PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

OF INFANTS AND TODDLERS

MODULE 12

INFANTSBaby= a very young child that can neither walk nor talk.In an early stage of development= just the beginning.

TODDLERSYoung child: a young child who is learning to walk.

CEPHALOCAUDAL

The postnatal growth from conception to 5 months when the head grows more than the body.

The greatest growth always occurs at the top –the head.

The infants learns to use their ‘’UPPER LIMBS ‘’before heir ‘’LOWER LIMBS ‘’.

The same pattern occurs in the head area _. The top parts of the head= the eyes and the brain- grow

faster than the lower parts such as the jaw.

PROXIMODISTAL

The pre-natal growth from 5 months to birth when the fetus grows from the inside of the body outwards.

The muscular control of the trunk and the arms comes earlier as compared to the hands and fingers.

MOTOR DEVELOPMENT

Refers to the development of motor skills from the center of the body outward.

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENTS

HEIGHT & WEIGHT Its normal for new born babies to drop 5 to

10 percent of their body weight within a couple of weeks of birth.(Due to the baby’s adjustment to neonatal feeding/ once they adjust to sucking, swallowing and digesting, they grow rapidly).

Breastfed babies are typically heavier than the bottle-fed babies through the first 6 months.(After 6 months, breastfed babies usually weigh less than bottle-fed babies.

In general, an infant’s length increases by about 30% in the first 5 months.

A baby’s weight usually triples during the first year but slows down in the second year of life.

Low percentages are not a cause for alarm as long as infants progress along a natural curve of steady development.

Brain Development Among the most dramatic changes in the brain in the first 2 years of life are the spreading connections of dendrites to each other. (Remember neurons, dendrites, axon, synapses).

Myelination or myelinization

=The process by which the axons are covered and insulated by layers of fat cells, begins prenatally and continues after birth.

=The process of MYELINATION or MYELINIZATION increases the speed at w/c information travels through the nervous system.

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.

Shortly after birth, a baby’s brain produces trillions more connections between neurons than it can possibly use. The brain eliminates connections that are seldom or never used. The infant’s brain is literally waiting for experiences to determine how connections are made.

Motor DevelopmentAlong this aspect of motor development, infants and toddlers begin from reflexes, to gross motor skills and fine motor skills.

REFLEXES The newborn has some basic reflexes which are, of course automatic, and

serve as survival mechanisms before they have the opportunity to learn. Many reflexes which are present at birth with generally subside within a few months as the baby grows and matures.

COMMON REFLEXES Sucking Reflex( The sucking reflexes is initiated when something touches

the roof of an infant’s mouth. Infants have a strong sucking reflex which helps to ensure they can latch unto bottle or breast. The sucking reflex is very strong in some infants and they may need to suck on a pacifier for comfort).

Rooting Reflex( The roofing reflex is most evident when an infant’s cheek is stroked. The baby responds by turning his or her head in the direction of the touch and opening their mouth for feeding).

Gripping Reflex( Babies will grasp anything that is placed in their palm. The strength of this grip is strong, and most babies can support their entire weight in their grip).

Curling Reflex( When the inner sole of a baby’s foot is stroked the infant respond by curling his or her toes. When the outer sole of a baby’s foot is stroked, the infant will respond by spreading out their toes).

Startle/Moro Reflex( Infants will respond to sudden sounds or movements by throwing their arms and legs out, and throwing their heads back. Most infants will usually cry when startled and proceed to pull their limbs back into their bodies ).

Galant Reflex( The galant reflex is shown when an infant’s middle or lower back is stroked next to the spinal cord. The baby will respond by curving his or her body toward the side which is being stroked).

Tonic Neck Reflex( The tonic neck reflex is demonstrated in infants who are placed on their abdomens. Whenever side the child’s head is facing, the limbs on that side will straighten, while the opposite limbs will curl).

LIFE SPAN DEVELOPMENT OF INFANTS and TODDLERS

Gross Motor Skills

It is always a source of excitement for parents to witness dramatic changes in the infant’s first year of life. This dramatic motor development is shown in babies unable to even lift their heads to being able to grab things off the cabinet, to chase the ball and to walk away from parents.

Fine Motor Skills Are skills that involve a refined use of the small muscles controlling the hand,

finger and thumb. The development of these skills allows one to be able to complete tasks such as writing, drawing and buttoning.

The ability to exhibit fine motor skills involve activities that involve precise eye-hand coordination.

The development of reaching and grasping becomes more refined during the first 2 years of life. Initially, infants show only crude shoulder and elbow movements, but later they show wrist movements, hand rotation and coordination of the thumb and forefinger.

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. As he/she advances physically his/her sensory and perceptual abilities also develop.

RESEACH FINDINGS regarding NEWBORN’S VISUAL

PERCEPTION The newborn’s vision is about 10 to 30 times lower than normal adult

vision. By 6 months of age, vision becomes better and by the first birthday, the infant’s vision approximates that of an adult.

Infants look at different things for different lengths of time. In an experiment conducted by Robert Fantz(1963 cited by Santrock, 2002), it was found out that infants preferred to look at patterns such as faces and concentric circles rather than at color or brightness. Based on these results, it is likely that ‘’pattern perception has an innate basis’’. Among the first few things that babies learn to recognize is their mother’s face, as mother feeds and nurses them.

Can NEWBORN Hear?

The sense of hearing in an infant develops much before the birth of the baby. When in the womb, the baby hears his/her mother’s heartbeats, the grumbling of his/her stomach, the mother’s voice and music.

Infants’ sensory thresholds are somewhat higher than those of adult which means that stimulus must be louder to be heard by a newborn than by an adult.

Can NEWBORNS differentiate Odors? In an experiment conducted by

MacFarlane(1975) ‘’ Young infants who were breastfed showed a clear preference for smelling their mother’s breast pad when the babies were only two days old. This shows that it requires several days of experience to recognize their mother’s breast pad odor’’.

Can NEWBORNS feel pain?Do they Respond to touch? They do feel pain. Newborn males

show a higher level of cortisol( an indicator of stress) after a circumcision than prior to the surgery.

Babies respond to touch. The newborn automatically sucks an object placed in his/her head toward the side that was touched in an apparent effort to find something to suck.

Can NEWBORNS distinguish the different tastes? In a study conducted with babies

only two hour old, babies made different facial expressions when they tasted sweet, sour and bitter solutions.

When saccharin was added to the amniotic fluid of a near-term fetus, increased swallowing was observed.

This indicates that sensitivity to taste might be present before birth.

Do infants relate information through several senses? Or Are infants capable of intermodal perception? INTERMODAL PERCEPTION is the ability

to relate, connect and integrate information about two or more sensory modalities such as vision and hearing.

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.

This capacity for intermodal perception or ability to connect information coming through various modes gets sharpened considerably through experience.

WHAT INFANTS and TODDLERS can do Physically? DOMAIN: Physical Health, Well-Being and Motor Development

PHYSICAL HEALTHSTANDARD 1_ The children demonstrates adequate growth ( weight, height, head

circumference).STANDARD 2_ The child has adequate sensory systems to participate in daily activities.

0-6 months Startles to loud sounds Visually follows a moving object from side to side Visually follows a moving object up and down Reacts to pain by crying Withdraws or reacts with surprise when in contact with something cold Reacts with pleasure/smiles or relaxed expression when he/she tastes something

delicious Reacts by making a face/frowns/grimaces when he/she tastes something he/she

does not like

7-12 months Reacts with pleasure when he/she smells something nice Reacts by making a face when he/she smells something foulsSTANDARD 3_ The child has adequate stamina to participate in daily activities. Pushes and/or pulls moderately heavy objects (e.g.. chairs, large boxes) Walks without tiring easily

13-18 months Play without tiring easily, able to keep pace with playmates Participates actively in games, outdoor play and other exercises

19-24 months Sustains physical activities (e.g. dancing, outdoor games, swimming) for at least

3-5 minutes

MOTOR SKILLS DEVELOPMENT(Gross Motor skills)

Standard 1_ The child shows control in coordination of body movements involving large muscle groups.

0-6 months Holds head steadily Moves arms and legs equally to reach at dangling object Rolls over Bounces when held standing, briefly bearing weight on legs Sits with support Stating to crawl but not yet very good at this

7-12 months Sits steadily without support Creeps or crawls with ease as a primary means of moving around Stands without support Stands from a sitting position without any help Squats from standing position with ease Stands from standing position with ease Bends over easily without falling Stands from a bent position without falling Walks sideways by holding onto the sides of crib or furniture (cruises) Walks with one hand held

13-18 months Walks without support Walks backwards Walks up the stairs with hand held, 2 feet on each step Walks down stairs with hand held, 2 feet on each step Jumps in place Climbs onto a steady elevated surface (e.g. bed, adult chair or bangko etc.) Kicks a ball but with little control of direction Throws a ball but with little control of direction Throws a ball but with little control of speed Runs without tripping or falling Maintains balance (walking on a low, narrow ledge, between 2 lines without

assistance Moves with music when he hears it Can move body to imitate familiar animals Can move body to imitate another person/TV character

19-24 months Walks up the stairs with alternating feet, without help Walks down the stairs with alternating feet without help Kicks a ball with a control of direction Throws a ball with control of direction Throws a ball with control of speed

MOTOR SKILLS DEVELOPMENT(Fine Motor skills)

Standard 1_ The child can control and coordinate hand and finger movements

0-6 months Hands open most of the time Bring both hands together towards dangling object/toy Uses either hand interchangeably to grasp objects Uses all 5 fingers in a ranking motion to get food/toy placed on a flat surface Grasps objects with the same hand most of the time (hand preference emerging)

7-12 months Pulls toys by string Bangs 2 large blocks together Picks up objects with thumb and index fingers Grasps and transfer objects from hand to hand Grasps objects with the same hand all the time (definite

hand preference established)

13-18 months Puts small objects in/out of container Unscrew lids Unwraps candy/food Holds thick pencil or crayon with palmar grip (e. g. all 5

fingers wrapped around pencil)

19- 24 months Colors with strokes going out of the lines

PERSONAL CARE AND HYGIENE (Activities of Daily Living)

Standard 1_ The child participates in basic personal care routines.

0-6 months Sucks and swallows milk form breast/bottle Begins to take complementary or semi-solid foods by the en of 6 months Keeps reasonably still while being dressed, undressed bathed and while

diaper is being change

7-12 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 spillage

13-18 months Feeds self with assistance Feeds self using fingers to eat rice/viands with spillage Feeds self using spoon with spillage No longer drinks from feeding bottle Drinks from cup unassisted Participates when being dressed by lifting arms or raising legs Pulls down gartered short pants/underpants or panties Removes shoes/sandals Informs caregiver of the need to move his bowels so he/she can be

brought to comfort room Takes a bath with assistance Brushes teeth after meals with assistance from adult Washes and dries hands under adult supervision Washes and dries face with the assistance of an adult

19-24 months Gets drink for self unassisted Removes loose sando Removes socks Informs caregiver of the need to urinate so he/she can be

brought the comfort room Goes to the designated place to urinate but sometimes wets

his/her pants Goes to the designated place to move his/her bowels but

sometimes still sols his/her pants Goes to the designated place to move his/her bowels but

needs help with wiping and washing Brushes teeth after meals with adult supervision Washes and dries face under adult supervision

LANGUAGE (Expressive Language)

Standard 1_ The child is able to use words and gestures to express his thoughts and feelings.

0-6 months Makes gurgling; cooing, babbling or other vocal sounds Uses gestures (e.g. stretching his/her arms, pointing) to indicate he/she

wants

7-12 months Repeats sounds produced by others Says meaningful words like papa, mama, to refer to specific

persons Uses animal sounds to identify animals (e.g. meow-meow

for cat) Uses environmental sounds to identify objects/events in the

environment (boom for thunder)

13-18 months Speaks in single words Says “yes” and “no” appropriately Uses words accompanied by gestures to indicate what heshe wants Responds to simple questions with single words

19-24 months Uses pronouns Uses possessive pronouns Says what he/she wants without accompanying this with gestures Attempts to converse even if he cannot be clearly understood

PRE-READING AND PRE-MATH (MATCHING)

Standard 1_ The child is able to match identical objects, colors, shapes, symbols.

7-12 months Able to match 2 identical objects (e.g. 2 spoons, 2 balls)

19-24 months Matches identical objects Matches identical pictures

Thank you:>

Presented by: Arrissa E. Gimena & Elsa C. Navales BSED 01