SECTION II

DEVELOPMENTALMILESTONES
OF
LEARNERS AT VARIOUS STAGES
 UNIT 2
DEVELOPMENT IN INFANCY AND
TODDLERHOOD

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT OF INFANTS AND

TODDLERS
“All children are born to grow, to
develop, to live, to love, and to
articulate their needs and feelings for
their self-protection.” - Alice miller
LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• trace the physical developmental milestones that
you went through as infants and toddlers;
• determine the factors that enhance/impede the
physical development of infants and toddlers; and
• draw implication of these principles and processes to
child care, education and parenting.
• It is the stage that comes next after pre-
natal period followed by toddlerhood.
• Infancy is characterized by the most rapid
velocity of growth of any of the postnatal
stages.
• Infancy and toddlerhood are the first two
years of life.
TWO GENERAL PATTERNS OF PHYSICAL GROWTH

1. cephalocaudal development refers to growth and

development that occurs from the head down - from the
head to feet.
• Development of the head and brain tends to be more
advanced (it occurs first) than the rest of the body.
2. Proximodistal development occurs from the center or core of the
body in an outward direction - growth start at the center of the body
and work its way outward, toward the extremities. Thus, the spine
develops first in the uterus, followed by the extremities and finally
the fingers and toes
Overall physical growth (height, weight and body proportion)

• for the first few days of life, it is normal for a newborn to lose about 5
percent of their body weight as they adjust to feeding and elimination of
waste.
• This weight loss is temporary. Once they adjust to sucking,
swallowing and digesting, they grow rapidly.
• The average newborn weighs approximately 7.5 pounds, and the
average length is 19.5 inches, increasing to 29.5 inches by 12 months
and 34.4 inches by 2 years old.
• By the time an infant is 4 months old, it usually doubles in weight, and
by one year has tripled its birth weight. By age 2, the weight has
quadrupled.
• Their head circumference also grows between .25 inches a month during
the first year of life.
BRAIN DEVELOPMENT
• At birth, the brain is about 25 percent of its adult weight.
• By age 2, it is at 75 percent of its adult weight, at 95 percent by age 6,
and at 100 percent by age 7 years.
• Among the most dramatic changes in the brain in the first two years of
life are the proliferation of dendrites or the spreading connections of
Dendrites to each other (temporary dramatic growth).
• After this dramatic increase, the neural pathways that are not used will be
eliminated through a process called pruning which causes the brain to
function more efficiently, allowing for mastery of more complex skills
(Hutchinson, 2011).
•
BRAIN DEVELOPMENT
• Communication within the CNS, which consists of the brain
and spinal cord, begins with nerve cells called neurons.
• Neurons connect to other neurons via networks of nerve
fibers called axons and dendrites. Each neuron has a single
axon and numerous dendrites which are spread out like
branches of a tree.
• The axon of each neuron reaches toward the dendrites of other
neurons at intersections called synapses, which are the
communication links within the brain.
• The electrical impulses in the axons cause the release of
chemicals called neurotransmitters which carry information
from the axon of the sending neuron to the dendrites of the
receiving neuron.
BRAIN DEVELOPMENT
• Another major change occurring in the CNS system is the
development of myelin a coating of fatty tissues around the
axon of the neuron.
• Myelin helps insulate the nerve cell and speed the rate of
transmission of impulses from one cell to another.
• The process of myelination or myelinization increase the
speed at which information travels through the nervous
system. This enhances the building of neural pathways and
improves coordination and control of movement and
thought processes.
• The development of myelin is most dramatic during the
first several years of life and continues into adolescence.
BRAIN DEVELOPMENT

• Early-life interactions and experiences of infants and

toddlers help them make sense of the world and form
connections between different parts of the brain.
• These supportive experiences and connections help
improve coordination and strengthen muscles.
• Research found that as infants repeat and practice
different movements, such as turning their heads or
reaching for an object, they are building and maintaining
connections between brain cells.
• The brain is busy making sense of the experience.
BRAIN DEVELOPMENT

• Supportive and caring environment is very vital in

brain development at this stage.
• Infants and toddlers who do not have nurturing and
responsive adults to keep them safe, their brains
will instinctually focus on survival and they
will have less opportunity to create and strengthen
connections for further skill development,
including physical growth.
Motor development

• Every basic motor skill (any movement

ability) develops over the first two years of
life.
• The sequence of motor skills first begins with
reflexes, to gross motor skills and fine motor
skills.
Reflexes

• reflexes are involuntary movements in response to stimulation, and

some are necessary for survival. Within the first several weeks of life,
these reflexes are replaced with voluntary movements or motor skills.
Most of these reflexes gradually and naturally fade way.

1. Breathing reflex or the need to maintain an oxygen supply in the

body - hiccups, sneezing, and thrashing reflexes.

2. Sucking reflex or automatically sucking on objects that touch their

lips. The Sucking reflex allows babies to drink milk and nourish
themselves in the first days of life.
Reflexes

3. Rooting reflex. This is observed when an infant’s cheek is touched.

The infant responds by turning his head in the direction of the touch
and opening their mouth for feeding. Rooting help them finds the
source of food, such as their mother’s breast. This helps the baby
communicate to caregivers that they are hungry and ready to eat.
Rooting disappears around 3 weeks after birth.

4. Palmar grasp/gripping reflex. The infant will tightly grasp any

object placed in its palm. The strength of this grip is strong, and
most babies can support their entire weight in their grip.
Reflexes

5. Head turning. This allows a baby to turn his or her head if

something (a blanket, pillow, or stuffed animal) is blocking his or
her airflow.

6. Babinski reflex/curling. The toes of the baby fan upward or spread

out when the outer sole is stroked, and when the inner sole of the
baby’s foot is stroked, the baby respond by curling his or her toes.

7. Startle/moro reflex. Infants will respond to sudden or loud sound or

movements by throwing their arms and legs out, and throwing their
heads back. Most baby will usually cry when startled.
Reflexes

8. Galant reflex. Evident when an infant’s middle or lower

back is stroked next to the spinal cord. The baby will respond by
curving his body toward the side which is being stroked.

9. Tonic neck. This is demonstrated when babies lie awake on their

backs with their heads facing to one side, they will extend the arm on
the side of their body that they're facing and flex the other arm at an
angle, in a position that resembles a fencing pose. This is observed
during the first 4 months (oswalt, A., n.d)
GROSS MOTOR SKILLS

•Gross motor skills are those which require whole body

movement and which involve the large muscles of the body
to perform everyday functions, such as standing and
walking, running and jumping, etc.

• Also include eye-hand coordination skills such as ball

skills (throwing, catching, kicking) as well as riding a bike
or a scooter and swimming, and among others
• Fine motor skills are the ability to coordinate movement of those
small muscles in the wrist, hand, fingers, and toes.
• It involves the use of the smaller muscle of hand like drawing,
writing, tying shoelaces, lego construction, cutting with scissors,
buttoning, and opening lunch boxes, etc.
• The ability to exhibit fine motor skills involves activities that
involve precise eye-hand coordination.
• The development of reaching and grasping becomes more refined
during the first years of life.
• Fine motor skill efficiency significantly influences the quality of
the task outcome as well as the speed of task performance.
• Efficient fine motor skills require a number of independent skills
to work together to appropriately manipulate the object or to
perform a task.
Physical developmental milestones of infants and toddlers

2 months
• holds head up with support
• begins to push up when lying on tummy
• makes smoother movements with arms
and legs
4 months
• holds head steady without support
• pushes down on legs when feet are on a
hard surface
• rolls over from tummy to back
• holds and shakes toys, swings at dangling
toys
• brings hands to mouth
• pushes up to elbows when lying on tummy
Physical developmental milestones of infants and toddlers
Physical developmental milestones of infants and toddlers

6 Months
• Rolls over both from stomach to back and from back to stomach
• Begins to sit with support
• Supports weight on legs when standing and might bounce
• Rocks back and forth, sometimes
crawls backward before moving
forward
9 Months
• Crawls
• Sits without support
• Moves into sitting position with support
• Stands, holding on to adult or furniture for support
• Pulls to stand
Physical developmental milestones of infants and toddlers

1 year
• moves into sitting position without support
• pulls up to stand and walks alone while
onto furniture
• takes few steps without support of adult or
furniture
• stands alone
18 months
• walks alone
• runs
• pulls toys while walking
• helps undress self
• drinks from a cup
• eats with a spoon
Physical developmental milestones of infants and toddlers

2 years
• begins to run
• climbs onto and down from
furniture without support
• walks up and down steps while
holding on for support
• throws ball overhand
• draws or copies straight
lines and circles
• stands on tiptoes
• kicks a ball
Sensory development

• Understanding sensory development involve two important terms –

Sensation and perception.
• Sensation is the interaction of information with the sensory
receptors.
• perception is the process of interpreting what is sensed.
• As infant and toddlers grow, their senses play a vital role in
stimulating the mind and in helping them observe their
surroundings. Gradually, they become more adept at perceiving
with their senses, making them more aware of their environment
and presenting them more opportunities to interact with objects.
• Newborn infants’ sensory abilities are significant, but their senses
are not yet fully developed. Presented below are some of the
research findings on newborn infants’ sensory abilities:
Sensory development

• Some research findings on newborn infants’ sensory abilities:

VISION

• Vision is the most poorly developed sense at birth.

• only about 8 to 16 inches away from their faces;
• Have difficulty keeping a moving object within their gaze; can
detect contrast; and have difficulty distinguishing between color
differences.
• By 2 to 3 months, they seek more detail when visually exploring an
object and begin showing preferences
Sensory development

• In an experiment (Fantz cited by santrock, 2002), infants

preferred to look at patterns such as faces and concentric
circles rather than at color or brightness.

• Among the first few things that infants learn to recognize is

their mother’s face, as mother feeds and nurses them.

• By 6 months, the infant can perceive depth perception in

pictures (Yonas, & knill, 2001).
Sensory development

Hearing

• evident during the 5th month of pre-natal development.

• As early as one month after birth they can distinguish between very
similar sounds, and between familiar and unfamiliar voice.
• Babies who are just a few days old prefer human voices,
particularly their mother’s voice over a stranger’s voice.
• In a related experiment, 3- week-old babies were given pacifiers
that played a recording of the infant’s mother’s voice and of a
stranger’s voice. When the infants heard their mother’s voice, they
sucked more strongly at the pacifier.
Sensory development

Pain and touch

• immediately after birth, a newborn is sensitive to touch and
temperature, and is also sensitive to pain, responding with crying
and cardiovascular responses.
• Newborn males who are circumcised without anesthesia
experience pain, as demonstrated by increased blood pressure,
increased heart rate, decreased oxygen in the blood, and a surge of
stress hormones (United States national library of medicine, 2016).
• The sense of touch is acute in infants and is essential to a baby’s
growth of physical abilities, language and cognitive skills, and
socio-emotional competency.
• Touch has long-term effects, suggesting the power of positive
gentle touch from birth.
Sensory development

Taste

• newborns can distinguish between sour, bitter, sweet, and

salty flavors and show a preference for sweet flavors.

• In a study conducted with two-hour old babies, found that

babies shown different facial expressions when they tasted
sweet, sour, and bitter solutions (rosentein & oster, 1998,
cited by santrock, 2002).
Sensory development

Smell

• the newborn can distinguish between their mother’s scent

and that of others, and prefer the smell of their mothers. A
newborn placed on the mother’s chest will inch up to the
mother’s breast, as it is a potent source of the maternal odor.

• Even on the first day of life, infants orient to their mother’s

odor and are soothed, when crying, by their mother’s odor
(Sullivan et al., 2011).
END OF THE UNIT
 Cognitive Development of Infants and
Toddlers

“Infants and toddlers are born ready to learn.

They learn through listening to language,
trying out sounds, tasting foods and exploring
their environments in countless ways
everyday.” - Kahlil Gibran
LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of this unit, you should be able to:
• trace the cognitive development of infants and
toddlers;
• determine the factors that enhance/impede the
cognitive development of infants and toddlers;
• explain the stages of language development;
• interview mothers on the cognitive development of
their infants/toddlers; and
• draw implications of cognitive development
concepts to child care, education and parenting
Cognitive development

• how infants/toddlers think, explore and figure things out.

• It is the development of knowledge, skills, problem solving and
dispositions, which help them to think about and understand the
world around them. Infants and toddlers are born ready to learn.
• They learn through cuddling with a caregiver, listening to
language, trying out sounds, stretching on the floor, reaching for
objects, tasting foods, and exploring their environments in
countless ways everyday.
• Their brains go through amazing changes during the first three
years of life.
Sensorimotor Stage

• The sensorimotor stage is the first of the four stages of cognitive

development. According to Piaget, this is the stage where infants
construct anunderstanding of the world by coordinating sensory
experiences (such as seeing, sucking, grasping and hearing) with
physical, motoric actions.

• The abilities that an infant is born with sight, hearing, smell, taste,
and touch, combined with physical capabilities that continue to
develop including touching, grasping, and tasting allow them to
interact and build awareness of themselves and what is around
them (Kendra, 2019).
Substages

1. Simple Reflexes (0-1 month)

• the child understands the environment purely through

inborn reflexes such as sucking and looking. This is
the coordination of sensation through reflexive
behaviors.
• Three primary reflexes are described by Piaget:
sucking of objects in the mouth, following moving or
interesting objects with the eyes, and closing of the
hand when an object makes contact with the palm
(palmar grasp).
Substages

2. Primary Circular Reactions (1-4 months).

• This substage involves coordinating sensation and new
schemas (habits – reflex, and primary circular
reactions).

• The primary reaction is focused on the infant’s body

while the circular reaction is a repetition of an action
that initially occurred by chance. For example, a child
may suck his or her thumb by accident and then later
intentionally repeat the action. These actions are
repeated because the infant finds them pleasurable.
Substages

3. Secondary Circular Reactions (4-8 months).

• This is the development of habits.

• The infant becomes more focused on the world and
begins to intentionally repeat an action in order to
trigger a response in the environment. Meaning,
infants become more object-oriented, moving
beyond self-preoccupation repeat actions that bring
pleasurable results.
• For example, a child will purposefully pick up a toy in
order to put it in his/her mouth.
Substages

3. Secondary Circular Reactions (4-8 months).

• The 3 new abilities occur at this substage are

intentional grasping for a desired object, secondary
circular reactions, and differentiations between ends
and means.
• At this stage, the infants will intentionally grasp the
air in the direction of the desired object.
• The secondary circular reaction, or the repetition of
an action involving an external object begin; for
example, moving a switch to turn on a light
repeatedly.
Substages
3. Secondary Circular Reactions (4-8 months).

• This means that the secondary action is

focused on an object outside the body of
an infant.
• The differentiation between means and
ends also occurs which signifies the dawn
of logic.
Substages
4. Coordination of Reactions (8-12 months).

• characterized by coordination of vision and

touch-hand-eye coordination.
• This stage is associated primarily with the
development of logic and the coordination
between means and ends.
• the infant starts to show clearly intentional
actions.
Substages
4. Coordination of Reactions (8-12 months).
• The child may also combine schemas in order to
achieve a desired effect.
• Children begin exploring the environment
around them and will often imitate the observed
behavior of others.
• The understanding of objects also begins during this
time and children begin to recognize certain objects
as having specific qualities. For example, a
child might realize that a rattle will make a sound
when shaken.
Substages
5. Tertiary Circular Reactions (12-18 months).

• Infants begin a period of trial-and-error xperimentation

as “young scientist,” conducting pseudo-experiments
to discover new ways of meeting their goals.

• Infants become curious by the many properties of

objects and by the many things they can make happen
to objects. For example, a child may try out different
sounds or actions as a way of getting attention from a
caregiver.
Substages
6. Early Representational Thought (18-24 months).

• The child begins to develop symbols to represent

events or objects in the world.
• the child begins to understand the world through
mental operations rather than purely through
actions.
• This stage is associated with the beginning of
insight or true creativity.
• Piaget’s analysis on the 6 sensory stages shows that
cognitive development begins from reflexive behavior
to more refined and more coordinated activities.

• Cognitive development of infants evolves in

orientation from becoming focused on themselves to
becoming object or world-oriented, from one that is
action-based to one that is mentally-based, from one
that does not involve much coordination of schemes
to one involving intentionality, novelty and curiosity
and from a thinking that is purely sensorimotor to a
symbolic one.
Stages of Language Development
• Do infants learn and remember? Yes!
• However, all of us experience infantile amnesia, the
inability to recall events that happened when we were
very young (Spear, 1979).
• Even in the first 2 months, the baby can recognize
familiar faces and voices especially those he sees
every day (Hudson (n.d.).
• Newborns can recognize their mother’s voice at birth,
and breastfed babies can recognize their mother’s
smell after one week.
Learning and Remembering
• This kind of recognition is the first indication of
memory.
• Experiments have shown that at 3 months, babies can
remember new pictures or toys shown to them one to
six days previously.
• By the time he's 9 months old, the baby will be able
to remember more specific information, such as
where his toys are in the house.
• Long-lasting conscious memory of specific events
develops between 14 and 18 months old.
Language Development
• According to Psycholinguist, specialist in the study of
language, language is an outgrowth of children’s ability to
use symbols.
• Infants have remarkably acute language learning abilities
even from an early age.
• Noam Chomsky (1972) said that the learning of a language
is rooted in an inborn capacity to comprehend and structure
language, which he defined as the language acquisition
device (LAD).
• Within the first years of life, the production of language
seems to progress through the following stages (Sternberg,
Stages of Language Development
1. Cooing (“baby talk”) begins at 2 months which comprises
largely of vowel sounds.
2. Babbling (begins at around 5 months), or repeating sounds
for attention and expression. It comprises consonant as
well as vowel sounds.
3. One-word utterances or holophrases; these utterances are
limited in both the vowels and the consonants they utilize.
By the end of the first year, infants begin to use
holophrastic speech to convey intention, desires and
demands or to convey complete ideas. Example, “Mama”
(meaning “Mama come here!”) and “Milk!” (meaning
Stages of Language Development
4. Two-word utterances and telegraphic speech (gradually
between 1.5 and 2.5 years old). Children starts to put
words together to produce two-word utterances. These
two-word or three-word utterances with rudimentary
syntax but with articles and prepositions missing are
called telegraphic speech.

5. Basic adult sentence structure (present at around 4 years of

age) with continuing vocabulary acquisition.
• Language skills begin to emerge during the first 2 years.
• Vocabulary expands rapidly, more than tripling from about
300 words at around 2 years of age to about 1,000 words at
around 3 years of age.
• At around 4 years, children acquire the foundations of adult
syntax and language structure (Sternberg, 2003).
Language acquisition Device (LAD)
• The Language Acquisition Device (LAD) is a hypothetical tool
hardwired in the human brain that lets children learn and understand
language quickly as they mature.
• The LAD was developed by Noam Chomsky who believed that
every child has an innate language acquisition device that holds for
the fundamental rules for language.
• In other words, children are born with an understanding of the rules
of language; they simply need to acquire the vocabulary.
• Chomsky used LAD to explain just how amazingly children are able
to acquire language abilities as well as accounting for the innate
understanding of grammar and syntax all children possess in
whatever the language community children belonged
Cognitive Developmental Milestones of Infants and Toddlers

From Birth to 3 Months

• The first 3 months of a child’s life are a time of wonder. Major
developmental milestones at this age are centered on exploring the
basic senses and learning more about the body and the
environment. During this period, most infants begin to:
• Demonstrate anticipatory behaviors, like rooting and sucking at
the site of a nipple or bottle.
• Detect sound differences in pitch and volume.
• Discern objects more clearly within a distance of 13 inches.
• Focus on moving objects, including the faces of caregivers.
• See all colors of the human visual spectrum.
• Tell between tastes, from sweet, salty, bitter, and sour.
• Use facial expressions to respond to their environment.
Cognitive Developmental Milestones of Infants and Toddlers

From 3 to 6 Months
• In early infancy, perceptual abilities are still developing.
From the age of 3-6 months, infants begin to develop a
stronger sense of perception. At this age, most babies begin
to:
• Imitate facial expressions
• React to familiar sounds
• Recognize familiar faces
• Respond to the facial expressions of other people
Cognitive Developmental Milestones of Infants and Toddlers
From 6 to 9 Months

• From the age of 6-9 months, researchers have found that

most infants begin to:
• Gaze longer at “impossible” things such as an object
suspended in the midair.
• Tell the differences between pictures depicting different
numbers of objects
• Understand the differences between animate and
inanimate objects
• Utilize the relative size of an object to determine how
far away it is
Cognitive Developmental Milestones of Infants and Toddlers
From 9 to 12 Months
• The physical milestones allow babies to gain a greater
mental understanding of the world around them. As they
approach one year of age, most infants are able to:
• Enjoy at looking at picture books
• Imitate gestures and some basic actions
• Manipulate objects by turning them over, trying to put
on object into another, etc.
• Respond with gestures and sounds
• Understand the concept of object permanence, the idea
that an object continues to exist even though it cannot
be seen.
Cognitive Developmental Milestones of Infants and Toddlers
From 1 to 2 Years

• After reaching a year of age, cognitive development seems

to grow by leaps and bounds. Most one-year-olds begin to:
• Identify objects that are similar
• Imitate the actions and language of adults
• Learn through exploration
• Point out familiar objects and people in picture books
• Tell the difference between “Me” and “You”
• Understand and respond to words
Cognitive Developmental Milestones of Infants and Toddlers
From 2 to 3 Years
• At 2 years of age, children are becoming increasingly
independent. Learning during this stage is the result of
their own experiences. Most two-year-olds are able to:
• Identify their own reflection in the mirror by name
• Imitate more complex adult actions (playing house,
pretending to do laundry, etc.)
• Match objects with their uses
• Name objects in a picture book
• Respond to simple directions from parents and
caregivers
• Sort objects by category (i.e., animals, flowers, trees,
etc.)
• Stack rings on a peg from largest to smallest
END OF THE LESSON
Socio-Emotional Development of Infants and Toddlers

“Love is the supreme form of communication. In the

hierarchy of needs, love as the supreme developing
agent of the humanity of the person. As such, the
teaching of love should be the central core of all
childhood curriculum with all other subjects growing
naturally out of such teaching.” - Ashley Montagu
Socio-Emotional Development of Infants and Toddlers
LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this unit, you should be able to:

• explain the socio-emotional development of infants and toddlers;
• determine the factors that enhance/impede the socio-emotional
development of infants and toddlers;
• analyze Nolte’s poem and relate it to the socio-emotional
development of infants and toddlers;
• identify the socio-emotional milestones in infants and toddlers;
• discuss the role of adults in supporting the socio-emotional skills of
infants and toddlers; and
• draw implications of socio-emotional development concepts to child
Socio-Emotional Development of Infants and Toddlers
Socio-emotional development
• Deals with the development of a person’s ability to master
one’s emotions and the ability to relate to others.
• Emotional well-being during the early years has a
powerful impact on social relationships.
• Children who are emotionally healthy are better able to
establish and maintain positive relationships with adults as
well as with peers.
• Socio-emotional development is essential to a young
child’s sense of well-being.
• Their first relationships help shape who they are, who they
become, and their understanding of the world.
Group Activity
Children Learn What They Live

If children live with criticism, they learn to condemn…

If children live with hostility, they learn to fight…
If children live with ridicule, they learn to be shy…
If children live with shame, they learn to feel guilty…
If children live with fear, they learn to be apprehensive…
If children live with pity, they learn to feel sorry for
themselves…
But…
If children live with praise, they learn to be appreciative…
If children live with acceptance, they learn to love…
Group Activity
Children Learn What They Live

If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves…

If children live with honesty, they learn truthfulness…
If children live with tolerance, they learn to be patient…
If children live with encouragement, they learn to be confident…
If children live with fairness, they learn justice…
If children live with security, they learn to have faith in themselves and
others…
If children live with friendliness, they learn the world is a nice place in
which to live…
With what is your child living?
Analysis

1. Based on Nolte’s poem, which plays a very important role

in the socio-emotional development of children?
2. Which line of the poem is meaningful to you? Why?
3. From what kind of home environment do well-adjusted
children most probably come? What about maladjusted
children?
4. Do you agree with Nolte’s poem that the kind of home
environment children lived play a significant role in their
socio_x0002_emotional development? Explain your
answer.
The Formative Years

• One of the most critical periods in child development and learning is

the first five years of life - foundation years
• These are the years in which a child experiences rapid cognitive,
social, emotional, and physical development.
• It is in these formative years that child learn more quickly than at
any other time in life.
• Children’s early experiences like the bonds they form with their
parents and their first learning experiences will deeply affect all
areas and stages of their development.
• The kind of relationship within the family is the foundation of the
quality of child’s development.
Attachment

• Attachment in early years of life is crucial for healthy

socio-emotional development.
• The infant needs to establish an enduring emotional bond
characterized by a tendency to seek and maintain closeness
to a specific figure, particularly during stressful situation.
• According to Bowlby (1950), the father of Attachment
Theory, a child's first relationship is a love relationship that
will have profound long-lasting effects on a child's
subsequent development.
• Closeness to the attachment figure (mother or primary
caregiver) provides protection and a psychological sense of
security.
Attachment
• Attachment is the affectional bond or tie that an infant form with the
mother.
• Bolby believed that an infant must form this bond with a primary
caregiver in order to have normal social and emotional
development. This attachment bond is very powerful and continues
throughout life.
• Bolby used the concept of a secure base to define a
healthy attachment between parent and child.
• A secure base is a parental presence that gives children a sense of
safety as they explore their surroundings.
• Two things are needed for a healthy attachment: The caregiver must
be responsive to the child’s physical, social, and emotional needs;
and the caregiver and child must engage in mutually enjoyable
interactions
Attachment
• According to Bowlby, the beginning of attachment occur within the
first 6 months of an infant’s life with varied built-in signals that baby
uses to keep her caregiver engaged like: the baby cries, gazes to her
mother’s eyes, smiles, etc.
• In the next few months, the baby develops in her certain degree of
attachment to her parents. He/she smiles more freely at them than at
any strangers whom he/she seldom sees.
• The key to a good start of social development of the baby is a lot of
responsive interaction with the baby.
• The timing of the caregiver’s prompt and warmth response
to the baby is important.
Attachment
• What is absolutely important to babies’ emotional well-being is the
consistent involvement of caregivers.
• Consistency of interaction like cuddling, talking and playing with
the infant can develop secure attachment, where the infants feel
confident that their needs will be met in a timely and consistent way
• Children who have good attachment relationships as infants are
often best equipped with social skills and can make better
adjustments in a number of areas in future life.
• Parents, caregivers, teacher, playmates, and significant
others play many different roles in the lives of children. Of all these
roles, their role as an attachment figure is one of the most important
in predicting the child’s later social and emotional outcome
Temperament

• the general pattern of how babies will react to and interact

with their environment which is innate and present from
birth.
• each infant differs in how they react or respond
emotionally to their environment, objects, events, and
people in the nine dimensions of temperament according to
Thomas & Chess (1996):

1. Activity level. Some babies are inactive, while other babies

are active, energetic, and, as toddlers, they are always on the
move – running, tumbling, climbing, etc. At this stage, they
must be closely watched.
Temperament

2. Rhythmicity or Regularity. There are babies who get

hungry and sleepy on a regular and predictable pattern.
Other babies sleep at varying times, urinate or have vowel
movements at unpredictable times, and get hungry at
different times. They are hard to put on a “schedule” due to
their unpredictable pattern of sleeping, eating, and
eliminating.
Temperament

3. Approach to new situations. Some babies react or respond

negatively to newly encountered situations. Like for
instance, they are fearful or uneasy being placed in a
different crib, taken to visit new setting, and with new
people. Other babies’ approach new activities, new
persons, new settings, or new play with interest, vigor, and
enjoyment.
Temperament

4. Adaptability of each child. Some infants have difficulty

adjusting to strange or unfamiliar circumstances with
distress, but can cope up easily. Other infants adjust to new
situations with difficulty with longer time.

5. Responsiveness to stimulation. Some babies need a large

amount of stimulation to elicit a response. Others, can be
easily persuaded. Example, some babies become upset very
easily when stressed, while others can patiently wait when
they need a feeding or some attentions.
Temperament

6. Intensity of reaction to stimuli. Some babies are restless, or

distress when stressed; others are upset or fret a little;
others cry at the top of their voice, or tantrums with
despair. They giggle with delight and respond with high
energy
when reacting to a happy or challenging situation.

7. Mood quality. Some children are normally happy and

pleasant (very smiley and cheerful), while others are
unhappy and unpleasant.
Temperament

8. Distractibility. Some children can concentrate on a toy or

what they are doing regardless of the noise in a room or
surrounding. Others are easily distracted.

9. Persistence and attention span. Some children are persistent

and have a long attention span. They can maintain interest
and finish the activity for a fairly long time. Others move
from one activity to another, that is why, they are unable to
finish a task.
Based on these temperament dimensions, Thomas and Chess
clustered them into three basic types:

1. The easy child

• Easy or flexible children are generally happy, active
children from birth and adjust easily to new situations and
environments, friendly and easygoing, have calm
disposition, and comply with routines such as sleep and
mealtimes.
2. Slow-to-warm up child
• cautious children are generally mellow, less active
babies from birth, have a shy disposition to new
situation and new people, and can have some
difficulty adjusting to new situations.

• They become more comfortable with repeated

exposure to a new environment or person.
3. Difficult child

• Difficult children do not follow routines and have

irregular feeding and sleeping schedules, and have
difficulty adjusting to new situations, new people, get
easily upset, and often express negative moods very
intensely.

• These children are the most difficult for caregivers to

satisfy and to maintain the energy and joy to care for on a
daily basis.
The Development of Emotion
• Early research shows that emotions are learned through
human interaction, however newer research leads experts
to believe that some emotions are naturally occurring and
instinctual from birth.
• milestones of the infant’s and toddler’s socio- emotional
development by Angela Oswalt (n.d.):
Early Infancy (Birth to 6 months)
• Babies can feel interest, distress, disgust, and happiness
from birth, and can communicate these through facial
expressions and body posture.
• Around age 2 to 3 months, infants begin showing a
spontaneous "social smile", usually accompanied by other
pleasure-indicative actions and sounds like cooing and
mouthing.
• They begin to laugh spontaneously at around 4 months.
• Laughter is usually elicited by actions such as being kissed
on the abdomen or playing peek-a-boo with a caregiver or
older siblings.
• The laughter promotes social development because of the
reciprocal interactions.
• Around age 4 months, infants can begin distinguishing the
different emotional expressions of others.
• Between ages 5 and 6 months, babies begin to exhibit
stranger anxiety. They do not like other people hold or play
with them, and they will show this discomfort visibly.
• during this time babies are learning not only how to show
their own feelings, but also how to notice others' feelings.
• Infants also expresses other feelings such as anger, sadness,
surprise, and fear.
• around age 6 months, babies begin to mimic the emotions
and expressions they see in others.
Late Infancy (7-12 months)

• Age 7 to 10 months, babies start to experience separation

anxiety when separated from their primary caregivers. The
intensity of this anxiety varies between individuals and is
based on baby's temperament and environment.
• Some babies will respond very strongly and heatedly to
caregiver absence by crying and fussing, others will
respond through whimpers and slight agitation.
• around 9 months, they also learned to express a wide variety
of emotions – from intense happiness to intense sadness,
frustration, and anger quickly.
Late Infancy (7-12 months)

• Around 12 months, babies become aware of their actual

emotional state, especially distress, and that of other
people’s expression.

• They begin to make a connection that expression matches

an inside feeling.

• some babies begin to exhibit jealousy at the end of this

first year.
Toddlerhood years (1-2 years old)

• Between the ages of 13 and 18 months, separation anxiety

may subside; they can be fretful and easily frustrated, and
may throw temper tantrums to demonstrate this
emotionality.

• Around age 21 months, toddlers become less fretful and

more relaxed, show signs of self-consciousness when doing
certain tasks or trying new situations, and look for caretaker
approval.
Toddlerhood years (1-2 years old)

• By age 2, toddlers can show a wide range of emotions and

are becoming better at regulating and coping with their
emotions. Also, genuine empathy appears.
• Empathy is the capacity of toddlers of “knowing what
another person is feeling” and “responding
compassionately to another’s distress.”
• They become capable of recognizing when they've hurt
someone, and capable of apologizing.
• They understand that other people are entities different
from themselves.
Toddlerhood years (1-2 years old)
• toddlers begin to develop skills to regulate their emotions
with the emergence of language providing an important tool to
assist in this process.
• Being able to articulate an emotional state in itself, enables children
to communicate their feelings to a person capable of helping them
manage their emotional state.
• Speech also enables children to self-regulate, using soothing
language to talk themselves through difficult situations.
• Children’s ability to regulate their emotions appropriately can
contribute to perceptions of their overall social skills as well as to
the extent to which they are liked by peers.
Understanding Emotion

• Throughout infancy, children rely heavily on their caregivers

to help them regulate their emotional state. Crying is their
means of communicating their needs or discomforts.

• Infants are capable of engaging in self-regulation strategies

as young as 4 moths old.

• Through early relationships and with nurturing, responsive

interactions, infants and toddlers learn ways of being in the
relationship, how to get their needs and wants met, and how
to identify and regulate emotions.
Understanding Emotion

• Empathy, a complex emotional response to a situation, also

appears in toddlerhood, usually by age two.
• Empathy is the ability of the child to feel, share, and respond
to others’ emotional experiences.
• The development of empathy requires that children read
others’ emotional cues, understand that other people are
entities distinct from themselves, and take the perspective of
another person – that is their ability to put themselves in the
position of others.
ACTIVITY (3 members in a group)

• Interview atleast 5 parents in your neigborhood/community having

children/child who are in the nursery/pre-elemementary on the
cognitive and socio-emotional development of their child.
• Analyze and discuss the information you gathered
• Attach the transcipt of the interview and some photos as
documentation.
• Follow this format in writing/printing your final output:

I. Objectives of the interview

2. Analysis and Discussion of the result
3. Conclusion