Infancy-Childhood

Do you… Remember anything from when you were a baby? Did you have a good temperament, bad temperament, easy going?

CHANGE In the years 0-18, you change more physically, cognitively and psychologically than you ever will again In the 3 weeks, you will learn about developmental psychology-the specialized study of how an individual matures

Prenatal Stage Prenatal defined as “before birth” Prenatal stage begins at conception and ends with the birth of the child. Mothers can feel strong movements: hiccupping, kicking Fetuses can suck their thumbs even though they have never had a bottle or fed from their mother

Zygote A fertilized egg The first two weeks are a period of rapid cell division. Attaches to the mother’s uterine wall At the end of 14 days becomes an embryo

Embryo Developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization until the end of the eight week Most of the major organs are formed during this time. At the end of the eight week the fetal period begins.

Fetus Developing human organism from nine weeks after conception to birth This is where the mother can feel movement Recognizing parents voice, music, dogs

Placenta A cushion of cells in the mother by which the fetus receives oxygen and nutrition Acts as a filter to screen out substances that could harm the fetus

Teratogens Substances that cross the placental barrier and prevent the fetus from developing normally Includes: radiation, toxic chemicals, viruses, drugs, alcohol, nicotine, etc.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) Physical and cognitive abnormalities that appear in children whose mothers consumed large amounts of alcohol while pregnant

First hours Are like a baby deer; but worse! Cannot walk, sleep, eat, or do really anything by themselves Would you want to leave a warm, happy, protected place? Can smell, see, hear and respond to their environment. Have to adapt quickly; extremely stressful There are certain AUTOMATIC responses that babies have when they are born

Reflexes Inherited, automatic, coordinated movement patterns that can be triggered by the right stimulus. Many, but not all, are born with these.

Grasping reflex Is a response to a touch on the palm of the hand. Will be gone usually after the first 6 months.

Rooting Reflex Baby’s tendency, when touched on the cheek, to open the mouth and search for the nipple Is an automatic, unlearned response

Sucking reflex Sucking of a nipple/bottle One of the most complex reflexes The infant is able to suck, breathe, air and swallow milk without getting confused.

Babinski reflex When a person runs a finger up the bottom of an infants foot, and the foot flares and presses against the stimulus instead of pulling away The shift away from it= normal neurological development

SIDS Sudden Infant Death Syndrome No known cause May be neurological Incidence is lower when baby is put on its back, with little blankets and animals in bed.

Activity: Development Timeline In the first year of life, infants are continuously developing. 1.Using your book on pages 60-65, create a timeline of maturation for the first year of an infant’s life. 2.Write down what the child gains developmentally at each stage. 3. Then, draw a small picture representing the skill the child should develop.

Monday, August 19 th Welcome back! Any exciting news? Get out your timelines- we will spend the first 10 minutes finishing those up Looking at physical development of children today

Warm Up Name two reflexes of babies How do they work?

Infant, Toddler, Child Infant: First year Toddler: From about 1 year to 3 years of age Child: Span between toddler and teen

Averages of Infants Weight: 7.3 lbs percent more by end of 1 st year Height inches on average

How do brain and motor skills develop?? Good News While in the womb, you produce almost ¼ million brain cells per minute. Bad News That is basically all you are ever going to develop.

The Brain and Infancy Although the brain does not develop many new cells, the existing cells begin to work more efficiently- forming more complex neural networks.

Maturation Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience. To a certain extent we all maturate similarly, but the time can vary depending on the person Will most likely develop according to schedule Make sure they are maturational ready (readiness)- you cannot coach a kid to crawl or walk before it is “their time”

Motor Development Includes all physical skills and muscular coordination Usually goes in a order 3 months-lifts head 4 months- smiles 5 to 6 months- grasp objects 8 to 10 months-crawling Used to test if something is wrong Ex. Not talking at 2 ½ years NO TWO CHILD IS THE SAME

Motor Development

Temperament Person’s characteristic emotional excitability A child might be: An “easy” or “difficult” baby Active, quiet, cuddly, stiff Criers or non-criers Temperament shown in infancy appears to carry through a person’s life.

Walking- add this to notes! Walking- in US 25% learn by 11 months, 50% within a week of 1 st birthday, 90% by 15 months. Varies by culture- if the culture emphasizes walking then babies can walk at younger ages (NURTURE). But identical twins tend to learn to walk on the same day (NATURE).

Nature vs. Nurture- add this to notes How much of development is the result of inheritance (heredity) or what we have learned? Big debate between scientists. Why would this be such a big deal?

Perception skills of a newborn Mature Prefer looking at human faces and patterned materials Benefit greatly by being touched by their parents Babies are born with some perception abilities

Visual cliff To study depth perception Young infants seemed unafraid; older infants (6 months+) refused to cross over the cliff Also heart rate sped up Why?

Language & Thought Closely intertwined Both abilities involve symbols Thinking occurs before language The acquisition of language propels children into intellectual development

Can Animals use language? YES! Chimpanzees can be taught sign language to represent thoughts or ideas Example: Babay Chimp Washoe was taught signs By 3.5 years- knew 87 signs By 5- knew 150 signs

Grammar Animals only use one aspect of language- symbols Humans can arrange symbols into new combinations to produce new meanings Very advance and well developed in the human brain=big difference! Grammar- rules for the organization of symbols This is what makes us surpass the mental power of a chimp

Steps to Learning Language 1. Learn to make signs- by hand or mouth 2. Must learn the meaning of signs 3. Must learn grammar

First Year Sounds- cooing sounds, babbling Children imitate the speech of their parents (French, Korean, English babbles) Greeted with approval when they say something that sounds like a word This is how you learn your NATIVE language Examples: baba, mama

Second Year Leap to using sounds as symbols 1 st attempt to using words are primitive, and sounds are incomplete “ball”- may sound like “ba” “cookie”- “doo-da” First words are often commands “dog” or “cookie” Two word phrases begin End of second year- vocabulary of 500=1,500 words How did you say your first words?

Telegraphic Speech Telegraphic speech- the kind of verbal utterances in which words are left out, but the meaning is usually clear “Where my apple?” “Daddy goed yesterday”

Third Year More grammatical knowledge Says appropriate sentences Uses simple declaratives 5,000 word vocabulary Examples: “I eating” “I’m eating” Don’t Go!

Fourth Year Child uses more grammar and future tense Asks questions in adult form Average vocabulary about 9,000 words Example: “Will Jenny go?” I can’t go “Why is Jenny crying?”

Fifth Year Child uses more complex clauses Joins two or more ideas in one sentence Has problems with noun/verb agreement “I see what you did.”