Module 11: INFANCY AND TODDLERHOOD

Introduction

Infants and toddlers are born ready to learn. They learn through cuddling with a
caregiver, listening to language, trying out sounds, stretching on the floor, reaching for
objects, tasting foods, and exploring their environments in countless ways every day.
Their brains go through amazing changes during the first three years of life. This lesson
highlights physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development milestones for infants
and toddlers.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this module, you are expected to:

 discuss the physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development of infants and

toddlers;

 determine implications of physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development

of infants and toddlers to learning.

Physical Development

In infancy, toddlerhood, and early childhood, the body’s physical development is

rapid (Figure 1). On average, newborns weigh between 5 and 10 pounds, and a
newborn’s weight typically doubles in six months and triples in one year. By 2 years old
the weight will have quadrupled, so we can expect that a 2-year old should weigh
between 20 and 40 pounds. The average length of a newborn is 19.5 inches, increasing
to 29.5 inches by 12 months and 34.4 inches by 2 years old (WHO Multicentre Growth
Reference Study Group, 2006).

During infancy and childhood, growth does not occur at a steady rate (Carel,
Lahlou, Roger, & Chaussain, 2004). Growth slows between 4 and 6 years old: During
this time children gain 5–7 pounds and grow about 2–3 inches per year. Once girls
reach 8–9 years old, their growth rate outpaces that of boys due to a pubertal growth
spurt. This growth spurt continues until around 12 years old, coinciding with the start of
the menstrual cycle. By 10 years old, the average girl weighs 88 pounds, and the
average boy weighs 85 pounds.
 Motor development occurs in an orderly sequence as infants move from
reflexive reactions (e.g., sucking and rooting) to more advanced motor functioning. For
instance, babies first learn to hold their heads up, then to sit with assistance, and then
to sit unassisted, followed later by crawling and then walking.

Motor skills refer to our ability to move our bodies and manipulate objects.

1. Fine motor skills focus on the muscles in our fingers, toes, and eyes, and
enable coordination of small actions (e.g., grasping a toy, writing with a pencil,
and using a spoon).

2. Gross motor skills focus on large muscle groups that control our arms and
legs
and involve larger movements (e.g., balancing, running, and jumping).

Physical Development Milestones – Infants and Toddlers

2 Months
 Holds head up with support
 Begins to push up when lying on tummy
 Makes smoother movements with arms and legs

4 Months
 Holds head steady without support
 Pushes down on legs when feet are on a hard surface
 Rolls over from tummy to back
 Holds and shakes toys, swings at dangling toys
 Brings hands to mouth
 Pushes up to elbows when lying on tummy

6 Months
 Rolls over both from stomach to back and from back to stomach
 Begins to sit with support
 Supports weight on legs when standing and might bounce
 Rocks back and forth, sometimes crawls backward before moving forward

9 Months
 Crawls
 Sits without support
 Moves into sitting position with support
 Stands, holding on to adult or furniture for support
 Pulls to stand
1 Year
 Moves into sitting position without support
 Pulls up to stand and walks alone while holding onto furniture
 Takes few steps without support of adult or furniture
 Stands alone

18 Months
 Walks alone
 Runs
 Pulls toys while walking
 Helps undress self
 Drinks from a cup
 Eats with a spoon

2 Years
 Begins to run
 Climbs onto and down from furniture without support
 Walks up and down steps while holding on for support
 Throws ball overhand
 Draws or copies straight lines and circles
 Stands on tiptoes
 Kicks a ball

Keep in mind that the milestones above are simply the average ages at which specific
development is observed.

Certain conditions must exist for an infant or toddler to grow and develop. A young
child’s basic needs, or physical needs, include:
 Food (nutritious and age-appropriate)
 Shelter (protection from harm)
 Warmth
 Clean air and environment
 Health and dental care
 Activity and rest

Cognitive Development of Infants and Toddler

Infants’ and toddlers’ thinking skills grow as they interact with the world and people
around them. Their early experiences matter. Consistent, nurturing experiences help
infants and toddlers make sense of the world. These experiences literally build brain
architecture. As infants and toddlers develop, they begin to understand and predict how
things work: they open and close a toy busy box door over and over, they fill and dump
a cup of water in the water table, they bang a spoon on a high chair to hear the sound.
Watching an infant or toddler make new discoveries is truly exciting. Think of how
exciting it is the first time an infant stacks blocks (and knocks them down) or the first
time a toddler pretends to read a book to you. The chart below highlights infant and
toddler cognitive development. Keep in mind that individual differences exist when it
comes to specific ages at which infants and toddlers meet these milestones and that
each infant and toddler is unique. As you may have already learned in other courses,
milestones provide a guide for when to expect certain skills or behaviors to emerge.

Think of milestones as guidelines to help you understand and identify typical patterns of
growth and development, or to help you know when and what to look for as young
children mature. As a family child care provider, you can use information about
developmental milestones, and what you learn from families, to create interactions,
experiences, and environments for infants and toddlers.

Cognitive Developmental Milestones

2 months
 Pays attention to faces
 Begins to follow things with eyes and recognize people at a distance
 Begins to act bored (cries, fussy) if activity doesn't change

6 months
 Looks around at things nearby
 Brings things to mouth
 Shows curiosity about things and tries to get things that are out of reach
 Begins to pass things from one hand to another

12 months
 Explores things in different ways like shaking, banging, throwing
 Finds hidden things easily
 Looks at the right picture or thing when it's named
 Copies gestures
 Starts to use things correctly (like drinks from a cup, brushes hair)
 Bangs two things together
 Puts things in a container, takes things out of a container
 Lets things go without help
 Pokes with index (pointer) finger
 Follows simple directions like "pick up the toy"

18 months
 Knows what ordinary things are; for example telephone, brush, spoon
 Points to get the attention of others
 Shows interest in a doll or stuffed animal by pretending to feed
 Points to one body part
 Scribbles on own
 Can follow one-step verbal commands without any gestures; for example, sits
when you say "sit down"

24 months
 Finds things even when hidden under two or three covers
 Begins to sort shapes and colors
 Completes sentences and rhymes in familiar books
 Plays simple make-believe games
 Builds towers of four or more blocks
 Might use one hand more than the other
 Follows two-step directions like, "Pick up your shoes and put them in the closet."

36 months
 Can work toys with buttons, levers, and moving parts
 Plays make-believe with dolls, animals, and people
 Does puzzles with three or four pieces
 Understands what "two" means
 Copies a circle with a pencil or crayon
 Turns book pages one at a time
 Builds towers of more than six blocks
 Screws and unscrews jar lids or turns door handles

Social-Emotional Developmental Milestones

6 months
 Knows familiar faces and begins to know if someone is a stranger
 Likes to play with others, especially parents or guardians
 Responds to other people’s emotions and often seems happy
 Likes to look at self in mirror

12 months
 Is shy or nervous with strangers
 Cries when Mom or Dad leaves
 Has favorite things and people
 Shows fear in some situations
 Hands you a book when he or she wants to hear a story
 Repeats sounds and actions to get attention
 Puts out arm or leg to help with dressing
 Plays games such as peekaboo and pat-a-cake

18 months
 Likes to hand things to others as play
 May have temper tantrums
 May be afraid of strangers
 Shows affection to familiar people
 Plays simple pretend, such as feeding a doll
 May cling to caregivers in new situations
 Points to show others something is interesting
 Explores alone but with a parent or guardian close by

24 months
 Copies others, especially adults and older children
 Gets excited when with other children
 Shows more and more independence
 Shows defiant behavior (doing what she or he has been told not to do)
 Plays mainly beside other children, but is beginning to include other children, such
as in chase games

36 months
 Copies adults and friends
 Shows affection for friends without prompting
 Takes turns in games
 Shows concern for a crying friend
 Understands the idea of “mine” and “his” or “hers”
 Shows a wide range of emotions
 Separates easily from Mom, Dad, or guardian
 May get upset with major changes in routine
 Dresses and undresses self

The table below highlights possible developmental warning signs for infants and
toddlers:
 Possible Warning Signs for Infants & Toddlers

Young Infants
 Doesn't watch things as they move
 Doesn't bring things to mouth
Mobile Infants
 Doesn't try to get things that are in reach
 Has difficulty getting things to mouth
 Doesn't play any games involving back-and-forth play (i.e., peekaboo)
 Doesn't seem to recognize familiar people
 Doesn't look where you point
 Doesn't transfer toys from one hand to another
 Doesn't learn gestures like waving or shaking head
 Loses skills he or she once had
 Doesn't search for things he or she sees you hide
Toddlers
 Doesn't copy others
 Doesn't point to show things to others
 Doesn't know what to do with common things, like a brush, phone, spoon
 Doesn't follow simple directions
 Doesn't play pretend or make-believe (at 3 years)
 Loses skills she or he once had

Emotional well-being during the early years has a powerful impact on social
relationships. Children who are emotionally healthy are better able to establish and
maintain positive relationships with adults as well as with peers. Social-emotional
development is essential to a young child’s sense of well-being. Their first relationships
help shape who they are, who they become, and their understanding of the world. The
important people in young children’s lives help lay the foundation for a range of social-
emotional skills such as:
 Self-regulation
 Empathy
 Turn-taking and sharing
 Positive relationships with adults and peers

Social-Emotional Developmental Milestones

6 months
 Knows familiar faces and begins to know if someone is a stranger
 Likes to play with others, especially parents or guardians
 Responds to other people’s emotions and often seems happy
 Likes to look at self in mirror
12 months
 Is shy or nervous with strangers
 Cries when Mom or Dad leaves
 Has favorite things and people
 Shows fear in some situations
 Hands you a book when he or she wants to hear a story
 Repeats sounds and actions to get attention
 Puts out arm or leg to help with dressing
 Plays games such as peekaboo and pat-a-cake

18 months
 Likes to hand things to others as play
 May have temper tantrums
 May be afraid of strangers
 Shows affection to familiar people
 Plays simple pretend, such as feeding a doll
 May cling to caregivers in new situations
 Points to show others something is interesting
 Explores alone but with a parent or guardian close by

24 months
 Copies others, especially adults and older children
 Gets excited when with other children
 Shows more and more independence
 Shows defiant behavior (doing what she or he has been told not to do)
 Plays mainly beside other children, but is beginning to include other children, such
as in chase games

36 months
 Copies adults and friends
 Shows affection for friends without prompting
 Takes turns in games
 Shows concern for a crying friend
 Understands the idea of “mine” and “his” or “hers”
 Shows a wide range of emotions
 Separates easily from Mom, Dad, or guardian
 May get upset with major changes in routine
 Dresses and undresses self
Activity 1
Conduct a mini survey with regard to nanny effect on language development of
toddlers. Write a summary of your survey.

Activity 2
What are the ups and downs of being in a broken family? Does this situation
affect a child’s learning? Explain your answer.

Activity 3
For children whose parents are OFW’s, how do they cope with separation
anxiety? Discuss your answer in a group (break out room).

Self-Assessment
Read news articles on COVID-19. What are the details that pertain to child care
amid the pandemic? Create a 30-second infomercial based on your gathered resources.

References:

Cognitive development. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOMQnSpxuUE

Corpuz, B. (n.d.). The Child and Adolescent Learners and Learning Principles.

Play Ideas for baby cognitive development. www.raisingchildren.net.au

Murphy, L. B. & Moon, R. Babies and their senses. Zero to Three: National
Center for Infants, Toddlers, and Families. Retrieved from
http://www.zerotothree.org/child-development/temperament-behavior/babies-
and-their-senses.html

Rothbart, M. K. (2004). Temperament and the pursuit of an integrated

developmental psychology. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 50 (4) , 492–505.
doi:10.1353/mpq.2004.0035. Retrieved from
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/merrillpalmer_quarterly/v050/50.4rothbart.html