1. Growth and development in infancy.

A. General
a. Age groups:
i. Newborn = 0-2 months
ii. Infant = 2 months - 1 year
iii. Toddler = 1-4 years
b. Growth relates to physical growth
c. Development relates to domains such as:
i. Motor development
ii. Cognitive and emotional competence
iii. Language development
iv. Problem-solving
v. Psychosocial skills
d. Both occur in rapid-discontinuous bursts.
e. These influence behaviours and social relationships later in life.
B. Growth
a. Weight, height, head circumference (HC), sexual maturity.
b. Standardised growth curves represent normal values for age for 95% of children.
c. Expected weight increase:
i. Birth-3 months: 30 g/day (regain birth weight by 2 weeks).
1. Weight decreases by 10% in 1st week of life. Mostly due to excretion of
extravascular fluid and low intake.
ii. 3-6 months: 20 g/day (double birth weight by 5 months).
iii. 6-12 months: 10 g/day (triple birth weight by 12 months).
iv. 1-2 years: 250 g/month
v. 2 years-adolescence: 2kg/year
d. Expected height increase:
i. 0-12 months: 25 cm/year (birth length increases by 50% at 12 months).
ii. 12-24 months: 12 cm/year
iii. 2 years-adolescence: 6 cm/year (birth length doubles by age 4: birth length triples by age 13).
e. Expected HC increase (only measured until age 2 years):
i. 0-2 months: 0.5 cm/week
ii. 2-6 months: 0.25 cm/week
iii. By 12 months: total increase = 12 cm since birth

C. Development
a. It is important to monitor attainment of developmental milestones in each domain to diagnose
children with developmental disabilities (and to refer them early).
b. Development occurs in an orderly, predictable, intrinsic manner. Infants normally vary in the
attainment of milestones.
c. Development is influenced by both:
i. Intrinsic factors - child physical characteristics, health status, temperament, genetic features
ii. Extrinsic factors - family members, personality, economic status, caregiver mental health,
cultural setting
d. Attainment of a particular skill depends on the achievement of earlier skills (only rarely are skills
skipped).
e. Delays in one domain may impair development in another domain. Also, the deficit in one domain
may compromise the assessment of another domain
f. Development Quotient (DQ)
i. Most frequently used with infants or preschool children.
 ii. It is a numerical indicator of a child’s growth to maturity across a range of psychosocial
competencies.
iii. Areas include personal social development, attention span, expressive and receptive
language, visuoperceptual skills, fine and gross motor skills, and initiative and independence,
together with aspects of cognitive development, problem-solving, and memory.
iv. Calculation: DQ = (developmental age/chronological age) x 100
1. DQ >85 - normal
2. DQ <70 - abnormal
3. DQ 70-85 - follow-up needed
v. IT IS NOT THE SAME AS IQ!