Introduction
Child growth and development are probably some of the most fascinating processes, including various phenomena, factors, and stages that are interconnected and depend on each other. For example, for a baby to obtain the capacity to use basic motor skills, their brain enters the myelinization process, creating many neural pathways.
Further, infants are born with certain primitive reflexes, and some of these responses must disappear as scheduled. Another enjoyable process is how kids go through different stages to learn to catch things properly, illustrating the proximodistal motor progression principle. This paper aims to discuss the three essential elements of child development.
Defining Myelinization
Myelinization is one of the most critical processes during the early years of growth. According to the video, myelinization refers to the development of a series of connected sensory neurons: “Myelin – a fatty, insulating substance – covers axons and speeds the transmission of neural pathways” (GRCCtv 00:00:43-00:00:50).
What is more, Grotheer et al. indicate that it is also an essential microstructural component of the brain white matter formation (p. 2). This fatty sheath insulates axons to connect various brain regions, and myelin is essential for the proper functioning of the brain (Grotheer et al. 2). Synchronized and rapid neural communication across the organ is enabled due to myelinization. At the same time, its abnormalities can result in cognitive development issues.
Noticeably, for this process to continue adequately and allow children to gain the capacity to use motor skills, they have to have numerous opportunities to interact in rich sensory environments. Without such interactions during infancy and early childhood years, kids’ neural pathways can fail to develop correctly (GRCCtv 00:00:50-00:01:01). Therefore, they should play, move, and engage in many other sensory activities to interact with environments and boost the growth of synapses and dendrites.
Development and Disappearance of Some Reflexes
At birth, infants have numerous reflexive behaviors that allow them to adapt to the environment and respond properly to external stimuli to enable survival. These reflexes can be different, and researchers divide them into several groups. Thus, some behaviors, such as sneezing or swallowing, help babies react to environmental changes; certain motor responses have elements of later voluntary actions, including stepping; and there are also reactions that are primitively defensive (GRCCtv 00:01:40-00:02:38). Different reflexes develop at various gestational ages and are measured in baby check-ups.
Indeed, adults also require specific reflexes to work in their bodies to address environmental changes, but some responses become unnecessary and must disappear at a proper age. To be more precise, “it is believed that as the development of the brain progresses, voluntary movements take over and the reflexes are suppressed” (00:02:56-00:03:04).
Reflexes like sneezing, coughing, blinking, and others have to remain as the brain develops, but rooting, snout, and even sucking either disappear entirely by the age of 3 to 6 months or decrease (Modrell and Tadi 1). Doctors always continue to check whether specific motor responses disappear according to the schedule (GRCCtv00:03:04-00:03:14). If they do not, it may indicate that there are issues or abnormalities in the development of the infant’s nervous system, and further tests and interventions are needed.
Development of the Catching Skill
Children learn to catch things through different phases of this ability’s progression, and at first, only their arms are used, while their torso and legs almost do not participate in the activity. In the video, it is said that, between the ages of 2 to 3, the child’s hands and arms function as a single unit as they catch the ball, trapping it against the body (GRCCtv 00:10:09-00:10:17).
When the kid is 3 to 4 years old, they learn to bend their arms at the elbows, which helps to catch objects better. Reaching the age of 5, kids should be able to catch only with their hands, while arms no longer touch the object (GRCCtv 00:10:24-00:10:26). Further, the child begins to use their feet and place them wide apart at the age of 5 to 6, understanding that they need to move their body to catch the ball.
One may notice that this progression illustrates the principle of proximodistal development. According to Ruggiero, this term means the appearance of new skills and abilities “proceeds from the center of the body to the periphery” (11). As evident in the video, the child catching the ball cannot at first use their hands and arms properly; only their corpus, especially the chest, and arms, are in active participation (GRCCtv 00:10:09-00:10:17). Some years later, the development continues to the periphery. Children begin to use their legs, elbows, and hands.
Conclusion
To conclude, the discussed principles and processes play a significant role in the growth and development of kids from infancy to childhood. For the baby to develop the ability to perform motor skills, the brain has the process of myelinization, and all its regions begin to work correctly. After being born with primary reflexes, babies lose some of them, demonstrating the proper functionality of their nervous system. Lastly, according to the principle of proximodistal motor development, new skills and abilities appear from the center of the body to the periphery.
Works Cited
GRCCtv. “Child Motor Skills.” YouTube. 2012. Web.
Grotheer, Mareike, et al. “White Matter Myelination During Early Infancy Is Linked to Spatial Gradients and Myelin Content at Birth.” Nature Communications, vol. 13, no.997, 2022.
Modrell, Alexa K., and Prassana Tadi. “Primitive Reflexes.” StatPearls Publishing. 2023. Web.
Ruggiero, Kristine M. Fast Facts Handbook for Pediatric Primary Care: A Guide for Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants. Springer Publishing Company, 2020.
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