Psychology of Newborn Period

INFANCY (0-1 age)

The infant is called a neonate for the first 6 weeks after birth.

During the first 12 months the infant shows very rapid motor development and learns to sit, stand and begins to walk.

• Infant weighs triple from birth weight by 1 year
• Length increases by almost 50 percent from birth.
• Development of the child is complex and varied.
• Infant shows several reflexes and earning perceptual activities that involves active exploration.
• Visual perception develops rapidly, so that the child can make finer discrimination.

Capacities of the Newborn

1. Vision: they prefer to look at objects that have contour, contrast, complexity, and movement.

2. Hearing: They can hear soft voices and differentiate tones. They can recognize their mother’s voices.

3. Smell and taste: Newborns have a good sense of smell and taste. They can recognize their mother’s smell.

4. Reflexes: These are automatic and finely coordinated movements that occur in response to external stimuli. Infants have more than 20 reflexes, including the rooting and sucking reflexes.

Language starts to appear because they realise that words can be used to represent objects and feelings.

Primitive reflexes

movement patterns that can be involuntarily elicited in a newborn. They exist to enhance chances of survival. These reflexes should be integrated as the child's motor development matures.

Reflexes

Sucking: Suck on anything that touches the lips

Rooting: Turning the head when the cheek is touched

Grasp: Fingers automatically grip anything that touches the palm of the hand

Babinski: The toes will fan out and curl when the sole of the foot is stroked from heel to toe

Moro: A sudden noise or loss of support to the head and neck will cause infants to spread out their arms and legs then quickly contract the limbs inward

Tonic Neck: When lying on the back with the head to one side infants will extend the arm and leg on that side while flexing the limbs on the opposite side (looks like a fencer pose).

Stepping Legs: move in stepping like motion when feet touch a smooth surface

Giedd, 2015

specific brain regions do not mature at the same rate. Primary motor areas develop earlier than primary sensory areas, and the prefrontal cortex, that is located behind the forehead, is the least developed

Neuroplasticity

refers to the brain’s ability to change, both physically and chemically, to enhance its adaptability to environmental change and compensate for injury.

Motor Skills

refer to our ability to move our bodies and manipulate objects.

Fine motor skills

focus on the muscles in our fingers, toes, and eyes, and enable coordination of small actions

Gross motor skills

focus on large muscle groups that control our head, torso, arms and legs and involve larger movements (e.g., balancing, running, and jumping). These skills begin to develop first.