Neonatal phase & InfancyBy C. Settley

2016

Outcomes • Describe the development tasks of the infant • Discuss the following aspects of development:• Motor development• Perceptual development• Language development• Social development:• Describe the concept attachment.• Analyse the following aspects of attachment: phases of attachment• Types of attachment• Factors influencing attachment• The role of the father• The role of other care-givers and siblings• Discuss stranger anxiety during infancy • Discuss separation anxiety during infancy• Analyse the following aspects of the socialisation process during infancy• Parental influence.

Characteristics of the first two years of life- page 150 in Human Development

• 1) Period of rapid change. • 2) Critical period for psychosocial

development. • 3) Period when individual differences

emerge. • 4) Period during which socialisation

begins.

Developmental tasks during this period

• Master several motor-physiological tasks. • Learn the principles involved in talking. • Develop an emotional attachment to parents and/or

significant others and learn to communicate with them. Emotions such as happiness and anger emerge.

• Become aware of relationship between their behaviour and its results.

• Begin to understand the nature of objects and start categorising objects, people and events.

The Neonatal phase

• Birth- 28 days old.• Physical appearance.• Assessment of the new-born child.

(APGAR):• The Apgar score is a simple assessment of how a baby is doing at birth, which helps

determine whether the newborn is ready to meet the world without additional medical assistance.

• Appearance, pulse, grimace (response to stimulation), Activity and respiration.

APGAR SCORING

The Neonatal phase

• Immunity:• Immunisation schedule of RSA.

• Adjustment to basic life:• Circulation of blood, respiration, digestion,

temperature regulation, the nervous system (reflexes)

• VIDEO ON REFLEXES

The neonate: perception

• Vision• Hearing • Smell• Taste• Sensations• Sleeping and dreaming• Individual differences• Neonatal learning

Infancy

• End of neonatal phase- 2 years of life.• Physical development:

Infancy• Motor development:

Infancy: Perceptual development• Depth perception: • The visual ability to perceive the world in

three dimensions and the distance of an object. More advanced than initially thought.

Infancy: Perceptual development• Visual constancy: • The ability to recognize objects even as their size, shape, color, or

orientation change.• Colour:

• Colour:

Infancy: Perceptual development• Visual constancy: • The ability to recognize objects even as their size, shape, color, or

orientation change.• Shape:

Infancy: Perceptual development• Visual constancy: • The ability to recognize objects even as their size, shape, color, or

orientation change.• Size:

Infancy: Language development

• Factors influencing language development:• Gender• Social class• Intelligence

Infancy:Social development

• Attachment:• All babies are born with skills that help them survive• These skills help them interact and form relationships

with others • The earliest relationships are the foundations for their

social development in the future• Attachment is the special bond that links the baby with

the primary caregiver, which is also felt by the caregiver

Types of attachment

• VIDEO ON ATTACHMENT

Factors influencing attachment

• The mother’s personality and her relationship with her baby.

• Temperaments of babies. • Whether the mother works or not. • Psychosocial factors.

The role of fathers during child development

• Fathers play an important role in a child's development from birth through adulthood.

• In fact, numerous studies have reached the same conclusion: Children with involved fathers have an advantage -- socially and academically -- over children with distant or no relationships with their fathers

• Research found better language skills and fewer behavioral problems in children with an actively involved father.

The role of fathers during child development

• Interestingly, this result holds true even if the father doesn't live in the same home as the child -- for example, in divorce situations. It appears that how involved the dad is -- not where he lives in relation to the child -- is the crucial factor.

• Children with fathers who take the time to ask about what they learned in school and their day-to-day social activities and relationships do better in school than kids who don't have that kind of input or interest.

• And it's important to note that this father figure doesn't have to be a biological father in order for children to benefit. It can be an adoptive father, stepfather, or an adult male in the household.

The role of care givers• Sensitive and responsive caregiving is a

requirement for the healthy neurophysiological, physical and psychological development of a child.

• Sensitivity and responsiveness have been identified as key features of caregiving behaviour related to later positive health and development outcomes in young children.

The role of care givers• Acts and vocalizations. • Responsiveness of caregivers. • Ability to judge whether the child is hungry, tired, needs toileting, or

is becoming sick.• Monitor the child’s movements, expressions, colour, temperature,

and the like. • Inadequate, disrupted and negligent care has adverse

consequences for the child’s survival, health and development: may not receive sufficient nutrition; they may be subjected to stress; they may be physically abused and neglected; they may develop malnutrition; they may not grow well; and early signs of illness may not be detected.

The role of siblings• Siblings play a powerful

role in child development.• While siblings might

compete for attention in the household, they can also become supportive friends and role models.

• Siblings who interact frequently influence the other's social behaviors and personalities as they develop into adults.

The role of siblings• Children who grow up with older siblings observe and mimic their social

behaviors because they regularly encounter similar circumstances and environments.

• Siblings can shape each other's personalities, and birth order can be key. For instance, an older sibling, who is used to being the first to learn things, might become more confident and develop stronger leadership skills.

• Firstborn children, who are often surrogates for their parents as caregivers, teachers, and models, enjoy a greater status/power position in relationship to their younger siblings.

• A middle child might become insecure and attention-seeking because she is neither the beloved first born or the adored baby. He/she might be rebellious or competitive.

• The youngest might become spontaneous and outgoing.

The role of siblings• As first playmates, siblings can build close bonds.• They might enjoy spending time together and

learning from each other.• However, sibling rivalry is common during

childhood.• While siblings might compete early on, those who

are coached properly by their parents can eventually develop relationships

of love and support.

The role of siblings• By watching and listening to a sibling, children

strengthen their communication skills.• Older siblings might read out loud, sing songs, make

jokes, or give instructions in front of their younger siblings, and in doing so, they act as role models.

• The more often children hear the sounds of language, the faster they will strengthen their own skills.

• While parents also model language and communication skills, siblings live in similar worlds and therefore might be more likely to absorb new information

from an older brother or sister.

Stranger anxiety, page 222 in Human development

• Stranger anxiety is a form of distress that children experience when exposed to people unfamiliar to them.

• Symptoms may include: getting quiet and staring at the stranger, verbally protesting by cries or other vocalizations, and hiding behind a parent.

• Typical part of the developmental sequence that most children experience.

• Peaks from 8 to 12 months and diminishes at 12-15.• Situations that may influence a baby’s reactions to strangers, page 223.

Separation anxiety

• Usually occurs between 8 and 12 months and disappears between 20-24 months.

• 3 phases: protest, despair, detachment phases (pg 269)

Phases of separation anxiety• Protest phase: lasts for about 3

days, children cry a lot and search for their parents

• Despair phase: increasing despair over the possibility that parents will not come back. Children’s activity levels drop, they cry less, they become restrained and tend to withdraw by showing little interest in their environment. Substitute caregivers then believe that children have adjusted to their new situations. In reality, they give up hope of their parents returning. Should the parents return during the first two phases, children usually react positively.

Phases of separation anxiety• Detachment phase: children start showing interest in their

environment again. Should parents return at this stage, they will most likely be rejected by the children. For instance, the child will turn his/her back on the parent(s), or refuse to greet the parent. However, after a few hours (or days), children will go through an ambivalent phase where children will cling to the parent at one moment and in the next moment be hostile towards the parent. Examples: divorce, hospitalisation, starting nursery school or day- care

Socialisation process during infancy

• Babies’ developmental abilities and skills that enable them to move more freely and to explore environment.

• Become increasingly more able to manipulate objects and to solve problems in new ways.

• During this period parents start to socialize with their children.• Socialization refers to process in which child learns to conform to

moral standards, role expectations and requirements for acceptable behavior.

• E.g. not be noisy at table, not play with food, not jump up +down on bed, start to control excretion functions.

Influence of parents on socialisation of their children

• Through direct teaching , by showing them, e.g. , how to eat and how to dress themselves.

• Parents act as important role models through their interaction with their children.

• Parents who are loving, warm and responsive will have children who are warm and responsive toward others.

• Parents control certain aspects of child’s life that could have an influence on their social development, such as the neighborhood in which they live, and which friend to visit, and when to visit.

Influence of parents on socialisation of their children

• 3 Types of techniques parents use to control child• Induction- includes reasoning , explaining and the setting of clear

limits AUTHORITATIVE PARENTING STYLE

• Power assertion- physical punishment , forceful commands and the removal of objects and privileges AUTHORITARIAN PARENTING STYLE

• Love withdrawal- parent ignores the child and react coldly towards his/her behaviour.

Parenting styles• Authoritative parents take a different, more moderate approach

that emphasizes setting high standards, being nurturing and responsive, and showing respect for children as independent, rational beings.

• The authoritative parent expects maturity and cooperation, and offers children lots of emotional support.

• Kids raised by authoritative parents are more likely to become independent, self-reliant, socially accepted, academically successful, and well-behaved.

• They are less likely to report depression and anxiety, and less likely to engage in antisocial behavior like delinquency and drug use.

Parenting styles• Authoritarian parents demand a sort of blind obedience from their

children. The children of authoritarian parents:• Tend to associate obedience and success with love.• Some children display more aggressive behavior outside the home.• Others may act fearful or overly shy around others.• Often have lower self-esteem.• Have difficulty in social situations due to a lack of social

competence.• Children raised by authoritarian parents tend to conform easily, yet

may also suffer from depression and anxiety.

Parenting styles• Permissive parenting is a style of child-rearing that

features two key traits:• being nurturing and warm (which is good for kids), and• being reluctant to impose limits (which is usually not

good).

• Other: Neglectful parenting.

References • Kalat, J. W. (2011). Introduction to Psychology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Publishing.• Pediatric Division Development Center of Gwinnett. (2013). Visual Perceptual Processing.

Retrieved February 15, 2013, from: http://www.visiontherapy4kids.com/ContentPage.aspx?id=52.

• SparkNotes LLC. (2013). Sensation and Perception: Vision. Retrieved February 15, 2013, from SparkNotes's website:

http://www.sparknotes.com/psychology/psych101/sensation/section2.rhtml.