PHYSICAL

DEVELOPMENT OF
INFANTS AND
TODDLERS

MODULE 12
TODDLERS
Young child: a young child
who is learning to walk.
CEPHALOCAUDAL

The postnatal growth from conception to 5

months when the head grows more than
the body.
The greatest growth always occurs at the
top –the head.
CEPHALOCAUDAL
The infants learns to use their ‘’UPPER
LIMBS ‘’before heir
‘’LOWER LIMBS ‘’.
The same pattern occurs in the head area.
The top parts of the head= the eyes and
the brain- grow faster than the lower parts
such as the jaw.
PROXIMODISTAL

MOTOR DEVELOPMENT
Refers to the development of
motor skills from the center of
the body outward.
PROXIMODISTAL

The pre-natal growth from 5 months to

birth when the fetus grows from the
inside of the body outwards.

The muscular control of the

trunk and the arms comes
earlier as compared to the
hands and fingers.
 HEIGHT & WEIGHT
PHYSICAL  Its normal for new born babies to
DEVELOPMENTS drop 5 to 10 percent of their body
weight within a
couple of weeks of birth.(Due to
the baby’s adjustment to neonatal
feeding/ once they adjust to
sucking, swallowing and digesting,
they grow rapidly).
 Breastfed babies are typically
heavier than the bottle-fed babies
through the first 6 months.(After 6
months, breastfed babies usually
weigh less than bottle-fed babies.
 HEIGHT & WEIGHT
PHYSICAL
DEVELOPMENTS
In general, an infant’s length
increases by about 30% in
the first 5 months.
A baby’s weight usually
triples during the first year
but slows down in the
second year of life.
Low percentages are not a
cause for alarm as long as
infants progress along a
natural curve of steady
development.
Brain Development
Among the most dramatic changes in the brain in
the first 2 years of life are the spreading connections
of dendrites to each other. (Remember neurons,
dendrites, axon, synapses).

Myelination or myelinization
=The process by which the axons are covered
and insulated by layers of fat cells, begins
prenatally and continues after birth.

=The process of MYELINATION or

MYELINIZATION increases the speed at w/c
information travels through the nervous
system.
At birth, the newborn’s brain is
about 25% of its adult weight.
By the second birthday, the
brain is about 75% of its adult
weight.
Shortly after birth, a baby’s
brain produces trillions more
connections between
neurons than it can possibly
use. The brain eliminates
connections that are seldom
or never used. The infant’s
brain is literally waiting for
experiences to determine
how connections are made.
Motor Development
Along this aspect of motor development, infants and
toddlers begin from reflexes, to gross motor skills and
fine motor skills.

REFLEXES
The newborn has some basic reflexes which are,
of course automatic, and serve as survival
mechanisms before they have the opportunity to
learn. Many reflexes which are present at birth
with generally subside within a few months as the
baby grows and matures.
Motor Development
COMMON REFLEXES
Sucking Reflex( The sucking reflexes is initiated
when something touches the roof of an infant’s
mouth. Infants have a strong sucking reflex which
helps to ensure they can latch unto bottle or
breast. The sucking reflex is very strong in some
infants and they may need to suck on a pacifier
for comfort).
Rooting Reflex( The roofing reflex is most evident
when an infant’s cheek is stroked. The baby
responds by turning his or her head in the
direction of the touch and opening their mouth
for feeding).
Gripping Reflex( Babies will grasp anything that is
placed in their palm. The strength of this grip is
strong, and most babies can support their entire
weight in their grip).
Curling Reflex( When the inner sole of a baby’s foot is
stroked the infant respond by curling his or her toes.
When the outer sole of a baby’s foot is stroked, the
infant will respond by spreading out their toes).
Startle/Moro Reflex( Infants will respond to sudden
sounds or movements by throwing their arms and
legs out, and throwing their heads back. Most
infants will usually cry when startled and proceed to
pull their limbs back into their bodies ).
Galant Reflex ( The galant reflex is shown when
an infant’s middle or lower back is stroked next
to the spinal cord. The baby will respond by
curving his or her body toward the side which is
being stroked).
Tonic Neck Reflex ( The tonic neck reflex is
demonstrated in infants who are placed on their
abdomens. Whenever side the child’s head is
facing, the limbs on that side will straighten,
while the opposite limbs will curl).
LIFE SPAN DEVELOPMENT OF
INFANTS and TODDLERS
Gross Motor Skills
It is always a source of excitement for
parents to witness dramatic changes in the
infant’s first year of life. This dramatic motor
development is shown in babies unable to
even lift their heads to being able to grab
things off the cabinet, to chase the ball and
to walk away from parents.
 Fine Motor Skills
 Are skills that involve a refined use of the small muscles
controlling the hand, finger and thumb. The development of
these skills allows one to be able to complete tasks such as
writing, drawing and buttoning.
 The ability to exhibit fine motor skills involve activities that
involve precise eye- hand coordination.
 The development of reaching and grasping becomes more
refined during the first 2 years of life. Initially, infants show only
crude shoulder and elbow movements, but later they show
wrist movements, hand rotation and coordination of the thumb
and forefinger.
SENSORY and PERCEPTUAL
DEVELOPMENT
The newborn senses the world into which
he/she is born through his/her senses of
vision, hearing, touch, taste and smell. As
he/she advances physically his/her sensory
and perceptual abilities also develop.
 RESEACH FINDINGS regarding
NEWBORN’S VISUAL PERCEPTION
The newborn’s vision is about 10 to 30 times
lower than normal adult vision. By 6 months
of age, vision becomes better and by the first
birthday, the infant’s vision approximates
that of an adult.
 RESEACH FINDINGS regarding
NEWBORN’S VISUAL PERCEPTION
Infants look at different things for different lengths
of time. In an experiment conducted by Robert
Fantz(1963 cited by Santrock, 2002), it was found
out that infants preferred to look at patterns such
as faces and concentric circles rather than at color
or brightness. Based on these results, it is likely
that ‘’pattern perception has an innate basis’’.
Among the first few things that babies learn to
recognize is their mother’s face, as mother feeds
and nurses them.
Can NEWBORN Hear?
The sense of hearing in an infant develops much
before the birth of the baby. When in the womb,
the baby hears his/her mother’s heartbeats, the
grumbling of his/her stomach, the mother’s voice
and music.
Infants’ sensory thresholds are somewhat higher
than those of adult which means that stimulus
must be louder to be heard by a newborn than by
an adult.
Can NEWBORNS differentiate
Odors?
 In an experiment conducted by
MacFarlane(1975) ‘’ Young infants who were
breastfed showed a clear preference for smelling
their mother’s breast pad when the babies were
only two days old. This shows that it requires
several days of experience to recognize their
mother’s breast pad odor’’.
Can NEWBORNS feel pain?Do
they Respond to touch?
 They do feel pain. Newborn males show a
higher level of cortisol( an indicator of
stress) after a circumcision than prior to
the surgery.
 Babies respond to touch. The newborn
automatically sucks an object placed in
his/her head toward the side that was
touched in an apparent effort to find
something to suck.
Can NEWBORNS distinguish
the different tastes?
 In a study conducted with babies only two
hour old, babies made different facial
expressions when they tasted sweet, sour
and bitter solutions.
 When saccharin was added to the amniotic
fluid of a near-term fetus, increased
swallowing was observed.
 This indicates that sensitivity to taste might be
present before birth.
WHAT INFANTS and TODDLERS
can do Physically?
PHYSICALHEALTH
0-6 months
 Startles to loud sounds
 Visually follows a moving object from side to side
 Visually follows a moving object up and down
 Reacts to pain by crying
 Withdraws or reacts with surprise when in contact with somethingcold
 Reacts with pleasure/smiles or relaxed expression when he/she tastes
something
delicious
 Reacts by making a face/frowns/grimaces when he/she tastes
something he/she does not like
WHAT INFANTS and TODDLERS
can do Physically?
PHYSICALHEALTH
7-12 months
 Reacts with pleasure when he/she smells something nice
 Reacts by making a face when he/she smells something fouls

13-18 months
 Play without tiring easily, able to keep pace with playmates
 Participates actively in games, outdoor play and other exercises

19-24 months
 Sustains physical activities (e.g. dancing, outdoor games, swimming) for at
least 3-5 minutes
 MOTOR SKILLS DEVELOPMENT(Gross
Motor skills)
Standard 1_ The child shows control in
coordination of body movements involving
large muscle groups.
0-6 months
 Holds head steadily
 Moves arms and legs equally to reach at danglingobject
 Rolls over
 Bounces when held standing, briefly bearing weight on
legs
 Sits with support
 Stating to crawl but not yet very good at this
7-12 months
 Sits steadily without support
 Creeps or crawls with ease as a primary means of
moving around
 Stands without support
 Stands from a sitting position without any help
 Squats from standing position with ease
 Stands from standing position with ease
 Bends over easily without falling
 Stands from a bent position without falling
 Walks sideways by holding onto the sides of crib
or furniture (cruises)
 Walks with one hand held
13-18 months
Walks without support
Walks backwards
Walks up the stairs with hand held, 2 feet on
each step
Walks down stairs with hand held, 2 feet on
each step
Jumps in place
Climbs onto a steady elevated surface (e.g.
bed, adult chair or bangko etc.)
13-18 months
Throws a ball but with little control of
direction
Throws a ball but with little control of speed
Runs without tripping or falling
Maintains balance (walking on a low, narrow
ledge, between 2 lines without assistance
Moves with music when he hears it
Can move body to imitate familiar animals
Can move body to imitate another person/TV
character
19-24 months
Walks up the stairs with alternating feet,
without help
Walks down the stairs with alternating
feet without help
Kicks a ball with a control of direction
Throws a ball with control of direction
Throws a ball with control of speed
 MOTOR SKILLS DEVELOPMENT(Fine
Motor skills)

0-6 months
 Hands open most of the time
 Bring both hands together towards dangling object/toy
 Uses either hand interchangeably to grasp objects
 Uses all 5 fingers in a ranking motion to get food/toy
placed on a flat surface
 Grasps objects with the same hand most of the time (hand
preference emerging)
7-12 months
Pulls toys by string
Bangs 2 large blockstogether
Picks up objects with thumb and index fingers
Grasps and transfer objects from hand to hand
Grasps objects with the same hand all the time
(definite hand preference established)
13-18 months
 Puts small objects in/out of container
 Unscrew lids
 Unwraps candy/food
 Holds thick pencil or crayon with palmar grip (e. g. all 5
fingers wrapped around pencil)

19- 24 months
 Colors with strokes going out of the lines
 PERSONAL CARE AND HYGIENE
(Activities of Daily Living)
Standard 1_ The child participates in basic personal care
routines.

0-6 months
Sucks and swallows milk form breast/bottle
Begins to take complementary or semi-solid
foods by the en of 6 months
Keeps reasonably still while being dressed,
undressed bathed and while diaper is being
change
7-12 months

Holds feeding bottle by himself

Helps hold cup for drinking
Chews solid foods well
Feeds self with finger foods
Scoops with a spoon with spillage
13-18 months
Feeds self with assistance
Feeds self using fingers to eat rice/viands
with spillage
Feeds self using spoon with spillage
No longer drinks from feeding bottle
Drinks from cup unassisted
Participates when being dressed by lifting
arms or raising legs
Pulls down gartered short pants/underpants
or panties
13-18 months
Removes shoes/sandals
Informs caregiver of the need to move his
bowels so he/she can be brought to comfort
room
Takes a bath with assistance
Brushes teeth after meals with assistance
from adult
Washes and dries hands under adult
supervision
Washes and dries face with the assistance of
an adult
19-24 months
 Gets drink for self unassisted
 Removes loose sando
 Removes socks
 Informs caregiver of the need to urinate so he/she can be
brought the comfort room
 Goes to the designated place to urinate but sometimes wets
his/her pants
 Goes to the designated place to move his/her bowels but
sometimes still sols his/herpants
 Goes to the designated place to move his/her bowels but
needs help with wiping and washing
 Brushes teeth after meals with adultsupervision
 Washes and dries face under adult supervision