Infants physical development enhances greatly during the first year of life.

An infants
physical development happens from the top down. First, they gain control of their head,
and then they are able to lift it. Once their trunk muscles build, they are able to roll side
to side. They learn to sit, crawl, and walk all in the first year (Gilkerson, 1992).
Toddlers gross motor development grows as the child learns to walk more efficiently,
run, jump, hop, throw and catch (Berk, 2012, p. 179).
Infants can detect sounds of the human language. Infants learn to discriminate syllables
that often occur together in words, such as in happy. By 10 months, they are able to
detect words that start with weak syllables, such as surprise. Infants and toddlers learn
vocabulary by association. Infants hear the sounds and visually see the item
simultaneously, such as a caregiver showing the infant a doll and showing the infant a
doll at the same time (Berk, 2012, p. 157). By 2 years old, children have a
productive vocabulary base of 200 to 250 words (Berk, 2012, p. 384).
During the first year of life, infants are sensitive to the intentional structure of human
behavior and readily interpret others actions as rational and goal directed. This suggests
that infants are able to understand human behaviors and their intentions (Brandone,
2015). Intermodal perception is how we make sense of running streams of light, sound,
tactile, odor and taste information, perceiving them as integrated wholes. By about four
months old, an infant is able to match voices with faces on the basis of lip-voice

synchrony, emotional expression, and age and gender of the one speaking (Berk, 2012,
p. 166).
An infant starts to learn self-concept very early on. This helps with social development
as they learn that they are their own unique person. Self-awareness helps infants become
toddlers who start to empathize with others and peer imitation (Berk, 2012, p. 449-450).
Between 18 and 30 months, children construct a categorical self as they classify
themselves and others on the basis of perceptually distinct attributes and behaviors. This
helps them develop moral reasoning as they learn good and bad. As they become two
year olds, their self-recognition leads to a sense of ownership (Berk, 2012, p. 450).
Vision impairments in infants can delay development. An infant with acuity of 20/800
or worse have delays in gross and fine motor many months later than a typically
developing infant. Examples of typical milestones that are delayed are grasping objects,
crawling, and learning to walk (Berk, 2012, p. 162). Babies that are subjected to high
levels of pain have a nervous system that is overwhelmed with stress hormones. These
babies do not develop normally and may have a heightened pain sensitivity, sleep
disturbances, feeding problems, and difficulty calming down when upset (Berk, 2012, p.
153).
A social factor that influences infant and toddlerhood development is attachment. An
infant that does not have a positive attachment will grow up to be a child that does not
trust adults to meet their needs. They may exhibit behavior issues.
A cultural influence that may affect development is an infants sleeping arrangement.
Some cultures co-sleep which may lead to emotional problems, such as excessive
dependency (Berk, 2012, p. 134). On the flip side, infants that are made to sleep in a crib

and not attended to as they cry it out can have attachment issues because their needs are
not met.
Parents can help their infants crawl by allowing time daily for their infant to play on their
tummy. This will help the infant build muscles needed to be able to crawl. The parent
then can be nearby to encourage their infant to make a move. Placing toys just out of
reach will peak the infants interest. Parents can help their infant learn object permanence
by playing peek-a-boo or by hiding a toy under a blanket and having the infant find it.
Please take a moment to view the video, Attachment Theory (2013), to understand the
affects and importance of attachment in infants. http://digital.films.com.proxylibrary.ashford.edu/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=18596&xtid=53754

References
Berk, L. E. (2013).Child development. (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
Brandone, A. (2015). Infants social and motor experience and the emerging understanding of
intentional actions. Developmental Psychology, 51(4), 512-523.

Films Media Group. (2013). Attachment Theory. [Video File] Retrieved from:
http://digital.films.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/PortalPlaylists.aspx?aid=18596&xtid=53754
Gilkerson, D. (1992). Helping children develop physically. Retrieved from:
http://www.eric.ed.gov/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED356067