Developmental

milestones in infancy
 Introduction
The world is an interesting place to the infant.
Curiousity is the name of the game for most infants. He/she
wants to experience everything around him/her; from the
things he/she sees, smells, hears, feels, and tastes. You would
notice an infant who is throwing things again and again or
putting objects in his/her mouth. He/she exploring the world
through his/her senses.
The final process for the
development of the brain of an infant
is called MYELINATION (Tierney
& Nelson III, 2011). This process
wraps the axons of neurons with
fatty proteins called myelin that
facilitates neuronal activity and
communication (Deoni et al., 2011).
 Sensory development of infants

Vision
Hyperopia or far-sightedness is normally seen in infants, but it
gradually decreases during the first year as reported (Rosenfield and
Logan, 2009). Between two to three months, most infants can focus
accurately (visual acuity) and their vision becomes 20/20 around eight
months of age . For example, when you show a toy to a three or four-
month-old baby he/she will keep his/her eyes on that object and may try
to reach it.
Two-week-old infants can distinguish red from green, can see large colored
patterns, and black and white patterns (Crandell, Crandel, & Zanden, 2009).
Newborns' eyes respond to the borders of objects and the faces of their parents
as compared to a stranger's (Hyvarinen, Walthes, Jacob, Chaplin, & Leonhardt,
2014). Young infants can even imitate some facial expressions and tounge
movements. Moreover, according to Kellman and Spike (1983), infants start
perceiving object boundaries and object unity by three to five months. At the
same time, infants' depth perception between three to five months may transition
from two-dimensional vision to three-dimensional vision as reported (Ziemer &
Snyder, 2016).
 Hearing
The Infant's sense of hearing is well developed upon
birth. In fact, the fetus can hear very well sounds and
noises inside the womb before he/she was even born.
When the baby is born, he/she experiences a temporary
hearing impairment. The vernix and amniotic fluid block
the ear passage while mucus clogs the middle ear. This,
however, goes away on its own quickly after birth
(Crandell, Crandel, & Zanden, 2009).
 Taste and smell
Olfactory and taste senses are present since birth and there
has been development in taste and flavor perception among
infants. According to researchers, infants have some taste
preferences that are innately organized that can lead to a change
in their facial expression: salty, sour, and bitter tastes lead to
grimacing (Beauchamp & Mennella, 2011; Liem, 2017;
Schwartz, Chabanet, Szleper, Freyen, Issanchou, & Nicklaus ,
2017).
Moreover, infants prefer sucrose over glucose due to its
sweetness (Drewnowski, Mennella, Johnson, & Bellisle, 2012).
Based on the experiments of Engen, Lipsitt, and Kaye in 1963,
newborns respond to olfactory simulations depending on the
intensity and quality of the odors. In the experiment, increase in
heart rate, body movement, and respiration observed in the
presence of the stimulant, but as the baby is exposed to the odor
more and more, the olfactory reflex of the baby decreases due to
the adaptation to the odor.
 Cutaneous senses
According to Stangor and Walinga (2014), there are four basic sensations in
newborns such as pressure, hot, cold, and pain. In fact, it is the nervous system in
the skin that produces these distinct sensations (Owens, 2014). It was observed
that newborns are sensitive to extreme temperature changes and react more to
emperature below than above body temperature (Louw, van Ede, & Louw, 1998).
Moreover, infants show different emotions depending on acute pain. As reported
by the researchers, the painful facial expression of infants is evident when
circumcision and vaccination occurs (Izard, Hembree, & Huebner, 1987; Taddio,
Katz, Ilersich, & Koren, 1997).
Physical-Motor Development of Infants
Most parents await the moment when their precious baby starts to hold his/her
own feeding bottle, crawl, stand on his/her own, and take that first step.
The baby's overall body size changes rapidly during the first two years. His/her
height increases by 50% during the first year and about 75% by the two years of
age. The baby's head and chest grow more advanced while the trunk and legs
follow suit (cephalocaudal). The arms and legs grow somewhat ahead as well
while the hands and feet slowly pick up (proximodistal). The baby's first two years
are exciting years as they develop gross motor skills such as crawling, standing,
and walking and fine motor skills such as reaching and grasping.
Cognitive Development of Infants
Remember that the inner processes and products of the mind that lead to knowing the is referred
to as cognition. This includes attending, remembering, symbolizing, categorizing, planning,
reasoning, problem solving, creating, and fantasizing (Berk, 2013).
Piaget believes that infant were not born as cognitive beings, instead they build and refine
psychological structures as they engage in perceptual and motor activities. These structures are
organized ways of making sense of their experiences, which allows them to effectively adapt to
their surroundings. Newborn babies until age of two is in the sensorimotor stage according to
Piaget. He believed that infants and toddlers think with their different senses and are yet capable
of mentally carrying out many activities. He proposed that since infants know so little at birth,
they have a circular reaction that helps them adapt to their first schemes. It is circular because the
baby tries to repeat the event again and again that would lead to reinforcement of a new scheme
(Berk, 2013).
 On the other hand, Vygotsky's work focuses on the interaction of an individual and the
society and the impact of social interaction, the language, and the learning culture on an
individual (Nicolopoulo, 1993; Topciu & Myftui, 2015). According to Vygotsky's theory,
an infants' innate capacity for basic perception, attention, and memory are being
improved by interacting with the environment (Bodrova & Leong, 2015). Under his
theory, intersubjectivity and scaffolding are two vital points as defined by Wertsch
(1985), intersubjectivity is the process of establishment of shared understanding between
two individuals having different understanding. This can be observed in parent-infant
exchange exchange of vocal and emotional signals, imitation, and joint play with objects
(Csibra, 2010; Feldman, 2007). Scaffolding is how an adult adjusts the support he/she
offers during a teaching session to fit the child's current current level of performance.
This can be observed with task such as picture matching, or doing puzzles.
 Language development in infancy
There are five stages in vocal development among infants: reflexive phonation,
cooing, expansion, canonical babbling, and meaningful speech (Khul & Meltzoff,
1996). Reflexive phonation, which occurs from birth to two months, is
characterized by sounds arising due to reflexes such as crying, sneezing, and
coughing. Cooing, which occurs from one to four months, is characterized by
infants producing vowel- like sounds. Expansion, which occurs from three to
eight months, is characterized by infants producing sounds with clear vowels.
Canonical babbling, which occurs from five to 10 months, is characterized by
infants producing repetition
 However, an infant must hear human
speech for the development of their
speech (Swingley, 2009) Joint attention
is when a pare the development are
both attentive to her, 2007
 Development of social
relationships
Attachment is a close emotional bond between two individuals (Santrock,
2011). The attachment theory by John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth is the
most substantial theoretical influence in the reciprocal relationship of
parents and children. This theory explains the affectional bond or the unique
enduring tie to another and attachment, a type of affectional bond which a
person's sense of security is bound up in the relationship. The parent's
relationship with the child is an affectional bond, while the child's
relationship with the parent is an attachment (Boyd & Bee, 2014).
 Rodulef Schaffer wnr peggy
emerson
Rudolf Schaffer and Peggy Emerson also studied the development of emotional
attachment by a group of infants and observed the following phases as they
develop close ties with their caregivers (Santrock, 2011; Shaffer & Kipp, 2010);

1. The Asocial Phase (birth to around six weeks) the young infant is "asocial" that
many kinds of stimuli produce a favorable reaction. Strangers, siblings, and
parents are likely to cause the infant to either cry or smile.

.
2. The Phase of Indiscriminate Attachments (six weeks to seven months) - the infant enjoys human
company but tends to be indiscriminate; they smile more at people than other lifelike objects. They
reserve their best smiles for recognizable faces but seem to enjoy the attention they receive from
just about anyone but begins to learn to distinguish familiar people from strangers.

3. The Specific Attachment Phase (around seven to nine months) - at this period, the infants begin
to protest when separated from one individual, usually the mother. This attachment figure becomes
the "secure base" for the child. They become wary of strangers.

4. The Phase of Multiple Attachments (around nine to 18 months) - after

forming their initial attachments, the infants develop other attachments such as fathers, siblings,
other family members, or even a regular babysitter.