7 Infant Development

Children reach milestones in how they play, learn, speak, behave, and move (like crawling, walking, or jumping) and development proceeds in a predictable sequence. For example,  infants crawl before they walk, babble before they talk, and so on. Remember that each child achieves the developmental milestones at an individual rate.

Importance of Developmental Milestones

Awareness of the developmental milestones in infancy is important for several reasons. First, an understanding of child development is critical to developmentally appropriate practice. The three core considerations of Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP)^[1] are:

• Age-appropriateness which means recognizing what is typical at each age and stage of development. Milestones are determined by research.
• Individual-appropriateness as each child’s rate of development is different.
• Social and cultural appropriateness so that the curriculum is meaningful, relevant, and respectful for each child and family.

As an educator, you identify goals for learning and development that are achievable and challenging. Achievable goals are age-appropriate as defined by developmental milestones. By recognizing milestones you support individualized and intentional curriculum planning to meet each child’s developmental needs.

Recognizing developmental milestones allows you to know when referrals should be made to Early Intervention or to other professionals. As an educator you will likely use screening tools to get a quick look at major developmental milestones across domains, to determine if the child’s development appears to be progressing typically. If a screening shows that a child has not achieved the milestones or indicators typical for her age, these results indicate that further assessment is needed. The primary purpose of screening is to identify any potential concerns.

DAP in an Infant Room

At mealtime, Jill notices that 11-month-old Ryan grabs for a spoon during feedings. According to developmental milestones, Ryan isn’t old enough to feed himself, however, he is determined to try. As the chart shows below this is a sill typical of 12-14-month-old children. She allows him to hold and try using the spoon even though it is doubtful he will achieve the goal of self-feeding. To challenge him, later in the day, Jill gets Ryan a spoon and a bowl to play with to practice the skill. Jill selects materials with Ryan’s specific interests and developmental progress in mind.

Developmental Considerations for Infant Care

The earliest years are all about relationships. Infants seek out and develop attachments to the special people in their lives. Depending on how families, early educators, and others treat them, babies develop expectations about people and themselves. Some of the tasks for social and emotional development during infancy include:

• Young infants (0 to 9 months) seek security.
• Mobile infants (8 to 15 months) are eager to explore.

To develop relationships with infants while promoting social and emotional development; educators should consider factors that will assist caregivers in determining what kind and how much support to provide so that the infant feels secure and explores. The factors are:

1. Infant temperament
2. States
3. Reflexes and cues
4. Feeding

Infant Temperament

There are many theories of child temperament, most of these theories agree that temperament refers to stable, early appearing individual differences in behavioural tendencies that have an inborn or biological basis that continue throughout life.

Classic child development research  identified 9 temperamental traits^[3]:

• Activity Level: This is the child’s “idle speed or how active the child is generally. Does the infant always wiggle, more squirm? Is the infant difficult to diaper because of this? Is the infant content to sit and quietly watch? Does the child have difficulty sitting still? Is the child always on the go? Or, does the child prefer sedentary quiet activities? Highly active children may channel such extra energy into success in sports; they may perform well in high-energy careers and may be able to keep up with many different responsibilities.
• Distractibility: The degree of concentration and paying attention displayed when a child is not particularly interested in an activity. This trait refers to the ease with which external stimuli interfere with ongoing behaviour. Is the infant easily distracted by sounds or sights while drinking a bottle? Is the infant easily soothed when upset by being offered alternate activity? Does the child become sidetracked easily when attempting to follow a routine or working on some activity? High distractibility is seen as positive when it is easy to divert a child from an undesirable behaviour but seen as negative when it prevents the child from finishing schoolwork.
• Intensity: The energy level of a response whether positive or negative. Does the infant react strongly and loudly to everything, even relatively minor events? Does the child show pleasure or upset strongly and dramatically? Or does the child just get quiet when upset? Intense children are more likely to have their needs met and may have depth and delight of emotion rarely experienced by others. These children may be gifted in dramatic arts. Intense children tend to be exhausting to live with.
• Regularity: The trait refers to the predictability of biological functions like appetite and sleep. Does the child get hungry or tired at predictable times? Or, is the child unpredictable in terms of hunger and tiredness? As grown-ups, irregular individuals may do better than others with traveling as well as be likely to adapt to careers with unusual working hours.
• Sensory Threshold: Related to how sensitive this child is to physical stimuli. It is the amount of stimulation (sounds, tastes, touch, temperature changes) needed to produce a response in the child. Does the child react positively or negatively to particular sounds? Does the child startle easily to sounds? Is the child a picky eater or will he eat almost anything? Does the child respond positively or negatively to the feel of clothing? Highly sensitive individuals are more likely to be artistic and creative.
• Approach/Withdrawal: Refers to the child’s characteristic response to a new situation or strangers. Does the child eagerly approach new situations or people? Or does the child seem hesitant and resistant when faced with new situations, people or things? Slow-to-warm up children tend to think before they act. They are less likely to act impulsively during adolescence.
• Adaptability: Related to how easily the child adapts to transitions and changes, like switching to a new activity. Does the child have difficulty with changes in routines, or with transitions from one activity to another? Does the child take a long time to become comfortable to new situations? A slow-to-adapt child is less likely to rush into dangerous situations, and may be less influenced by peer pressure.
• Persistence: This is the length of time a child continues in activities in the face of obstacles. Does the child continue to work on a puzzle when he has difficulty with it or does he just move on to another activity? Is the child able to wait to have his needs met? Does the child react strongly when interrupted in an activity? When a child persists in an activity he is asked to stop, he is labeled as stubborn. When a child stays with a tough puzzle he is seen a being patient. The highly persistent child is more likely to succeed in reaching goals. A child with low persistence may develop strong social skills because he realizes other people can help.
• Mood: This is the tendency to react to the world primarily in a positive or negative way. Does the child see the glass as half full? Does he focus on the positive aspects of life? Is the child generally in a happy mood? Or, does the child see the gall as half empty and tend to focus on the negative aspects of life? Is the child generally serious? Serious children tend to be analytical and evaluate situations carefully.

• Easy infant: Mild-mannered. Demonstrates regular sleeping and eating patterns, positive response to new situations (approachable), high adaptability to change, and positive mood.
• Difficult infant: Intense. Demonstrates irregular sleeping and eating patterns, negative response to new situations (withdrawal), difficulty adapting to change, irritability, and negative mood.
• Slow-to-warm-up infant: Mild-mannered. Demonstrates slow adaptability after several attempts and negative mood.

States of Consciousness

A critical task of infant caregivers is to learn to correctly interpret the infant’s behaviours and understand their newborn’s style. There are 6 states of consciousness summarized in the table below. The states eventually evolve into a child’s pattern of crying, sleeping, eating, and playing as the nervous system develops.

Sleep

1. Infants up to 12 months should be placed for sleep wholly on their back for every nap or sleep time unless the infant’s primary care provider has completed a signed waiver indicating that the child requires an alternate sleep position.
2. Infants should be placed for sleep in safe sleep environments; which includes: a firm crib mattress covered by a tight-fitting sheet in a safety-approved crib (the crib should meet the standards and guidelines reviewed/approved by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission [CPSC] and ASTM International [ASTM]), no monitors or positioning devices should be used unless required by the child’s primary care provider, and no other items should be in a crib occupied by an infant except for a pacifier.
3. Infants should not nap or sleep in a car safety seat, bean bag chair, bouncy seat, infant seat, swing, jumping chair, play pen or play yard, highchair, chair, futon, or any other type of furniture/equipment that is not a safety-approved crib (that is in compliance with the CPSC and ASTM safety standards).
4. If an infant arrives at the facility asleep in a car safety seat, the family member or educator should immediately remove the sleeping infant from this seat and place them in the supine position in a safe sleep environment (i.e., the infant’s assigned crib).
5. If an infant falls asleep in any place that is not a safe sleep environment, educators should immediately move the infant and place them on their back in their crib.
6. Only one infant should be placed in each crib (stackable cribs are not recommended).
7. Soft or loose bedding should be kept away from sleeping infants and out of safe sleep environments. These include, but are not limited to: bumper pads, pillows, quilts, comforters, sleep positioning devices, sheepskins, blankets, flat sheets, cloth diapers, bibs, etc. Also, blankets/items should not be hung on the sides of cribs. Swaddling infants when they are in a crib is not necessary or recommended, but rather one-piece sleepers should be used.
8. Toys, including mobiles and other types of play equipment that are designed to be attached to any part of the crib should be kept away from sleeping infants and out of safe sleep environments.
9. When caregivers/teachers place infants in their crib for sleep, they should check to ensure that the temperature in the room is comfortable for a lightly clothed adult, check the infants to ensure that they are comfortably clothed (not overheated or sweaty), and that bibs, necklaces, and garments with ties or hoods are removed (clothing sacks or other clothing designed for sleep can be used in lieu of blankets).
10. Infants should be directly observed by sight and sound at all times, including when they are going to sleep, are sleeping, or are in the process of waking up.
11. Bedding should be changed between children, and if mats are used, they should be cleaned between uses. The lighting in the room must allow the educator to see each infant’s face, to view the color of the infant’s skin, and to check on the infant’s breathing and placement of the pacifier (if used).

An educator trained in safe sleep practices and approved to care for infants should be present in each room at all times where there is an infant. This educator should remain alert and should actively supervise sleeping infants in an ongoing manner and should check to ensure that the infant’s head remains uncovered and re-adjust clothing as needed.

The construction and use of sleeping rooms for infants separate from the infant group room is not recommended due to the need for direct supervision. In situations where there are existing facilities with separate sleeping rooms, facilities should develop a plan to modify room assignments and/or practices to eliminate placing infants to sleep in separate rooms.

Reflexes and cues

When caregivers understand the various states of infant alertness; they are better able to interpret infants’ behaviours. There are many individual differences, and infants respond according to the state in which they are at any given moment. An understanding of and sensitivity to state and to an infant’s unique characteristics and capabilities form the beginning of mutual trust.

Understanding their infant’s behaviour and cues encourage attachment as caregivers and newborns learn that they can rely on each other to respond appropriately and consistently.

Comprehension Check

Chapter Attribution

Chapter adapted from Chapter 1: Infant Development in Infant and Toddler Education and Care by Susan Eliason, CC BY-NC-SA.