Child Development - Infancy

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I. INTRODUCTION

Infancy is a period from birth to about 2 years of age. This first stage of life is an important time,characterized by physical and emotional growth and development.

Although birth is the culmination of months of prenatal development, people commonly regardinfancy, from birth to age two, as a time of beginnings. Infancy is when personality, socialattachments, thinking, and language first take shape. In two short years, the helpless newborngrows into a child with an impressive range of physical, cognitive, and social skills.

II. PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT

The child grows faster in infancy than at any later time. Physical size increases and body proportions change as the top heavy newborn evolves into a toddler with a body more closely

resembling an adult. These changes in body proportions help to account for significantimprovements in motor coordination, balance, and physical de!terity during infancy.

"y the age of two, children can walk, run, #ump in place, pick up small ob#ects with their fingers,and build towers with blocks. Improvements in sensory ability also contribute to theseaccomplishments. $hanges in the eye, ear, and other sense organs, together with developments in

brain organization, enable two year olds to see, hear, and respond with greater discriminationthan ever before.

The brain grows significantly in size and comple!ity in infancy. Although most of the brain%sneurons &nerve cells' develop prenatally, organization and interconnection of these neuronsdepends significantly on e!periences after birth. (ormal visual stimulation, for e!ample,organizes the infant brain%s visual pathways to facilitate proper sight and perception. )earingeveryday sounds and speech organizes the brain regions related to sound and language. Thus,ordinary e!periences over a broad period of time naturally provoke the developing brain toorganize itself. There is no evidence that special or rare e!periences are re*uired for the brain%sgrowth, or that enhanced early stimulation will yield improvements in brain capacity. )owever,infants who are deprived of normal stimulation and care are at risk of impaired braindevelopment.

(ormal physical development in infancy re*uires a nutritionally ade*uate diet, immunizations toguard against infectious diseases, and protections from environmental hazards &such as lead

based paints' and from dangerous drugs. Infants also need the vigilant attention of caregivers because accidents are the leading cause of in#ury and death for the very young. +inally, earlyvision and hearing screenings are imperative to identify any deficiencies that could deprive thedeveloping brain of essential stimulation.


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inflection, for e!ample, a single word, 05addy,1 may refer to a specific person, many people &allmale adults', an in*uiry &0 here is 5addy41', an e!planation &05addy%s there1', or have othermeaning. 6ocabulary growth is slow early in the second year, but by 7 months a typicaltoddler%s vocabulary begins to e!plode. (ew words are learned weekly, and later, daily. "y theend of the second year, most toddlers combine words into simple phrases and sentences, such as03ore #uice.1

A toddler%s everyday social interaction with caregivers provides rich opportunities for languagedevelopment. Adults% 0baby talk1 marked by a high and varied pitch, simple words, and aslower rate of speech is well suited to early language learning. hen caregivers talk to toddlersabout shared e!periences, they contribute to vocabulary growth, conversational skills, andunderstanding and memory of events.

IV. SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

$lose relationships with people are vital for the infant%s personality and social growth. /vennewborns seem to appreciate the importance of people. They pay special attention to faces andvoices, and social stimulation provokes greater interest and emotion than the interaction withob#ects does.

In early infancy, social relationships are important for helping to manage the baby%s emotions andtemperamental individuality. oung infants e!hibit a variety of emotions including #oy, distress,surprise, interest, and sadness but have difficulty managing these feelings, and rely oncaregivers to soothe and regulate emotional arousal. As they later develop a broader emotional

repertoire, they turn to adults for cues about situations that might be scary or dangerous, such asencountering an unfamiliar adult. In this way, emotional development is guided by parents andother caregivers.

oung children vary in their temperamental *ualities. Inborn characteristics like mood,adaptability, activity level, and 0soothability1 affect the child%s responses to situations, emotionaltendencies, and tolerance of stress. $aregivers influence personality development by how theyrespond to a baby%s temperament. 8ensitive caregivers who can adapt their childrearing practicesto the child%s individuality such as providing a high activity level child with plenty ofopportunities to e!pend energy encourage more positive, constructive personality

characteristics, regardless of temperament. "y contrast, when caregivers cannot accommodate toa child%s temperamental *ualities, children may develop behavioral difficulties because theiremerging personality conflicts with social e!pectations and demands.

As infants mature in the early months, they participate more with their parents in face to face play that has no other purpose than mutual delight. This coordinated interaction of gazing, smiles,vocalizations, movement, and touch is built on the baby%s recognition of the parents as familiar

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people, and the parents% awareness that their child responds in special ways to them alone. "y theend of the first year, infants have developed emotional attachments to their parents &and otherregular caregivers' and rely on them for security and confidence, especially in unfamiliar settings.

Attachments can vary in their degree of security for the baby. 8ecure attachments arise fromsensitive, responsive care and provide a foundation of trust that an infant may generalize to otherrelationships. Insensitive or inconsistent care may instead cause infants to develop insecureattachments that are characterized by uncertainty or distrust in the attachment figure. 8ecureattachments are thus an important foundation for social and personality development arising fromthe baby%s e!perience of early care. 8ensitive, responsive care remains a continuing needthroughout childhood.

8ocial relationships in infancy also influence the growth of self awareness and selfunderstanding. A baby%s awareness of the responses of other people contributes to a dawningsense of individuality. In the second year, toddlers become capable of self recognition in a mirrorand begin to adopt others% evaluations of them when feeling proud or guilty &for e!ample, 03e

big:1 after a mother has applauded her child%s success at using a spoon'. In these and other ways,close relationships help very young children begin to understand who they are.

V. CONCLUSION

hy is the study of child development important4 ;ne reason is that it provides practicalguidance for parents, teachers, child care providers, and others who care for children. A secondreason is that it enables society to support healthy growth.


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VI. LITERATURE

>agan, ?erome, /d. The Gale Encyclopedia of Childhood and Adolescence. @ale, 7.

"razelton, T. "erry. Touchpoints: Your Child's Emotional and Behavioral evelopment.Addison esley, 2, 2BBB.

5amon, illiam, and (ancy /isenberg, eds. !andboo" of Child #sycholo$y. Cth ed. iley ,2BBB.

http-DDwww.aboutourkids.orgD

http-DDwww.kidshealth.orgDparentsDemotionsDinde!.html

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http://www.aboutourkids.org/http://www.kidshealth.org/parents/emotions/index.htmlhttp://www.aboutourkids.org/http://www.kidshealth.org/parents/emotions/index.html


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Child Development - Infancy