the representational thought sub-stage. During this time, babies begin to
be symbol-oriented, which means that they create a general image of things
in their minds and retain them as examples of some objects. They may
create in their mind a picture of a stuffed bear, and use it to represent other
stuffed animals he may play with or later see.

10. Language development:
As toddlers enter their second year, their ability to use language becomes
more obvious. They continue to acquire words and to increase the number
of words they understand. They learn words that are significant or important
to them, such as the names of favorite toys and people.
During the last half of the second year, toddlers' ability to use language
becomes even more sophisticated. Between ages 18 to 24 months, toddlers
begin putting 2 to 3 words together to form simple phrases, called
telegraphic speech. Toddlers' vocabularies continue to grow gradually.
Toddlers may know somewhere around 50 words by 20 months and over a
hundred words by 24 months. However, they may not be able to pronounce
all their words perfectly, as they are still developing and perfecting their
ability to form certain sounds. During this stage, toddlers may be difficult to
understand, especially for non-caretakers.

11. ➢ Young childhood is a sensitive time for language acquisition.
Their growing brains enable them to learn a wide variety of meanings,
words, and language structures.
It is important that young children get plenty of exposure to language, such
as hearing people speak around them and to them. Babies who are deprived
of verbal communication during this period may have extreme difficulties
catching up in later years.
Emotional development:
The first 2 years of life is an amazing time of growth and change, both
physically and mentally. Beyond physical, thinking, and language tasks,
babies are learning about social and emotional tasks.

12. ➢ Babies can feel interest, distress, disgust, and happiness from birth, and can
communicate these through facial expressions and body posture. Infants
begin showing a spontaneous "social smile" around age 2 to 3 months, and
begin to laugh spontaneously around age 4 months. In addition, between
ages 2 and 6 months, infants express other feelings such as anger, sadness,
surprise, and fear. Between ages 5 and 6 months, babies begin to exhibit
stranger anxiety. They do not like it when other people hold or play with
them, and they will show this discomfort visibly.
Around age 8 to 10 months, babies start to experience separation anxiety
when separated from their primary caregivers. The intensity of this anxiety
varies between individuals and is based on baby's temperament and
environment. By nine months of age, babies have learned how to express a
wide variety of emotions. This becomes readily apparent between ages 9 to
10 months, as babies become highly emotional. They go from intense
happiness to intense sadness/frustration/anger quickly.

13. ➢ Babies' understanding of others' emotions grows as well. Around age 12
months, babies become aware of not only other peoples' expressions but
also their actual emotional states, especially distress.
As toddlers move into the end of the second year, they continue to build
on the emotional progress they have already made. Between the ages of 13
and 18 months, separation anxiety may subside as object permanence
develops, and they understand their caretaker isn't gone even when they
can't see them. Toddlers usually enter another emotionally rocky time
between the ages of 15 to 18 months. During this time, they can be fretful
and easily frustrated, and may throw temper tantrums to demonstrate this
emotionality. Toddlers often come out of those "Terrible Twos" around age
21 months, and become less fretful and more relaxed. By age 2, toddlers
can show a wide range of emotions and are becoming better at regulating
and coping with their emotions. In fact, by this age, toddlers can even fake
some emotions in order to get what they want.

14. Social development:
Closely related to infants' emotional development is their social
development; it's through relationships with caregivers and other people
that children learn how to apply and use their emotions, expressions, and
emotional understanding. During infancy, healthy social growth is mostly
about creating attachments with caregivers.
From 0-2, children are engaged in relationships, trying to develop a sense of
being nurtured and loved. They seek a relationship that engenders trust,
security, and a sense of optimism.
Around 9-12 months, babies become more interested in exploration. This
drive often coincides with their learning to crawl and/or walk, which leads
to new adventures further away from nurturing caretakers. They begin to
point to objects, an important developmental milestone that demonstrates
their ability to establish a shared focus with another.

15. ➢ Between 9 and 18 months, babies develop a more sophisticated
understanding not only of other people and things, but also themselves.
For example, if you secretly put a spot on a 15-month-old baby’s nose and
put them in front of the mirror, they don’t behave any differently. Do the
same to an 18 month old and they stare at the dot and then try and remove
it from their face. Thus, it is not until around 18 months that a baby
recognizes the image in the mirror is actually himself, and not just a
different playful toddler.
Nine to eighteen months is also the time when stranger anxiety begins,
where babies hang back with less well-known adults. They will also show
displeasure when their primary caretakers leave the room or put them in
the care of another.

16. ➢ Around the age of two, children develop their first interests, and an
increased desire for autonomy. With encouragement, children explore and
expand on these interests and drives. They develop self-sufficient
behavior (e.g., begin to dress themselves, feed themselves, etc.), and a
sense of autonomy.
Nutrition and global considerations:
Just like older children and adults, infants need food and water to survive, to
grow, and to thrive. Their bodies use the same nutritional building blocks
that adult bodies use. During the first two years, they need to receive this
nutrition in ways their developing digestive systems can handle, either
through breast milk or baby formula in the first months and through
prepared baby foods after about age six months.

17. ➢ For about the first five or six months of life, babies get all their
nutrients from the milk they drink. They can choose to breast feed, to
bottle-feed using specialized baby formula.
Most medical experts recommend that feeding breast milk is best because it
contains the perfect combination of nutrients that build a baby's immune
system unlike anything else. When parents choose to bottle-feed, they first
need to choose what kind of formula they want to give their infants. This
decision should be made with close advice and supervision by a baby's
pediatrician. All infant formula meets the nutritional standards babies need.
However, caregivers can choose what brand and form they want to buy.
Formula can come in powder that needs to be mixed with water; liquid
concentrate that needs to be mixed with water; or fully prepared formula.
Formula can be made with cow's milk or soy milk. Both are healthy for
babies.

18. ➢ When babies begin to eat solid foods, it is recommended that they eat
in a high chair. High chairs allow the baby to sit at the caregiver's
height to make feeding easier and to allow the baby to interact with
other people during a family meal or other dining experience.
Use small plastic or plastic-coated spoons to feed solid foods. Parents can
get the baby interested in taking food from a spoon by playfully opening
their own mouths wide so that the baby can mimic them. When babies first
start taking solid foods, they may still have the tongue-thrusting reflex that
causes them to push solid foods out of their mouth, around age 6 months.
Caregivers should not scold or try to overcome that reflex, because this
could cause the baby to choke and make dining time more stressful for
everyone.

19. ➢ As babies grow and continue to develop gross and fine motor skills and
cognitive abilities, they also mature in their eating habits and abilities. By
the time babies reach 7 to 9 months of age, they can begin eating finger
foods that they are able to pick up with their thumb and forefinger. At this
point, they may also begin drinking water or juice from a cup if it is
offered to them. They will continue to eat pureed and mashed foods and to
take a bottle at this point; however, they may be able to hold their own
bottle.
Between 9 and 12 months of age, babies may begin holding their own baby-
safe cups and may begin using utensils, though not precisely. In the second
year of life, toddlers continue to refine their eating techniques, becoming
more refined at using utensils, especially spoons, on their own. As well,
because more of their back teeth are emerging, they can begin chewing
foods instead of just biting foods off with their front teeth.

20. ➢ By the time babies are preparing to transition into solid foods, between
the ages of 4 to 6 months, they are taking approximately 32 ounces of
breast milk or formula in a day. Around age 6 months, babies should be
taking in that same amount of milk plus one to two servings each of
cereal and of fruit, to supplement their daily menu. Between the ages of
6 and 9 months, babies should be taking in 24 to 32 ounces of milk and
two servings of cereal, one to two servings of fruit, two servings of
vegetables, and two servings of meat. They can also begin drinking
juice or water from a cup at this time.

21. ➢ Doctors and nutritionists recommend that toddlers drink about 1.5 ounces
of fluid per pound of body weight each day. Between the ages of 9 and 12
months, babies continue to decrease the amount of breast milk or formula
they take as solid foods are providing them with more and more of their
nutritional needs. At this age stage, they need 16 to 24 ounces of milk, two
servings each of cereal, fruit, vegetables, and meat, and either ½ slice of
bread or ¼ cup soft pasta per day. After their first birthday, toddlers
continue to transition from breast milk and formula to adult foods, as they
take fewer milk feedings and begin to eat more mashed family foods in
addition to their baby foods.