Infant and Early Childhood Development

Gross Motor Skills

• Definition: Involve large muscle groups; related to movement and coordination.

• Example: Running, jumping, climbing stairs.

Fine Motor Skills:

• Definition: Involve small muscle movements, particularly of the hands and fingers.

• Example: Writing, buttoning a shirt, picking up small objects.

Piaget’s Sensorimotor Substages (Birth to ~2 years)

• Reflexes (0–1 month): Simple reflex actions (e.g., sucking).

• Primary Circular Reactions (1–4 months): Repeating body-centered actions (e.g., thumb sucking).

• Secondary Circular Reactions (4–8 months): Repeating actions that affect environment (e.g., shaking a rattle).

• Coordination of Secondary Schemes (8–12 months): Intentional actions to achieve goals (e.g., moving an object to grab another).

• Tertiary Circular Reactions (12–18 months): Experimenting with new behaviors (e.g., dropping different objects to observe outcomes).

• Mental Representation (18–24 months): Beginning of symbolic thought; using mental images and problem-solving.

Types of Play

• Solitary Play: Child plays alone (common in toddlers).

• Onlooker Play: Child watches others play but doesn’t join.

• Parallel Play: Children play side by side with similar materials but don’t interact much.

• Associative Play: Children interact and share but activities aren’t coordinated.

• Cooperative Play: Organized play with roles and goals (e.g., playing house).

Metamemory:

• Definition: Awareness and understanding of one’s own memory capabilities and strategies.

• Example: A child realizes they need to make a list to remember their chores.

Metacognition:

• Definition: Thinking about one’s own thinking; planning, monitoring, and evaluating cognitive tasks.

• Example: A student decides to reread a passage because they realize they didn’t understand it fully.

Growth Mindset:

• Definition: Belief that abilities can be developed through effort and learning.

• Example: “I’m not good at math yet, but I can improve.”

Fixed Mindset:

• Definition: Belief that abilities are static and unchangeable.

• Example: “I’m just not a math person.”

Self-Esteem:

• Definition: Overall emotional evaluation of one’s own worth.

• Example: Feeling proud of oneself for doing well in school.

Self-Concept:

• Definition: The set of beliefs and knowledge about oneself (traits, roles, identity).

• Example: “I am creative and good at art.”