230 Infancy

230 Infancy

Patti Amos, MAEd
Adapted from:

Psychology Through the Lifespan, Beyer/Lazarra Resource and OpenStax

Physical Growth

•Birth weight & length

•Normal weight range ~ 5lb 8 oz to 8lb 13oz

•Normal length range ~ 19.5 inches

•Babies lose approx. 5% of body weight in first few days

•Normal adjustment to life outside womb- waste elimination, feeding

Proximodistal growth occurs at the center of the body before the extremities, whereas cephalocaudal growth begins at the head of the body before moving to the lower body. (attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY 4.0 license)

Physical Growth

•Physical proportions

•Head-to-body ratio: head comprises 25% of total length at birth

•Percentiles: 1-100

•Failure to thrive: a child born in normal ranges falls below 20th percentile

•Detection is key to medical intervention

This is the WHO chart for girls from birth to age twenty-four months. What is the typical length (height) and weight for a twelve-month-old? (credit: modification of work “Birth to 24 months: Girls Length-for-age and Weight-for-age percentiles” by WHO Child Growth Standards/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Public Domain)

Physical Growth

￮At birth, brain is 25% adult weight

￮At 2-years-old, 75%

￮Most neurons are present at birth

￮Myelination: myelin sheath protects axons and speeds neural transmissions

￮Pruning: unused connections eliminated in favor of much-used connections

Multiple Choice

At birth, brain is 75% adult weight.

• true

• false

Breastmilk

￮Breast milk: comes from the mother or a lactating mother

￮Colostrum: present in the first few days and is beneficial to immune health

￮Pros of breastmilk: it is free; the food source is convenient for feeding

￮What research says are benefits: good for immune system, passes on antibodies, reduces risk of asthma and allergies, lowers risk of infections

￮When to avoid breastfeeding: mother is using substances; mother's immune system is compromised: mother has HIV or AIDS

Multiple Choice

Which nutrient found in breast milk is essential to myelination?

• iron

• calcium

• fat

• proteins

Sleep and Health

￮From 0-2 years: 12.8 hrs/day (average)

￮Newborns sleep 14-17 hrs

￮SIDS: many risk factors, many unknowns

￮Back-sleeping recommended for every sleep

￮No soft bedding, blankets, potential hazards

Motor Skills

After a few days or weeks, reflexive actions begin to be replaced with voluntary movements or motor skills. These skills are not mastered in infancy, however. Motor skill development continues throughout childhood.

Gross motor skills are large movements of the body that require large muscles such as those located in the back, legs, and arms.

Fine motor skills are smaller, more precise movements of the hand and fingers. These take longer to acquire as they involve being able to coordinate the hand and eye and being able to manipulate the hands to grab and move small objects.  

Senses

￮Sight- least developed at birth

￮Newborns see ~8-16 inches in front of them

￮Preference for faces, unusual, interesting, exciting images

￮Hearing: most developed at birth

￮In the womb, babies know the sound of mother’s voice

Multiple Choice

This sense is the least developed at birth.

• hearing

• sight

• smell

• taste

Sensorimotor Stage

•Six stages of sensorimotor intelligence

•Stage 1- Reflexes (Birth- 6 weeks)

•Stage 2- Primary Circular Reactions (6 weeks- 4 mo.)

•Stage 3- Secondary Circular Reactions (4-8 mo.)

•Stage 4- Coordination of Secondary Circular Reactions (8-12 mo.)

•Stage 5- Tertiary Circular Reactions (12-18 mo.)

•Stage 6- Mental Representation (18-24 mo.)

Stages of Language Development

1 0–3 months Reflexive communication

2 3–8 months Reflexive communication; interest in others

3 8–13 months Intentional communication; sociability

4 12–18 months First words

5 18–24 months Simple sentences of two words

6 2–3 years Sentences of three or more words

7 3–5 years Complex sentences; has conversations

Attachment Styles

•Ainsworth’s strange situation test- tested attachment styles w/ reactions

•Four main types of attachment:

•Secure (~65% of babies): parent serves as secure base of exploration

•Insecure- avoidant: toddler reacts to parent like a stranger; unresponsive to parent, slow to show positive feelings

•Insecure- resistant/ambivalent: clings to parent when they leave, reject affectionate attempts on caregiver return; does not explore the new environment

•Disorganized: Least secure attachment; often unpredictable parental behavior, may be from abuse

•Child has not learned emotional regulation from this model

Multiple Choice

Ainsworth’s “Strange Situation” test was designed

to test what construct?

• self-awareness

• moral development

• object permanence

• attachment style

Erikson's Psychosocial Stages

Trust vs. mistrust stage (birth to ~12 months)

○Resolution: Learning the world is a safe place

○Unresolved: The world is an untrustworthy or dangerous place

Autonomy vs. shame & doubt ( 1–3 years)

○Resolution: Taking initiative and trying to do things one’s self is desirable

○Unresolved: One’s autonomy is thwarted and discouraged. The child learns to doubt his or her instincts and feel shame at taking initiative

Multiple Select

What stages of development do infants and then toddlers experience according to Erikson?

• trust vs. mistrust

• initiative vs. guilt

• autonomy vs. guilt

• autonomy vs. shame and doubt