Periods of Development Fact Sheet:

Infancy
Introduction:
Children grow rapidly from conception through early adulthood their brains bodies and
skill sets are on hyper drive to learn new tasks. This can be a confusing to know if your
child is reaching the developmental milestones typically expected of children their age.
Thus the fact sheet will guide you through the your childs physical, cognitive, and
language development!

Physical Development:
Infancy is an exciting time in physical development around six months most babies can
sit up while supported with items such as a pillow. By six months of age babies can roll
over from front to back and back to front (CDC, 2016).

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Language Development:
During infancy your child begins to understand their name and responds to it when you
call them. Your baby will even respond back to your interaction with babbling or making
sounds attempting to interact back with you. This demonstrates their understanding of
language.

Cognitive Development:
Your baby is curious about the world around them, and demonstrates this curiosity by
looking around at nearby objects and reaching for them. A second aspect of cognitive
development is that your baby may hold items such as a toy, blanket or bottle in a hand
that is convenient for them, they may switch hands to complete their task.

A Sign Of Atypical Development In This Stage Of Development:

All children are unique and have their own unique rhythm for learning and developing.
However if by six months of age your baby is not showing affection to parents and
caregivers or reacting to the world around him. There may be a cause for concern. In
which case it is best to act soon by consulting with your childs physician, to obtain
further screening and information.

Moral Reasoning Milestones

At this stage you babies moral reasoning is simplified into if it feels good than its right
and if it causes pain or displeasure it is wrong.

A Social Factor That Influences This Stage Of Development

A social factor which can have an impact on this stage of development is wheather or not
the mother has postpartum depression. Pedrtics & Child Health states this on the effects
of postpartum depression on the child, They were also more likely to respond negatively
to friendly approaches, more likely to engage in low-level physical play and less likely to
engage in individual creative play than control children. These aspects of child behaviour
were associated with postnatal depression, even when taking adverse situations such as
marital conflict, and demographic variables, such as maternal age, ethnicity,
socioeconomic status, marital status, childs age and number of siblings, into account
(p.8, 2004).

A Cultural Factor Which Influences Development

Many cultures have various differences in the ways they raise their children. For example
what foods mothers consume while pregnant and nursing often varies greatly on ones
culture. For example mothers and young children in India have been known to eat spicy
peppers, which is culturally accepted there but would be frowned upon here.

How Families Can Help Influence Learning In This Stage:

The best thing you can do for your baby, as a parent during this stage of development is
to love and support your baby. Interacting with them as they continue to learn about the
world around them. Provide new stimulating and safe toys for them to play with.
Encourage them as they attempt new physical developmental challenges.

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Reference:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (August 15, 2016). Important Milestone;
Your baby by six months. Retrieved
https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/milestones-6mo.html
Paediatr Child Health. (Oct. 2004). Maternal Depression and Child Development.
Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2724169/