This blog will allow for many tips and tricks to ensure a healthy development throughout your lifespan. Cognitive, physical, emotional and social are all aspects that effect human development. During different stages of life, our bodies need different things to thrive and develop properly. This could be nutrition, exercise, experiences, education and more. These tips will be useful for everyone (you, parents, friends etc.) This blog will be going through 5 main stages in development. Using videos, texts, pictures and links to further information to give the best advice for developing emotionally, cognitively, socially and physically : What must we do at each stage to ensure our overall health?
The quality of care an infant receives will influence every aspect of their future growth, their health throughout life, and their ability to form and maintain relationships. This section will being focused on ensuring a healthy life cognitively, physically and social emotionally for infants. Cognitive:
Your infant is know in Piaget's first stage of cognitive development: Sensorimotor stage
- Birth to age 2
- Experiencing the world through through their senses
- Touching, grabbing, hearing Language Development
Language is a big part of an infants life because they are constantly trying to vocalize themselves. First they begin vocalizing by crying, then their frontal vowel sounds “ da da” (3 months), babbling milestone, 12-18 months earliest sounds, babble, repeat sounds then start single words. By 2 years old they know around 250 words. A large portion of their learning is hearing the sound and leaning how to say it. This is majorly influenced by the parents because they are a learning tool.
Physical: From your infants head control to rolling over, from grasping to sitting and from crawling to talking, developmental milestones are major signs your baby is growing fast. These are major milestones your infant should be hitting and ways to ensure a healthy development: Growth in Neonates:
weight: 2.7 kg- 4.0kg
Foreheads are high, noses are flat, seem chinless
eyes are glossy blue/grey
head accounts for 1/4 of the weight
50cm in length
Tummy time: It is important that you allow for your infant to play on its tummy each day. This helps build your baby’s head, neck and upper body strength. They need this strength for lifting their head and for movements they will do later on, like crawling and pulling up to stand.
Reflexes: Your infant is born with these for survival purposes, you can easily check to ensure these reflexes are being used
Sucking Reflex: if you put something in its mouth, it will suck on it
Rooting Reflex (looking for food): if you put your finger on the babies check they will turn their head towards that finger
Gripping Reflex: They will grip, squeeze or hold onto your finger if you put it in their hand
Moro Reflex: When startled, the baby will abduct the limbs, then adduct and then usually cry
No startle reflex? Abnormalities in the moro reflex are usually discovered the doctor. If you notice a change between visits, you should contact your doctor immediately. If your baby doesn't react, it could mean damage to the or spinal cord or another injury. Only your pediatrician will be able to perform the test to find out what's going on.
Motor skills: Infants are quickly using their gross and fine motor skills daily. To ensure they are developing properly, allow your child to pick things up, try to roll over crawl and walk. Congratulate them when they achieve these things and they will understand they are doing it properly. Some play toys and ideas for physical development are: push or pull toys, sports equipment, action toys and rockers (gross motor skills) Art supplies, patterning toys, stacking toys or manipulative toys (fine motor skills)
Gross Motor Skills
Fine Motor Skills
0-6 months
holds head steady
moves arms and legs equally to reach
rolls over, sits with support
starting to crawl
7-12 months
sits steadily without support
crawls with ease, stands without support
stands from sitting, squats
bends over and picks something up
walks with one hand held
walks sideways
13-18 months
Walks without support
walk backwards
walk up stairs, climbs
kick a ball, throw a ball
run, dance, act like animals
balance
19-24 Months
walks up stairs with alternating feet, without help
kicks a ball with control
throws a ball with control, speed and direction
0-6 months
hands open most of the time
bring both hands together
uses all 5 fingers to get food/toy
Grasps objects with the same
7-12 months
pulls toys by string
bangs 2 large blocks together
picks up objects with thumb and index fingers
transfers objects from hand to hand
13-18 months
puts small objects in/out of container
unscrew lids
unwrap candy
holds think pencil
19-24 months
colours with strokes going out of the lines
Social emotional: These are major milestones your infant should be achieving:
Emotional Development:
- They start to show emotions by crying (starts at birth)
-They have three different types of cries: caregivers distinguish
-Start to show a greater variety of emotions
-Become shy and fearful around strangers (Stranger anxiety)
-18 months they become independent
-need their parents love
How to ensurer proper emotional development:
Your baby needs lots of love, they can never be too spoiled as an infant. Having good attachment and love is important. Playing games using facial expressions is a great way to help with the use of emotions as an infant. Example: peek-a-boo, making different faces, playing with toys that have different facial expressions, using different tones in your voices. Building on the relationship:
Responding to crying: When you respond to the baby crying they fell more comfortable and safe. They start to recognize and trust you to rely on. Picking them up and loving them is they best thing to do, they can never be too spoiled.
Play together: Playing builds a great relationship for both you and the baby. They feel loved, secure and it helps them lean about having strong relationships.
John Bowlby Attachment theory:
Bowlby believed that attachment behaviors are instinctive and will be activated by any conditions that seem to threaten the achievement of proximity, such as separation, insecurity and fear
Besides food, the next need for a child is a bond
Social Development:
-Physical maturity contributes to social development
-Cortex of the brain awakens at 3 months
-more interactions with the world
-healthy attachment
At six months They are developing ideas about who they are. They are also working out the difference between parents, caregivers, strangers, adults and children. They have positive and negative emotions and knows how to express them. They can let you know when they want help. How to ensure development: - go on walks, see and interact with the world -have play dates -allow family or friends to hold and play with them -read stories that involve different characters
Overall: To ensure proper growth and development allow for play time, loving time and proper eating. These three things will all help your infant grow tall and strong. Remember that you can never spoil your child, love is a powerful tool. Help them through their language development by reading and singing. Make funny faces and love them for their emotional development. Give the plenty of toys to discover for their physical development
Play matching games with your toddler, like shape sorting and simple puzzles.
Encourage him to explore and try new things.
Help to develop your toddler’s language by talking with her and adding to words she starts. For example, if your toddler says "baba", you can respond, "Yes, you are right―that is a bottle."
Encourage your child's growing independence by letting him help with dressing himself and feeding himself.
Respond to wanted behaviors more than you punish unwanted behaviors (use only very brief time outs). Always tell or show your child what she should do instead.
Encourage your toddler’s curiosity and ability to recognize common objects by taking field trips together to the park or going on a bus ride.
This section will help describe many check points for the baby as it is growing and developing in the womb. We will be looking over cognitive, physical and social emotional. There will be tips and tricks on how to ensure your baby is developing healthy.
Cognitive: A large portion of your baby’s intelligence is being built while they are still a fetus. This stage of your baby’s life is very critical because this is where the foundations of their intelligence and personality are being formed. Fetal brain development has long lasting effect on your baby’s personality How to ensure your optimal development: Proper nutrition: The lack of calcium, iron, iodine and other vitamins lead to baby’s learning disabilities, delay in language development, behavioral problems, delayed motor skill development, and a lower I.Q. The baby needs iodine to make thyroid hormone, which is essential for brain development. Iron is needed to make red blood cells that transport oxygen to the baby, affecting the baby’s brain and body growth. Folic acid deficiency – This leads to the baby’s neural tube being unable to close properly. This leads to severe malformations of the brain and spinal cord. Folic acid is found in green leafy vegetables, broccoli, beans, citrus fruits and liver. Also: no drinking, smoking, prescription drugs and try to lower stress levels
Physical: An overview of the babies development, once the egg is federalized by the sperm: -Zygote: month 1
Heart begins to beat
Small bumps begin to show arms and legs
Internal organs and circulatory system begins to form
How to ensure this is developing:
regular doctor of midwife checkups
no alcohol or drugs; this can cause developmental problems
lower heavy lifting
-Embryo: month 2
major organs developing
Placenta development
Face and limbs take place
How to ensure this is developing:
Eating healthy
Regular checkups
-Fetus: month 3-9
baby fully develops and are active
boy or girl
can hiccup, hear and see
ll for senses
Fetus should turn head down for delivery
How to ensure this is developing
You can sing to your baby, it can hear everything you say
If you shine a flashlight against your belly, the baby can see it
Feel for kicking
Regular checkup
Proper healthy eating
No drinking, smoking or prescription drugs
Gaining Weight:
Not only is your baby growing, but your body is also developing extra body tissue. This includes larger breasts and uterus – the placenta, and extra blood and fluid. It is normal and healthy to gain extra weight
Healthy Eating: It is important to keep a healthy diet during pregnancy. Nutritious foods are great for baby growth and development. Fruits and vegetables are great during pregnancy. Protein is also great for baby development. This chart below explains the important foods women should be eating. Healthy pregnancy foods:
Fitness: It is also important to exercise during pregnancy. This can help with the strength you will need for the birthing process. It will also keep the baby healthy. Moderate exercise is all that is needed, this includes walking, prenatal yoga or swimming.
Prenatal Yoga:
Social Emotional: Many doctors believe that the emotional development of a child begins in the womb. As the baby develops in the womb during pregnancy, the baby is able to better recognize voices and sounds outside the mother's body. These sounds, voices, and moods (if she is happy or stressed or upset) can help mold the child's emotional state. Yoga and meditation are a great way to distress as well as connect with the baby. - Starts to hear and feel emotions around 6 months of pregnancy - Can respond to sounds or voices by kicking - Start to differentiate between voices they hear - Can feel moms moods and stress levels Overall how to ensure proper development: It is important to be aware of your lifestyle while being pregnant. Anything can effect the babies development. It is important to not consume any alcohol drugs or cigarettes (this can cause fetal alcohol syndrome and/or development problems) Healthy eating will help ensure proper development, as well as FOLIC ACID! Regular moderate exercise can help prepare for the birthing process and help make a connection with the baby.
Cognitive: A great overview of child cognitive development:
Piaget: Your child is now in the second first stage of Piaget's cognitive development. This is called the pre-operational stage.
Stage lasts from 2-7 years old
During this time stable concepts form, mental reasoning emerges, ego-centrism begins, and magical beliefs are constructed
Thought is flawed and not organized
This stage involves a transition from primitive to more sophisticated use of symbols
Children still do not yet think
Symbolic Function Sub stage
The ability to think symbolically and to represent the world mentally predominates in this sub-stage
It occurs roughly between the ages of 2-4
Symbolic function is demonstrated by the child’s ability to mentally represent an object not present
Children in this stage are also very egocentric. This means that they are unable to distinguish between one’s own perspective and someone else’s perspective. (It's all about them) They also tend to believe that inanimate objects have “lifelike” qualities and are capable of actions (Animism: A child may believe that a tree pushes its leaves off in the fall)
Vygotsky
Piaget
-Private speech is important
- Most tasks are to difficult to master alone
- Young children use private and social speech
-Private speech is egocentric
-Mental reasoning
-magical beliefs
-Using hands
-Kids ask questions about everything
-Kids say/believe things without rational reasoning
Language Development:
Young children's understanding sometimes gets ahead of their speech
Many of the oddities of young children's language sound like mistakes to adult listeners but from the children's per
Morphology:
As children move beyond two word utterances, they know morphology rules
The begin using plurals and nouns
Put appropriate endings on words
Semantics:
As children move beyond the two-word stage, their knowledge of meanings rapidly advances
The speaking vocabulary of a 6-year old ranges from 8000-14,000
How to ensure proper development:
Help your child develop by encouraging language development and cognitive thinking. Allow them to try and problem solve as much as possible, then assist them. Correct them while they are learning how to express their thoughts and feelings. Remeber that their minds are working better and faster than their speech. Their speech might not make since so try to guide them in the right direction. Read books together instead of watching TV or playing on an iPad.
Physical: Growth: - Growth quickly then slows down to eventually stop - Body fat declines - Girls are slightly smaller and have more body fat - Boys have more muscle tissue Gross motor skills: -At 3, children can do simple movements, hopping, jumping, they are proud of it -At 4, children become more adventurous- taking on jungle gyms, still proud -At 5, Children perform stunts and anything they can climb on, racing each other
Fine Motor Skills:
-At 3, Clumsy at picking up very small objects between their forefinger, build high blocks but they fall down cause they aren’t in a straight line
-At 4 , their coordination has improved become more precise
-At 5, children are no longer interested in building towers, but rather horses, churches, and buildings
Energy:
-What children eat affects their skeletal growth, body shape and susceptibility to disease
-An average preschool child requires 1700 calories per day
-Differences in physical activity, metabolism, and the efficiency with which children use energy are why kids the same sex, and size vary in their energy needs
Eating Behavior
-Children's habits become ingrained very early in life; eating habits during the preschool years will establish later eating habits
-Try to avoid eating on the run and allow for more sit down family meals
Wellness in Canada:
- Childhood immunization is still necessary to prevent many childhood diseases such as chicken pox
- Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death for children between the ages of 1 and 9
How to ensure proper development: At this age your child is exploring the world around them. Allow them to play to increase motor skills ability. Try to teach them a healthy lifestyle as an infant and in to young childhood. They will carry these values and beliefs with them into the rest of their lives. Social Emotional: At this point your child will be in Erickson's stage of Initiative vs. Quilt. They are going to be entering a wider social world and start to take responsibility. They take ownership over their toys, behaviors and bodies. They start to have a great sense of accomplishment. They are trying to find a sense of purpose. For Freud, your child will be around the Phallic stage: Oedipus complex for boys and the Electra complex for girls occur. They become face to face with realities for their family life and a conscience emerges as they learn some things are taboo.
