MODULE 12

Physical Development of Infants and Toddlers

Learning Outcomes
At the end of this module, you should be able to:
 Trace the physical development that you have gone through as infants and
toddlers.
 Identify factors that enhance / impede the physical development of infants and
toddlers.
 Present your own or other’s research on the physical development of infants
and toddlers.
 Draw implication of these principles and processes to childcare, education, and
parenting.

Cephalocaudal Trend
- the postnatal growth from conception to
5 months when the head grows more
than the body
- also applies in the 1st months after birth
- infants learn to use their limbs before
their lower limbs
- the eyes and the brain grow faster that
the lower parts such as the jaw

Proximodistal Trend
-
-
- the pre-natal growth from 5 months to
birth when the fetus grows from the
inside of the body outwards
- also applies in the 1st months after birth
as shown in the earlier maturation of
muscular control of the trunk and arms
followed by that of the hands and
fingers
- refers to the development of motor
skills from the center of the body
outward (motor development)

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Height and Weight

 It’s normal for newborn babies to drop 5-10% of their body weight within a couple of
weeks of birth – due to the baby’s adjustment to neonatal feeding.
 Breastfed babies are typically heavier than bottle-fed babies through the 1 st 6 months.
After 6 months, breastfed babies usually weigh less than bottle-fed babies.
 In general, an infant’s length increases by about 30% in the 1 st 5 months.
 A baby’s weight usually triples during the 1 st year but slows down in the 2nd year of life.
 Low percentages are not a cause for alarm as long as infants progress along a natural
curve of steady development.

Brain Development
Spreading of dendrites to each other – most dramatic changes in the brain in the 1 st 2 years of
life

Myelination / Myelinization
- the 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

Motor Development

Reflexes of Babies:
1) Sucking Reflex
2) Rooting Reflex
3) Gripping Reflex
4) Curling Reflex
5) Startle/Moro
Reflex
6) Galant Reflex
7) Tonic Neck Reflex
Sucking Reflex
- Initiated when something touches the roof of an infant’s mouth
- Helps to ensure they can latch onto a bottle or breast
- Very strong in some infants and they may need to suck on a pacifier for comfort

Rooting Reflex
- Most evident when an infant’s cheek is stroked

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 - The baby responds by turning his/her head in the direction of the touch and
opening their mouth for feeding.
Gripping Reflex
- Babies will grasp anything that is placed in their palm
- The strength of this grip is strong, and most babies can support their entire weight
in their grip.
Curling Reflex
- When the inner sole of a baby’s foot is stroked,
the infant respond by curling his/her toes.
- When the outer sole of a baby’s foot is stroked,
the infant will respond by spreading out their toes.
Startle/Moro Reflex
- Infants will respond to sudden sounds or
movements by throwing their arms and legs out,
and throwing their heads back.
Galant Reflex
- Shown when an infant’s middle or lower back is stroked next to the spinal cord
- The baby will respond by curving
his/her body toward the side which is
being stroked.
Tonic Neck Reflex
- Demonstrated in infants who are
placed on their abdomens.
- Whichever side the child’s head is
facing, the limbs on that side will
straighten, while the opposite limbs will curl.

Gross Motor Skills

Age Gross Motor Skills

Birth-1 month Prone, lift head
2-4 months Prone, chest up, use arms for support
3-6 months Support some weight with legs
4 1/2-7 1/2 months Sit without support
5-10 months Stand with support
6-10 months Pull self to stand
7-12 1/2 months Walk using furniture for support
9 1/2-14 months Stands alone easily

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 11-14 months Walk alone easily

Fine Motor Skills

- Are skills that involve a refined use
of the small muscles controlling the
hand, fingers, and thumb.
- Its development allows 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.
Can newborns see?
- About 10-30 times lower than normal adult vision
- Becomes better by 6 months, and approximates that of an adult by the first birthday
- Infants preferred to look at patterns such as faces and concentric circles – “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 newborns 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.
- Infant’s sensory thresholds are somewhat higher than those of adult which means
that stimulus must be louder to be heard by a newborn than by an adult.
Can newborns differentiate odors?
- “Young infants who were breastfed showed a clear preference for smelling their
mother’s breast pad when they were 6 days old.”
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.
Can newborns distinguish the different
tastes?
- Babies made different
facial expressions when
they tasted sweet, sour,
and bitter solutions

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Do infants relate information through several senses? In short, are infants capable of intermodal
perception?
- Intermodal perception – the ability to relate, connect and integrate
information about 2 or more sensory modalities such as vision and hearing.
- As early as 3 ½ months, infants looked more at their mother when they also heard
her voice and longer at their father when they also heard his voice.

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