Mother and Child Nursing

Developmental Milestones in Infancy and

Childhood
By: Michelle Lyn Rosas
November 19, 2019

Theories of Growth and Development Formal operational (12 years – adult)

Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development - The adolescent can reason abstractly
and think hypothetical terms.
Sensorimotor (0-2 years old)
- The infant explores the world through - 11 years old and older
direct sensory and motor contact. - Theoretical, hypothetical, and
- Object permanence and separation counterfactual thinking.
anxiety develop during this stage. - Abstract logic and reasoning.
- Strategy and planning become possible.
- 0-2 years old - Concepts learned in one context and can
- Coordination of senses with motor be applied to another.
responses, sensory curiosity about the
world.
- Language used for demands and
cataloguing.
- Object permanence is developed.
Preoperational (2-6 years old)
- The child uses symbols (words &
images) to represent objects but does not
reason logically.
- The child has the ability to pretend.
- Child is egocentric.

- 2-7 years old

- Symbolic thinking, use of proper syntax
and grammar to express concepts.
- Imagination and intuition are strong, but
complex abstract thoughts are still
difficult.
- Conservation is developed.
Concrete Operational (7-12 years old)
- Child think logically about concrete
objects and can add and subtract.
- Child can understand conservation.

- 7-11 years old

- Concepts attached to concrete situations
- Time, space, and quantity are
understood and can be applied, but not
as independent concepts.
Erikson’s Stages of Psychosocial
Development
1. Trust vs Mistrust
- If needs are dependably meet, infants
develop a sense of basic trust.
2. Autonomy vs Shame/Doubt
- Toddlers learn to exercise will and do
things for themselves, or they doubt their
abilities.
3. Initiative vs Guilt
- Preschoolers learn to initiate tasks and
carry out plans, or they feel guilty about
efforts to be independent.
4. Industry vs inferiority
- Children learn the pleasure of applying
themselves to tasks, or they feel inferior.
5. Identity vs Confusion
- Teenagers work at refining a sense of
self by testing roles and then integrating
them to form a single identity, or they
become confused about who they are.
6. Intimacy vs Isolation
- Young adults struggle to form close
relationships and to gain the capacity to
intimate love, or they feel socially
isolated.
7. Generativity vs Stagnation
- The middle-aged discover a sense of
contributing to the world, usually through
family and work, or they may feel a lack
of purpose
8. Integrity vs Despair
- When reflecting on his/her life, the older
adult may feel a sense of satisfaction or
failure
Sigmund Freud’s Psychosexual Stages of
Development

Psychological Fixations

- Oral Fixation
o Smoking - Phallic Fixations
o Gum chewing o Vanity
o Nail biting o Exhibitionism
- Anal Fixation o Pride
o Orderliness
o Obsessiveness
o Rigidity
Domains of Moral Development
Kohlberg’s Levels of Moral Development
Level 1: Preconventional level – No Internlization
- Stage 1: Heteronomous morality
o Children obey because adults tell
them to obey. People base their
moral decisions on fear of
punishment.
- Stage 2: Individualism, Purpose, and
Exchange
o Individuals pursue their own
interests but let others do the
same. What is right involves
equal exchange.
Level 2: Conventional level – Intermediate
Internaliztion Havighurst’s Developmental Tasks
- Stage 3: Mutual interpersonal
expectations, relationships, and
interpersonal conformity
o Individuals value trust, caring,
and loyalty to others as basis for
moral judgements.
- Stage 4: Social systems morality
o Moral judgements are based on
understanding of the social order,
law, justice, and duty.
Level 3: Postconventional level – Full
Internalization
- Stage 5: social contract or utility and
individual rights
o Individuals reason that values
right and principles undergird or
transcend the law. Infancy and Early Childhood (0-5 years)
- Stage 6: universal ethical principles
- Learn to:
o The person has developed moral
o Walk
judgements that are based on
o Use toilet
universal human rights. When
o Talk
faced with a dilemma between
o Form relationship with others
law and conscience, a personal,
individualized conscience is Middle Childhood (6-12 years)
followed.
- Learn:
o School-related skills such as
reading
o About conscience and values
o To be independent
Adolescence (13-17 years)
- Establish emotional independence
 - Learn skills needed for productive
occupation
- Achieve gender-based social role
- Establish mature relationships with peers
Early Adulthood (18-35 years)
- Choose a life partner
- Establish a family
- Take care of a home
- Establish a career
Middle Age (30-60 years)
- Maintain a standard of living
- Perform civic and social responsibilities
- Maintain a relationship with spouse
- Adjust to physiological changes
Later Maturity (over 60 years)
- Adjust to deteriorating health
- Adjust to retirement
- Meet social and civic obligations
- Adjust to loss of spouse