HDFS 311 Sensory and physical development

What sensory experiences are fetuses having in the womb? What does this mean for auditory/taste perception?

fetuses experince taste and smell through amniotic fluid; fetuses also hear sounds

Early infancy sound perception over the first year

can distinguish all sounds

6-12 months sound perception

narrow to sounds of their native language

How is vision at birth?

vision is the least developed sense; newborns see about 8-10 inches, prefer faces, and have poor acuity

How is vision 2-4 months?

depth perception and color vision improve

How is vision by 1 year?

near-adult levels of acuity and ability to track moving objects

Cephalocaudal principle

growth begins with the head and then continues downward to the rest of the body (head to tail)

Proximodistal principle 

development progresses from the center of the body to the extremities (near to far) 

Adiposity 

levels of fatty tissue in the body

When does adiposity peak?

6-12 months

What is adiposity linked to?

closely linked with later obesity

Early rebound of adiposity (around 5-6 years) is linked with

later obesity risk

2 months

lift head

3 months

roll over (front to back)

6 months

sit independently

10 months

stand independently

1 year

first steps

18 months

run

24 months

jump

What is sudden infant death syndrome (SIDs)

death within first year of life due to unknown reasons, with no apparent illness/disorder, most common between 1 to 4 months 

What lowers the risk of sudden infant death syndrome?

sleeping on the back lowers risk

Dynamic Systems Theory

motor development requires an infant’s active effects to coordinate components of a skill in service of a goal