A Child's Development
...y can hold tightly to an object. Many of these behaviors evolved because they are important for a child’s survival, without these a child would not be able to physically develop. The absence of reflexes in a newborn are signals of possible problems in brain development (psychology, pg 388). Newborns are brought into this world having some sort of reflexes in order for them to adapt to their surroundings. One of the most basic reflexes is the rooting reflex. This reflex helps an infant turn its head to any object the stimulates a cheek, such as a baby bottle for feeding. A newborn also will have a very strong grasping reflex. If you place your finger in a baby’s finger, generally anywheres from one-week old and on a baby will have a very strong grip. Motor skills also allow a baby to sit, crawl, stand, and walk. Some motor skills such as sitting up come a lot earlier than walking. Cognitive development relates to the reasoning and logic of an infant. Jean Piaget among all researchers dedicated his life to a search for the ideas behind cognitive development. “He was the first person to chart the journey from the simple reflexes of the newborn to the complex adolescent” (psychology pg. 390).” Piaget believed that all children’s thinking progresses through the same stages, in the same order without skipping, or building onto previous stages. “He also believed that the thinking of infants is different from the thinking of children and the thinking of children is different from that of an adolescent” (psychology, pg 390). To explain how infants move to higher standards of understanding and knowledge Piaget introduced four stages of cognitive development: sensorimotor (0-18 months) , preoperational (2-7 years), concrete operational (7-11 years)), and formal operational (over 11 years) ( psychology, pg 390). The first 18 months of development is the sensorimotor. In this stage infants develop schemas or basic units of knowledge. During this stage infants can form schemas only of objects that are present. They cannot think about absent objects because they can’t act on them. Key to the sensorimotor intelligence is the emergence of what Piaget called the object concept, or the concept of object permanence. According to Piaget, a very young infant does not seem to recognize that objects have a permanent existence outside of his or her interaction with it. Early in infancy, from birth to around 4 months of age babies will naturally look at a toy, follow it with their eyes and try to grasp it. As soon as the object is out of sight babies mentally think it know longer exists. They do not have the concept of knowing it’s there, if it’s out of sight. For example, if an Infant drops a toy they mentally think it’s no longer there, because they have not yet acquired the knowledge to look beyond what they see. Infants will begin to develop object permanence at around 4 months. Also, at this part they are beginning to learn that a disappearing object may still exist. Infants between 4- 8 months not only begin to turn their heads to follow a moving object, but continue to look along it’s path after is have vanished, however they will not search for it. From about 8-12 months infants for the first time searches manually for an object that disappears out of their sight. When children reaches this stage they can follow all the visible movements of an object (Psychology, pg 391). Social and emotional learning is an important concept for parents to be aware of. A nurturing environment can build pathways that encourage emotional stability, while repeated stress may create many problems in further development. Infants learn from the people around them the most. Infants learn how to handle a situation through what other people are doing. During the first hour after birth an emotional tie begins. From an early age infants are receptive to the people around them. They prefer to look at children and more at attractive faces. Infants also socially communicate through their feelings, not only by crying and screaming, but more subtly. Turning away and sucking their thumbs can be an indication that they want to be left alone. A baby that smiles and is looking around are generally showing signs that they want to interact with others. Not responding to an infant’s emotional sign can slow down their social development. It’s at this point that they also develop a sense a trust. This strong sense of trust is the foundation for a lifetime. Without this a baby may have problems communicating with others later on in their development. Often at 5 through 7 months infants also develop a “fear” or “shyness” of strangers. This is completely natural and often is a result of the development of object permanence. Infants at this age will sometimes cling to their parents and not want to be touched by people who they see as being unfamiliar (www.amazingbaby.com) From 0-4 months babies show the majority of their emotions through crying. They have many cries in which they show different emotions. Over time parents can tell the difference between them and know what they want through each cry. From 4-8 months infants begin to express a wider range of emotions. Pleasure, happiness, fear, and frustration are shown through gurgles, cools, and wails. They also show movements such as kicking, arm waving, rocking and smiling. From 8-18 months it’s at this time they develop a sense of self. They begin to recognize their image in a mirror and start to become more and more independent. Babies at this stage have a wide range of emotional states. One minute they could be happy and playing and the next minute they could be kicking and screaming (www.amazingbaby.com) Moral development begins early in an infant’s life. An infant enters this world as an immoral being. Mo...