A baby is God’s opinion that life

should go on.
- Carl Sandburg, American Historian, Poet & Novelist
• postnatal growth from conception to 5 months when the
head grows more than the body.
• The greatest growth always occurs at the top – the
head.
• The infants learns to use their ‘’UPPER LIMBS ‘’before heir
‘’LOWER LIMBS ‘’.
• The same pattern occurs in the head area .
• The top parts of the head= the eyes and the brain- grow
faster than the lower parts such as the jaw.
• pre – natal growth from 5 months to birth when the fetus
grows from the inside of the body outwards.
• Earlier maturation of muscular control of the trunk and arms,
followed by that of the hands and fingers.
• When referring to motor development, the proximodistal
trend refers to the development of motor skills from the body
outward.
 Height – is the size or length from bottom to top.

Weight – a body’s relative mass or the

quantity contained by it
• Drop 5 – 10 percent of their body weight within a couple of
weeks of birth

• Breastfed babies are typically heavier than bottle – fed

babies through first six months. After six months, breastfed
babies usually weigh less than bottle – fed babies.
• Infants length increases by about 30 percent in the first five
months.
• A baby’s weight usually triples during the first year but
slows down in the second year of life
• Low percentages are not a cause for alarm as long as
infants progress along a natural curve of steady
development.
 Among the most dramatic changes in the brain in the
first two years of life are the spreading connections of
dendrites to each other. Remember neurons, dendrites,
axon, synopses?

 Neurons – a nerve cell that receives and sends electrical

signals over a long distances within the body
 Dendrites – projections of neurons that receive signals
from other neurons.
 Axon – carries nerve impulses away from the cell body.

 Synapses – one of the point in the nervous system at which a

signal passes from one cell to another

 Process by which the axons are covered and insulated

by layers of fat cells, begins prenatally and continues
after birth.
 Increases the speed at which information travels through
the nervous system.
• At birth, the newborns brain is abut 25 percent of its
adult weight. By second birthday, the brain is about
75 percent of its adult weight.

• Shortly after birth, a baby’s brain produces trillions

more connections between neurons that it can
possibly use. The brain eliminates connection that are
seldom or never used (Santrock, 2002). The infants
brain is literally waiting for experiences to determine
how connections are made.
 Refers to the development of a child’s bones,
muscles and ability to move around and manipulate
his or her environment.
Common reflexes

• Initiated when something

touches the roof of an infants
mouth
 Most evident when an infant’s
cheek is stroked. The baby
responds by turning his or her
head in the direction of the touch
and open their mouth.

 Babies will grasp anything that is

placed in their palm. The strength
of this grip is strong.
4. Curling Reflex

 When the inner sole of a baby’s foot

is stroke the infant respond by
curling his or her toes. When the
outer sole of the baby’s foot is
stroke, the infant will respond by
spreading out their.
5. Startle/Moro Reflex

 Infants will respond to sudden

sounds and movements by
throwing their arms and legs
out, and throwing their heads
back.
6. Galant Reflex

 Shown when an infant’s middle

or lower back is stroked next to
the spinal cord.

7. Tonic Neck Reflex

 Demonstrated in infants who are

placed on their abdomens. Which
side of the child’s head is facing,
the limbs on that side will
straighten, while the opposite
limbs will curl.
 Are larger movements by your baby makes with his arms,
legs, feet, or entire body

It is always a source of excitement for parents to witness

dramatic changes in the infant’s first year of life.

This dramatic motor development is shown in babies unable to

even lift their heads to being able to grab things off the cabinet,
to chase the ball and to walk away from parents.
• Skills that involves a refined use of the small muscles
controlling the hand, fingers and thumb.
• The development of these skills allow one to be able to
complete tasks such as writing, drawing and buttoning.
• The ability to exhibit fine motor skills involve activities that
involve precise eye- hand coordination. The development
of reaching and grasping becomes more refined during the
first 2 years of life. Initially, infants show only crude shoulder
and elbow movements, but later they show wrist
movements, hand rotation and coordination of the thumb
and forefinger.
 Can NEWBORN See?

• The newborn’s vision is about 10 to 30

times lower than normal adult vision.
By 6 months of age, vision becomes
better and by the first birthday, the

infant’s vision approximates that of an

adult.
 Infants look at different things for different lengths of time. In an experiment

conducted by Robert Fantz (1963 cited by Santrock, 2002), it was found out that

infants preferred to look at patterns such as faces and concentric circles rather

than at color or brightness. Based on these results, it is likely that ‘’pattern

perception has an innate basis’’. Among the first few things that babies learn to

recognize is their mother’s face, as mother feeds and nurses them.

 Can NEWBORN Hear?

The sense of hearing in an infant develops

much before the birth of the baby. When in the

womb, the baby hears his/her mother’s heartbeats

, the grumbling of his/her stomach, the mother’s

voice and music. Infants’ sensory thresholds are

somewhat higher than those of adult which means

that stimulus must be louder to be heard by a new
born than by an adult.
Can NEWBORNS differentiate Odors?

In an experiment conducted by
MacFarlane(1975) ‘’ Young infants who
were breastfed showed a clear
preference for smelling their mother’s
breast pad when the babies were only
two days old. This shows that it requires
several days of experience to recognize
their mother’s breast pad odor’’.
 Can NEWBORNS feel pain? Do they Respond to touch?

They do feel pain. Newborn males show a

higher level of cortisol ( an indicator of stress)

after a circumcision than prior to the surgery.

Babies respond to touch. The newborn

automatically sucks an object placed in

his/her head toward the side that was touched

in an apparent effort to find something to suck.
 Can NEWBORNS distinguish the different tastes?

In a study conducted with babies only

two hour old, babies made different facial
expressions when they tasted sweet, sour
and bitter solutions. When saccharin was
added to the amniotic fluid of a near-
term fetus, increased swallowing was
observed. This indicates that sensitivity to
taste might be present before birth.
WHAT INFANTS and TODDLERS can do Physically?

DOMAIN: Physical Health, Well-Being and Motor Development

PHYSICAL HEALTH

STANDARD 1: The children demonstrates adequate growth

( weight, height, head circumference).

STANDARD 2: The child has adequate sensory systems to

participate in daily activities.
0-6 months
• Startles to loud sounds
• Visually follows a moving object from side to side
• Visually follows a moving object up and down
• Reacts to pain by crying
• Withdraws or reacts with surprise when in contact with something col
d
• Reacts with pleasure/smiles or relaxed expression when he/she
tastes something delicious
• Reacts by making a face/frowns/grimaces when he/she tastes
something he/she does not like
 7-12 months

• Reacts with pleasure when he/she smells something nice

• Reacts by making a face when he/she smells something fouls

STANDARD 3: The child has adequate stamina to participate in daily

activities.

• Pushes and/or pulls moderately heavy objects (e.g.. chairs, large boxes)
• Walks without tiring easily
13-18 months

• Play without tiring easily, able to keep pace with playmates

• Participates actively in games, outdoor play and other exercises

19-24 months

• Sustains physical activities (e.g. dancing, outdoor games,

swimming) for at least 3-5 minutes
MOTOR SKILLS DEVELOPMENT (Gross Motor skills)

Standard 1: The child can control and coordinate of

body movements involving large muscle group

0-6 months
• Holds head steadily
• Moves arms and legs equally to reach at dangling object
• Rolls over
• Bounces when held standing, briefly bearing weight on legs
• Sits with support
• Stating to crawl but not yet very good at this
7-12 months
• Sits steadily without support
• Creeps or crawls with ease as a primary means of moving around
• Stands without support
• Stands from a sitting position without any help
• Squats from standing position with ease
• Stands from standing position with ease
• Bends over easily without falling
• Stands from a bent position without falling
• Walks sideways by holding onto the sides of crib or furniture (cruises)
• Walks with one hand held
13-18 months
• Walks without support

• Walks backwards

• Walks up the stairs with hand held, 2 feet on each step

• Walks down stairs with hand held, 2 feet on each step

• Jumps in place

• Climbs onto a steady elevated surface (e.g. bed, adult chair or bangko etc.)

• Kicks a ball but with little control of direction

• Throws a ball but with little control of direction

• Throws a ball but with little control of speed

• Runs without tripping or falling

• Maintains balance (walking on a low, narrow ledge, between 2 lines

without assistance

• Moves with music when he hears it

• Can move body to imitate familiar animals

• Can move body to imitate another person/TV character

19-24 months

• Walks up the stairs with alternating feet, without help

• Walks down the stairs with alternating feet without help Kicks a ba
ll with a control of direction

• Throws a ball with control of direction

• Throws a ball with control of speed

 MOTOR SKILLS DEVELOPMENT (Fine Motor skills)

Standard 1: The child can control and coordinate hand

and finger movements
0-6 months
• Hands open most of the time
• Bring both hands together towards dangling object/toy Uses either hand
interchangeably to grasp objects
• Uses all 5 fingers in a ranking motion to get food/toy placed on a flat surface
• Grasps objects with the same hand most of the time (hand preference emerging)
7-12 months

• Pulls toys by string

• Bangs 2 large blocks together
• Picks up objects with thumb and index fingers
• Grasps and transfer objects from hand to hand
• Grasps objects with the same hand all the time (definite
hand preference established)
 13-18 months

• Puts small objects in/out of container

• Unscrew lids
• Unwraps candy/food
• Holds thick pencil or crayon with palmar grip (e. g. all 5 fingers
wrapped around pencil)

19- 24 months
• Colors with strokes going out of the lines
 PERSONAL CARE AND HYGIENE (Activities of Daily Living)

Standard 1: The child participates in basic personal care

routines.

0-6 months
• Sucks and swallows milk form breast/bottle
• Begins to take complementary or semi-solid foods by the
end of 6 months
• Keeps reasonably still while being dressed, undressed
bathed and while diaper is being change
7-12 months

• Holds feeding bottle by himself

• Helps hold cup for drinking

• Chews solid foods well

• Feeds self with finger foods

• Scoops with a spoon with spillage

13-18 months

• Feeds self with assistance

• Feeds self using fingers to eat rice/viands with spillage
• Feeds self using spoon with spillage
• No longer drinks from feeding bottle
• Drinks from cup unassisted
• Participates when being dressed by lifting arms or raising legs
• Pulls down gartered short pants/underpants or panties
• Removes shoes/sandals
• Informs caregiver of the need to move his bowels so
he/she can be brought to comfort room
• Takes a bath with assistance
• Brushes teeth after meals with assistance from adult
• Washes and dries hands under adult supervision
• Washes and dries face with the assistance of an adult
19-24 months

• Gets drink for self unassisted

• Removes loose sando
• Removes socks
• Goes to the designated place to urinate but sometimes wets his/her pants
• Goes to the designated place to move his/her bowels but sometimes still
sols his/her pants
• Goes to the designated place to move his/her bowels but needs help with wipi
ng and washing
• Brushes teeth after meals with adult supervision
• Washes and dries face under adult supervision