motor development

trend of gross motor development

cephalocaudal - head to tail

• head 1st then arms and torso legs last

milestones in motor development

1. 2 months - lifts up head

2. 2 ½ m - rolls over

3. 6m - sits without suport

4. 8m crawling hands and knees

5. 9m - pulls to stand

6. 12m walking

overview of sensorimotor stage

1. birth -1m - modify reflexes to adapt to environment and centred on own body

2. 1-4m - organise reflexes, integrate actions

3. 4-8m actions on objects, repetition of actions resulting in pleasurable or intersting results

4. 8-12m 0 object permanence, (when baby becomes mobile)

5. 12-18m - active exploration of potential use of objects

6. 18-24m - begins to form enduring mental representations

object permanecy

the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be seen

• 0-5 months - out of sight out of mind

• 6-9m = object perm develops

why is object permanence important

need to mentally represent an object in order to search for it - mental reps indicate thought

advantages of piaget’s theory

• good overview of broad changes in children’s thinking at different points

• covers broad spectrum from infancy to adolescence

• covers development in broad range of domains

disadvantages of Piaget’s theory

• stage model depicts children’s thinking as more consistent than it is

• vague about cognitive processes that gie rise to children’s thinking and mechanisms that produce cog growth

• understated contribution of social world

• children more competent than Piaget recognised