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EDCALP LEARNING MATERIAL #3

UNIT 2 INFANCY AND TODDLERHOOD

Introduction
In these lessons, you will develop the awareness on the development
learners in various stages like prenatal period, physical development of
infants and toddlers, cognitive development of infants and toddlers and
socio-emotional development of toddlers and infants.
PRENATAL PERIOD

 Prenatal Development
- It is the process of growth and development within the womb, in which a
single- cell zygote becomes an embryo, a fetus, and then a baby.

PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT OF INFANTS AND TODDLERS

Cephalocaudal
- the postnatal growth from conception to 5 months when the head grows more than
the body.
- The greatest growth always occur at the top-the head.

Proximodistal
- the pre-natal growth from 5 months to birth when the fetus grows from the inside of
the body outwards.

Physical developments
Height and weight
- it's normal for newborn babies to drop 5 to 10 percent of their body weight within a
couple of weeks of birth.
- a baby's weight usually triples during the first year but slows down in the second
year of life.

Brain development
Myelination or myelination
- the process by which the axons are covered and insulated by layers of fat cells,
begins prenatally and continues after birth.
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Motor development
Reflexes
- the newborn has some basic reflexes which are, of course automatic, and serve as
survival mechanisms before they have opportunity to learn.

Common reflexes

Sucking reflex
*Rooting reflex
*Gripping reflex
*Curling reflex
*Startle/Moro reflex
*Gallant reflex
*Tonic neck reflex

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.

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.

Cognitive Development of Infants and Toddlers

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT- in infancy refers to development in the way a baby
thinks. This includes his/her language, communication and exploration skills.

FOUR Stages of cognitive Development (where it is discussed in Module 6 of this

book)
1. The Sensorimotor (Focus of Module 13)
2. The Preoperational
3. The Concrete Operational
4. The Formal Operational

SENSORIMOTOR STAGE – infants construct an understanding of the world by

coordinating sensory experiences (such as seeing and hearing) with physical motoric
actions.
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SUB-STAGES OF SENSORIMOTOR
1. Simple reflexes (Birth – 6 weeks)

 Coordination of sensation and action through reflexive behaviors.

 Three Primary Reflexes (Piaget):
a. Sucking of objects in the mouth,
b. Following/moving the eyes with interesting objects and
c. Closing of the hand when an object makes contact with the palm (palmar
grasp).

2. First habits and primary circular reactions (6 weeks – 4 months)

 Coordination of sensation and two types of schemes: habits (reflex) and
primary circular reactions.

3. Secondary circular reaction phase (4 – 8 months)

 Development of habits associated primarily with the development of vision
and apprehension.
 Object-oriented
 Three New Abilities:
a. Intentional grasping of desired objects,
b. Secondary reactions, and
c. Differentiation of ends and means.

4. Coordination of reactions stage secondary circular (8 – 12 months)

 Coordination of vision and touch-hand-eye coordination; of schemes and
intentionality.
 “First Proper Intelligence” (Piaget)
 Goal-oriented

5. Tertiary circular reactions, novelty and curiosity (12 – 18 months)

 The discovery of new means to meet goals. The child is described as “young
scientist” by Piaget.

6. Internalization of Schemes (Invention of New Means through Mental

Combination (18 – 24 months)
 Infants develop the ability to use primitive symbols and form enduring mental
representations.
 Beginning of insights
 True Creativity

Language Development - infants are programmed to tune in to their linguistic

environment with specific goal of acquiring language.
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5 Stages of Language Development

1. Cooing
2. Babbling
3. one-word utterance
4. two-word utterance and telegraphic speech
5. Basic adult sentence structure

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Summary of What Infants and Toddlers Can Do Cognitively
1. COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
a. Attention and activity Level
-the child is able to sustain attention and modulate his activity.

2. LANGUAGE, PRE-READING AND MATH

I. LANGUAGE
a. Receptive Language
- The child is able to understand simple words and gestures that is
being used.
b. Expressive Language
- The child is able to use words and gestures to express his thought
and feelings.

II. PRE-READING AND MATH

a. Matching
- The child is able to match identical objects, colors, shapes and symbols.
b. Rote-Sequencing
- The child is able to recite the alphabet and numbers in sequence.

3. HIGHER-ORDERED MENTAL ABILITIES

a. Concept Formation
- The child develops basic concepts pertaining to object constancy,
space, time, quantity, seriation and etc.

b. Cause-Effect Relationships
- The child is able to understand the cause-effect relationship.

c. Logical Reasoning
- The child is able to follow the logic of events and draw accurate
conclusions by evaluating the facts presented to him.

d. Planning and Organizing

- The child is able to plan and organize simple, familiar activity.
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e. Creative Thought
- The child is able to generate new ideas or concepts, or new
associations between existing ideas or concepts.

4. MEMORY
I. MEMORY FOR EXPERIENCES
a. Episodic Memory-the child is able to recall people he has met,
events,and places he has been to.

II. MEMORY FOR CONCEPT-BASED KNOWLEDGE

a. Semantic Memory
-the child is able to store verbal information in short and long term memory.

Source: The Philippines Early Learning and Development Standards (ELDS)

formulated by the Child and Welfare Council now merged with the Early Childhood
Care and Development Council)

SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF TODDLERS AND

INFANTS

INTRODUCTION
Socio-emotional development has something to do with the development of a
person’s ability to master one’s emotions and the ability to relate to others.

It refers to the developing capacity of the child from birth through five years of
age to form close and secure adult and peer relationships; experience, regulate and

express emotions in socially and culturally appropriate ways; and explore the
environment and learn – all in the context of family, community and culture.

SOCIO-EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT:
Formative Years
It is the first three years of a child wherein considered as of the important in
human development.
Elements on the socio-emotional development of a children:
• Attachment
• Temperament
• The Emergence of Moral Self

Attachment
 Emotional bond
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 Social Phenomenon of Attachment- a term used to describe the

emotional relationship that develops between an infant and the primary
caregiver, during the infant’s first year of life. It is a relationship that
develops over time and is the result of many interactions and caregiving
experiences, particularly those in response to the infant’s needs and bids
for attention, comfort and protection.
 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 situations.
 According to Dr. John Bowly (Father of Attachment Theory), the
beginnings of attachment occur within the first six months of a baby’s life.

Temperament
 It is the beginning of personality.
 Captures the ways the people differ, even at birth, in such things as their
emotional reactions, activity level, attention span, persistence, and ability
to regulate their emotions. (K.Pasek and R.Golinkoff, 2003)
 It is the natural, inherited style of behavior of each person. It is a
combination of inborn traits and personal experience.

3 Basic Types of Temperament (Alexander Thomas and Stella Chess)

 The Easy Child

-adapts readily to new experiences or people. Easily ready to
establish regular routines.
 The slow-to-warm-up child
-shows mild, low-key reactions to environmental changes. Adjust
slowly to new experiences.
 The Difficult Child
-ends to react negatively or intensely to new things.

The Emergence of Moral Self

 Children who aren’t capable of self-evaluation and self- description don’t

have the capacity to experience a sense of shame and remorse. Moral
behavior cannot occur when children do not recognize themselves as
social beings whose behavior can be evaluated against some standard.
(K. Pasek and R. Golinkoff, 2003).
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