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Babyhood - Introduction

Babyhood is the time when the new born becomes less helpless and more independent. It is the first two years of life. For the first six to nine months the babys physical growth and development are very rapid. During the second year the babys physical growth and development slows down. While the mental growth and development progresses rapidly. At this time, the baby is a toddler. If the baby is not fed well, then it may have stunted physical. Mental retardation may happen.

Twice during the entire lifespan, there are period of rapid physical growth. Rest of the time growth is at a slower and at a even rate until it comes to a complete halt. The first period of the rapid growth starts as soon as the fertilized ovum becomes attached to the wall of the mothers uterus .the second growth is in later part of lifespan that is when the childs body is changing into adult body. This is known as puberty growth.

2. Features developed during babyhood y y y y y y y y Muscles Bones ossification: hardening of bones. Teeth 21 of them are formed. Eyes sharper: turns away from closer object or light. Ears hears well: fluid comes out. Nose knows smell. Taste increases. Touch senses touch, soft skin.

3. Pattern of growth Year/months Birth 4months 1year 2years Height 20 inches(51cm) 24inches(61 cm) 28-30inches (71-76cm) 33-37inches (84-94cm) Weight 3.2kgs 6.4kgs 9.5kgs 11.3-12.7kgs

Growth is never smooth and even. When the baby is growing in height, weight increases may be small. When the internal organs such as heart and stomach are going through growth spurt, outside feature stay much unchanged. This is the pattern of growth that all the babies follow. The pattern of growth is slightly different for boys and girls. These differences show up soon after the birth. Boy infants lose more weight after birth than girls. Once they adjust to life outside mothers body boys then gain a little more in height and weight than girls In babyhood weight gain comes mostly from an increase in fat tissue. This is caused by the large amount of fat in milk. The main part of the babys diet. Later as food other than milk becomes a part of diet, weight increases which comes more from bone and muscle tissue than from fat tissue. There is no scientific proof that fat babies are healthier than thinner babies.

4. Inter-relationship of physical and mental growth When the physical growth is rapid, mental growth is also rapid. If one is slow then both are slow. Health and nutrition affect both physical and mental growth. In babyhood, poor nutrition doesnt only stunt physical growth but also affects the developing vein. This in turn affects the mental development. Physical growth is easier than mental growth. These two years is the base on which rest of the life is built.

5. Important effects of growth spurts During the rapid growth, the body needs extra food. This result in ravenous appetite .as the growth slows down so does the need of food. The babys appetite then decreases. Rapid growth zaps energy. The baby gets tired more easily than when growth is at slower rate. The baby needs more rest and sleep than that is needed when growth is at slower rate. Rapid growth is not limited to one part of the body. However a different part of the body grows rapidly at different times and at different rates. They never grow exactly at the same time and never at the same rate. Bones and muscles grow at different time and at different rate making coordination of the body impossible. This results in mass activity that is the trait of the body and the awkward movement of the toddler. 6. Developmental tasks y y y y y y Learning to take solid foods. Learning to walk. Learning to talk. Learning to control the elimination of body wastes. Decreasing dependency Beginning of creativity, sex role and socialization for adjustment in future life.

This chart is not to be viewed as a rigid timetable. Though babies do typically develop according to critical periods, that development can be unpredictable; some children perform an activities earlier or later, than the chart indicates. The Doctor's Check List: Month 1
y y y

Cultural Changes:

y y

Cuddles Follows to Midline Moro Reflex (Reacts to sudden noise or contact by dropping head backward, arms and legs extend outward and back sharply) Equal Movements Head up when prone/Lifts and

Daily patterns of sleeping, crying, and eating are highly disorganized. Two night feedings Five or six daily Moves bowels three or four times daily.

y y y

turns head Begins to smile Responds to sound Regards face, fixes gaze at 8-12"

Month 2
y y y y y y y y

Responds more for the parents than others Shows a preference of sleeping positions Coos, laughs, reciprocal vocalization Head up 45 Cuddles, quiets self Will give a social smile Grasps rattle placed in hand and holds briefly Responds to loud sounds

May have only one night feeding. Moves bowels twice, close to feedings. Is awake as many as ten hours a day. Has two to four longer sleep periods. Sleeps as long as seven hours a night. Enjoys bath time.

Month 4
y y y y y y y y y y y y

No head lag when pulled to sit Begins reaching, using both arms simultaneously Follows object 180 Squeals, babbles, and laughs Bats at objects Rolls prone to supine Recognizes feeding preparation and will wait a short time. Holds rattle Brings hands together Smiles spontaneously Prone, head up 90Shoulders up Opens hands at rest

Patterns of eating, being alert, and sleeping are clearly regulated. One night feeding. Interest in feeding may decrease due to social interest. Predictable interval between feeding and bowels. Splashes in bath, kicks, and lifts head.

Month 6
y y y y y y y y y y y y y y

Turns to name and sound Rakes small objects with hand Ready for solids, may take a cup. May Rolls supine to prone show interest in finger feeding self and Reacts to strangers develops taste preference. Plays with feet Shows displeasure at loss of toy Sleeps through the night and half of 24Single consonant babbling hour period. Follows path of dropped object Imitates sound May hold own bottle to feed Reaches for objects with the closer hand Sits with support Lifts cup Reaches and transfers

Month 9
y y y y y y y y y y

Creeps and/or crawls Says Mama, Dada nonspecific Pulls to stand, cruises along furniture Sits up well Understands a few words Monosyllable babbling Shy with strangersanxiety Plays Peek-a-boo and Pat-a-cake Gets toy out of reach Partial finger feeds

Feeds self holding cracker. Manipulates and drinks from cup. May fear bath

Month 12
y

Lowers self from standing to sitting without falling

Usually insists on self feeding.

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y y y y y y y y y y y y

Waves bye-bye Says Mama, Dada specific Releases toy Gives hugs Precise grasps Walks with support, may take few steps alone. May scribble One word speech sounds Plays with toys appropriately (squeaks a squeak toy) May cooperate in dressing and feeding self. Bangs two cubes together. Can put one object inside another

Takes three meals a day. Holds cup to drink. Uses spoon. Plays with saucer. May have trouble sleeping. One afternoon nap. Cooperates in dressing.

7. Pattern of development Growth always comes with changes in body proportions as part of the body develops on their own way. Babys look changes greatly during the babyhood years. At birth, babies are top-heavy. Throughout babyhood their head keeps on growing but at a slower rate than the rest of their body. By the time babyhood ends, babies are no longer top-heavy. The parts of the body that are least developed at the work, the trunk and the limbs grow and develop fast during babyhood. The shoulders become broader, stomach becomes flat and the body slowly takes on more definite shape than when the baby was born. Bones and teeth The bones of the newborn infant are soft. Throughout the babyhood bones become harder and this takes place slowly. This hardening is called ossification. It begins shortly after the birth and ends at the age of 11 or 12. There are two important facts about the bones of the babies. Firstly breaks in the bones mends quickly and readily. Secondly the bones easily can be misshaped. Babies who spend too much time lying on their back may develop flat head.
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Every human being has two set of teeth, one is temporary or baby teeth and another one is permanent teeth. There are 20 baby teeth and 32 permanent teeth. The babys temporary teeth are low in quality than the permanent teeth. They are usually soft and small shallow roots unless the diet of the baby and young child is good. The teeth may decay before they are replaced by the permanent teeth. Teeth start to develop in babys jaws during the third or fourth month of the prenatal period. They dont start to appear until the baby is 5 to 6 months old. Then they usually grow at a rate of 1 tooth a month until the baby is 2 2-1/2 years old. This is known as teething. Sensory expressions of the baby y Vision: The babys eyes are well developed at birth. But the muscles that are attaching eyes to the socket are weak. These muscles strengthen within 2-3 months after birth. Things cant be seen clearly. Color vision appears a month or two after birth. y Hearing The liquid forms and the prenatal sac drain out of the middle ear. Several days after the birth. When this happens the babys hearing becomes very clear. y Skin sensation The baby skin has same number of sense organs for touch, pain and temperature as an adult, but the skin is thinner. As a result the baby feels touch, pain and temperature more than an adult does. y Smell The baby has as many cells for smell inside the nostrils as a adult but does not have the same hair that lives in the adult nose. As a result odour can get into small cells easily hence the baby has sense of smell.

y Taste The babys taste buds are on the surface at this time as it is for the adults. They also have a lining inside the cheeks which makes the baby sensitive to tastes. Much of the taste comes from smell and the babys sense of smell is very good. This increases the babys keen sense of taste.

Cognitive development The sensory motor stage of the development according to Piagets encompasses the period in a childs life from birth to about 2 years of age. This period is eventually preverbal, since childs adaptations to the new environment do not involve extensive use of symbols or languages. Children have several intellectual, development taskes that they must achieve during the period. They must learn to coordinate, organize simple motor actions and incoming perceptions so that they can be converted into adaptive behavior.

Motor development Piagets has divided the sensory motor period into six periods. Which are listed as: y y y y y y The use of reflexes Primary circular reaction Secondary circular reaction Coordination of secondary circular reaction Tertiary circular reaction Invention of new means by mental combination

1. Reflexes The first phase of reflex begins at birth and last until the end of the first month. Children repeatedly use the reflexes with which they were endowed. The
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reflex behaviors that are most important are sucking, grasping, eye movements, visual accommodation and reflex association with hearing and phonation. The reflex mostly used shortly after birth including sucking, tongue movements, swallowing, crying and cross bodily movements.

2. Primary circular reaction The second phase, which is the primary circular reaction, begins after the 1st month and last until 4th month. Circular reaction refers to a behavior that provides the stimulus either for the own repetitions or for the continuation of irritating behavior. During this period, the neo-natal reflexes undergo numerous changes due to the interaction of the baby with their environment. Infants are continuously bringing about prolonged and repeating some form of adaptive behavior that has not previously occurred. 3. Secondary circular reaction The behavior pattern of the third phase of sensory motor development ages 4-8 months consist of secondary circular reaction that are concurred with the external environment rather than with the infants body as the primary reactions. The beginning of intentional adaptations is noted that is a desire, intention or purpose can be associated to that movement. Thus children kick their les to shake their crib and make the toy move .they will shake the rattle to produce sound. They begin to show greater awareness of the world surrounding them.

4. Coordination of secondary schemata There are two principles of intellectual accomplishment during the fourth developmental phase. From the 8-12th month, the secondary circular reaction of phase three becomes coordinated to form new behavior totalities that are now unquestionably intentional. Children also exhibit anticipatory behavior by using signs or signals to anticipate coming events. For example they involve in such activities such as removing a lid from a box to find a ball inside. They can know

the reverse a feeding bottle that has been given to them in a wrong way. They can use new schemata in different situation to solve problem. 5. Tertiary circulation reaction Tertiary circulation reaction is the fifth phase, 12-18th month deals with the discovery of new means .there action refers to the repetitive behavior that fascinates children about one year of age, when they repeat an action many times but do not repeat in a stereotypic manner. Children not only act on objects in their environment but also vary their action on them or try out new responses to reach the same goal. Every situation has numerous possibilities that seem to need further exploration, explanation or modification. The adaptive reactions of this phase have all the characteristics of true intelligence. Social development Every infant like every adult depend on other people for existence. Not only is the child dependent on the social group also helps to determine what kind of individual the child will become. The first group for primary social group of a child is the family. This group plays the important role in establishing the childs attitude and habits. As the child grows into adolescence the family is relayed less but the friends and the other social companion are more. Social development follows a pattern, every child usually pass through certain phases of being socialized at about the same age that the other children do. Children must learn social skill and how to make adjustments with others. At work children have a complete lack of interest in people. They do not care for companionship of others as long as their bodily needs are taken care of. They stop crying when they are lifted or touched. Social behavior begins when the baby first distinguish between people and objects. The first social response of the baby is to an adult. Although a 4 weeks of age the baby is not ready for real social stimulation. Behavior pattern are undergoing. The baby stares at the faces that are close by and seems to enjoy following the movement of object and people. The baby babbles and coos. In the second month the infants give evidence that they are actively aware of adults who care for them but unaware of other babies in the same room. By the end
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of third month babies may turn their head or eyes on response to voices and follow their mothers movements. A simile can be evoked by an adult exhibiting a smile, an angry face, distorted facial expression, tones or gestures. Individually a child born blind knows how to smile. A babys response to the people is a positive one. There is an increased demand for sociality at four months. In the beginning of fifth month they may even begin to cry when people leave the room or on their presence. At five months children smile in reply to another smile and they may cry at other stimuli. At seven months children may join in games, they can respond to more than one person at a time. Their interest in people and things is increasing. At tenth month babies will not play by themselves for a long period of time and are quick to show their desire for shift of company or toys. Social give and take is greatly enjoyed at the year age level.

8. Immunization There are some diseases that doctors feel that the babies should be immunized against them to help the babies build resistance to the disease, while immunization may not prevent the diseases completely, but it can prevent the complication that accompanies the disease. The vaccine is directed into the blood stream. An immunization is almost or always accompanied by a reaction. Diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus immunization against these three diseases is given in one combined shot. The DPT shot is first given when the baby is 3 months old followed by second shot during 4th month and the third shot during 5th month. When the baby is 1 year old they are given a test to determine their immunity to diphtheria between the ages of 12 and 18months old. Again when the kid is 4 years old a booster of DPT shot is prescribed. At last between the age of 12 and 14 years the child is given a booster for diphtheria and tetanus but not for pertussis. y Poliomyelitis There are two ways to immunize against poliomyelitis. The Salk vaccine is injected into blood stream and the Sabin vaccine is given orally in liquid form in pill form. Most of the doctors prefer the Sabin vaccine because it gives a
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better, long lasting immunity. It is given when the baby is two months old, followed by two more pills at 6-8 months interval. A booster is then given at 15 months and again at 4 years of age. y Measles The baby is immunized against measles between the age of 8- 9 months old and again at 12 years old. if there is a an epidemics of measles in the neighborhood or in the family then the doctors usually prefer to immunize baby at once this might keep the baby from catching or kept away from it. y Rubella Unless there is an epidemic disease in neighborhood or a case in the family then the doctors usually prefer to immunize babies against rubella when they are 1 year old y Mumps Immunization to prevent mumps is usually given when the baby is 1 year old and again when the child is 12 years old. This especially important to boys because if a boy catches mumps when he is in adolescence period he may become sterile. Besides immunization against disease, some babies are immunized for allergies. When babies develop skin rashes, watery eyes, stuffy nose, vomiting, sneezing for no reason or breathe heavily they should be given skin test to find out allergy. 9. Problems of babyhood Many of the reasons are called babyhood problems because they bother both parent and the child .they upset the parents pattern of life, slow down activities and do not match the parents idea of how a baby should behave while all the other babies have their own problem. Some problems are so common that few babies escapes from some of the common problems. While others develop problems in teething and other aspect.

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Common problem in physical care y 1. 2. 3. 4. Eating problems Changes in appetite because being tired, teething and other discomforts. Food disliking because of sudden start of food that taste and feels new. Dawdling over meals because having enough food. Problem in self feeding, sloppiness in eating because of lack of knowledge in self feeding skills. 5. Distractions because of not being able to keep mind on food while watching what else is going on. 6. Playing with food because of not liking the food or due to lack of hunger.

y 1. 2. 3.

Sleeping problems Waking up before usual time because of gas pains. Crying when put to bed because of not being sleepy. Resistance to take nap because of distraction in house from television, guest or older children playing. 4. Trying to get out of the crib because of wanting to get up before parents are ready to take out of the cradle.

y Bathing problems 1. Splashing water by kicking, playing with water toys instead of trying to bathe self. 2. Refusal to have hair shampooed because of having soap in eyes or mouth. 3. Fear of bath because of earlier slip or fall in tub. 4. Refuse to be bathed except by mother or father. y Other problems Preference for male child Indias survey says that male child is preferred when compared to female child. Of the female respondents, who identified themselves as married with two living children , nearly 90% say they dont want more children if they have at least one son, but this number falls about 62% and if the women have two girl children, according to the national family health and survey. In some states like Bihar 80%
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of women who have two girls and no son wants to have another male child. Indian women continues to face pressure to produce a male child in this nation where the cultural preferences is rooted in the customs of the dowry which makes the family often to face debt to provide gifts to the grooms family. According to government survey. We still have much to do to reduce the discrimination against girl and in tackling his sons preference said A.K.shivkumar, a development economist and advisor to UNICEF. Indias latest census data show the preference for boys has skewed the gender ratio in the population more than 1.1 billion people. Expert say that the sex selective abortions are responsible for the number of girls per thousand boys has slipped from 945 to927 in 2001. The survey covered about 230000 people between the age of 15 and 54. More than half of them are women. This data revealed that Indias serial indicators are dragging mostly due to the poor access to health care and information. Even as the country shows strong economic growth, Indias economy is likely to expand by 9.2% in the fiscal year that ended by march. In an indication showed that women lack adequate legal protection nearly 45% of married women between the age of 20-24 were married before the legal age of 18. Families still arrange marriages especially where the couples are young. Also 16% of women surveyed are between the age group of 15 and 19 said that they were pregnant at the time of survey. This data shows that rural women get pregnant younger when compared to the urban women. There are 2 implications of such fertility behavior. One is girls will be born relatively larger family sharing resources with siblings. We call this as sibling effect. Second is boys will be born relatively younger children within families, we call it as birth order effect.

Other reasons of Preference for male child y y y y y Dowry Performing last rituals during cremation. Responsibility a son takes up in a family. Parents depend on their sons during old age. Stereotypic belief in having a son as a blessing.
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Female infanticide To the adverse child sex ratio female per 100 male in India is a practice of elimination of female fetus. The prevalence of patriarchy, especially in many states of northern part of India and the huge dowry demand have a negative effect in favor of daughters that leads to termination of female fetus and thus unfavorable sex ratio. Empirical evidence indicates that the phenomenon of sex determination and sex selective abortion is now concentrating not only in towns, rural areas but also approaching in urban India. For curling the menace of female infanticide, the government of India brought into force the prenatal diagnostic technique act on 20th September 1994. The act came into force with effect from 1st January, 1996. Though the government of India is undertaking various steps to prevent the practices of female infanticide and feticide. Unfortunately sex determination test have continued and in fact spread more rapidly even to the remote areas with an avert of ultrasound. Census 2001 shocked the whole nation by reporting a short decline in child sex ratio 0-6 years. In past it declined in 1976 from 961 to 927 in 2001 in the state of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Chandigarh. It has declined more than 50 points. In fact the mentality of sex selective abortion is diffusing from higher socio-economic status group to lower socio-economic status and if the stringent measures are not taken up, it will lead further imbalance in sex ratio and thus impact a long term demographic imbalance. Reference:  Developmental psychology - Elizabeth Hurlock  http://www.babyzone.com/baby/nurturing/article/first-year-developmentchart

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