Infancy and Toddlerhood

Physical Development
Chapter 4

“A baby is God’s opinion that life

should go on”

Carl Sandburg
 (2) Patterns of Growth:

1. Cephalocaudal Pattern

- postnatal growth from conception to 5 months when

the head grows more than the body

- the pattern occurs in the head area because the top

parts of the head – the eyes and the brain grow
faster than the lower parts such as the jaw
2. Proximodistal Pattern

- pre-natal growth from 5 months to birth when the

fetus grows from the inside of the body
outwards
- also applies in the first month after birth in the
earlier maturation of muscular control of the
trunk and arms, followed by that of the hands
and fingers
- when referring to motor development, this refers to
the development of motor skills from the
center of the body outward
Height and Weight
• it’s normal for newborn babies to drop 5-10% of their
body weight within a couple of weeks of birth,
due to the baby’s adjustment to neonatal feeding
but once they have adjusted to 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 infant’s length increases by about 30%
in the first five months

• A baby’s weight usually triples during the first year but

slows down in the second year of life

• Low percentages are not a cause for alarm as long as

the 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

• MYELINATION or MYELINIZATION – the process by

which the axons are covered and insulated by layers
of fat cells, begins prenatally and continues after birth.

• this process increases speed at which information

travels through the nervous system
• At birth, the newborn’s brain is about 25% of its adult
weight.

• By second birthday, the brain is about 75% of its

adult weight

• Shortly after birth, a baby’s brain produces trillions more

connections between neurons that it can possible use;
the brain eliminates connections that are seldom or
never used, the infant’s brain is literally waiting for
experiences to determine how connections are made
• A study on rats conducted by Mark Rosenzweig, 1969
revealed that the brains of rats that grew up in the
enriched environment developed better than the
brains of the animals reared in standard or isolated
conditions

the brain of the “enriched” animals weighed more,

had thicker layers, had more neuronal connections
and had higher level of neurochemical activity

such findings implies that enriching the lives of infants

who live in impoverished environments can produce
positive changes in their development (Santrock, 2002)
Motor Development
• along this aspect, infants and toddlers begin from
reflexes, to gross motor skills and fine motor skills

• there are many different reflexes, some of the most

common –
 Sucking reflex
- is initiated when something touches the roof
of an infant’s mouth
- sucking reflex is very strong in some infants and
they may need to suck on a pacifier for
comfort
Sucking Reflex
 Rooting reflex

- is most evident when an

infant’s cheek is stroked

- the baby responds by

turning his 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 toes

- when the outer sole of a

baby’s foot is stroked,
the infant will respond
by spreading out their
toes
 Startle / Moro reflex

- infants will respond to

sudden sounds or movements
by throwing their arms and
legs out, and throwing their
head back

- most infants will usually cry

when startled and proceed
to pull their limbs back into
their bodies
 Galant reflex

- shown 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
 Tonic Neck reflex

- demonstrated in infants
who are placed on their
abdomens

- whichever side the child’s

head is facing, the limbs
will curl
Step reflex

 Holding the baby upright

with his feet on a flat
surface, the baby lifts one
foot then the other as
if walking
Gross Motor Skills
Fine Motor Skills
 Research Findings on Newborns’ Visual Perceptions

Can newborns see?

1. newborn’s vision is about 10-30 times lower than normal adult vision;
by 6 months of age, vision becomes better and by the first birthday,
the infant’s vision approximates that of an adult (Banks & Salapatek,
1983 cited by Santrock, 2002)

2. Infants preferred to look at patterns such as faces and concentric

circles rather than at color or brightness; the first few things babies
recognize is their mother’s face, as mother feeds and nurses them
Can newborn hear?

sense of hearing of infant develops much before the birth of the

baby; when in the womb, the baby hears his mother’s heartbeats,
the grumbling of her mother’s stomach, the mother’s voice and
music

Can newborns differentiate odors?

young infants who were breastfed showed a clear preference for

smelling their mother’s breast pad when they were 6 days old
this shows that it requires several days of experience to recognize
their mother’s breast pad odor (MacFarlane 1975)
Can newborns feel pain? Do they respond to touch?

infants do feel pain

newborn males show a higher level of cortisol (an indicator of stress)
after a circumcision than prior to the surgery (Taddio, et al
1997) cited by Santrock, 2002)
babies respond to touch

Can newborns distinguish the different tastes?

babies of two-hour-old, make different facial expressions when

they taste sweet, sour and bitter solutions (Rosentein and Oster,
1998, cited by Santrock, 2002)
 when saccharin was added to the amniotic fluid of a near-term
fetus, increased swallowing was observed; thus indicates
that sensitivity to taste might be present before birth

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

as early as 3 ½ months old, infants looked more at their mother

when they also heard her voice and longer at their father when
they also heard his voice
 What Infants and Toddlers Can Do Physically?
0 – 6 months
* startles to loud sounds
* visually follows a moving object from side to side
* visually follows a moving object up and down
* reacts to pain by crying
* withdraws or cries when in contact with something hot
* withdraws or reacts when surprise when in contact with
something cold
* reacts with pleasure / smiles or relaxed expression when he/she
tastes something delicious
* reacts by making a face/frown/grimaces when he/she tastes s
something he/she does not like
7-12 months
* reacts with pleasure when he/she smells something nice
* reacts by making a face when he/she smells something foul
* pushes and/or pulls moderately heavy objects (chairs, large boxes)
* walks without tiring easily

13-18 months
* plays without tiring easily, able to keep pace with playmates
* participates actively in games, outdoor play and other exercises

19-24 months
* sustains physical activity (dancing, outdoor games, swimming) for
at least 3-5 minutes
 Motor Skills Development (Gross Motor Skills)

0-6 months
* holds head steadily
* moves arms and legs equally to reach at dangling object
* rolls over
* bounces when held standing, briefly bearing weight on legs
* sits with support
* starting to crawl but not yet very good at this

7-12 months
* sits alone steadily without support
* creeps without support
- stands without support
- stands from a sitting position without any help
- squat from a standing position with ease
- stands from a standing position with ease
- bends over easily without falling
- stands from a bent position without falling
- walks sideways by holding onto the sides of crib or furniture
- walks with one hand held
13-18 months
- walks with support
- walks backwards
- walks up the stairs with hand held, 2 feet on each step
- jumps in place
- climbs onto a steady elevated surface (e.g. bed, adult chair)
- kicks a ball but with little control of direction
- throws a ball but with little control of direction
- throws a ball but with little control of speed
- runs without falling
- maintains balance (walking on a low, narrow ledge, between
2 lines) without assistance
 - moves with music when he hears it
- can move body to imitate familiar animals
- can move body to imitate another person / TV characters

19-24 months
- walks up and down the stairs with alternating feet, without help
- kicks a ball with control of direction
- throws a ball with control of direction
- throws a ball with control of speed
-
 Motor Skills Development (Fine Motor Skills)
0-6 months
- hands open most of the time
- brings both hands together
- uses either hand interchangeably to grasp objects
- uses all 5 fingers in motion to get food/toys placed on a flat surface
- grasps objects with the same hand most of the time (hand
preference emerging)

7-12 months
- pulls toys by the string
- bangs 2 large blocks together
 - picks up objects with thumb and index fingers
- grasps and transfer objects from hand to hand
- grasps objects with the same hand all the time (definite hand
preference established)

13-18 months
- puts small objects in/out of container
- unscrews lids
- unwraps candy/food
- holds thick pencil or crayon with palmar grip (i.e. all 5 fingers
wrapped around pencil)
- scribbles spontaneously
19-24 months
- colors with strokes going out of the lines

Personal Care and Hygiene (Activities if Daily Living)

0-6 months
- sucks and swallows milk from breast/bottle
- begins to take complementary or semi-solid food by the end
- keeps reasonably still while being dressed, undress bathed
and while diaper is being changed
-
7-12 months
- holds a feeding bottle by himself
- helps hold cup for drinking
- chews solid foods well
- feeds self with finger foods
- scoops with a spoon with spoilage

13-18 months
- feeds self with assistance
- feeds self using fingers to eat rice viands with spillage
- no longer drinks from feeding bottle
- drinks from cup unassisted
- participates when bring dressed by lifting arms or raising legs