The Infant's Sensory Development - Essay Example

Human Growth and Development Infant defined as a child at age from 1 month to 12 months. During this period body of the infants actively grows and develops. This is a quite important period as a baby has been kept apart from her mother in the other environment. Newborns are helpless from the time of their birth till the 28th day of life. At this period they cannot perform many of the actions except basic reflexes and the ability to cry. But, as their body undergoes physical and cognitive changes they become capable to perform more new actions such as sitting, standing, walking, etc. Infant’s development occurs at the different areas such as physical, cognitive, language and social. Physical development involves the processes of the fine and gross motor skills development. There are two existed patterns of infant`s physical growth. Cephalocaudal pattern suggests the differentiation and growth of the baby`s body from the top that include head to bottom (shoulders, middle torso and so on). The other pattern of growth called Proximodistal pattern characterizes the sequence of the infant`s growth that starts at the center of the body and move toward the extremities. For example, the infants are able to control the muscles of their arms earlier before they are capable to control the movements of their arms. The period of the four first weeks of the baby`s life defined as the neonatal period. (John Santrock, 2011) The statistic shows that an average North American newborn weighs 7,5 pounds and is 20 inches long. Approximately 95% of full – term newborns weight from 5,5 to 10 pounds and are 18 to 22 inches long. During the first few days of a newborn`s life their weight decreases 5 to 7% from their previous body weight before they learn to regulate their feeding by swallowing, sucking and digesting. After this the growth process becomes more rapid and baby`s gained approximately 5 -6 ounces per week during the first month. By the age of four months infants’ weight increases doubly and three times by the age of one year. Infant’s height increases nearly 1 inch per months. One of the most important processes of the infant`s physical growth is the brain development. A newborn`s brain has nearly 25% of its adult weight. After birth different environmental experiences such as smells, sights, touches, and language trigger brain development. These environmental factors help to form the brain`s neural connections. (John Santrock, 2011) Newborns from their birth till 2 months can perform next actions: able to turn and lift their head when lying on their back; unable to turn their head in a sitting position; their arms are flexed and hands are fisted. All newborns have several basic reflexes that help them to survive till they receive an opportunity to learn. Some of these reflexes are permanent while another weaken or disappear at some period of baby`s life. The chart below briefly describes some of infant`s reflexes. Figure 1 Infant Reflexes (John Santrock, 2011) At age of 3-4 months, infants capable to track objects, control feet and hand actions, but they are not fine-tuned, sit with support and keep head up as their neck muscles are developed enough for these actions. During 5th and 6th months, infants are able to sit for moments at first without any support and then for up to 30 seconds and even more, grasp some blocks without using thumb accordingly to the ulnar-palmar grasp technique and roll from their back to stomach. At age of 6-9 months, infants start to walk with help and are able to sit during long period of time and they study to sit down from the standing position. At age of 9-12 months, infants start to control their balance while standing alone. (Medline Plus,2013) The infant`s sensory development involves the development of vision, taste, hearing, touch, smell, vestibular senses. The newborn infant is able to see within a range of 8-12 inches. Infants start to have color vision at age of 4-60 months. The infant’s inner ear has a response to changes of position and rocking. The infants prefer the human voice and sweet taste. (Medline Plus,2013) As infants have different weight and height, body composition, growth rate, etc. It is quite difficult to define general nutritional needs of infants. However, nutritionists recommend for infants to consume approximately 50 calories daily for each pound their weight. During the first 6 months, infants receive all appropriate nutrients, fluids and protective factors from the breast milk. After 6 months, infants have to consume solid food to meet their energy requirement as they rapidly grow. But, breastfeeding should remain until 12 months as it is quite important for an infant’s development. While physical changes of infants can be easily detected cognitive or mental changes are quiet hard to determine. Accordingly, to the Piaget`s theory of cognitive development 4 stages of cognitive development exists. Infant cognitive development occurs at the Sensorimotor stage that lasts from birth to 24 months. This stage consists of 6 sub stages that are listed in the chart below. (CDC,2014) Figure 2 Sensorimotor Substages (John Santrock,2011) Therefore, during the first year of the infants live their body undergoes a lot of changes such as physical, cognitive and sensory changes. It is quite important for parents to provide a favorable environment for their infant development. Part B Prenatal development defined as a process of embryo development within the womb. It starts from single – cell zygote that contains genetic material from the mother`s egg and the father`s sperm. During the first 2 weeks this cell actively multiples and develops. During the next 3 weeks cell differentiation occurs and the cell divides into separate systems. After 8 weeks an embryo has human shape and it is called a fetus. Labor involves the process of child birth the period that starts from uterine contractions, cervix opening and ends with the infant delivery. Birth defined as an emerging or bringing forth the offspring from the body of its mother. Birth complications involve disorders of normal pregnancy. The most common birth complications are prolonged labor, abnormal presentation, umbilical cord compression, umbilical cord prolapse. Development of the competent newborn defines as a development of the infant that have all appropriate reflexes and abilities that inherent healthy newborn. (CDC,2014) References: 1. Medline Plus. (2013). Infant – newborn development. U.S. National Library of Medicine Online. Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002004.htm 2. John Santrock. (2011). Child development. Northeastern Illinois University Online. Retrieved from http://auth.mhhe.com/Create11/830/NortheasternChildDevelopmentduplicated.pdf 3. CDC.(2014). Infants (0-1 year of age). Centers For Disease Control And Prevention Online. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/positiveparenting/infants.html Read More