Infancy Development: Health, Motor Skills, Language, and Attachment

What is Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)?

A condition where an infant stops breathing during the night and dies suddenly without apparent cause.

What are some recommended practices to reduce the risk of SIDS?

Place the baby to sleep on their back, use a pacifier, eliminate exposure to cigarette smoke, and avoid sharing a bed with the baby.

What is the common dietary issue observed in infants by 15 months?

French fries were the most common 'vegetable' consumed by babies.

What are the nutritional needs for infants aged 4-6 months?

Their only source of nutrients should be breast milk or bottled formula.

What are the health benefits of breastfeeding for infants?

Breastfed babies have fewer health problems, including infections, allergies, asthma, diabetes, and SIDS.

What is the significance of paid parental leave in various countries?

Countries like Sweden provide up to 480 days of paid leave, while the USA offers 0 weeks of paid leave.

What are gross motor skills?

Skills that involve large muscle activation, such as crawling and walking.

What are fine motor skills?

Skills that involve more finely tuned movements, like grasping and picking things up.

How does visual perception develop in infants?

Newborns have poor distance vision (20/200), which improves to 20/40 by 6 months.

What is the Sensorimotor Stage in Piaget's theory?

The first stage of cognitive development from birth to 2 years, where infants learn through sensory experiences and motor actions.

What is object permanence?

The understanding that objects and events continue to exist even when they cannot be seen, heard, or touched.

What is the A-not-B error?

A mistake made by infants where they choose the familiar hiding place (A) instead of the new hiding place (B) for an object.

What are the stages of language development in infants?

Stages include crying, cooing, babbling, understanding 50 words by 13 months, and producing 2-word utterances by 18-24 months.

What is child-directed speech?

Language spoken in a higher pitch than normal, using simple words and sentences.

What are primary emotions?

Emotions present in humans and other animals that emerge early in life, such as joy, anger, sadness, fear, and disgust.

What are self-conscious emotions?

Emotions that require self-awareness, such as jealousy, empathy, and embarrassment.

What is stranger anxiety?

An infant's fear and wariness of strangers, typically appearing during the second half of the first year.

What is separation protest in infants?

Distressed crying when a caregiver leaves.

What are the three types of temperament in children?

Easy child, difficult child, and slow-to-warm-up child.

What is attachment in the context of infant development?

A close emotional bond between two people.

What is the Strange Situation assessment?

A method to assess infant attachment through a series of introductions, separations, and reunions with a caregiver and a stranger.

What characterizes securely attached babies?

They use the caregiver as a secure base to explore their environment.

What are the behaviors of insecure avoidant babies?

They show insecurity by avoiding the caregiver, leaning or looking away.

What are the behaviors of insecure resistant babies?

They often cling to the caregiver but resist closeness by pushing away.

What characterizes insecure disorganized babies?

They show insecurity through disorganized and disoriented behavior.