Cognitive Development
Throughout the first two years of life, infants also experience substantial cognitive growth. Jean Piaget’s cognitive theory proposes that children learn via interaction with their surroundings (Alahmad, 2020). She considers the first step of human cognitive development to be the sensorimotor stage, which lasts throughout infancy (Alahmad, 2020).
Infants learn about the world via their perceptions and activities throughout this time. For instance, kids learn about object permanence, which is the idea that items persist even when they are not visible. This explains why newborns are so captivated by peek-a-boo! At the same time, it stresses the importance of parents’ presence and care during this stage.
Physical Development
Considerable physical changes occur throughout infancy from birth to two years of age. Throughout this period, newborns experience tremendous growth and development, increasing weight and length at an astounding pace. A newborn’s average weight is around 7.5 pounds, and their typical length is approximately 20 inches (Paris et al., 2022).
The majority of newborns triple their birth weight by the end of the first year and quadruple it by the end of the second. In addition, newborns learn to regulate their movements, sit up, crawl, stand, and ultimately walk throughout this time. In conclusion, infancy is an essential phase for physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development. Babies have fast physical development and acquire knowledge of the environment via their perceptions and behaviors.
Socioemotional Development
Another critical period for socioemotional development is infancy. Infants gain social skills like interpreting voice cues and facial emotions through interaction with their caregivers. They also develop the capacity to form relationships and a sense of trust for their caregivers.
According to Botero (2020), John Bowlby’s attachment theory emphasizes the importance of caregiver and infant exchanges for shaping a child’s emotional and social growth. According to Bowlby, babies form relationships with their primary caregivers through a process called social reference, where they use their caregiver’s vocal cues and facial expressions to gauge how safe their environment is (Botero, 2020).
Factors That Impact the Development
Nutrition and parenting style influence infancy. Adequate nourishment is crucial for infants’ optimal physical and cognitive development. Breastfeeding is regarded as the ideal method of nourishment for newborns since milk supplies them with critical nutrients and immunological components that promote their growth and development (Italianer et al., 2020).
Parental style also affects child development. Responsive parenting, in which parents are alert to their child’s needs and react swiftly, has been found to favorably influence newborn socioemotional development. Consequently, it is essential to consider, monitor, and control a child’s diet based on their current needs, preferably focusing on breastfeeding and adopting a responsive parenting style.
Developmental Theories
Two developmental theories that help us comprehend the growth and development of newborns are Piaget’s cognitive theory and Bowlby’s attachment theory. According to Piaget’s cognitive theory, newborns learn about the environment through their senses and behaviors, as discussed earlier. Babies undergo four stages of cognitive development, with the sensorimotor stage being the first.
Bowlby’s attachment theory stresses the significance of the caregiver-infant interaction in a child’s emotional and social development. These interactions have a direct influence on the child’s emotional and intellectual development. Knowing these developmental theories may assist young parents in comprehending and fostering the growth and development of newborns.
References
Alahmad, M. (2020). Strengths and weaknesses of cognitive theory. Budapest International Research and Critics Institute (BIRCI-Journal): Humanities and Social Sciences, 3(3), 1584–1593. Web.
Botero, M., Langley, H. A., & Venta, A. (2020). The untenable omission of touch in maternal sensitivity and attachment research. Infant and Child Development, 29(2). Web.
Italianer, M. F., Naninck, E. F., Roelants, J. A., van der Horst, G. T., Reiss, I. K., Goudoever, J. B., Joosten, K. F., Chaves, I., & Vermeulen, M. J. (2020). Circadian variation in human milk composition, a systematic review. Nutrients, 12(8), 2328. Web.
Paris, J., Ricardo, A., Rymond, D., & Johnson, A. (2022). Birth and the Newborn. Understanding the Whole Child. College of the Canyons.