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Human Development Infancy, Lecture notes of Family and Consumer Science

Family and Consumer Science

Human Development lecture on birthing process, risks during childbirth, and the development of an infant

Typology: Lecture notes

2015/2016

Uploaded on 03/19/2023

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INFANCY: BIRTH, CARE AND SURVIVAL
BIRTH
• The birthing process is risky for both the mother and child
• Infant mortality is continuing to decline, thanks to modern medical
technology and knowledge
THE BIRTHING PROCESS
• Labor
- Birth is hard work for both mother and baby
• Parturition
- An act or process of giving birth, and it typically begins about 2
weeks before delivery
- The uterine contractions that expel the fetus begin ꟷ typically
about 266 days after conception ꟷ as a tightening of the uterus
- Braxton-Hicks contraction is a false contraction during the final
months of pregnancy or even as early as the second trimester,
when the muscles of the uterus tighten for up to 2 minutes
- Real labor contractions are more frequent, rhythmic and painful,
and they increase in frequency and intensity
STAGES OF LIVE BIRTH
STAGE 1: DILATION OF CERVIX
• The longest, typically lasting 12 to 14 hours for a woman having her
first child. In subsequent births, the first stage tends to be shorter
• During this stage, regular and increasingly frequent uterine
contractions ꟷ 15 to 20 minutes apart at first ꟷ cause the cervix to
shorten and dilate, or widen in preparation for delivery
• Toward the end of the first stage, contractions occur every 2 to 5
minutes. This stage lasts until the cervix is fully open (10 cm or about 4
inches) so the baby can be descend into birth canal
STAGE 2: DESCENT AND EMERGENCE OF THE BABY
• It begins when the baby’s head begins to move through the cervix into
the vaginal canal, and it ends when the baby emerges completely from
the mother’s body
• At the end of this stage, the baby is born but is still attached to the
placenta in the mother’s body by the umbilical cord which must be cut
and clamped
STAGE 3: EXPLUSION OF THE PLACENTA
• The placenta and the remainder of the umbilical cord are expelled from
the mother
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INFANCY: BIRTH, CARE AND SURVIVAL

BIRTH

  • The birthing process is risky for both the mother and child
  • Infant mortality is continuing to decline, thanks to modern medical technology and knowledge THE BIRTHING PROCESS
  • Labor
  • Birth is hard work for both mother and baby
  • Parturition
  • An act or process of giving birth, and it typically begins about 2 weeks before delivery
  • The uterine contractions that expel the fetus begin ꟷ typically about 266 days after conception ꟷ as a tightening of the uterus
  • Braxton-Hicks contraction is a false contraction during the final months of pregnancy or even as early as the second trimester, when the muscles of the uterus tighten for up to 2 minutes
  • Real labor contractions are more frequent, rhythmic and painful, and they increase in frequency and intensity STAGES OF LIVE BIRTH STAGE 1: DILATION OF CERVIX
  • The longest, typically lasting 12 to 14 hours for a woman having her first child. In subsequent births, the first stage tends to be shorter
  • During this stage, regular and increasingly frequent uterine contractions ꟷ 15 to 20 minutes apart at first ꟷ cause the cervix to shorten and dilate, or widen in preparation for delivery
  • Toward the end of the first stage, contractions occur every 2 to 5 minutes. This stage lasts until the cervix is fully open (10 cm or about 4 inches) so the baby can be descend into birth canal

STAGE 2: DESCENT AND EMERGENCE OF THE BABY

  • It begins when the baby’s head begins to move through the cervix into the vaginal canal, and it ends when the baby emerges completely from the mother’s body
  • At the end of this stage, the baby is born but is still attached to the placenta in the mother’s body by the umbilical cord which must be cut and clamped STAGE 3: EXPLUSION OF THE PLACENTA
  • The placenta and the remainder of the umbilical cord are expelled from the mother

THREE STAGES OF CHILDBIRTH

(a) During the first stage of labor, a series of increasingly stronger contractions dilates the cervix, the opening to the mother’s womb. (b) During the second stage, the baby’s head moves down the birth canal and emerges from the vagina. (c) During the brief third stage, the placenta and umbilical cord are expelled from the womb. The cord is cut. ELECTRONIC FETAL MONITORING

  • Can track the fetus’s heartbeat during labor and delivery and indicate how the fetal heart responds to the stress of uterine contractions
  • Can provide valuable information in high-risk deliveries
  • It is costly’ it restricts the mother’s movements during labor; and most important, it has an extremely high false-positive rate, suggesting that fetuses are in trouble when they are not VAGINAL VS. CVESAREAN DELIVERY
  • Vaginal Delivery
  • The usual method for childbirth
  • Cesarean Delivery
  • Surgically removes the baby from the uterus through an incision in the mother’s abdomen
  • Commonly performed when labor progresses too slowly, when the fetus seems to be in trouble, or when the mother is bleeding vaginally
  • Often, a cesarean is needed when the fetus is in the breech position (feet or buttocks first) or in the transverse position (lying crosswise in the uterus) or when the head is too big to pass through the mother’s pelvis

INCERASE IN CESAREAN BIRTHS

  • The increase in cesarean rates is attributed largely to rising proportions of older first-time mothers, who tend to have multiple births and of very premature infants
  • Physician’s fear of malpractice suits and women’s preferences also may play a part in the choice of cesarean deliveries
  • As may the increased revenue hospitals generate when a woman has a cesarean rather than a vaginal birth RISK IN CESAREAN BIRTHS
  • Bleeding, infection, damage to pelvic organs, and postoperative pain, and heighten risks of problems in future pregnancies
  • They also deprive the baby of important benefits of normal birth: the surge of hormones that clear the lungs of excess fluid, mobilize stored fuel to nourish cells, and send blood to the heart and brain
  • Vaginal delivery also stimulates the release of oxytocin, a hormone involved in uterine contractions that stimulates maternal behavior in animals
  • Cesarean delivery also may negatively affect breastfeeding which can influence bonding
  • A repeat cesarean is also associated with greater risk MEDICATED VS NONMEDICATED BIRTHS
  • Natural Birth
  • Method of childbirth that seeks to prevent pain by eliminating the mother’s fear through education about the physiology of reproduction and training in breathing and relaxation during delivery
  • Prepared Childbirth
  • Method of childbirth that uses instruction, breathing exercises, and social support to induce controlled physical responses to uterine contractions and reduce fear and pain

breast-feeding than expectant mothers who participated in the same classes but without the support of doula

  • Women who give birth with the assistance of a doula are almost 41 percent less likely to have a cesarean delivery than women who give birth without a doula

THE NEWBORN BABY

NEONATAL PERIOD

  • The first 4 weeks of life, is a time of transition from the uterus, where a fetus is supported entirely by the mother, to an independent existence NEONATE
  • Also called newborn (up to 4 weeks old) in the United States is about 20 inches long and weighs about 7 ½ pound (3.5 kg)
  • Philippines’ average birth weight of a Filipino newborn is 2.8 to 3 kg
  • Boys tend to be longer and heavier than girls
  • New babies have distinctive features including a large head (one-fourth the body length) and a receding chin (which makes it easier to nurse)
  • Newborn infants also have areas on their heads known as fontanels (bunbunan) where the bones of the skull do not meet
  • In the first 18 months of life, the plates of the skull gradually fuse together
  • Many newborns have a pinkish cast; their skin is so thin that it barely covers the capillaries through which blood flows
  • During the first few days, some neonates are very hairy because some of the lanugo, a fuzzy prenatal hair, has not yet fallen off
  • Almost all new babies are covered with vernix caseosa (cheesy varnish) an oily protection against infection that dries within the first few days
  • Witch’s milk (Neonatal Galactorrhea)
  • This fluid emission results from high levels of the hormone estrogen, which is secreted by the placenta just before birth and goes away within a few days or weeks (within 2 weeks) BODY SYSTEMS
  • After birth, all of the baby’s systems and functions must operate on their own. Most of the work of this transition occurs during the first 4 to 6 hours after delivery
  • A newborn needs more oxygen than before. Most babies start to breathe as soon as they are exposed to air
  • Anoxia (no oxygen); Hypoxia (low oxygen)
  • If a neonate does not begin breathing within about 5 minutes, the baby may suffer permanent brain injury
  • Anoxia or hypoxia may occur during delivery (though rarely so) as a result of repeated compression of the placenta and umbilical cord with each contraction

MEDICAL AND BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENTS

  • The APGAR Scale
    • The newborn is rated 0 – 2 on each measure (Appearance, Pulse, Grimace (reflex irritability), Activity (muscle tone), Respiration for a total of 10 points
    • Must be 7 – 10 points
    • A score below 5 – 7 means the baby needs help to establish breathing;
    • A score below 4 means the baby needs immediate lifesaving treatment: induced breathing through spanking so they can cry. Stimulate the baby's first cry by drying the baby off or suctioning fluid out of their mouth or nose
  • Assessing Neurological Status: The Brazelton Scale
    • Neurological and behavioral test to measure a neonate’s responses to the environment
    • Done after a day, or a week after o Motor Organization – as shown by such behaviors as activity level and the ability to bring a hand to the mouth o State Changes – such as irritability, excitability, and ability to quiet down after being upset o Attention and Interactive Capacities – as shown by general alertness and response to visual and auditory stimuli o Central Nervous System Instability – such as tremors and changes in skin color
  • Neonatal Screening for Medical Conditions
    • Children who inherit the enzyme disorder phenylketonuria or PKU will develop permanent intellectual disability unless they are fed a special diet beginning in the first 3 to 6 weeks of life - The cost of testing thousands of newborns to detect one case of a rare disease may be less than the cost of caring for one mentally retarded person for a lifetime STATE OF AROUSAL
  • Babies also have an internal clock that regulates their daily cycles of eating, sleeping, elimination, and even their moods
  • The establishment of “stable and distinct” states of arousal is associated with newborn health and positive outcomes because they are a marker of neurological organization
  • Parents report hat from 0 to 2 months of age, infants sleep about 14. hours a day and wake 1.7 times per night
  • In the daytime, infants from 0 to 5 months will generally nap about 3 hours a day

o Preterm and small-for-date infants are at increased risk of adult-onset diabetes o Small-for-date infants appear to be at increased risk of cardiovascular disease o Heightened risk of death throughout childhood o Diminished reproductive rates in adulthood o Increased risk of bearing preterm infants themselves

  • Generally, the shorter the period of gestation, the greater the likelihood of cerebral palsy, mental retardation, and low educational and job-related income levels o Environmental factors can make a difference. Factors such as maternal education, two-parent family structure, and higher SES are associated with positive developmental outcomes for preterm infants COMPLICATIONS OF CHILDBIRTH
  • Postmature babies
  • Tend to be long and thin because they have kept growing in the womb but have had an insufficient blood supply toward the end of gestation o The baby’s greater size also complicates labor; the mother has to deliver a baby the size of a normal 1-month old o This puts the mother at a higher risk of cesarean delivery, perinatal tears, and postpartum hemorrhage, and the neonate at greater risk of shoulder dystocia (a condition in which the baby’s shoulders become stuck behind the mother’s pelvic bone during delivery) o Meconium Aspiration (occurs when a newborn breathes a mixture of meconium and amniotic fluid into the lungs around the time of delivery), low APGAR scores, brain damage, and death
  • Stillbirth
  • The sudden death of a fetus at or after 20th week of gestation, is a tragic union of opposites ꟷ birth and death o can be diagnosed prenatally or during delivery o Many stillborn fetuses are small for gestational age, indicating malnourishment in the womb o Fetuses believed to have problems can have prenatal surgery in the womb to correct congenital problems or be delivered prematurely SURVIVAL AND HEALTH INFANT MORTALITY
  • Infant Mortality Rate
  • The proportion of babies who die within the 1st^ year ꟷ has fallen almost continuously since the beginning of the twentieth century when 100 infants died for every 1,000 born alive
  • In Philippines, the current mortality rate is 17 deaths per 1000 born alive (declining the trend of 2.36% compared last year (2022)
  • Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
  • Sometimes called crib death, is the sudden death of an infant under the age of 1 in which the cause of death remains unexplained after a thorough investigation that includes an autopsy o SIDS is the result of three overlapping factors
  • Vulnerability (usually heart problems)
  • Critical Period – when the child is at risk (when they start moving their heads/body)
  • Exogenous Stressor (triggered when they sleep on their stomach)
  • Death from injuries
  • About 90 percent of all injury deaths in infancy are due to one of four causes: o Suffocation, motor vehicle traffic, drowning, and residential fires or burns o Shaken baby syndrome
  • The brain is still developing in infancy, the infant’s head should be protected from falls or other injuries and the baby should never be shaken
  • Includes brain swelling and hemorrhaging, affects hundreds of babies in the United States each year IMMUNIZATION FOR BETTER HEALTH
  • Such once-familiar and sometimes fatal childhood illnesses as measles, pertussis (whooping cough) and polio are now largely preventable, thanks to the development of vaccines that mobilize the body’s natural defenses o Unfortunately, many children still are not adequately protected o Some parents hesitate to immunize their children because of speculation that certain vaccines ꟷ particularly the diphtheria- pertussis-tetanus (DPT) and measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccines ꟷ may cause autism or other neurodevelopmental disorders o There is no empirical evidence that this link exists

INFANCY: PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT AND MOTOR DEVELOPMENT

PRINCIPLES OF DEVELOPMENT

  • Even after the gestational period, the child’s brain is still continuously developing; hence, the neonatal care in their physical, cognitive, and social development is extended
  • Cephalocaudal principle
  • Growth occurs from the top down
  • Because the brain grows rapidly before birth, a newborn baby’s head is disproportionately large
  • Sensory and motor development proceed according to the same principle: Infants learn to use the upper parts of the body before the lower parts (eyes moves first before the hand and feet)
  • Proximodistal principle (inner to outer)
  • Growth and motor development proceed from the center of the body outward
  • During infancy and early childhood, the limbs continue to grow faster than the hands and feet
  • Babies learn to use the parts of their bodies closest to the center of their body before they learn to use the outermost parts
  • Babies first learn to control their arms when reaching, then use their hands in a scooping motion, then finally learn to use their thumb and pointer finger in a pincer grip GROWTH PATTERNS
  • Children grow faster during the first 3 years, especially during the first few months, than they ever will again
  • The genes an infant inherits have a strong influence on whether the child will be tall or short, thin or stocky, or somewhere in between
  • Teething usually begins around 3 or 4 months, when infants begin grabbing almost everything in sight to put into their mouths, but the first tooth may not actually arrive until sometime between 5 and 9 months, or even later
  • Even if not fatal, severe and lengthy malnutrition is detrimental to physical, cognitive, and social development
  • Children whose mothers had been given nutritious supplements during pregnancy, and who themselves had been given more nutritious, high- calorie foods in their first two years of life, were more active, more involved, more helpful with their peers, less anxious, and happier than their counterparts who had not been given nutritional supplements OTHER NUTRITIONAL CONCERNS
  • Healthy babies should consume nothing but breast milk or iron- fortified formula for their first 6 months
  • Pediatric experts recommend that iron-enriched solid foods — usually beginning with cereals — be introduced gradually during the second half of the 1st^ year o Most young children do not eat enough fruits or vegetables, or a sufficient variety of vegetables, and as they age into toddlerhood, many consume increasing amounts of sugar-sweetened beverages
  • Obesity
  • Children born to mothers who had a higher pregnancy body mass index (BMI) or who gaines a great deal of weight during the pregnancy were at higher risk, as were infants who weighed a great deal at birth or gained weight quickly as infants o Cultural factors – in Philippines, chubby infants are seen as healthy by baby boomer parents or grandparents BRAIN AND BRAIN REFLEX BEHAVIOR
  • Central Nervous System
  • Brain and spinal cord o Building the Brain – the brain at birth is only about one-fourth to one- third of its eventual adult volume
  • By age 6, it is almost adult-size, but specific parts of the brain continue to grow and develop functionally into adulthood
  • The brain’s growth occurs in fits and starts called brain growth spurts
  • Different parts of the brain grow more rapidly at different times
  • Brain develops through stimulation, the more the brain is being used the more it is developing MAJOR PARTS OF THE BRAIN
  • Brain Stem – the part of the brain responsible for such basic bodily functions as breathing, heart rate, body temperature, and the sleep- wake cycle
  • Fully developed by birth, with the spinal cord
  • Aka the reptilian brain, as all animals especially mammals and reptiles have it
  • Cerebellum – the part of the brain that maintains balance and motor coordination
  • Grows fastest during the 1st^ year of life
  • Literally the “smaller brain” as it appears as a small brain on the lower part of the brain
  • Not yet fully developed
  • Cerebrum – the largest part of the brain, is divided into right and left halves or hemispheres, each with specialized functions (lateralization) o Right hemisphere – visual and spatial functions such as map reading and drawing o Left hemisphere – mainly concerned with language and logical thinking o Corpus callosum – a tough band of tissue joining the two hemispheres which allows them to share information and coordinate commands
  • the corpus callosum grows dramaticall during childhood, reaching adult size by about age 10
  • Each cerebral hemisphere has four lobes and is primarily concerned with different functions

o Occipital Lobe – the smallest of the four lobes and is primarily concerned with visual processing (ocular: inspection) o Parietal Lobe – involved with integrating sensory information from the body (center of the sensory) o Temporal Lobe – helps us interpret smells and sounds and is involved in memory o Frontal Lobe – the newest region of the brain, are involved with a variety of higher-order processes, such as goal setting, inhibition, reasoning, planning and problem solving o Occipital and Parietal lobes are fast to develop, Frontal is typically the slowest in developing as it contains high order processing

  • Cerebral Cortex – govern vision, hearing, and other sensory information grow rapidly in the first few months after birth and are mature by age 6 months (outer part of the brain)
    • The areas of the frontal cortex responsible for abstract thought, mental associations, remembering, and deliberate motor responses grow very little during this period and remain immature for several years (fully developed in adulthood)
  • The brain growth spurt that begins at about the third trimester of gestation and continues until at least the 4th^ year of life is important to the development of neurological functioning
    • Smiling, babbling, crawling, walking, and talking — all the major sensory, motor, and cognitive milestone of infancy and toddlerhood — reflect the rapid development of the brain, particularly the cerebral cortex
    • Integrates all the information and interpret it BRAIN CELLS
  • Neurons – or nerve cells, send an information
  • at birth, most of the more than 100 billion neurons in a mature brain are already formed but are not yet fully developed
  • Glial cells – nourish and protect the neurons. They are the support system for our neurons

NEURON AND ITS PARTS

  • Axon and Dendrites
    • Narrow, branching, fiber-like extensions o Axons send signal to other neurons, and Dendrites receive incoming messages from them, through Synapses, tiny gaps, which are bridged with the help of chemicals called Neurotransmitter that are released by the Neurons o A particular neuron may have anywhere from 5,000 to 100, synaptic connections o The multiplication of dendrites and synaptic connections, especially during the last 2 ½ months of gestation and the first 6 months to 2 years of life, accounts for much of the brain’s growth and permits the emergence of new perceptual, cognitive, and motor abilities

REFLEXES

  • Postural Reflexes
    • Reactions to changes in position or balance. Becomes active during first 2 – 4 months
  • Locomotor Reflexes
    • Such as the walking and swimming reflexes, resemble voluntary movements and do not appear until months after the reflexes have disappeared

o Most of the early reflexes disappear during the first 6 to 12 months o Reflexes that continue to serve protection functions — such as blinking, yawning, coughing, gagging, sneezing, shivering, and dilation of the pupils in the dark — remain (lifesaver) o We can evaluate a baby’s neurological development by seeing whether certain reflexes are present or absent

  • Neurons involves in reflexes as it indicates underdeveloped central nervous system in children resulting in lack of reflexes (the default setting or pre-built response in every developing human being) BRAIN PLASTICITY
  • Modifiability, or “molding” of the brain through experience o May be an evolutionary mechanism to enable adaptation to environmental changes o Enables learning (they can adjust to whatever learning they have since knowledge is not yet set in stone) o Individual differences in intelligence may reflect differences in the brain’s ability to develop neural connection in response to experience o It can also lead to damage in the case of the harmful input
  • During the formative period of early life when the brain is most plastic, the brain is especially vulnerable o Enriched experience can spur brain development and even make up for past deprivation EARLY SENSORY CAPACITIES
  • Touch is the first sense to develop; for the first several months, it is the most mature sensory system (developed already during pregnancy)
  • Pain – newborns can and do feel pain, and they become more sensitive to it during their first few days o Infants show a decreased pain response when they are held or cuddled, especially with skin-to-skin contact, and either breast-fed or given a sweet solution to suck on
  • Smell and Taste
  • The senses of smell and taste begin to develop in the womb o Preferences for certain tastes and smell can be developed in utero o Flavors from the foods that the mother eats are also transmitted via breast milk
  • Therefore exposure to the flavors of healthy foods through breastfeeding may improve acceptance of healthy foods after weaning and later in life
  • The taste preferences developed in infancy may last into early childhood; children offered different flavors in early infancy later have less restricted food preferences o Newborns much prefer sweet tastes, such as breast milk, to sour, bitter, or salty tastes o Newborns also strongly dislike bitter flavors, likely a survival mechanism given the toxic nature of many bitter substances
  • Hearing – auditory discrimination develops rapidly after birth o Infants as young as 2 days old are able to recognize a word they heard up to a day earlier o At 1 month, babies can distinguish sounds as close as ‘ba and pa’ o By 11 to 17 weeks, infants are able to both recognize and remember entire sentences after a brief delay o By 4 months, infants’ brain are showing lateralization for language, as occurs in adults o There are even indications that infants can recognize music that is typical of their culture from a young age o Because hearing is a key to language development, hearing impairments should be identified as early as possible
  • Infants show a special affinity for faces and they are able to discriminate between individual faces within hours after birth
    • It is embedded in our genetic makeup the facial recognition
  • Infants also prefer to look at their own mother’s face and the faces of attractive strangers more than unattractive strangers
    • They do not like ugly things >,<
  • Between about 4 to 8 months of age, when learning language, infants pay particular attention to the mouth
  • Generally, infants seem to show privileged attention to faces, a tendency which is likely the result od a dedicated neural system for the processing of facial stimuli MOTOR DEVELOPMENT MILESTONES OF MOTOR DEVELOPMENT
  • Motor development is marked by a series of milestones: achievements that develop systematically each newly mastered ability preparing a baby to tackle the next
  • We skill to get our ultimate goal, for infant its goal is WALKING
  • Systems of Action – Increasingly complex combinations of motor skills, which permits a wider or more precise range of movement and more control of the environment
  • In learning to walk, an infant gains control of separate movements of the arms, legs, and feet before putting these movements together to take that momentous first step
  • Actions partaking of a person to accomplish its goal ꟷ controlling the environment. Piaget’s proposition includes that “people uses their own human capacity, human faculty to dominate their environment”
  • Denver Development Screening Test – is used to chart progress between ages 1 month and 6 years and to identify children who are not developing normally. Measures: o Gross Motor skills – physical skills that involve large muscles o Fine Motor skills – physical skills that involve small muscles and eye-hand coordination (grasping) o It also assess language development (for example, knowing the definitions of words) and personality and social development (such as smiling spontaneously and dressing without help)
  • Head Control – at birth, most infants can turn their heads from side to side while lying on their backs
    • Within the first 2 to 3 months, they lift their heads higher and higher ꟷ sometimes to the point where they lose their balance and roll over on their backs
    • By 4 months, almost all infants can keep their heads erect while being held or supported in a sitting position
  • Hand control – babies are born with a grasping reflex
    • At about 3 ½ months, most infants can grasp an object of moderate size, such as rattle, but have trouble holding a small object
    • Next, they begin to grasp object with one hand and transfer them too the other, and then to hold (but not pick up) small objects
    • Sometimes between 7 and 11 months, their hands become coordinated enough to pick up a tiny object, such as pea, using their pincer grasp
  • Locomotion – after 3 months, the average infant begins to roll over deliberately (rather than accidentally, as before) ꟷ first from front to back and then from back to front
    • The average baby can sit without support by 6 months and can assume a sitting position without help by about 8 ½ months
    • Between 6 and 10 months, most babies begin to get around under their own power by means of creeping or crawling - Crawling infants become more sensitive to where objects are (navigation), how big they are, whether they can be moved, and how they look. Crawling helps babies learn to judge distances and perceive depth - They learn to look to caregivers for clues as to whether a situation is secure or frightening ꟷ a skill known as social referencing MILESTONES OF MOTOR DEVELOPMENT: LOCOMOTION
  • By holding onto a helping hand or a piece of furniture, the average baby can stand at a little pass age 7 months
  • The average baby can let go and stand alone well at about 11 ½ months
  • All these developments lead up to the major motor achievement of infancy: walking
  • Shortly after the first birthday, the average child is walking fairly well and thus achieves the status of toddler
  • During the 2nd^ year, children begin to climb stairs one at a time, putting one foot another on the same step; later they will alternate feet
  • By age 3 ½ most children can balance briefly on one foot and begin to hop MOTOR DEVELOPMENT AND PERFCEPTION
  • Sensory perception enables infants to learn about themselves and their environment so they can make better judgements about how to navigate in it
  • Motor experience, together with awareness of their changing bodies, sharpens and modifies their perpetual understanding of what is likely to happen if they move in a certain ay
  • This bidirectional connection between perception and action, mediated by the developing brain, gives infant much useful information about themselves and their world
  • Visual Guidance – the use of the eyes to guide the movement of the hands (or other parts of the body)
  • Young infants could locate unseen objects by sound and could locate objects in the dark and by using their memory of the objects’ location, even in the object were moving
  • At 6 months of age, infants could successfully reach for objects in the dark faster than they could in the light
  • Depth Perception – the ability to perceive objects and surfaces in three dimensions, depends on several kinds of cues that affect the image of an object on the retina of the eye
  • Kinetic cues are produced by movement of the object or the observer, or both