Physical

Development of
Infants and
Toddlers
Module 12

Prepared by: Maneth Caparos

Jeyhan Canakan
Infant
• Baby - a very young child
that can neither walk nor
Toddler
talk.
 a young child who is
• An early stage of the
learning to walk.
development - just the
beginning
 Cephalocaudal Trend
• The postnatal growth from conception to 5 months when the head
grows more than the body.
• Applies to the development of the fetus also applies in the first
months after birth.

 The infants use to learn their “upper limbs” before their “lower limps”.
 The same pattern occurs at the head area.
 The top parts of the head - the eyes, the brain - grow faster than the
lower parts such as the jaw.
 Proximodistal Trend

• The pre-natal growth from 5 months to birth when the fetus

grows from the inside of the body outwards.
• Applies in the first months after birth.
• Muscular control of the the trunk and arms, followed by the
hands and fingers.
• Refers to the development of motor skills from the center of
the body outward.
 Physical Development
“Height and Weight”
• It's normal for newborn babies to drop 5 to 10 percent of their body weight within
a couple of weeks of birth. (Due to the baby's adjustment to neonatal feeding.)
• Breastfed babies are typically heavier than bottle-fed babies through the first 6
months.
• In general, an infant's lenght increases by about 30 percent in the first five months.
• A baby's weight usually triples during the first year but slows down in the second
year of life.
• Low percentages are not a cause for alarm as long as infants progress along a
natural curve of steady development.
 Brain Development
• The most dramatic changes in the
Myelination or Myelinization
 The process by which the axons brain in the first two years of life
are the spreading connections of
are covered and insulated by
dentrites to each other.
layers of fat cells, begins
prenatally and continues after
birth.
 The proccess of myelination or
myelinization increses the speed
at which information travels
through the nervous system.
• At birth, the newborn's brain is about 25
percent of its adult weight. By the second
birthday, the brain is about 75% of its adult
weight.
• Shortly after birth, a baby's brain produces
trillions more connections between neurons
than it can possibly use. The brain eliminates
connections that are seldom or never used. The
infant's brain is literally waiting for experiences
to determine how connections are made.
Motor Development Reflexes
 The newborn has some
• Along this aspect of basic reflexes.
motor  which are automatic
and serves as survival
development, mechanisms before
infants and toddlers they have the
opportunity to learn.
begin from reflexes,  present at birth and will
to gross motor skills generally subside within
a few months as the
and fine motor baby grows and
skills. matures.
 Common Reflexes
• Sucking Reflex
 is iniated when something touches the roof of an infant's mouth.
• Rooting Reflex
 is most evident when an infant's cheek is stroked.
• Gripping reflex
 Babies will grasp anything that is placed in their palm.
• Curling Reflex
 when the inner sole of a baby's foot is stroked, the infant respond by
curling his/her toes. When the outer sole of a baby's foot is stroked,
the infant will respond by spreading out their toes.
• Startle/Moro reflex
 infant will respond to sudden sounds or movements by throwing their
arms and legs out, and throwing their heads back.
• Galant Reflex
 is shown when an infant's middle or lower back is stroked next to the
spinal cord.
 the baby will respond by curving his/her body toward the side which is
being stroked.
• Tonic Neck Reflex
 is demonstrated in infants who are placed on their abdomens.
Whichever side the child's facing, the limbs on that side will straighten,
while the opposite limbs will curl.
 Gross Motor Skills
• This dramatic motor development
is shown in babies unable to even
lift their heads to being able to
grab things off the cabinet, to
chase the ball and to walk away
from parent.
 Fine Motor Skills
 are skills that involved a refined use of the small muscles controlling the
hand, fingers, and thumb. The development of these skills allows one to
be able to complete tasks such as writing, drawing, and buttoning.
 the ability to exhibit fine motor skills involve activities that involve precise
eye-hand coordination.
 the development of reaching and grasping becomes more refined during
the first two years of life. Initially, infants show only crude shoulder and
elbow movments, but they show wrist movements, hand rotation and
coordination of the thumb and forefinger.
 Research Findings regarding Newborns' visual
perceptions
• Can newborns See?
 The newborn's vision is about 10 to 30 times lower than normal adult. By
6 months of age, vision becomes better and by the first birthday, the
infant's vision approximates that of an adult.
 It was found out that infants preferred to look at patterns such as faces
and concentric circles rather than at color or brightness.
 Among the first few things that babies learn to recognize is their mother's
face, as mother feeds and nurses them.
• Can newborns hear?
 The sense of hearing in an infant develops much before the
birth of the baby. when in the womb, the baby hears his/her
mother's heartbeats, the frumbling of his/her stomach, the
mother's voice and music.
 Infants' sensory thresholds are somewhat higher than those
of adult wich means that stimulus must be louder to be heard
by a newborn than by an adult.
• Can Newborns Differentiate Odors?
 In an experiment conducted by MacFarlane (1975) “young infants who
were breastfed showed a clear preference for smelling their mother's
breast pad when they were 6 days old. This preference did not show when
the babies were only two days old. This shows that it requires several days
of experience to recognize their mother's breast pad odor”.

• Can newborns feel pain? Do they respond to touch?

 They do feel pain. Newborn males show a higher level of Cartisol (an
indicator of stress) after a circumcision than prior to the surgery.
 Babies repond to touch. The newborn automatically sucks an object placed in
his/her mouth, or a touch of the cheek makes the newborn turn his/her head
toward the side that was touched in an apparent effort to find something to suck.

• Can newborn distinguish the different taste?

 In a study conducted with babies only two hour old, babies made different facial
expressions when they tasted sweet, sour, and bitter solutions.
 When saccharin was added to the amiotic fluid of a near-term fetus, increase
swallowing was observed.
 This indicates that sensitivity to taste might be present before birth.
• Do infants relate information through several senses? Or are infants capable
of intermodal perception?
 Intermodal perception is the ability to relate, connect, a integrate information
about two or more sensory modalities such as vision and hearing.
 In a study conducted by Spelke and Owsley (1979), it was found out that as
early as at 3 1/2 months old, infants looked more at their mother when they
also heard her voice and longer at their father when they also heard his voice.
 This capacity for intermodal perception or ability to connect information
coming through various modes gets sharpened considerably through
experiences.
What Infants and Toddlers Can Do physically?
 Domain: Physical Health, Well-Being and Motor Development
Physical Health
Standards 1: The child demonstrates adequate growth (weight, height, head
circumference.)
Standards 2: The child has adequate sensory systems to participate in daily
activities.
0-6 months
• Startles to loud sounds
• Visually follows a moving object from side to side
• Visually follows a moviing object up and down
• Reacts to pain by crying
• Withdraws or cries when in contact with something hot
• Withdraws or reacts wit surprise when in contact with something cold
• Reacts with pleasure/smiles or relaxed expression when he/she taste
something delicious
• Reacts by making a face/frowns/grimaces when he/she tastes something
he/she does not like
7-12 months
• Reacts with pleasure when he/she smells something nice
• Reacts by making a face when he/she smells something foul
Standards 3: The child has adequate stamina to participate in daily
activities.
• Pushes and/or pulls moderately heavy objects (e.g., chairs, large boxes)
• Walks without tiring easily
13-18 months
• Plays without tiring easily, able to keep pace with playmates
• Participates actively in games, outdoor play and other exercises
19-24 months
• Sustains physical activity (e.g., dancing, outdoor games, swimming) for at least 3-5
minutes
MOTOR SKILLS DEVELOPMENT (GROSS MOTOR SKILLS)
Standards 1: The child shows control and coordination of body movements involving
large muscle groups
0-6 months
• Holds head steadily
• Moves arms and legs equally to reach at dangling object
• Rolls over
• Bounces when held standing, briefly bearing weight on legs
• Sits with support
• Starting to crawl but not yet very good at this
7-12 months
• Sits alone steadily without support
• Creeps or crawls with ease as a primary means of moving around
• Stands without support
• Stands from a sitting position without any help
• Squats from a standing position with ease
• Stands from a standing position with ease
• Bends over easily without falling
• Stands from a bent position without falling
• Walks sideways by holding onto the sides of crib or furniture (cruises)
• Walks with one hand held
13-18 months
• Walks without support
• Walks backwards
• Walks up the stairs with hand held, 2 feet on each step
• Walks down the stairs with hand held, 2 feet on each step
• Jumps in place
• Climbs onto a steady elevated surface (e.g., bed, adult cahir or bangko, etc.)
• Kicks a ball but with little control of direction
• Throws a ball but with little control of direction
• Throws a bal but with little control of speed
• Runs without tripping or falling
• Maintains balance (walking on a low, narrow ledge; between 2 lines) without
assistance
• Moves with music when he hears it
• Can move body to imitate familiar animals
• Can move body to imitate another person/TV character
19-24 months
• Walks up the stairs with alternating feet, without help
• Walks down the stairs with alternating feet, without help
• Kicks a ball with control of direction
• Throws a ball with control of direction
• Throws a ball with control of speed
MOTOR SKILLS DEVELOPMENT (FINE MOTOR SKILLS)
Standards 1: The child can control and coordinate hand and finger movements.
0-6 months
• Hands open most of the time
• Brings both hands together towards dangling object/toy
• Uses either hand interchangeably to grasp objects
• Uses all five fingers in a raking motion to get food/toys placed on a flat surface
• Grasps objects with the same hand most of the time (hand preference
emerging)
7-12 months
• Pulls toys by the string
• Bangs 2 large blocks together
• Picks up object with thumb and index fingers
• Grasps and transfers objects fro hand to hand
• Grasps objects with the same hand all the time (definite hand preference
established)
13-18 months
• Puts small objects in/out of container
• Unscrews lids
• Unwraps candy/food
• Holds thick pencil or crayon with palmar grip (i.e., all 5 fingers wrapped around
pencil)
• Scribbles spontaneously
19-24 months
• Colors with strokes going out of the lines
PERSONAL CARE AND HYGIENE (ACTIVITIES OF DAILY LIVING)
Standards 1: The child participates in basic personal care routines.
0-6 months
• Sucks and swallows milk from breast/bottle
• Begins to take complementary or semi-solid foods by the end of 6 months
• Keeps reasonably still while being dressed, undress bathed and while diaper is
being changed
7-12 months
• Holds a feeding bottle by himself
• Helps hold cup for drinking
• Chews solid foods well
• Feeds self with finger foods
• Scoops with a spoon with spillage
13-18 months
• Feeds self with assistance
• Feeds self using fingers to eat rice/viands with spillage
• Feeds self using spoon with spillage
• No longer drinks from feeding bottle
• Drinks from cup unassisted
• Participates when being dress by lifting arms or raising legs
• Pulls down gartered short pants/underpants or panties
• Removes shoes/sandals
• Informs caregiver of the need to move his bowels so he/she can brought to
comfort room
• Takes a bath with assistance
• Brushes teeth after meals with assistance from adult
• Washes and dries hands under adult supervision
• Washes and dries face with the assistance of an adult
19-24 months
• Gets drink for self unassisted
• Removes loose sando
• Removes socks
• Informs caregiver of the need to urinate so he/she can be brought to the
comfort room
• Goes to the designated place to urinate but sometimes wets his/her pants
• Goes to the designated place to move his/her bowels but sometimes still
soils his/her pants
• Goes to the designated place to move his/her bowels but needs help with
wiping and washing
• Brushes teeth after meals with adult supervision
• Washes and dries face with adult supervision
Thank You!!