DCF Infant and Toddler Appropriate Practices

ITPR (5 hours)

The goal of the Infant and Toddler Appropriate Practices course

is to guide child care professionals responsible for the care of children birth through 36 months through the principles of developmentally appropriate practice.

Infant

"infant" comes from the Latin word "infans" which means unable or incapable of speech.

first stage of their life, until around 18 months of age.

Toddler

"toddle" means "to walk with short tottering steps," which makes a toddler a child who is just learning to walk. The term toddler is usually used to refer to children from 18 to 36 months.

Infant and Toddler Divisions

The Florida Department of Education Office of Early Learning divides infants and toddlers into the following divisions: Birth to 8 months, 8 to 18 months, 18 to 24 months, and two-year-olds.

Primary concern for infants

At this stage the primary concern for infants is secure attachments formed through close relationships with parents and caregivers who make them feel safe and secure.

Primary concern for toddlers

Toddlers seek to gain independence and control through more purposeful exploration. A budding sense of self comes from repeated opportunities to explore how the world works. Understanding who they are and how things work is a dominant theme for toddlers.

3 Common Infant/Toddler Personality Types

Flexible, Feisty, Fearful

Flexible Personality

Easy- 40 percent of children
adapt easily, easy to toilet train, generally cheerful, low intensity, low sensitivity

Seldom fuss- need special attention to not get lost in the group

Fearful Personality

Cautious temperaments
get attached to care givers
slow to adapt, withdrawn,

Feisty Personality

Spirited/fun but need managed
so intense they are a handful
zesty, vocal and animated about needs and wants, moody, irregular, sensitive, distractable,

to deal with feistiness:

redirection- empathy then redirect the attention of the child and help them move on

Young Infants NAEYC

birth to 9 months motivated by security

Mobile Infants NAEYC

engage in exploration 9- 18 months

Toddlers NAEYC

18-36 months forming identity

Who created DAP

NAEYC National Association for the Education of Young Children

Sensorimotor Stage

by Piaget


The sensorimotor stage takes place from birth to age two. During this stage children explore their world using their senses and motor skills. They like to touch and hold objects and toys such as rattles, dolls, or soft books. They also tend to explore objects using their mouths. They begin to understand the world by physically manipulating objects, and through trial and error problem solving.

Trust vs Mistrust

by Erikson

This conflict is resolved when infants form bonds with their parents and caregivers and establish an emotional foundation through trust. As the basis for fulfilling the safety and comfort needs of infants, emotional security must be established through trusting relationships with adults. Children who do not experience positive, caring and loving attention from adults and caregivers can develop distrust for people around them and can result in poor emotional stability.

Autonomy vs Shame & Doubt

by Erikson

Stage 2 of Erikson's social theory deals with the conflict of autonomy vs. shame and doubt. This means that children need to be able to become independent and learn to problem solve on their own. As a caregiver you can encourage independence by allowing children to explore their environment in a safe and supervised manner. Children who explore and discover their environments will become confident about themselves and develop the ability to problem solve. Children also need to become aware of the physicality of their bodies. Engage children in games of pat-a-cake, tossing or rolling a ball, and manipulative toys that encourage children to use their hands. Install mobiles above infants' cribs to encourage them to look at and reach for the objects hanging down.

5 Areas Of Development

Physical Development
Social and Emotional
Language and Communication
Cognitive Development and General Knowledge
Approaches to Learning

Physical Development (Infants)

Weight doubles in the first 6 months and triples by the 1st birthday. During this time infants require frequent feedings to aid in growth
Infants grow 5 inches in length in the first 6 months and add 3 more by 9 months

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Physical Development (Toddlers)

Appear to grow slower than they did during the infant stage. Begin to walk without help. Show interest in exploring their environment. Begin to feed themselves and drink from a cup.

Motor Skills (Fine and Gross)

Because infants and toddlers are not yet proficiently mobile or skillful at manipulating objects in the environment, they are developing both their gross and fine motor skills at the same time.

Head to toe (cephalocaudal), meaning infants will learn to use their arms before their legs
Center of body to limbs (proximodistal), meaning infants will gain control of their bodies starting from the torso and working outward to their arms
Gross motor to fine motor, meaning children will develop large general movements such as waving their arms before they learn to grasp and use objects such as crayons

Locomotion

the ability to move from one place to another, also develops along a pattern:

2 - 3 months - head and chest control
3 months - can reach and miss
5 - 6 months - rolls from back to stomach
7 months - sits alone
8 months - stands with help

Motor SKills

Motor Skills are movements used to perform an action:

12 - 15 months - can stand alone and walk well
15 - 18 months - learning to walk backwards
18 - 24 months - throws a ball, jumps in place, becoming more physically able
24 - 36 months - learning to ride a tricycle, stand on one foot

Social and Emotional Development (birth - 3 months)

Able to calm down, enjoys touch, and alerts to the sound of a voice. Unknown why infants begin to express a social smile. Some people believe infants are "prewired" to smile at this age. Others believe smiling earns positive attention so infants begin to smile more. Infants will communicate by cooing and babbling before they learn to speak, and will eventually begin to make sounds that imitate the language of their culture. Cooing is important to caregivers because it indicates that a child is beginning to practice conversation. Can participate in "conversations" by taking turns making sounds; for example, when a caregiver speaks to an infant the infant will wait until they finish a phrase and then "coo" in response. Some infants even engage in "cooing" conversations when they are in adjacent cribs; these infants will take turns cooing in a simulated conversation.

Social and Emotional Development (3 - 7 months)

Vocalizes, responds to facial expressions (smiles when smiled at), and smiles intentionally. During feeding, many times infants will pause in their sucking. Mothers often gently jiggle the baby to have them start sucking again. This exchange is important because it keeps both the baby and mother interacting. Gazing is another powerful tool infants use to engage in social interaction. By gazing into a person's eyes, the baby is saying through body language, "I want to interact with you." Infants can also indicate when they are over stimulated. They will stop gazing (gaze aversion), turn their head, and may even begin to cry.

Social and Emotional Development (8 - 18 months)

Show affection, such as hugs and kisses Become familiar with their surroundings. Continue to use a comfort item when feeling stressed or tired. Vocalize and point to get attention. Recognize the name of a friend. Initiate simple games and choose things to explore. Pay attention to their reflection in the mirror.

Social and Emotional Development (18 - 24 months)

Show empathy for others. Continue parallel play. Use emotional expressions to obtain desired objects. Stop and look when their name is called. Begin to end tantrums with some redirection. Cry when parents leave. Use words to get their needs met.

Social and Emotional Development (24 - 36 months)

Seek support to address conflicts with peers. Become more comfortable when entering new environments. Engage in reassuring self-talk. Wait for a turn. Develop social play. Share occasionally. Want to dress themselves. Point to themselves in pictures.

Senses (taste)

Infants prefer sweet tastes. They may be predisposed to prefer the sweetness of breast milk.

Senses (sight)

As newborns, infants are able to focus on objects 7 to 8 inches from their face. This may also be a predisposition because the average distance between a breast feeding baby and the mother's face is approximately 7 to 8 inches.

Senses (smell)

Newborns also have a developed sense of smell. They react positively to sweet smells like vanilla and negatively to smells like rotten eggs. Infants who breastfeed can also distinguish between their mother's and father’s smells.

Senses (hearing)

Infants have the ability to hear even while they are still in the womb. Infants are able to distinguish between high and low sounds as well as loud and soft.

Senses (touch)

Newborns also experience some degrees of pain. As infants grow and their nervous system develops, sensitivity to pain increases. Infants who experience pain have an increase in heart rate and blood pressure. Stress hormones like cortisol increase and they also exhibit behaviors like crying, irritability, and prolonged wakefulness.

Positive Guidance Strategies

Positive guidance strategies are techniques to not only prevent difficult behavior but to address them once they happen. Guidance strategies differ drastically from punishment in that punishment is meant to control behavior through negative outcomes, where guidance strategies are designed to shape and encourage more acceptable behaviors

Challenging Behaviors in Toddlers

Temper tantrums, refusing to share, biting, saying no, throwing objects, putting objects in mouth, hitting, kicking, hair pulling,