UNDERSTANDING INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT OF INFANTS Chapter 10
LEARNING IN THE FIRST YEAR In the first year of life, babies develop four abilities that show growing thinking power: Remember- first few months babies develop the ability to remember. For example at 2-3 months they may stop crying when someone enters the room because the baby know that he or she is now likely to be picked up and comforted. Making associations- the baby associates a parent or caregiver with receiving comfort. Understanding cause and effect- baby begins to understand that when they do something, something else happens. Pay attention- if the same object is presented over and over again, the baby’s response to the object will eventually become less enthusiastic.
PIAGET’S THEORIES Jean Piaget, was a Swiss psychologist who died in He had a great influence on what we know about how children learn. He found that intellectual development followed a pattern. Children learn to master one thinking skill before they can master another.
PIAGET’S 4 MAJOR PERIODS The Sensorimotor Period: ages birth-2. Babies learn primarily through their senses and their own actions. The Preoperational Period: ages 2-7. Children think in terms of their own activities and what they perceive at the moment. Solve problems by pretending or imitating rather than thinking the problems through. The Concrete Operations Period: ages Begins to think more logically but still rely on actually being able to see or experience the problem. The Formal Operations Period: age 11-adulthood. Becomes capable of abstract thinking. People in this stage are able to think about what might have been the cause of an event without really experiencing that cause.
ENCOURAGING LEARNING Babies learn about the world from the care they receive. Giving a child basic care, helps build the child’s mental abilities. Encouraging learning doesn’t require money or special toys. It depends on the attention, knowledge, and time of parents and other caregivers.
WAYS THAT CAREGIVERS CAN ENCOURAGE LEARNING Learn about child development- understand how the child develops. Give your time and attention- no baby needs attention every waking moment. Provide positive feedback – your reaction will encourage the baby to keep trying new things. Express your love- you’ll be helping the baby grow self-confident and encouraging him or her to try more. Talk, talk, talk- helps babies learns about their environment, foster the child’s brain develop, builds feelings of security too.
SAFE LEARNING Allow the baby as much freedom of movement at home as possible. Don’t restrict older babies for long periods of time. Child proof as much as possible.
THE IMPORTANCE OF PLAY Play is work as well as pleasure. Play is also a physical necessity.
DIFFERENT TOYS FOR DIFFERENT AGES Birth- 3 mos.-Can do little at this age. Bright colors and interesting sounds stimulate development of the senses. 4-6 mos.- Sense of touch is important. Needs things to touch, handle, bang, shake, suck, and chew. Toys should be large enough to handle, but not to swallow. 7-9 mos.- Need anything that makes noise. Things to handle, throw, pound, bang, and shake. mos.- Need things to crawl after. Toys to push or pull. Look for toys that encourage participation and use.
DEVELOPING COMMUNICATION SKILLS One of the major tasks is to learn to communicate with others. Depends on development in all areas- physical, emotional, social, and intellectual. Babies communicate long before they can talk. Crying is a baby’s first means of communication.
LEARNING TO SPEAK Before learning to talk, a baby must learn to associate meanings with words. That’s why it’s important to talk to babies about everything. Use simple words, not baby talk. The baby listens to other people talk. Talk directly to the baby- this is essential for infant’s language development. A newborn is physically unable to speak. Babbling gets babies ready for real speech. Child’s first real words are usually understandable between ages 8-15 mos.