Key Developmental Changes during Infancy - Literature review Example

Key Developmental Changes during Infancy Student’s name Course Tutor University Department Introduction Life is a sequence of constant changes. Growth occurs in the form of changes and developments. Despite the fact that human’s life is like one unit, the growth of the average person goes in different stages, each characterized by specific properties. According to Erikson’s 8-stage psychosocial theory, each developmental stage consists of a unique developmental task which confronts individuals with a crisis that must be resolved, (Santrock, 2008). Developmental changes in infants Infants rapidly develop emotional regulation, gross and fine motor development as well as language capabilities. These capabilities constitute the basis from which all succeeding development builds. Whether that foundation is stalwart or frail depends on the quality of the infant’s early environments and relationships (Banaji & Gelman, 2013). There are a number of factors that positively and negatively influences infants’ experiences in their development. Infants have a strong set of reflexes and skills that they use in their first 12 months of life. The following is an explanation of some of the developmental stages of infants. Cognitive growth According to Babycentre (2011), cognitive development is the process through which infants and toddlers gradually learn perceptions, thoughts, memory, language and physical coordination. Most of the cognitive development in babies occurs naturally but parents and caregivers can play a big part in helping them learn these skills faster. As per Piaget’s cognitive development theory, infants normally modulate through a number of vocal development stages, notes (Ramsdell-Hudock, 2014). She explains that in the phonation stage, infants gradually develop their ability to control and manipulate their conventional phonation to produce quasi-vowels. They later progress to further manipulate their vocal tracts to babble, coo, squeal and gurgle. Infants usually make meaningless sounds and utter incoherent words as a way of communicating to those around them. Babbling allows infants to imitate the rhythm, intonation, syllables, sentence length, and inflection of the speech that they hear around them (Dasgupta & Hauspie, 2011). This is the groundwork for learning and expressing language. Babbling and cooing encompasses the making of soft and exaggerated vowel sounds by infants with the intent of showing excitement. The infants are simply experimenting with using their tongue, vocal duct and palate (Gauvain, 2011). The infants also start to cling to their caregivers, push them away or simply turn their heads away from them. They begin to make imitations of the sounds their caregivers make. Infants will usually be born with the cognitive capacity for attribution of causality. However, infants will have very little of this aspect and it will not be fully developed until they are about six months old. At this stage the infant does not have the capacity for object permanence and hence will not know that an object which they cannot see or touch continues to exist. By the time the infant is two years old they have the capacity of self awareness. They also have the capacity to situate themselves relative to a model. Such infants can imitate what an adult is doing by modeling their actions. Right from birth the infant will usually have the capacity to differentiate their selves from the non self. Social-emotional growth: Infants distinguish primary caregivers from others Vygotsky’s socio-cultural cognitive theory states that knowledge is constructed through interaction with others and culture. Infants recognize body smells and voices of their caregivers and parents. It is through this recognition that infants are able to discriminate strangers from caregivers who spend most time with them. They can selectively frown, stares, smile and even cry depending on who is seeking their attention (Hinde, Perret-Clermont & Hinde, 2005). The way a person talks to and responds to an infant makes a big difference in their cognitive development. Infants are incapable of using real words and therefore use nonverbal cues to communicate. They do this through body movements, making certain sounds, eye contact as well as facial expressions. An infant’s signs of cognitive development include Babbling, cooing, squealing and gurgling. Smiling and exhibiting startle reflex to sudden sounds is also indicative of an infant’s cognitive development. Imitating blithesome sounds makes the child acknowledge that he or she has done something important and helps to develop their early words. According to Alberta Health Services (2010) baby play forms a very strong foundation for other social and cognitive learning skills. This can be through playing face to face games. Infants have a strong interest in what they see and hear. They take great interest exploring with their eyes- watching the people and objects around them- and ears- listening to voices and sounds around them. Tummy time helps infants gain control of their heads and necks and encourages them to start crawling. It is very important for physical development. Physical growth and development: Gross motor skills Gross motor skills are infant skills that require great muscle activities, such as arm movements and walking. Infants have few physical abilities in their early life apart from few basic reflexes and the ability to cry. Gross motor skills usually climax in the ability of the infants to walk. After a few months, however, the infants start sitting, standing, stooping, climbing, and usually walking. Gross motor skills: it means the movement of to the body muscles. Gross motor skills include broader movements such as moving the muscles of arm, leg foot or moving the whole body. It also includes activities such as crawling running and jumping. According to Thelen & Smith (2006), infants must perceive something in the environment that actuates them to act. They then use their perceptions to fine-tune their movements leading to development of their motor skills. This development is however as a result of interacting factors such as the nervous system, the infant’s physical properties and the environmental support for that particular motor skill. For example, infants learn to walk when their nervous system allows them to control certain leg muscles, when their legs have grown enough to support their body weight, and when they want to move. Examination of ways in which the family may enhance and inhibit an individual’s experiences of each of the key developmental changes described According to (Guralnick, 2006), various family patterns of interaction create an influence on the healthy development of infants. In order for optimal interactions to occur between infants and their families, highly developed predispositions to, and understanding of the cues an infant exhibit are necessary (Guralnick, 2006). This understanding enhances the caregivers’ ability to respond to the infants in a propos and certain manner. It enables the infants develop an understanding that their desires, interests, needs and wants make a difference and exert an influence with respect to what happens next. For example, infants whose vocalizations have been responded to appropriately have tended to exhibit better language development compared to their counterparts whose vocalizations were not properly attended to, (Bornstein &Tamis-Lemonda, 1989). However, sometimes parents may exert inappropriate control over the timing and content of their infants’ interactions, often resulting in undesired or ineffective satisfaction of the infant’s needs and wants Wakschlag & Hans (1999) also note that inappropriately responding to infant needs and wants may impair their ability to become aware of the emotions of those around them. Goldberg (2000), states that the most important factor that determines an infant’s attachment to the caregiver is the caregiver’s response to the infant’s needs as expressed through various cues such as crying and facial expressions. Goldberg (2000) further states that there are various things that caregivers can do in response to an infant’s cues when they are hurt, hungry, upset or uncomfortable. Caregivers who are sensitive to and available at the time of an infant’s distress tend to plough mutual attachments with them. However those who tend to be unavailable and insensitive as well as less responsive to their infant’s needs for comfort make the infants less attached to them. During the early lives of infants, families should imitate vocalizations made by infants. Families should foster their infants to learn to utter words by talking to them using simple words and sentences as well as reading to them and singing simple repetitive worded songs. The infants begin to imitate the words and sounds they hear from those around them. Gradually their diction merges with their understanding and begins to add new words to their vocabulary. Social interactions between the infant and family members usually become ostensible at the moment when infants commence to speak the language of their caregivers, notes Lewkowicz& Hansen-Tift, 2012). Understanding an infant’s cues helps the caregivers to effectively help infants relax. They are able to quickly respond to their needs and wants, making the infants be in a relaxed mood. Lack of an understanding that each cue an infant expresses may inhibit the infant’s development. For instance, an infant may make a certain cry indicating that he or she is wet and uncomfortable. Without knowing this, a caregiver may offer to feed him and not attend to the discomfort of being wet. This may affect the child’s routine activities, such as failing to sleep, preferring to remain awake for extended hours, inhibiting proper development (Thies & Travers, 2011). According to (Bradley, 2002), families provide befitting and stimulating environments that determine an infant’s development. For instance, families decide upon and provide toys and other playing materials to their infants. Where families, mostly from those from poor backgrounds, lack adequate social support for themselves and their infants, they may not be in a position to provide appropriate toys, if any, inhibiting their development. Social support also determines a parent’s selection of appropriate child care, which also affects an infant’s cognitive growth (Beckett & Taylor, 2010). How Limited social support as one of Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Model enhances and inhibits an infant’s experiences of each of the key developmental changes described Within Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model, we find the ecosystem structure that encompasses factors such as social welfare services (Kopp & Krakow, 1982). The Microsystem which includes the peers, family, religious institutions and the neighborhood are great influences on child development. At this stage the mesosystem is not very important given that the child for the most part interacts with the parents. Bronfenbrenner (1990) notes that, both nurture and nature factors affect growth as well as development in humans. Nature factors refer to genetically related factors while nurture factors are the environmental factors affecting human development. Limited social support impacts negatively on infancy development. Social support affects the responsiveness of a mother to her infant’s needs and wants. According to Crockenberg (1981), social support affects the security of attachment between the child and the mother. Social support may fall in the category of the exosystem. If the mother were to receive a promotion t work which requires longer hours, the child’s cognitive development will be impaired in terms of infant food and medication affects an infant’s nutrition and health. Lack of sufficient breast milk or infant formula, negatively affects their nutrition and consequent cognitive development. Crockenberg (1981)’s research findings reveal that there exists a negative correlation between a mother’s responsiveness to her infant’s needs and wants. The macrosystem will be an important part for the development of the infant. The macrosystem includes the interactions between persons and their environments or contexts. Members of a given cultural background will have similar experiences which will impact the development of their children. For instance an infant’s development may be determined by whether the parents are poor, their ethnicity, heritage or values. Each macrosystem has its own values and heritage which are passed down to the children. The chronosystem is related to the microsystem given that contexts of the cultural group are transient and transitional. For instance an infant who has to live in a family in which the parent gets divorced during this period may experience negative developments. Researchers have established that a child will experience the most negative effects a year after the parents’ divorce. Socio-historical c0ontexts which have made it easier for women to engage in careers has changed the effect of divorce on children given that women may have more stability after divorce. Conclusion Childhood development is a critical component which is influenced by a range of factors. The development of the infant will usually have the social emotive, the cognitive and physiological development. Development of all these aspects is critical in determining the maturity level of the child when they become adults. Cognitive growth encompasses aspects of the development of language, memory and physical coordination. Some aspects of cognition such as self awareness will usually develop over time and the child will he fully self aware at 6 months. Some will need the active input of the parents and caretakers including the environment in order to develop. Social emotional growth is the one aspect which is greatly dependent on the input of the environment and the persons taking care of the child. How the child interacts and builds bonds with the caretaker will lay a great foundation and help develop emotional and social relational dynamics of the child. The child ought to be left to explore and –play in order to learn their cultural environment and adapt to it. Physical growth is usually innate but requires the input of the caretaker in order for the child to develop fully. The caretaker must offer a conducive environment for play that allows the child to exercise and develop their gross motor skills. According to the Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model the environment in which the child grows in both in the home and outside it plays a critical role in determining the overall growth of the child. Parents should therefore ensure that the environment they expose their children to is conducive for their development. References Alberta Health Services (2010).Growth and Development: Patterns of Development. [online] available at https://myhealth.alberta.ca/alberta/Pages/Growth-And-Development.aspx accessed 23 April 2014. Babycenter (2011).Understanding Your Baby’s Cognitive Development. [online]. Available at Read More