Infant Development – The First Year

BY: Shawntel Tornquist

One – Three Months Physical Development

o Raise their heads and chests off ground when on their tummy.o Grip objects in their hands (Palmer grasp) o Reaches for dangling objects. (gross motor)o Can watch and follow a moving objecto Will enthusiastically kick her legs (gross motor)o Can extend fingers, arms and, legs o Moves head towards a sound (especially mothers voice)

To Encourage Physical development in infants this age:o Plenty of tummy time o Lots of stimulio Encourage lots of movement (move their

legs and arms)

One – Three Months Intellectual Development

o Distinguishes speech from soundo Focuses on bright colours and patternso Begins to recognize objects (bottle, soother)o Notices feet and hands and realizes that they belong to their

body o Begins to associate people with an activity or behaviour

(mother and feeding)

To encourage intellectual development in infants this age:o Talk to them o Show visual stimuli such as toys or common

household items o Show them hands and feet and tell them what they

are

One – Three Months Social and Emotional Development

o Intently watches faces when they are being talked to

o Begins to smile at people and toys they enjoyo Start laughing o Recognizes people that are around them often

To encourage social and emotional development in infants this age:o Make faces with to your baby. Your face is their

favourite toyo Give positive feedback when they smile or laugh

Four – Six Months Physical Development

o Rolling overo Lift head and chest when laying on tummyo Plays and looks at fingers and hands o Grasps objects o Can chew toys and soft foods o Uses entire body to reach for toys

To encourage Physical development in infants this age:o offer toys that make noise o Plenty of tummy time o Offer safe foods

Four – Six Months Intellectual Development

o Explores things by putting them in moutho Turns head towards noises o Knows mother and father faces and may resent

strangers o Babbles o Experiments with sounds using pitch and tones o Expresses pain, loneliness, and fear through crying o Has different cries for different things

Ways to encourage intellectual development in infants this age:o Play games such as peek-a-booo Try to carry a conversation when they babble o Play music o Read books

Four – Six Months Social and Emotional Development

o Smiles and laughs towards peopleo Is able to recognize people o Cries when upset and seeks comforto shows excitement by waving arms and

legs o Notices difference between peoples o Smiles at themselves in the mirror o Pays attention to their name

Ways to encourage social and emotional development in infants this age: o Play with the childo Allow tummy time in front of mirrors o Show excitement when you seem them

Seven – Nine Months Physical Development

o Bangs objects togethero Begins crawling o Sits without support o Stands with support o Waves bye-byeo Passes objects between hands o Uses pincer grasp to pick up

objects

Ways to encourage physical development in infants this age: o Encourage the child to make noiseo Help support them while standing o Give a variety of sized toys to work on the

pincer and palmer grasps

Seven – Nine Months Intellectual Development

o Begins to recognize and speak some wordso Can follow simple directions o Listens when hearing sounds o Is able to distinguish sizes of objects o Develops the understanding od “in” and “out”o Searches for objects when taken away

Seven – Nine Months Social and Emotional Development

o Expresses most emotions clearly o Plays games with others o Responds to conversation o Understands your emotions o Becomes familiar and comfortable

around certain people

Ways to encourage social and emotional development in infants this age:o Interact with the infants and have infants interact with each

other o Have conversations with them/ babble along with them

Ten – Twelve Months Physical Development

o Is crawling well o Begins walking o Learning to balance on their owno Pull themselves up o Pick up tiny objects with thumb and forefinger

To encourage Physical development in infants this age:o Allow the infant to experiment with movement

on their own o Encourage them when they begin something

new

Ten – Twelve Months Intellectual Development

o Understands simple questions and sentences o Associates sounds and gestures (no – shaking head)o Takes turns making noise with you o Anticipates surprise in songs o Develops stronger memory skills o Associates sound and objects (kitten – meow)

Ways to encourage intellectual development in infants this age:o Sing songs o Read aloud and tell a story with props o Make animal noises

Ten – Twelve Months Social and Emotional Development

o Shows happiness around parents and favourite toy o Develops stranger anxiety o Gives affection and love o Responds to their name being calledo Fears new situations

Ways to encourage social and emotional development in infants this age:o Give affection and love back o Encourage them when faced with a new experience

Summary

Infants go through many changes within the first year. Physical the infants grow 25-30 cm and they triple their birth weight, plus they gain muscle and bone that allows them to move. Mentally the infants gain so much information about the world around them and they learn this through all of their senses, (touch, taste, smell, hear, and see). It is incredible to see children go through all these changes in such a short amount of time and we as adults, caregivers, and educators help encourage proper development.

How this content is relevant to you personally?

This content is relevant to me personally because I have gone through this experience already with my son (year old). I have watched him grow from a newborn to a very mobile and smart young boy.

How is this content will be of use to you in your professional life

This will be useful in my professional career as I am an ECE student and in my profession we care for infants and young children. The development of infants and children can affect my daily life as a caregiver because I will need to consider the children's development and how it affects their growing.

References

http://www.webmd.com/parenting/baby/infant-development-9/stages-of-development Google Images Healthy Parents Healthy Children pregnancy and baby book, and early years book Some of my own pictures