Term Paper #2

BEHS 343 - Parenting Today

Matt Faulkner

Term Paper #2

964 Words

Infant Development in the First Year

Many parents in cultures around the world sit in wonderment daily, for the small yet enormous steps their infant is taking. Whether that small step is gazing into a mother’s eyes for the first time, only hours from the womb, or taking its first wobbly steps away from a table or coaching caregiver. In between these two milestones are many other milestones a baby will traverse within its first year. These milestones typically occur on the same time line for healthy children and are fairly predictable (Santrock, 2003). They evolve from many processes, but focus on three broad developmental processes: physical, emotional, and cognitive.

I. Physical Growth

Physical growth refers to the aspects of an infant’s life that allows him to grow and develop physically. In order for physical development to proceed unimpeded, parents should ensure their baby receives proper nutrition. In recent medical studies it was shown that a mother’s breast milk provides the proper nutritional input for growing infants (Santrock, 2003; Williams, 2003).

In addition to providing the proper levels of protein and fatty acids to infants, a mother’s milk also provides needed antibodies to aid in fighting disease. Biological studies determined that nearly 80 percent of a mother’s breast milk contains living organisms, called macrophages, which are responsible for fighting disease. The benefits of disease fighting ability in breast milk become evident as research is conducted in non-industrialized countries (World Health Organization, 2000).

II. Emotional Growth

Emotional growth of children is an equally important aspect of infant development when compared to its physical needs. To foster an infant’s emotional growth their emotional needs must also be met. Emotional needs include receiving proper responses from parents, which also influences an infant’s intellectual need (Dettore, 2002). Coupled with emotional needs are the physical needs that an infant communicates that it requires in an unending revolving carousel between parent and infant.

When an infant is born an infant has very little means of communication with its parents. With all its senses of sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste a healthy infant is able to communicate and learn about the world around it. Infants communicate through sight by watching their parents. They can communicate by vocalizing cries to get a caregivers attention. Infants can use their developing sense of sound to determine where in a room their parent or caregiver is located. When coupled with smell and taste, an infant’s use of verbal and facial expressions give the parent or caregiver clues as to the likes and dislikes of the infant.

Studies show that even healthy infants are born with very poor sight and that they can only see objects that are within close range; usually eight to ten inches. Since infants are unable to see further than this distance, the closeness of a mother to her infant during breast feeding enhances both the mother’s and infant’s emotional states. This closeness of sight and touch are important to nurture the emotional needs of the infant (Williams, 2003).

Infants also communicate with their caregivers through vocalization or more specifically crying. For obvious reasons, infants are unable to speak to their parents leaving crying as the natural alternative to communicate verbally (DeBord, 1996). An infant’s cry may signal a parent that a diaper needs to be changed, that they are hungry, or that they are hurt. Quick response to a baby’s cry signals the baby that his or her needs are important. By quickly seeing to the baby’s needs the parents are reinforcing the infant’s need for acceptance; this attending consequently builds trust, an important factor in emotional growth (Santrock, 2003).

III. Cognitive Growth

It wasn’t until a Swiss researcher named Jean Piaget that the cognitive developmentalists had a theory in which to base their research. Piaget’s theory consisted of the Sensory Motor Period, the Preoperational Period, the Period of Concrete Operations, and the Period of Formal Operations. The cognitive development in Piaget’s theory dealing with infants up to 18 month’s old is the Sensory Motor period (Child Development Institute, 2003; Santrock, 2003).

The sensory motor period is characterized by enhanced development through the uses of sight, sound, and touch. Since infants are unable to express themselves through speech and do not have the experience to demonstrate knowledge and learning, it is in the first stage that they develop intellectually. Through the use of their senses infants learn about the world around them and how they “fit” into that world (Child Development Institute; Santrock, 2003)

One of the key concepts in the first stage of Piaget’s theory is the idea of object permanence. As an infant learns about the world around them, they come to understand they do not control everything around them, but that they can change outcomes based on their responses. For instance in one research study an object was placed in view in front of the infants. After a short time the object was hidden from view. Depending on the degree of development in the infant, the infants would either think the object disappeared or later in development, determine that the object was still there, but merely behind the barrier. In the latter, the infants learned object permanence (Child Development Institute, 2003).

The three concepts of physical, emotional, and cognitive development are just three of the many concepts that play important roles in infant growth. Through proper nutrition infants grow and mature physically. Linked to physical development is the emotional growth that comes from the closeness of breastfeeding. Coupled with breast feeding, caregiver’s quick response to the infant’s cries help foster good development. By responding quickly the parent gives the infant an understanding of trust and that they are there for them. Lastly the work of Jean Piaget showed us that there is a progression of intellect within infants, a progression that starts at birth and continues through the first year and beyond.

References

American Medical Association (date unknown). “Learning play and your newborn”. Online.

Available http://www.medem.com (6 Nov 2003).

Child Development Institute (2003). “Sensorymotor stage.” Online. Available

http://www.cdipage.com (8 Nov 2003).

DeBord, Karen, PhD, (1996). Growing together: infant development. Raleigh, NC: North

Carolina Cooperative Extension Service. Available http://www.nncc.org/Child.Dev/

grow.infant.html#anchor113562 (6 Nov 2003).

Dettore, Ernie. “Children's emotional growth: adult's role as emotional archaeologists”.

Childhood Education (Mid-summer 2002) v78 i5: 278(4). Expanded Academic ASAP.

Huggins, Kathleen R.N., M.S. (date unknown). “Guidelines For The Nursing Mother”. Online.

Available http://www.cdipage.com/ (6 Nov 2003).

Santrock, John W, (2003). Children (7^th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Williams, Rebecca D. (2003). “Breast-Feeding Best Bet for Babies”. Online.

Available http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/895_brstfeed.html [6 Nov 2003].

World Health Organization (3 Mar 2000). “Infant and young child nutrition”. Online.

Available http://www.who.int/gb/EB_WHA/PDF/WHA53/ea7.pdf [6 Nov 2003].

Southeastern District Health Department (August 2003), “Health Tips – Why breast feeding is

best”. Online. Available http://www2.state.id.us/phd6/Health 20Tips/Recent 20Issues/

Aug2002/Aug2002.htm [6 Nov 2003].

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