EDUC10: Child and Adolescent Learners and Learning Principles

Module 12
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT OF INFANTS AND TODDLERS

Introduction
We have just traced the developmental process before birth. We shall continue to
trace the developmental process by following the infant or the baby who is just born up to
when he reaches age 2. The period that comes after pre-natal or antenatal stage is infancy
which, in turn, is followed by toddlerhood. Infancy and toddlerhood span the first two years
of life.
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Intended Learning Outcomes

• Trace the physical development that you have gone through as infants and toddlers.
• Identify factors that enhance / impede the physical development of infants and
toddlers
• Present your own or others' research on the physical development of infants and
toddlers
• Draw implications of these principles and processes to child care, education and
parenting.
The Pattern of Development
As you learned in Module 1, 1, the cephalocaudal trend is the postnatal growth from
conception to 5 months when the head grows more than the body. This cephalocaudal
trend of growth that applies to the development of the fetus also applies in the first months
after birth. Infants learn to use their upper limbs before their lower limbs. The same pattern
occurs in the head area because the top parts of the head - the eyes and the brain - grow
faster than the lower parts such as the jaw.

The proximodistal trend is the pre-natal growth from 5 months to birth when the fetus
grows from the inside of the body outwards. This also applies in the first months after birth as
shown in the earlier maturation of muscular control of the trunk and arms, followed by that of
the hands and fingers. When referring to motor development, the proximodistal trend refers
to the development of motor skills from the center of the body outward.

Height and Weight

• It's normal for newborn babies to drop 5 to 10 percent of their body weight within a
couple of weeks of birth. That is due to the baby's adjustment to neonatal feeding.
Once they adjust to sucking, swallowing and digesting, they grow rapidly.
• Breastfed babies are typically heavier than bottle-fed babies through the first six
months. After six months, breastfed babies usually weigh less than bottle-fed babies.
• In general, an infant's length increases by about 30 percent in the first five months. A
baby's weight usually triples during the first year but slows down in the second year of
life.
• Low percentages are not a cause for alarm as long as infants progress along a
natural curve of steady development.

Brain Development

Among the most dramatic changes in the brain in the first two years of life are the
spreading connections of dendrites to each other. Remember neurons, dendrites, axon,
synapses? You discussed them in your General Psychology class. (You
may wish to review on them.)

Myelination or myelinization, the process by which the axons are covered and
insulated by layers of fat cells, begins prenatally and continues after birth. The process of
 myelination or myelinization increases the speed at which information travels through the
nervous system.

At birth, the newborn's brain is about 25 percent of its adult weight. By the second
birthday, the brain is about 75% of its adult weight.

Shortly after birth, a baby's brain produces trillions more connections between neurons
than it can possibly use. The brain eliminates connections that are seldom or never used
(Santrock, 2002). The infant's brain is literally waiting for experiences to determine how
connections are made.

A study on rats conducted by Mark Rosenzweig in 1969 revealed that the brains of rats
that grew up in the enriched environment developed better than the brains of the animals
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reared in standard or isolated conditions. The brains of the “enriched” animals weighed
more, had thicker layers, had more neuronal connections and had higher levels of
neurochemical activity. Such finding implies that enriching the lives of infants who live in
impoverished environments can produce positive changes in their development (Santrock,
2002).

Depressed brain activity has been found in children who grew up in a depressed
environment (Circhetti, 2001, cited by Santrock, 2002).

Motor development

Along this aspect of motor development, infants and toddlers begin from reflexes, to
gross motor skills and fine motor skills.

Reflexes

The newborn has some basic reflexes which are, of course automatic, and serve as
survival mechanisms before they have the opportunity to learn. Many reflexes which are
present at birth will generally subside within a few months as the baby grows and matures.
There are many different reflexes. Some of the most common reflexes that babies have
are:

Sucking Reflex: The sucking reflex is initiated when something touches the roof of an
infant's mouth. Infants have a strong sucking reflex which helps to ensure they can
latch onto a bottle or breast. The sucking reflex is very strong in some infants and they
may need to suck on a pacifier for comfort.

Rooting Reflex: The rooting reflex is most evident when an infant's cheek is stroked. The
baby responds by turning his or her head in the direction of the touch and opening
their mouth for feeding.

Gripping Reflex: Babies will grasp anything that is placed in their palm. The strength of
this grip is strong, and most babies can support their entire weight in their grip.

Curling Reflex: When the inner sole of a baby's foot is stroked, the infant respond by
curling his or her toes. When the outer sole of a baby's foot is stroked, the infant will
respond by spreading out their toes.

Startle/Moro Reflex: Infants will respond to sudden sounds or movements by throwing

their arms and legs out, and throwing their heads back. Most infants will usually cry
when startled and proceed to pull their limbs back into their bodies.

Galant Reflex: The galant reflex is shown when an infant's middle or lower back is
stroked next to the spinal cord. The baby will respond by curving his or her body
toward the side which is being stroked.
 Tonic Neck Reflex: The tonic neck reflex is demonstrated in infants who are placed on
their abdomens. Whichever side the child's head is facing, the limbs on that side will
straighten, while the opposite limbs will curl.

Gross Motor Skills

It is always a source of excitement for parents to witness dramatic changes in the

infant's first year of life. This dramatic motor development is shown in babies unable to even
lift their heads to being able to grab things off the cabinet, to chase the ball and to walk
away from parent.

Fine Motor Skills

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Fine motor skills, are skills that involve a refined use of the small muscles controlling the
hand, fingers, and thumb. The development of these skills allows one to be able to complete
tasks such as writing, drawing, and buttoning.

The ability to exhibit fine motor skills involve activities that involve precise eye-hand
coordination. The development of reaching and grasping becomes more refined during the
first two years of me. Initially, infants show only crude shoulder and elbow movements, but
later they show wrist movements, hand rotation and coordination of feet and arms.

What are some research findings regarding newborns' visual perceptions? Can
newborns see?

• The newborn's vision is about 10 to 30 times lower than normal adult vision. By 6
months of age, vision becomes better and by the first birthday, the infant's vision
approximates that of an adult. (Banks & Salapatek, 1983 cited by Santrock, 2002).
• Infants look at different things for different lengths of time. In an experiment
conducted by Robert Fantz (1963 cited by Santrock, 2002), it was found out that
infants preferred to look at patterns such as faces and concentric circles rather than
at color or brightness. Based on these results, it is likely that “pattern perception has an
innate basis” (Santrock, 2002). Among the first few things that babies learn to
recognize is their mother's face, as mother feeds and nurses them.

Can newborns hear?

• The sense of hearing in an infant develops much before the birth of the baby. When
in the womb, the baby hears his/ her mother's heartbeats, the grumbling of his/her
stomach, the mother's voice and music. How soothing it must have been for you to
listen to your mother's lullaby.
• Infants' sensory thresholds are somewhat higher than those of adult which means that
stimulus must be louder to be heard by a newborn than by an adult.

Can newborns differentiate odors?

• In an experiment conducted by MacFarlane (1975) “young infants who were

breastfed showed a clear preference for smelling their mother's breast pad when
they were 6 days old. This preference did not show when the babies were only two
days old. This shows that it requires several days of experience to recognize their
mother's breast pad odor.”

Can newborns feel pain? Do they respond to touch?

• They do feel pain. Newborn males show a higher level of cortisol (an indicator of
stress) after a circumcision than prior to the surgery (Taddio, et al, 1997 cited by
Santrock, 2002).
• Babies respond to touch. In the earlier part of this Module on motor development, you
learned that a newborn automatically sucks an object placed in his/her mouth, or a
touch of the cheek makes the newborn turn his/her head toward the side that was
 touched in an apparent effort to find something to suck.

Can newborns distinguish the different tastes?

• In a study conducted with babies only two hour old, babies made different facial
expressions when they tasted sweet, sour and bitter solutions (Rosentein and Oster,
1988, cited by Santrock, 2002).
• When saccharin was added to the amniotic fluid of a near term fetus, increased
swallowing was observed. .
• This indicates that sensitivity to taste might be present before birth.

Do infants relate information through several senses? In short, are infants capable of
intermodal perception?
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• Intermodal perception is the ability to relate, connect and integrate information

about two or more sensory modalities such as vision and hearing.
• In a study conducted by Spelke and Owsley (1979), it was found out that as early as
at 3 1/2 months old, infants looked more at their mother when they also heard her
voice and longer at their father when they also heard his voice.
• This capacity for intermodal perception or ability to connect information coming
through various modes gets sharpened considerably through experience.

A Summary of What Infants and Toddlers Can Do Physically

Domain: Physical Health, Well-Being and Motor Development

PHYSICAL HEALTH
Standards 1: The child demonstrates adequate growth (weight, height, head
circumference)
Standards 2: The child has adequate sensory systems to participate in daily activities

0 - 6 months
• Startles to loud sounds
• Visually follows a moving object from side to side
• Visually follows a moving object up and down
• Reacts to pain by crying
• Withdraws or cries when in contact with something hot
• Withdraws or reacts with surprise when in contact with something cold
• Reacts with pleasure/smiles or relaxed expression when he/she tastes some delicious
• Reacts by making a face/frowns/grimaces when he/she tastes something he/she
does not like

7 - 12 months
• Reacts with pleasure when he/she smells something nice
• Reacts by making a face when he/she smells something foul

Standards 3: The child has adequate stamina to participate in daily activities.

• Pushes and/or pulls moderately heavy objects (e.g., chairs, large boxes)
• Walks without tiring easily

13 - 18 months
• Plays without tiring easily, able to keep pace with playmates
• Participates actively in games, outdoor play and other exercises

19 - 24 months
• Sustains physical activity (e.g., dancing, outdoor games, swimming) for at least 3-5
minutes
 MOTOR SKILLS DEVELOPMENT (GROSS MOTOR SKILLS)
Standards 1: The child shows control and coordination of body movements involving large
muscle groups.
• Based on your experience, are these indicators generally observed on and/or
performed by a child on the specified age?

0 - 6 months
• Holds head steadily
• Moves arms and legs equally to reach at dangling object
• Rolls over
• Bounces when held standing, briefly bearing weight on legs
• Sits with support
• Starting to crawl but not yet very good at this
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7 - 12 months
• Sits alone steadily without support
• Creeps or crawls with ease as a primary means of moving around
• Stands without support
• Stands from a sitting position without any help
• Squats from a standing position with ease
• Stands from a standing position with ease
• Bends over easily without falling
• Stands from a bent position without falling
• Walks sideways by holding onto the sides of crib or furniture (cruises)
• Walks with one hand held

13 - 18 months
• Walks without support
• Walks backwards
• Walks up the stairs with hand held, 2 feet on each step
• Walks down the stairs with hand held, 2 feet on each step
• Jumps in place
• Climbs onto a steady elevated surface (e.g., bed, adult chair or bangko, etc.)
• Kicks a ball but with little control of direction
• Throws a ball but with little control of direction
• Throws a ball but with little control of speed
• Runs without tripping or falling
• Maintains balance (walking on a low, narrow ledge; between 2 lines) without
assistance
• Moves with music when he hears it .
• Can move body to imitate familiar animals
• Can move body to imitate another person/TV character

19 - 24 months
• Walks up the stairs with alternating feet, without help
• Walks down the stairs with alternating feet, without help
• Kicks a ball with control of direction
• Throws a ball with control of direction
• Throws a ball with control of speed

MOTOR SKILLS DEVELOPMENT (FINE MOTOR SKILLS).

Standards 1: The child can control and coordinate hand and finger movements.
Based on your experience, are these indicators generally observed on and/or
performed by a child on the specified age?

0 - 6 months
• Hands open most of the time
• Brings both hands together towards dangling object/toy
• Uses either hand interchangeably to grasp objects
• Uses all 5 fingers in a raking motion to get food/toys placed on a flat surface
 • Grasps objects with the same hand most of the time (hand preference emerging)

7 - 12 months
• Pulls toys by the string
• Bangs 2 large blocks together
• Picks up objects with thumb and index fingers
• Grasps and transfers objects from hand to hand
• Grasps objects with the same hand all the time (definite hand preference
established)

13 - 18 months
• Puts small objects in/out of container
• Unscrews lids Unwraps candy/food
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• Holds thick pencil or crayon with palmar grip (i.e., all 5 fingers wrapped around
pencil)
• Scribbles spontaneously

19 - 24 months
• Colors with strokes going out of the lines

PERSONAL CARE AND HYGIENE (ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING)

Standards 1 : The child participates in basic personal care routines.
Based on your experience, are these indicators generally observed on and/or
performed by a child on the specified age?

0 - 6 months
• Sucks and swallows milk from breast/bottle
• Begins to take complementary or semi-solid foods by the end of 6 months
• Keeps reasonably still while being dressed, undress bathed and while diaper is being
changed

7 - 12 months
• Holds a feeding bottle by himself
• Helps hold cup for drinking
• Chews solid foods well
• Feeds self with finger foods
• Scoops with a spoon with spillage

13 - 18 months
• Feeds self with assistance
• Feeds self using fingers to eat rice/viands with spillage
• Feeds self using spoon with spillage
• No longer drinks from feeding bottle
• Drinks from cup unassisted
• Participates when being dressed by lifting arms or raising legs
• Pulls down gartered short pants/underpants or panties
• Removes shoes/sandals Informs caregiver of the need to move his bowels so he/she
can be brought to comfort room
• Takes a bath with assistance
• Brushes teeth after meals with assistance from adult
• Washes and dries hands under adult supervision
• Washes and dries face with the assistance of an adult

19 - 24 months
• Gets drink for self unassisted
• Removes loose sando
• Removes Socks Informs caregiver of the need to urinate so he/she can be brought to
the comfort room
• Goes to the designated place to urinate but sometimes wets his/her pants
• Goes to the designated place to move his/her bowels but sometimes still soils his/her
 pants
• Goes to the designated place to move his/her bowels but needs help with wiping
and washing
• Brushes teeth after meals with adult supervision
• Washes and dries face under adult supervision

TEXTBOOK
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• Corpuz, Brenda B., et al…(2018). The Child and Adolescent Learners and Learning
Principles. Lorimar Publishing Inc., Cubao, Quezon City.