INFANCY AND TODDLERHOOD

Infants enter into the world of discovery having to rely not only on their parents but also natural
instincts. They are instinctively learning how to do certain things on their own such as sucking.
Did you ever wonder how a newborn baby knows how to suck at the mothers breast or a bottle
or even a finger? It is a part of a babys reflexes especially when they are hungry. This instinct
helps a baby to also find the source when a mother touches the babys cheek; the child will turn
its head toward the touch. This is usually how a baby is taught to breast feed; by rooting (Berk,
2013, pg 130).
Your newborns head will be wobbly at first. But soon your baby will be able to lift his or her
head and turn it from one side to the other while lying on his or her stomach. (Mayo Clinic
Staff, 2015, para 3). A good exercise for your growing infant is the tummy time. When a
baby is able to hold their head up, they can be placed on their tummy for a short period of time to
help a baby with their arms and legs strength. This in turn will help the baby when they are
ready to crawl especially when there are toys for them to try to grab onto.
Your baby will learn your voice. This will be the voice that sooths him or her when they are
distressed and put them to sleep when they are tired. It is said that Simple conversation lays the
groundwork for language development, even before your baby can understand a word. Ask baby
questions and respond to your babys coos and gurgles. Describe what you see, hear and smell
around the house, outdoors, and when youre out and about. (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2015, pg. 2).
You are communicating with your child and they are paying attention to you.

It is said that Young infants listen longer to human speech than to structurally similar nonspeech sounds. And they can detect the sounds of any human language. Newborns make finegrained distinctions among many speech sounds. For example, when given a nipple that turns on
the ba sound, babies suck vigorously for a while and then habituate. When the sound switches
to ga, sucking picks up, indicating that infants detect this subtle difference. (Berk, 2013, pg
154). This is an introduction to baby babble.
Many infants have a way of learning and there are many theories of how a child reaches
cognitive development. One of the most popular theories is from a Swiss cognitive theorist by
the name of Jean Piaget. Piaget believes that children starting from infancy go through different
learning stages as they age; those stages are sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational,
and formal operational.
According to Piaget, specific psychological structures call schemesorganized ways of making
sense of experiencechange with age.(Berk, 2013, pg 226). An example of one of Piagets
sensorimotor stage is that it spans the first two years of life. Its name reflects Piagets belief
that infants and toddlers think with their eyes, ears, hands, and other sensorimotor equipment.
They cannot yet carry out many activities mentally. (Berk, 2013, pg 228). Have you ever
noticed how a child must reach out and touch what is around them? That is one of their ways of
learning about it (of course they have to also see if it taste good).
We must always watch for signs that our children may not be developing at a normal rate. It is
important to spot them if they are or are not happening to your child. Examples are for a one
month baby they need to react to bright lights and loud sounds. By three months the child should
be able to support their heads pretty well or cannot focus on moving objects. These are red flags
that should be brought to the attention of the childs pediatrician (BabyCenter Medical Advisory
Board, 2015).
I believe that infants need plenty of attention. Talk, play, read; show the baby the pictures from
a story book. Give them a toy that makes animal sounds, etc. Babies are very inquisitive.
Everything around them is something new to learn. Some parents cannot wait for their little
babies to move up to toddlers because they start walking and their baby babble starts to sound
like actual words. Toddlers are still reaching more milestones.
As previously stated toddlers are moving from crawling to walking. They are pulling themselves
up with the help of tables and chairs and also certain toys such as walkers or anything else they
can reach. Toddlers move as they hold on to the item or also a parents hand. They have figured
out how to move their legs one foot in front of the other and will move next to balancing on
those feet. With more practice the parents will soon be chasing the toddlers around the livingroom floor.

Toddlers are moving on to communicating more such as understanding when a parent is telling
them no. They may not listen but they know what is being said to them. (Center for Disease
Control and Prevention, 2014, sec. 3).
They are also starting to put some sounds together that make out words like dada and mama.
(Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014, sec. 3). Toddlers even try to mimic simple
sounds that they hear from you such as uh oh and huh.
Toddlers cognitive development has those thinking more and seeing things differently; such as
searching for items that were hidden. One game that parents like to play with their kids while
they are around eight months is to hide toys from the kids like behind their backs and see if their
child will look for it. Usually the child will think that the toy is gone completely but as toddlers
they are at the point where they are paying more attention to where the parent is placing that toy.
Toddlers can also find entertainment in placing items into something such as a container and take
them right back out. They may have seen this done by someone else, another child or an adult
and they are copying the move (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014, sec. 4). The
child realizes that this is something they can do on their own over and over; this is enjoyable for
them.
Children do not always reach a milestone at the same time that the average child at their age
would so sometimes it may take a few weeks or a month to reach the pending milestone. The
parent must still keep an eye for any red flags at any age. An example of a red flag for toddlers
is if the child cannot stand while being supported. The child should have the strength in their
legs to work on walking.
Parents can help the child to exercise their legs by holding their hands and walking them around
the house or whatever safe environment they are in. Place the child in a walker or bouncer
where they can jump up and down. Lay the child on the back and push their legs toward them
bending at the knees. The child will use their reflexes and push back. These are good ways to
help your help your child not have any problems.

References:
Berk, L. E., (2013). Child Development Ninth edi. Pearson Education, Inc. Upper Saddle River,
NJ.
Mayo Clinic, (2015). Healthy Lifestyle. Infant and Toddler Health. Retrieved from:
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/infant-and-toddler-health/in-depth/infantdevelopment/art-20048012
CDC. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2014). Learn the Signs. Act Early. Important
Milestones. Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/milestones1yr.html
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