Infancy and

Toddlerhood
Physical development of
infants and toddlers

We
have
just
traced
the
developmental process before birth.
We shall continue to trace the
developmental process by following
the infant or the baby who is just
burn up to when he reaches age 2.
The period that comes after prenatal
or antenatal stage is infancy which in
turn, is followed by toddlerhood.
Infancy and toddlerhood span the
First two years of life.

Height and Weight

Its normal for newborn babies to drop 5 to I0 percent 0f

their body weight within a couple of weeks of birth. That is

flue to the baby's adjustment to neonatal feeding; once they
adjust t0 sucking, swallowing and digesting, they grow
rapidly.
Breastfed babies are typically heavier than bottle-fed
babies through the first six months. After six months,
breastfed babies usually weigh less than bottle-fed babies.
In general, an infants length increases by about 30 percent
in the first five months.
A baby's weight usually triples during the first year but
slows glow 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 two years of life are the

spreading connections of dendrites to each
other. Remember neurons. Dendrites, axon,
synapses? You discussed them in your General
Psychology class. (You may wish to review on
them.)

Myelination or
myelinization
Is 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 which information
travels through the nervous system.

At birth the newborn brain is about 25 percent

of its adult Weight. By the second birthday,

the brain is about 75% of its adult weight.
Shortly after birth, a babys brain produces
trillions more connections between neurons
than it can possibly use. The brain eliminates
connections that are seldom or never use.
The infants brain is literally waiting for
experience 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 meter 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 there are
many different reflexes. Some of the most common
reflexes that babies have are:

Sucking Reflex
The sucking reflex is initiated when something teaches the
roof of an infant's mouth. Infants have a strong Sucking
reflexes which helps to ensure they can latch onto a bottle
or breast. The sucking reflex is very strong in some infants
and may need to suck on a pacifier for comfort.

Rooting Reflex
The rooting 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 sole of a babys Foot is stroked. The
infant will respond Spreading out their toes.

Startle/mono 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 into their bodies.

Galant Reflex
The galant reflex is shown when an infants 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. Whichever side
the childs head is facing, the limbs on that side
will straighten, while the opposite limbs will curl.

Gross Motor Skills

Study the Figure below. See how you
developed in your gross motor skills.

Fine Motor Skills:

Fine motor skills, are skills that involve a
refined use of the small muscles controlling
the
hand,
fingers,
and
thumb.
The
development of these skills allows one to be
able to complete tasks such as writing,
drawing and buttoning

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. Ideally,
as he/ she advance physically his/her sensory
and perceptual abilities also develop.

What are some research

findings regarding newborns'
visual perceptions? Can
newborns see?
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 infants
vision approximates that of an adult. (Banks &
Salapatek, 1983 cited by Santrock, 2002)

Can newborns
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 mothers heartbeats. the grumbling of his/her
stomach, the mothers voice and music. How soothing it
must have been for you to listen to your mothers lullaby.

Can newborns
differentiate
odors?
In an experiment conducted by MacFarIane (1975) young infants
who were breastfed showed a clear preference for smelling their
mothers breast pad when they were 6 days old. This preference
did not show when the babies were only two days old. This shows
that it requires several days of experience to recognize their
mothers breast pad odor.

Can newborns feel pain?

Do they respond too
much?
Babies respond to touch.. In the earlier part of this module on
motor development, you learned that a newborn automatically
sucks an object placed in his/her mouth, or touch of the cheek
makes the newborn turn 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 it study conducted with babies only two
hours old, babies made different facial
expressions when they tasted sweet, sour,
and bitter solutions.

Do infants relate information

through several senses? In
short, are infants capable of
intermodal perception?
Intermodal perception is the ability to relate,

connect and integrate information about two

or more sensory modalities such as vision and
hearing.
In a study conducted by Spelke and Owsley. It
was found out that as early as at 3 months
old, infant looked more at their mother when
they also heard her voice and longer at their
father when they also heard voice.