|
  |
|
|
Milestones to Infant Development
Development By age three a child should achieve specific milestones in the areas of emotional regulation, language and motor skills. There are five major areas of development: gross motor, fine motor, social, sensory and language. There are specific developmental milestones for each month of age through the first year of life. There is an individual range in when each infant will reach specific milestones, but in general all infants develop along the same timeline. Premature infants (born prior to 37 weeks gestation) are measured on a different timeline and often developmental milestones are adjusted for how many weeks premature the infant is. The following are normal developmental milestones identified by the American Academy of Pediatrics (2005) through the second year of life
Month One:
Focus on objects that are 8-12 inches away
Preference for high contrast or black and white objects
Good hearing
Recognize some sounds, like a parent’s voice
Make tight fists
Preference for human faces versus other objects Month Three:
Raise head and chest while lying on stomach
Stretch and kick legs while on back
Grab and shake toys
Track objects with eyes
Start using hand and eye coordination
Enjoy play and may cry when play stops
Smile at the sound of parent’s voice Month Seven:
Roll over from stomach to back and back to stomach
Sit up
Move objects from one hand to the other
Support weight on legs with head upright
Develop full color vision and depth vision
Respond to own name
Express emotions vocally
Use hands and mouth to explore objects
Enjoy playing peek-a-boo
Reach for objects
Show interest in own mirror image
Distinguish emotions by tone of voice Twelve Months:
Sit up without assistance
Crawl
Pull up to a stand
Walk along furniture, may take some independent steps
Use the pincer grasp (using forefinger and thumb)
Say “dada” and “mama”
Use exclamations
Respond to simple commands like “no”
Use simple gestures such as waving “bye-bye” or shaking head “no”
Explore objects by shaking, throwing, banging and dropping
Look at the correct picture when the image is named
Find hidden objects with ease Twenty Four Months:
Climb on furniture without support
Walk alone
Start to run
Kick a ball
Walk up and downstairs holding on for support
Scribble with a crayon
Build towers of four blocks or more
Follow simple instructions
Use simple phrases
Use two to four word sentences
Imitate behaviors
Start to play make-believe
Show signs of growing independence The ability to demonstrate self-regulatory behaviors is an important aspect of social-emotional development. Self regulation in infants describes the ability to regulate behaviors in accordance to social norms with the care giver’s assistance. Identified components of self regulation include the ability to delay gratification, self-concept and social competence (Lecuyer, E. & Houck, G.M., 2006). Self regulation starts to emerge in the first months of life through the ability to self-soothe and divert attention to less distressing objects and progresses through childhood. Adverse environmental and biological conditions can have a negative influence on achieving mastery in these areas and severely delay a child’s development. A delay in development can have immediate as well as ongoing problems for the child, the child’s family, and society as a whole. A poor foundation in early development can lead to behavioral, emotional, and learning difficulties in the school setting as well as criminal behavior and mental health disorders (Center on Infant Mental Health and Development). These difficulties can extend over many settings and lifespan, creating an economic and emotional burden on family and community resources.
|
Contributor's Note
This is part of a series on Infant Mental Health.
|
|
|
 |
|
No reactions yet.
Please login or sign up to rate this intel.
Please login or sign up to add a comment.
The copyright for this content entitled "Milestones to Infant Development" has been specified by the contributor as:
All Rights Reserved
This content may not be copied, distributed or adapted by anyone under any circumstances.
|
|
May, 2012
2008
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2009
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2010
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2011
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2012
January, February, March, April, May
|
|
Not a member yet?
Qondio is a powerful network for making it online. If you have a website to
promote, we can help.
Sign up and get in on the action.
|
|
Welcome to Qondio! Discover the awesome power this network can deliver by going to our About page. Or you could skip straight to the Sign Up form.
|
|
