Growth and Development Unit Four The First Two Years Infants and Toddlers

Introduction: Adults usually don't change much in a year or two sometimes their hair gets longer or grows thinner, or they gain or lose a few pounds, or they become a little wiser or more nature.

Physical Development A baby's physical development happens so rapidly that size, shape, and skills change daily. This is no exaggeration pediatricians expect normal infants to gain announce a day for the first few months. As we will soon see, their rapid physical growth follows the same orderly sequence.

Size and Shape: The average North American newborn measures 51 centimeters and weighs about grams. By 24 months, most children weight almost four times their birth weight, and measure between 81 to 91 centimeters, with boys being slightly taller and heavier than girls. Much of the weight gained In the first months of life is fat, providing insulation and calories than can be used in the event teething or other problems cut down food intake for a few days.

The shape of the baby's body also changes in the first two years, following the head downward (cephalo- caudal) and center-outward (proximo – distal) direction of development. Proportionally, the smallest part of a newborn's body is that part farthest from the head an distant from the center – namely the feet. By adulthood, the feet will be about five times as long as they were at birth, while the head will have only doubled in size. Size and Shape:

Brain Growth: Even the head itself grows more at the bottom than at the top, the baby's chin is underdeveloped at birth compared to the skull. One reason the skull is so large is to accommodate the brain. The areas of the brain that increase most rapidly in the first months are the primary sensory areas and primary motor areas of cortex those that control the senses and simple motor abilities.

Feeding Babies : Patterns and Problems In order to accomplish this rapid increase in size and shape, infants must consume about 50 calories per day per pound, more than twice an adult's rate of consumption, and must be fed several time each day.

Advantages of Breast Milk: Breast milk is always sterile and at body temperature. It contains more iron, vitamin C, and vitamin A than cow's milk and has antibodies that increase the body's resistance to disease. Breast milk from a well-nourished woman is the ideal infant food. It strengthens the bond between mother and baby by bringing them into frequent close physical contact. There is some evidence that babies who are breast-red on demand develop earlier and feel more secure.

Prevalence of Bottle-Feeding : Despite the advantages of breast milk, about three out of four North American newborns, and nineteen out of twenty 6 – month –olds are bottle fed. One reason for this is convenience. Ideally, especially in the early months, a breast-feeding woman should be well-rested, relaxed, and ready to interrupt whatever she sis doing at a moment's notice, requirements often not compatible with the life style of many women who are busy with careers or education and multitude of family responsibilities. Advantages of Breast Milk:

Convenience is only one of the reasons women decide not to breast-feed, however. For one thing, most drugs (including alcohol, nicotine, and hormones in birth control pills) turn up in breast milk, so many women decide to bottle-feed rather than limit their drug consumption. Family influences, such as the father's jealousy, and person opinions about modesty. In the hospital, the baby's characteristics (especially how much the baby consumes, how strongly the baby sucks, and how alert the baby is are the most influential factors in determining how long breast- feeding continues. Advantages of Breast Milk: