INFANCY

UNIT IV

-Neha Jha
Importance of the Neonatal Period
The neonatal period is the first four weeks of an infant's life, whether the
baby was carried to term or born prematurely. It's a time of rapid change
and development where patterns for infancy, like feeding and bonding, are
developed. The neonatal period is the riskiest period after birth.
Worldwide, 2.4 million infants died in the first month of life in 2019. Even
for infants who aren't labeled as high-risk before birth, healthcare
providers will watch the baby closely after birth, ideally noting any illness
or complications within the first two hours of life.
While each baby moves at a different pace, here are some general milestones to expect
during this time.
Week 1
In the first week after birth, parent and the baby will be getting to know each other.
Bonding and feeding are the primary tasks in this first week. Whether the parent are
breastfeeding or using a formula, urination and stooling patterns will signal to whether the
baby is receiving enough nutrition. It's common for infants to lose weight after birth. 
Week 2
Sleep and feeding are erratic at this stage. Your baby may be having their first growth
spurt, having returned to their birth weight. Healthcare provider must be contacted
immediately if the parents are having trouble feeding or if they notice a decrease in wet or
soiled diapers.
Week 3
Feeding and sleeping schedules are still inconsistent, but the baby will begin to
refine its muscle control at this point. Most babies begin to lift their head and
should have regular "tummy time" to help develop strength.

Week 4
Officially one reaches the end of the neonatal period. For many parents, feeding
and sleeping become more routine at this stage. The baby may be responding to the
parent more as their senses like hearing and vision develop. They may even begin
to recognize patterns in the sounds and cries your baby makes.
Possible complications or problems during the delivery process and neonatal
period include:

•Birth defects
•Birth injuries
•Breathing problems
•Infection
•Jaundice
•Low birth weight
•Low blood sugar
•Neurological problems like cerebral palsy or seizures
•Feeding difficulties
•Pneumonia from breathing in fluids during birth
•Temperature control problems
•Developmental delay
•Vision problems
•Hearing problems
Apgar
Apgar score is a scoring system doctors and nurses use to assess newborns one
minute and five minutes after they’re born. The Apgar score provides an accepted
and convenient method for reporting the status of the newborn infant immediately
after birth and the response to resuscitation if needed.
Dr. Virginia Apgar created the system in 1952, and used her name as a mnemonic
for each of the five categories that a person will score. Since that time, medical
professionals across the world have used the scoring system to assess newborns in
their first moments of life. The Apgar scoring system is divided into five categories.
Each category receives a score of 0 to 2 points. At most, a child will receive an
overall score of 10. However, a baby rarely scores a 10 in the first few moments of
life. This is because most babies have blue hands or feet immediately after birth.
Doctors expect that some babies may have lower Apgar scores. These include:
•premature babies
•babies born via cesarean delivery
•babies who had complicated deliveries
At most, a child will receive an overall score of 10. A score of 0 to 3 is concerning.
It indicates a need for increased intervention, usually in assistance for breathing.
Low Apgar scores may indicate the baby needs special care, such as extra help
with their breathing. A mask may be placed over baby’s face to pump oxygen
directly into her lungs or a tube can be placed into her windpipe, and fluids and
medications may be administered through one of the blood vessels in her umbilical
cord to strengthen her heartbeat. If her Apgar scores are still low after these
treatments, she will be taken to the special-care nursery for more intensive medical
attention.
Scoring:- A: Activity/muscle tone
•0 points: limp or floppy
•1 point: limbs flexed
•2 points: active movement
P: Pulse/heart rate
•0 points: absent
•1 point: less than 100 beats per minute
•2 points: greater than 100 beats per minute
G: Grimace (response to stimulation, such as suctioning the baby’s nose)
•0 points: absent
•1 point: facial movement/grimace with stimulation
•2 points: cough or sneeze, cry and withdrawal of foot with stimulation
A: Appearance (color)
•0 points: blue, bluish-gray, or pale all over
•1 point: body pink but extremities blue
•2 points: pink all over
R: Respiration/breathing
•0 points: absent
•1 point: irregular, weak crying
•2 points: good, strong cry
Behavioural Brazelton scale
The Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale (NBAS) was developed by Dr. Berry
Brazelton and his colleagues and today is regarded as the most comprehensive
examination of newborn behavior available. It is best described as a neurobehavioral
assessment scale, designed to describe the newborn’s responses to his/her new
extrauterine environment and to document the contribution of the newborn infant to the
development of the emerging parent-child relationship.
The Brazelton Behavioral Assessment Scale is intended as a means of scoring
interactive behavior. It is not a formal neurological evaluation, though the neurological
implications of such a scale make it necessary that a few basic neurological items be
included. It is an attempt to score the infant's available responses to his environment,
and so, indirectly, his effect on the environment. It is essentially aimed at evaluating the
normal newborn infant, and its use in comparing infants within and across cultures has
been demon­strated.
There are four Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale categories that help
assess the functions of the newborn. These categories help to recognize the
individuality of the newborn. For example, the categories can reveal how a particular
newborn self-soothes, how they communicate non-verbally, and what different scores
in these categories mean for parents. The four categories include:
1.Regulating autonomic functions- This category tests the baby's ability to regulate
autonomic nervous system functions, such as breathing rate, heart rate, temperature
control, and more. These skills must first be mastered by the infant before their
developmental skills can be learned. The test assesses the baby's ability to carry out
these tasks and not be diverted by changes in sensory information, such as a mother's
face or voice.
2. Controlling the motor system- Babies must learn to inhibit random movements
and focus the effort of their motor system to learn new developmental skills. The
assessment looks at the baby's tone, activity, and reflexes during motor activities.
3. Controlling the state of consciousness- This involves all states of consciousness
from alertness to crying to sleeping. Examiners look at how babies transition from one
state to another and regulate their current state of consciousness.
4. Interacting socially with caregivers and others- Lastly, developing a social bond
with their caretaker is essential for the baby's development. During this part of the
assessment, the examiner looks at the baby's ability to track voices, faces, and objects
in the environment. This is the ultimate task on the NBAS scale and is a developmental
milestone that comes after others are met.
Physical development in infancy – cephalocaudal and proximodistal
There are two general patterns of physical growth.
The cephalocaudal trend, refers to the pattern of changing spatial proportions
over time during growth. It is pattern to growth and development that occurs
from the head down. An infant will gain control over their neck muscles first,
which allows them to hold their head steady. It is general pattern of physical
and motoric development followed from infancy into toddlerhood and even
early childhood whereby development follows a head-to-toe progression.
Proximodistal pattern, on the other hand, refers to the tendency for
more general functions of limbs to develop before more specific or
fine motor skills. It comes from the Latin words proxim-
which means "close" and "-dis-" meaning "away from", because the
trend essentially describes a path from the center outward.
The proximodistal trend, is the prenatal growth from 5 months to birth
when the fetus grows from the inside of the body outwards. It occurs
from the centre or core of the body in an outward direction. An
example of such a pattern is the early development of muscular control
of the trunk and arms relative to the hands and fingers.
Principles of growth and development. (A) Cephalocaudal growth and
development proceed from head to toe or tail. (B) Proximodistal growth
and development proceed from the center outward.
Physical Development: The brain develops at an amazing rate before and after birth.
Just before birth the newborns have most but not all brain cells. The neural connections
among these cells develop at a rapid rate. The activities needed to sustain life functions
are present in the newborn — it breathes, sucks, swallows, and discharges the bodily
wastes. The newborns in their first week of life are able to indicate what direction a
sound is coming from, can distinguish their mother’s voice from the voices of other
women, and can imitate simple gestures like tongue protrusion and mouth opening.
The newborn’s movements are governed by reflexes — which are automatic, built-in
responses to stimuli. They are genetically-carried survival mechanisms, and are the
building blocks for subsequent motor development. The newborn’s movements are
governed by reflexes — which are automatic, built-in responses to stimuli. They are
genetically-carried survival mechanisms, and are the building blocks for subsequent
motor development.
Changes in body dimensions
The average newborn weighs about 7.5 pounds and is about 20 inches in
length. For the first few days of life, infants typically lose about 5 percent of
their body weight as they eliminate waste and get used to feeding. This often
goes unnoticed by most parents, but can be cause for concern for those who
have a smaller infant. This weight loss is temporary, and is followed by a
rapid period of growth. By the time an infant is 4 months old, it usually
doubles in weight and by one year has tripled it birth weight. 
Body Proportions
Another dramatic physical change that takes place in the first few months
of life is the change in body proportions. The head initially makes up
about 50 percent of our entire length when we are developing in the
womb. At birth, the head makes up about 25 percent of our length.
 From birth to about age 1 or 2 years, children grow rapidly. After this
rapid infant and early toddler growth, growth slows until the adolescent
growth spurt. As growth slows, children need fewer calories and parents
may notice a decrease in appetite. One to two-year-old children can have
very erratic eating habits that sometimes make parents anxious. Some
children may seem to eat virtually nothing yet continue to grow and thrive.
Different organs grow at different rates. For example, the reproductive system
has a brief growth spurt just after birth, then changes very little until just
before sexual maturation (puberty). In contrast, the brain grows almost
exclusively during the early years of life. The kidneys function at the adult
level by the end of the first year.

Children who are beginning to walk have an endearing physique, with the belly
sticking forward and the back curved. They may also appear to be quite bow-
legged. By 3 years of age, muscle tone increases and the proportion of body fat
decreases, so the body begins to look leaner and more muscular. Most children
are physically able to control their bowels and bladder at this time.
Neonatal movement and reflexes
Neonates have relatively poor control of body movement, but can move their
heads and kick their feet when lying on their stomachs, and studies of the
trajectories of neonatal arm movements indicate that they have some visual
control of arm movements. A few reflexes continue across the lifespan (e.g.
eye blink reflex), but most should vanish in the first year of life as higher
brain centres take control of movement. The Moro Reflex is a good
example: neonates will react to a sudden stimulus by a startle response,
throwing their head and limbs back and then retracting them. This is a
healthy sign that the nervous system is functioning well at birth, but it
should disappear by about 4–6 months.
The newborn is not completely helpless. Among other things, it has some
basic reflexes. For example, when submerged in water, the newborn
automatically holds its breath and contracts its throat to keep water out.
Reflexes are built-in reactions to stimuli; they govern the newborn’s
movements, which are automatic and beyond the newborn’s control.
Reflexes are genetically carried survival mechanisms. They allow infants
to respond adaptively to their environment before they have had the
opportunity to learn.
The rooting reflex occurs when the infant’s cheek is stroked or the side of
the mouth is touched. In response, the infant turns its head toward the side
that was touched in an apparent effort to find something to suck. The
sucking reflex occurs when newborns automatically suck an object placed
in their mouth. This reflex enables newborns to get nourishment before
they have associated a nipple with food and also serves as a self-soothing
or self-regulating mechanism. Another example is the Moro reflex, which
occurs in response to a sudden, intense noise or movement. When startled,
the newborn arches its back, throws back its head, and flings out its arms
and legs. Then the newborn rapidly draws in its arms and legs. The Moro
reflex is believed to be a way of grabbing for support while falling; it
would have had survival value for our primate ancestors
The movements of some reflexes eventually become incorporated into more
complex, voluntary actions. One important example is the grasping reflex,
which occurs when something touches the infant’s palms. The infant responds
by grasping tightly. By the end of the third month, the grasping reflex
diminishes and the infant shows a more voluntary grasp.
The Babkin reflex occurs in newborn babies, and describes varying responses
to the application of pressure to both palms. Infants may display head flexion,
head rotation, opening of the mouth, or a combination of these responses.
The swimming reflex involves placing an infant face down in a pool of water.
The infant will begin to paddle and kick in a swimming motion. The reflex
disappears between 4–6 months. Despite the infant displaying a normal
response by paddling and kicking, placing them in water can be a very risky
procedure.
Sensory Development
Babies are born with all 5 senses—sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch.
Some of the senses are not fully developed. The newborn's senses are as
described below.

Sight: Over the first few months, babies may have uncoordinated eye
movements. They may even appear cross-eyed. Babies are born with the
ability to focus only at close range. This is about 8 to 10 inches, or the
distance between a mother's face to the baby in her arms. Newborns can
detect light and dark but can't see all colors.  At 7 to 12 months, a baby's
vision is the same as an adult's vision.
Hearing: During pregnancy, many mothers find that the baby may kick or
jump in response to loud noises and may quiet with soft, soothing music.
Hearing is fully developed in newborns. Babies with normal hearing should
startle in response to loud sounds. These babies will also pay quiet attention
to the mother's or father's voice.  Newborns seem to prefer a higher-pitched
voice to a low sounding voice.  At 4 months, babies often amuse themselves
with babbling and are beginning to understand that tone of voice means
different things. 
Smell
Studies have found that newborns have a strong sense of smell. Newborns
prefer the smell of their own mother, especially her breastmilk.
Taste
Babies prefer sweet tastes over sour or bitter tastes. Babies also show a
strong preference for human milk and breastfeeding. This is especially true
if they are breastfed first and then offered formula or a bottle. At 9 to 12
months of age, most babies like to experience and explore objects through
taste and texture, which prompts them to put almost anything they can into
their mouths.
Touch
Babies are comforted by touch. Placing a hand on baby's belly or cuddling
close can help him or her feel more secure. Wrapping the baby snugly in a
blanket (swaddling) is another technique used to help newborn babies feel
secure.  They often prefer soft, gentle touches and cuddles.
Sensory and motor development is the gradual process by which a child gains use
and coordination of the large muscles of the legs, trunk, and arms, and the smaller
muscles of the hands. A baby begins to experience new awareness through sight,
touch, taste, smell, and hearing.
At 1 month of age, babies' neck muscles are not developed enough to support their
heads. Babies can lift their heads only briefly when lying on their stomachs. Limb
movements are influenced by newborn reflexes. By 6 weeks of age, newborn
reflexes begin to fade and the baby's strength and coordination improve.
By age 3 months, baby can control his or her head movements. Around 4 months
of age, babies gain control and balance in their head, neck, and trunk. Around this
same age, your baby starts playing with his or her hands and grasps a finger on
purpose, rather than as a reflex.
Between 4 and 6 months of age, babies' balance and movement dramatically
improve as they gain use and coordination of large muscles. Reaching toward
an object with both hands, babies may grasp at toys with their palms.
Babies gain more control of their muscles between 6 and 9 months of age as
the nervous system connections continue to form. By the 7th month, babies
can see almost as well as an adult. Around 9 to 12 months of age, babies
develop more control over their hands and fingers and may be able to grab
small objects with a forefinger and thumb. The brain continues to grow,
helping to refine control over the large muscles. By now the baby will
probably be able to crawl and stand.  Many toddlers start to walk around 9 to
15 months of age. Those first steps are possible because of changes that have
taken place in the brain and the spinal cord.
Motor skills: Fundamental Fine and Gross motor skill milestones

Motor skills enable the movements children need for everyday tasks, from
feeding themselves to moving from place to place. Typically, children develop
certain motor skills at specific ages, but not every child will reach milestones
at precisely the same time. A child with motor impairments has trouble
moving in a controlled, coordinated, and efficient way.
Motor skills are skills that enable the movements and tasks we do every
day. Fine motor skills are those that require a high degree of control and
precision in the small muscles of the hand (such as using a fork). Gross motor
skills use the large muscles in the body to allow for balance, coordination,
reaction time, and physical strength so that we can do bigger movements, such
as walking and jumping.
Fine motor skill activities involve manual dexterity and often require
coordinating movements of the hands and fingers with the eyes, which is
known as hand-eye coordination. Components of fine motor skills include
being able to grip and manipulate objects, use both hands for a task, and use
just the thumb and one finger to pick something up rather than the whole
hand. The following are just a few examples of fine motor skills that typically
occur at different phases of child development.
Birth to 3 Months
•Watches hands move and brings them to the mouth
3 to 6 Months
•Begins to transfer objects from one hand to another
•Holds own hands together
•Reaches for toys using both arms
6 to 9 Months
•Begins to grasp & hold onto objects, such as a bottle
•Squeezes objects

 9 to 12 Months
•Begins to show a preference for one hand over the other
•Puts small objects in a cup or container
•Turns pages in a book a few pages at a time

12 to 18 Months
•Builds a tower two blocks high
•Claps hands
•Scribbles with crayons on paper
•Waves goodbye

18 Months to 2 Years
•Begins holding a crayon with fingertips and thumb
•Builds a tower three to four blocks high
•Opens loosely wrapped packages or containers
Age 2
•Turns doorknobs
•Washes hands independently
•Zips and unzips large zippers
•Manipulates clay or play dough

Age 3
•Folds a piece of paper in half
•Draws a circle after being shown an
example
•Fastens and unfastens large buttons

Age 4
•Gets dressed and undressed without help
•Uses a fork correctly
Gross motor skills are movements that involve large muscle groups and are
generally more broad and energetic than fine motor movements. These
movements include walking, kicking, jumping, and climbing stairs. Some
milestones for gross motor skills also involve eye-hand coordination, such as
throwing or catching a ball. Following are some examples of gross motor skills
that typically occur at different phases of childhood development:-

3 to 6 Months
•Raises arms and legs when placed on the stomach
•Rolls over
•Supports own head when in a sitting position

6 Months to 12 Months
•Crawls
•Pulls self from a sitting to a standing position
•Sits without support
Age 1
•Climbs onto low furniture
•Climbs stairs with assistance
•Pulls or pushes toys with wheels
•Walks with one hand held
Age 2
•Jumps using both feet simultaneously
•Runs very stiffly on toes
•Walks upstairs without a banister
Age 3
•Rides tricycle using pedals, unassisted by
an adult
•Runs without falling
•Throws a ball to an adult standing 5 feet
away
Age 4
•Catches a ball with arms and body
•Runs smoothly with changes in
speed
•Walks upstairs by alternating feet
Age 5
•Catches a ball with two hands
•Hops on one foot
•Performs jumping jacks and toe
touches
•Walks up and down the stairs while
carrying objects
Age 6
•Kicks rolling ball
•Jumps over objects 10 inches high
•Rides a bicycle with training wheels
•Throws with accurate placement
Socio-emotional development: We define emotion as feeling, or affect, that
occurs when a person is in a state or an interaction that is important to him
or her, especially to his or her well-being. Especially in infancy, emotions
play important roles in-
(1) communication with others, and
(2) behavioral organization.
Through emotions, infants communicate important aspects of their lives
such as joy, sadness, interest, and fear. In terms of behavioral organization,
emotions influence infants’ social responses and adaptive behavior as they
interact with others in their world. Emotions are influenced by biological
foundations, cognitive processes, and a person’s experiences.
Socioemotional development invokes relationships. The mother-infant
relationship is central to popular and scientific images of social and
emotional development in infancy. This emphasis occurs because of cultural
and theoretical traditions emphasizing that the sensitivity, warmth, and
responsiveness of this first and primary relationship shapes a baby’s initial,
and in some conceptualizations continuing, social dispositions and
expectations for others.
Emotional expressions are involved in infants’ first relationships. The ability
of infants to communicate emotions permits coordinated interactions with
their caregivers and the beginning of an emotional bond between them. Not
only do parents change their emotional expressions in response to infants’
emotional expressions, but infants also modify their emotional expressions in
response to their parents’ emotional expressions. In other words, these
interactions are mutually regulated. Because of this coordination, the
interactions are described as reciprocal, or synchronous, when all is going
well. Sensitive, responsive parents help their infants grow emotionally,
whether the infants respond in distressed or happy ways.
Recent observational studies of mother-infant interaction found that
maternal sensitivity was linked to a lower level of infant fear. Another
study revealed that parents’ elicitation of talk about emotion with
toddlers was associated with the toddlers’ sharing and helping nature.
Development of primary and secondary emotions
Primary emotions are more transient than secondary emotions which is why
they are less complicated and easier to understand. The first thing we feel is
directly connected to the event or stimulus but as time passes we struggle to
connect the same emotion with the event because our emotions have changed.
Secondary emotions are much more complex because they often refer to the
feelings you have about the primary emotion. These are learned emotions
which we get from our parent(s) or primary care givers as we grow up. For
example, when you feel angry you may feel ashamed afterward or when you
feel joy, you may feel relief or pride.
Secondary emotions can also be divided into instrumental emotions. These are
unconscious and habitual.
Important Emotions:-
Crying- Crying is the most important mechanism newborns have for
communicating with their world. The first cry verifies that the baby’s lungs have
filled with air. Cries also may provide information about the health of the
newborn’s central nervous system. Babies have at least three types of cries:
o Basic cry
o Anger cry
o Pain cry
The pain cry is stimulated by a high-intensity stimulus. Most adults can
determine whether an infant’s cries signify anger or pain.
Smiling- Smiling is a key social signal and a very important aspect of positive
social interaction in developing a new social skill. The infant’s social smile
can have a powerful impact on caregivers. Two types of smiling can be
distinguished in infants:-
o Reflexive smile- A smile that does not occur in response to external stimuli
and appears during the first month after birth, usually during sleep.
o Social smile- A smile that occurs in response to an external stimulus,
typically a face in the case of the young infant. Social smiling occurs as
early as 2 months of age.
Fear- One of a baby’s earliest emotions is fear, which typically first
appears at about 6 months of age and peaks at about 18 months. However,
abused and neglected infants can show fear as early as 3 months.
Researchers have found that infant fear is linked to guilt, empathy, and
low aggression at 6 to 7 years of age. The most frequent expression of an
infant’s fear involves stranger anxiety, in which an infant shows a fear and
wariness of strangers. In addition to stranger anxiety, infants experience
fear of being separated from their caregivers. The result is separation
protest—crying when the caregiver leaves. Separation protest is initially
displayed by infants at approximately 7 to 8 months and peaks at about 15
months infants.
We learn instrumental emotions as children as a form of conditioning. Many
toddlers get used to instrumental emotions to get their way with anger. A
toddler throws a tantrum, and parents give in to make them quiet. As we get
older, we learn that this behavior is not appropriate; if not, we become spoiled
and manipulative. By not learning the correct secondary emotional response it
leaves the person distant and emotionally detached from those around them.
Primary and secondary emotions tell a person a lot about their emotional
stability and integrity, but to a healthcare professional they can make
diagnosis much easier.  Finding the real cause behind a person's reaction
means examining the primary emotion, while the secondary emotion will help
to understand how the patient processes information.
Temperament

Another important aspect of emotional development, temperament, has to do

with babies' general emotional and social state. Temperament refers to babies'
innate personality; the general pattern of how babies will react to and interact
with their environment which is present from birth. Two theorists, Thomas
and Chess, extensively researched child temperament in the late 1970s.
According to their theory, each infant is different and unique in how they
react to their environment, and this pattern of reacting is innate, unlearned,
and present from birth. As well, every parent is unique in his or her own
personality. Hence,Temperament is a set of inborn traits that organize the
child’s approach to the world. They are instrumental in the development of
the child’s distinct personality.
According to Thomas and Chess, there are three general types of
temperaments in children: easy, slow-to-warm, and difficult.
Easy children are generally happy, active children from birth and adjust
easily to new situations and environments.
Slow-to-warm children are generally mellow, less active babies from birth,
and can have some difficulty adjusting to new situations.
Difficult children have irregular habits and biological routines (e.g., eating,
sleeping), have difficulty adjusting to new situations, and often express
negative moods very intensely. As the category name suggests, these children
are the most difficult for caregivers to satisfy and to maintain the energy and
joy to care for on a daily basis.
Attachment
Attachment is a close emotional bond between two people. Attachment
in development psychology refers to the emotional bond developed
between an infant and the attachment figure during the first year of
life. 
Attachment types between child and care giver
Three theorists—Freud, Erikson, and Bowlby— proposed influential views on
attachment types. Freud emphasized that infants become attached to the person
or object that provides oral satisfaction. For most infants, this is the mother,
since she is most likely to feed the infant.
Physical comfort also plays a role in Erik Erikson’s view of the infant’s
development. Erikson’s proposed that the first year of life represents the stage of
trust versus mistrust. Physical comfort and sensitive care, according to Erikson,
are key to establishing a basic sense of trust in infants. The infant’s sense of trust,
in turn, is the foundation for attachment and sets the stage for a lifelong
expectation that the world will be a good and pleasant place to be.
The ethological perspective of British psychiatrist John Bowlby, also stresses
the importance of attachment in the first year of life and the responsiveness
of the caregiver. Bowlby maintains that both infants and their primary
caregivers are biologically predisposed to form attachments. He argues that
the newborn is biologically equipped to elicit attachment behavior.
Bowlby argued that infants develop an internal working model of
attachment, a simple mental model of the caregiver, their relationship, and
the self as deserving of nurturant care. The infant’s internal working model
of attachment with the caregiver influences the infant’s and later the child’s
subsequent responses to other people.
Following are four such phases based on Bowlby’s conceptualization of
attachment:
• Phase 1: From birth to 2 months. Infants instinctively direct their attachment to
human figures. Strangers, siblings, and parents are equally likely to elicit smiling
or crying from the infant.
• Phase 2: From 2 to 7 months. Attachment becomes focused on one figure,
usually the primary caregiver, as the baby gradually learns to distinguish familiar
from unfamiliar people.
• Phase 3: From 7 to 24 months. Specific attachments develop. With increased
locomotor skills, babies actively seek contact with regular caregivers, such as the
mother or father.
• Phase 4: From 24 months on. Children become aware of others’ feelings,
goals, and plans and begin to take these into account in forming their own
Based on how babies respond in the Strange Situation, Mary Ainsworth
described as being securely attached or insecurely attached (in one of three
ways) to the caregiver:
• Securely attached babies use the caregiver as a secure base from which to
explore the environment. When they are in the presence of their caregiver,
securely attached infants explore the room and examine toys that have been
placed in it. When the caregiver departs, securely attached infants might
protest mildly, and when the caregiver returns these infants reestablish
positive interaction with them, perhaps by smiling or climbing onto their
lap. Subsequently, they often resume playing with the toys in the room.
• Insecure avoidant babies show insecurity by avoiding the caregiver. In
the Strange Situation, these babies engage in little interaction with the
caregiver, are not distressed when he/she leaves the room, usually do
not reestablish contact when they return, and may even turn their back
on them. If contact is established, the infant usually leans away or looks
away.
• Insecure resistant babies often cling to the caregiver and then resist
them by fighting against the closeness, perhaps by kicking or pushing
away. In the Strange Situation, these babies often cling anxiously to the
caregiver and don’t explore the playroom. When the caregiver leaves,
they often cry loudly and then push away if she tries to comfort them on
her return.
• Insecure disorganized babies appear disoriented. In the Strange
Situation, these babies might seem dazed, confused, and fearful. To be
classified as disorganized, babies must show strong patterns of
avoidance and resistance or display certain specified behaviors, such as
extreme fearfulness around the caregiver.
Piaget’s stages of cognitive development
Vygotsky’s perspective of cognitive development

Vygotsky (1962) emphasized that children actively construct their knowledge and
understanding. In Piaget’s theory, children develop ways of thinking and
understanding by their actions and interactions with the physical world. In Vygotsky’s
theory, children are more often described as social creatures than in Piaget’s theory.
They develop their ways of thinking and understanding primarily through social
interaction. Their cognitive development depends on the tools provided by society,
and their minds are shaped by the cultural context in which they live.
Vygotsky's theory is comprised of concepts such as culture-specific tools, private
speech, and the Zone of Proximal Development. Vygotsky's theories stress the
fundamental role of social interaction in the development of, as he believed strongly
that community plays a central role in the process of making meaning.
 The Zone of Proximal Development
Vygotsky’s belief in the role of social
influences, especially instruction, in
children’s cognitive development is
reflected in his concept of the zone
of proximal development. Zone of
proximal development (ZPD) is
Vygotsky’s term for the range of
tasks that are too difficult for the
child to master alone but can be
learned with guidance and assistance
from adults or more-skilled children.
Thus, the lower limit of the ZPD is the level of skill reached by the child working
independently. The upper limit is the level of additional responsibility the child can accept
with the assistance of an able instructor.
There are some factors that can influence the effectiveness of the ZPD in children’s
learning and development:-
Scaffolding- Scaffolding means changing the level of support. Over the course of a
teaching session, a more-skilled person adjusts the amount of guidance to fit the child’s
current performance. When the student is learning a new task, the skilled person may
use direct instruction. As the student’s competence increases, less guidance is given.

Language and Thought- Children use speech not only to communicate socially but also
to help them solve tasks. Young children use language to plan, guide, and monitor their
behavior. This use of language for self-regulation is called private speech and it is an
important tool of thought during the early childhood years.
COMPARISON OF VYGOTSKY’S AND PIAGET’S THEORIES
HOW LANGUAGE DEVELOPS
Long before infants speak recognizable words, they produce a number of vocalizations.
The functions of these early vocalizations are to practice making sounds, to
communicate, and to attract attention. Babies’ sounds go through the following
sequence during the first year:
Crying: Babies cry even at birth. Crying can signal distress, but also different types of
cries signal different things.
Cooing: Babies first coo at about 2 to 4 months .These are gurgling sounds that are
made in the back of the throat and usually express pleasure during interaction with the
caregiver.
Babbling: In the middle of the first year, babies babble—that is, they produce strings of
consonant-vowel combinations, such as “ba, ba, ba, ba.” Infants’ babbling influences
the behavior of their caregivers, creating social interaction that facilitates their own
communicative development.
Gestures: Infants start using gestures, such as showing and pointing, at about 7 to 15
months of age. They may wave bye-bye, nod to mean “yes,” show an empty cup to ask
for more milk, and point to a dog to draw attention to it. Some early gestures are
symbolic, as when an infant smacks her lips to indicate food or drink. Pointing is
regarded by language experts as an important index of the social aspects of language.

First Words: Infants understand their first words earlier than they speak them. Infants
recognize their name when someone says it. Infants understand many words at about
13 months, but they can’t say this many words until about 18 months. Thus, in
infancy receptive vocabulary (words the child understands) considerably exceeds
spoken (or expressive) vocabulary.
Two-Word Utterances: By the time children are 18 to 24 months of age, they usually
speak in two-word utterances. To convey meaning with just two words, the child relies
heavily on gesture, tone, and context.
The process of categorizing becomes easier as children increase their vocabulary.
Children’s vocabulary increases from an average of about 14,000 words at age 6 to an
average of about 40,000 words by age 11. Children make similar advances in
grammar. These advances in vocabulary and grammar during the elementary school
years are accompanied by the development of metalinguistic awareness, which is
knowledge about language, such as understanding what a preposition is or being able
to discuss the sounds of a language. Metalinguistic awareness allows children to think
about their language, understand what words are, and even define them.