Lifespan Growth and Development: Infancy Development Summary

Course Overview

• Unit: SPS1530: Lifespan Growth and Development

• Focus: Physical, motor, and cognitive development in infancy (0-2 years)

Agenda

• Part A: Physical growth and development, sleep, nutrition

• Part B: Sensory and perceptual development

• Part C: Cognitive development

• Part D: Motor development

Birth to 2 Years Development

• Growth Measurements:

  • Length: $50 cm$ to $85 cm$

  • Weight: $3.5 kg$ to $12.5 kg$

• Growth Patterns:

  • Cephalocaudal: Growth from head to toe.

  • Proximodistal: Growth from center to extremities.

Brain Development

• Neurons at Birth: Approximately $100$ billion neurons.

• Growth Rate: Brain size increases from $25\%$ to $75\%$ of adult weight in first 2 years.

• Myelination: Insulation of axons, speeding up nerve impulses.

• Synaptic Pruning: Weeding out unused neural pathways.

Importance of Experience

• Brain development is activity-dependent.

• Early experiences shape neural pathways, promoting or inhibiting certain circuits.

Sleep in Infants

• Typical Sleep Duration: Newborns sleep about $18$ hours daily.

• Importance of Sleep: Essential for rejuvenation, brain plasticity, and increasing synaptic connections.

• REM sleep comprises half of an infant's total sleep.

Sensory and Perceptual development

• Perception: Process of interpreting sensory information.

• Visual and Auditory Perception: Infants respond to occluded objects, sounds, and have changes in sensitivity to loudness and pitch.

Cognitive Development (Piaget)

• Sensorimotor Stage: Birth to $2$ years.

  • Key Focus: Building understanding through sensory experiences and motor actions.

• Sub-stages: 1-6:

  1. Simple reflexes

  2. Primary circular reactions

  3. Secondary circular reactions

  4. Coordination of secondary reactions

  5. Tertiary circular reactions

  6. Mental representation

Motor Development Phases

• Reflexive Movement Phase: Survival reflexes from birth to 1 year.

• Rudimentary Movement Phase (1-2 years): Transition from reflex to voluntary movements.

• Key Abilities: Stability, locomotion, and manipulation.

Reflexes and Postural Control

• Primitive Reflexes: Such as Moro, sucking, palmar grasp, and Babinski, appear and dissipate in a predictable manner.

• Postural Reflexes: Help maintain upright position; develop into voluntary movements.

Interventions in Motor Development

• Importance of stimulation and exploration during rudimentary phase to encourage motor skills.

• Timing of milestones may vary; significant delays can occur in premature or low birth weight infants.