3.5 Infant Reflexes, Senses, and Skills

Real World Parenting 3.5: Infant Reflexes, Senses, and Skills

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​Lesson objectives:
1) Identify the different types of infant reflexes 

2) categorize cognitive milestones and motor skill milestones

3) describe strategies for supporting children's developmental milestones

Let's start by talking about reflexes!

Poll

Which of the following reflexes did you experience in the last week?

• Yawning

• Flinching

• Hiccupping

• Sneezing

• Coughing/Gagging

​Reflexes

Also known as the Fencing Reflex.
Disappears around age 6 mos.

​

Tonic Neck Reflex

See these reflexes in action!
Be ready to identify each reflex with its name next!

Match

Match each scenario with the type of reflex.

• After hearing a loud noise, an infant extends their arms and legs.

• When supported upright with a solid surface under their feet, infants to move as if dancing or walking.

• When touched on the corner of the mouth an infant begins to turn their head towards it.

• When an infant feels a finger touching their palm, they close their hand around it.

Moro reflex

Stepping reflex

Rooting reflex

Grasping reflex

• Moro reflex

• Stepping reflex

• Rooting reflex

• Grasping reflex

Multiple Select

Which of the following reflexes continue into adulthood?

• Sneezing reflex

• Sucking reflex

• Blinking reflex

• Tonic neck reflex

Infant
Senses

• Most babies are born with all of their senses, but you

may not know that they are not fully developed.

• Although infants can see, hear, taste, smell, and feel,

these senses do not function as precisely as adults.

Reorder

Reorder the ways that infants show interest in items as they develop cognitively. Rank them from the earliest action to the latest in terms of age and development.

• Following an object with their eyes

• Reaching for objects with their hands

• Putting objects in their mouth

• Mimicking the way caregivers use objects

1

2

3

4

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4

Motor Skill
Milestones

• Motor skills refer to the way

humans use their bodies. It
includes muscle development
and control of all limbs.

• Motor skills milestones are

steps in an infant's ability to
control their muscles and use
their bodies.

​Let's learn more in Edio via this link!

Promoting Healthy Growth and
Development

• You can support an infant's development by providing a

safe and loving home and spending time with them.

• You can support their cognitive development by

playing, singing, talking, and reading with them.

oHanging a mobile over a crib and modeling how to complete
puzzles or play with toys can also help develop their cognitive skills.

oYou can also model playing with toys that have many buttons and
dials and explain what you are doing as you model play.

• You can support motor skill development by:

o assisting the child with sitting up and holding their hands or
supporting them while they learn to stand.

oYou can also provide a safe place for the infant to practice standing
free of obstacles or other dangers.

• When infants are ready to start standing, you can

provide low, sturdy items in the room for them to use.

Multiple Select

Which of the following are cognitive milestones?

• Identifying images in books

• Staring at toys or faces

• Putting objects in their mouths

• Using utensils for eating

• Rolling over

Multiple Select

Which of the following are motor milestones?

• Identifying images in books

• Staring at toys or faces

• Standing up and walking

• Using utensils for eating

• Rolling over

Multiple Select

How is tummy time beneficial to newborns and infants?

Select all that apply.

• It strengthens their motor skills.

• It develops their communication skills.

• It develops their emotional skills.

• It helps them grow cognitively.

Summary

• In this lesson, you learned that:

o infants have many reflexes and some disappear in

infancy and some remain through adulthood;

o infants have all their senses when they are born

but they develop and improve through infancy;

o infants experience several cognitive and motor skill

milestones as they grow and develop; and

o caregivers can help infants grow and develop by

practicing good parenting techniques and
monitoring developmental milestones.

• Next class, you will complete a unit

review and unit quiz.

o Ticket out...

​See you then! :)