LECTURE 4:

PHYSICAL GROWTH AND MOTOR

DEVELOPMENT IN EARLY CHILDHOOD

Ana UKA, PhD

PSD 471 Developmental Psychology
University College ‘Beder’
Fall, 2019
THE NEWBORN’S CAPACITIES
 Reflexes
 Rooting reflex: babies automatically turn the
face toward the stimulus and make sucking motions with
the mouth when the cheek or lip is touched.

 Moro reflex: is an infantile reflex normally

present in all infants/newborns up to 3 or 4 months of age
as a response to a sudden loss of support, when the infant
feels as if it is falling.

 Stepping reflex: is present at birth, though

infants this young cannot support their own weight. When
the soles of their feet touch a flat surface they will
attempt to walk by placing one foot in front of the other.

 Babinski reflex: The Babinski reflex is

obtained by stimulating the outside of the sole of the foot,
causing extension of the big toe while fanning the other
toes. The examiner begins the stimulation at the heel and
goes forward to the base of the toes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oI_ONptx2Ns

 Reflexes disappear by about 6 months

NEWBORN SENSORY CAPACITIES

 Sensitivity to touch, pain, temp

 Present at birth
 Newborn’s have taste preferences
 Newborn’s can smell

 Hearing: prefer complex sounds

 Prefer high-pitched & expressive speech
 Vision – least mature of senses
 Limited visual acuity – best at 7-9”
NEWBORN STATES OF AROUSAL

 REM: sleep – 50% of sleep – Very Active

 Non-REM sleep – Quiet sleep

 Drowsiness

 Crying (hungry, wet, in pain, frustrated)

 Peaceful wakefulness

 Stimulus seeking wakefulness

NEONATAL BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT
 NEONATAL BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT
 Brazelton NBAS:
The Scale, looks at a wide
range of behaviors and is
suitable for examining
newborns and infants up
to 2 months old. By the
end of the assessment, the
examiner has a behavioral
"portrait" of the infant,
describing the baby's
strengths, adaptive
responses and possible
vulnerabilities. The
examiner shares this
portrait with parents to
develop appropriate
caregiving strategies
aimed at enhancing the
earliest relationship
between babies and
parents.
PARENTAL TRANSITION

 Mom – Hormonal changes

 Postpartum blues – 10% more serious depression
 Dad – needs to take part
 Schedule changes

 Slight decline in marital satisfaction

 Flexible work place schedules help.

 BODY GROWTH

 Changes in body size

 Changes in body proportions

 Changes in muscle-fat
makeup
 Early skeletal growth

 Appearance of teeth

Boys 2 to 20
EARLY GROWTH FACTORS

 Heredity
 Nutrition 2x greater than adults
 25% of calories for growth
 Breast vs. bottle feeding

 Malnutrition
 50% worldwide < nutrients
 Emotional well-being.
 STATES OF AROUSAL
 Sleep & Wakefulness
 Becomes regular
 Wakefulness increases
 Fussiness and crying decline
 Melatonin secretion greater at night @ 6
months
 Sleeping through the night
NEOTENY : HOLDING ON TO INFANT-LIKE
)

CHARACTERISTICS

 Neoteny characterizes human body form:

 Neoteny in humans is the slowing or delaying of body development,

compared to non-human primates, resulting in features such as a
large head, a flat face, and relatively short arms and legs.

 Brain continues growth after birth

INFANCY IS A PERIOD OF RAPID,
DECELERATING PHYSICAL GROWTH.

 Rapid, decelerating growth

characterizes
 Head circumference
 Body length
 Weight
RAPID, DECELERATING GROWTH:
HEAD CIRCUMFERENCE

6 mos.. 17” 24 mos. 19”

Birth 13.75” –
33cm 12 mos. 18” – 43.2 cm
HEAD CIRCUMFERENCE
 An index of brain size
 but not necessarily meaningful for individuals
 concern below 3rd percentile or above 97th

 Can be used as a predictor of early outcome in premature

infants
 at birth and at one month or later corrected age
BABIES HAVE BIG HEADS

 Newborn head is 25% of own body length

 Head length is 40% of mature length at birth
 Adult head is only ~15% of body length
GENES AND ENVIRONMENT

 Body size influenced by multiple genes

 each has a small effect
 some do not function until after birth
 when individual differences emerge

 Body size influenced by environment

 nutrition
 uterus can also constrain or promote growth
GENES AND ENVIRONMENT EXAMPLE

 Japanese-American infants

 Smaller than European-American infants

 Genetics

 But larger than Japanese national infants

 dietary differences

 Higher socioeconomic status

 Taller, heavier kids who grow faster
 Professional 3 year olds: 1/2” taller
 In England
RAPID, DECELERATING GROWTH: LENGTH

 Birth length 20”

 add 10” by one

Messinger
year B
o
y
 add 5” more by 2
s
years

 Two year height

approximately 1/2
adult height
RAPID, DECELERATING GROWTH:
WEIGHT
 Newborn girl (7.25 lbs.)
 Gain 1.3 pounds per G

Messinger
month for the first 6
months
 100% bigger
i

 Double birth weight
Then 1 pound per
r
month through 12
months l
 50% bigger
 Triple birth weight s
 Then less than a half a
pound per month
through 36 months
GROWTH OCCURS AT THE EPIPHYSES

 Growth centers in the bones where new cartilage

cells are produced & gradually harden

 As growth continues, the epiphyses thin &

disappear & no more growth of the bone is
possible
GROWTH PATTERNS IN HEIGHT AND
WEIGHT
 Infants grow in spurts; 90-95% of time they
are not growing at all
 Infants double birth weight in about 5
months and triple it by the first birthday
 Gain 4 to 7 pounds during 2nd year
 Height increases by 50% during first year

 Grow 4 to 6 inches during 2nd year

 Boys reach half adult height by 2nd
birthday.
 Girls reach half adult height by 18
months.
CHANGES IN BODY PROPORTIONS
 Adult’sarms are nearly 3 times the length of
the head; legs 4 times as long.
 Neonates arms and legs are equal in length.
 Each are about 1.5 times length of head.
 Neck lengthens by first birthday.

• Arms grow more

rapidly than the legs
at first.
– By 2nd birthday, arms
are longer than legs.
– But soon catch up and
surpass arms in length
FAILURE TO THRIVE

 Defined as:
 A serious disorder impairing growth in infancy
and early childhood
 Infant does not make normal gains in weight
and size; also shows cognitive, behavioral, &
emotional problems (often persists into older
childhood)

 Feeding problems are central; infants often

described as “variable eaters”
 Biologically based: “organic”
 Caused by underlying health problems

 Non-biologically based: “non-organic”

 Based in psychological and/or social roots

 CATCH-UP GROWTH
 Factors such as illness and malnutrition can slow
course of growth as genetically predetermined.

 If problems are alleviated, rate of growth

frequently accelerates to normal pattern.

 This return to a genetically determined pattern

of growth is referred to as canalization.
 Canalisation (or canalization) is a measure of the
ability of a population to produce the same phenotype
regardless of variability of its environment or genotype.
In other words, it means robustness.
BREAST FEEDING VERSUS BOTTLE
FEEDING
 Breast milk considered to be the best nourishment
for infants.
 70% of American mothers now breast feed.
 2 in 5 after 6 mons / 1 in 5 after 1 yr
• Many mothers bottle feed
when returning to work due to
convenience.
• Some use breast pumps to
store for use when nursing is
not possible.
• Some parents opt for bottle
feeding to allow fathers to
share in feeding.
 ADVANTAGES TO BREAST-MILK
(FOR BABY)

 It conforms to human digestion processes

(less likely to upset baby’s stomach).
 Alone, it is adequate for first 6 mos. Other
foods only supplement breast milk for 1st
yr.
 As infant matures, composition of breast
milk changes to help meet the infant’s
needs.
 Breast milk contains mother’s antibodies
and helps infant ward off health
problems.
 ADVANTAGES OF BREAST-MILK
(FOR BABY)

 Breast Milk helps protect against a form of

childhood cancer (lymphoma: cancer of the
lymph nodes).
 Breast milk decreases likelihood of developing
serious cases of diarrhea.
 Infants nourished by breast milk are less likely
to develop allergies and constipation.
 Breast-fed infants less likely to develop obesity
later in life.
 Breast feeding is associated with better neural
and behavioral organization in babies.
BREAST FEEDING AND MOMS

 Advantages:

 Reduces risk of early breast and ovarian

cancer

 Builds strength of bones; reducing risk of

osteoporosis in menopause

 Helps to shrink uterus after delivery

 BREAST FEEDING AND MOMS
 Disadvantages:
 Breast milk is a bodily fluid and can transmit HIV
 Alcohol, many other drugs, and environmental
hazards can also be transmitted via breast milk.
 Breast feeding places higher demands on mother’s
nutrient base; she must stay adequately nourished
herself.
 There is a tendency for soreness in the breasts.
 It can be “inconvenient” and demanding to continue
to meet feeding needs of baby.
MOTOR DEVELOPMENT

 Gross and
 Cephalocaudal trend

 Proximodistal trend

 Increasingly complex

 Brain-Environment interaction

 Practice, practice, practice

 Active problem solvers.

FINE MOTOR DEVELOPMENT

 Gross Fine
 Voluntary reaching and grasping
 Appears @ 3 months
 Proprioception (within the body)
 Palmer grasp Pincer grasp
 Don’t push beyond readiness
 Marie Montessori.
MOTOR DEVELOPMENT
 Involves:
 Activity of muscles and coordination of
movements in conjunction with the
infant’s sensory development

 Like physical growth, motor development

follows the same cephalocaudal and
proximodistal patterns and differentiation
 Control of head and torso) comes before arms
(cephalocaudal)
 Control of trunks and shoulders come before hands
and fingers (proximodistal)
SEQUENCES OF PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
 CEPHALOCAUDAL DEVELOPMENT
 The head doubles in length between birth
and maturity.
 The torso, arms, and legs increase in length
by ages 3, 4, 5 respectively.
 PROXIMODISTAL DEVELOPMENT
 Growth proceeds from trunk outward.
 Nerves must be in place before control of
arms and legs can develop.
 Infants gain control over trunks and
shoulders prior to arms, hands, and fingers;
also hips and upper legs come before lower
legs, feet and toes
 DIFFERENTIATION
 As baby matures, physical reactions become
more specific.
MOTOR DEVELOPMENT
 Lifting and Holding the Torso and Head
 Newborns
 Can move head slightly side to side
 Helps avoid suffocation if an obstruction presents
itself
 1 month
 Can raise head
 2 months
 Can also lift chests while lying on tummy
 3-6 months
 Generally manage head well without support
 Caution
 Even after attaining ability to support head on own,
if lifted improperly or jerked, neck injuries are
possible
MOTOR DEVELOPMENT
Locomotion
 Movement from one place to another; ages of
accomplishment vary with individuals but “usually” follows
sequence of development, as in crawling before walking
(some may skip a stage)
MOTOR DEVELOPMENT
 Sequence of Locomotion
 6 months
 Can roll over (back to tummy and vice versa)
 7 months
 Begin to sit up alone
 8-9 months
 Begin to crawl; lie on tummy and use arms to pull
 About a month later begin to creep; up onto hands and
knees
 Standing while holding on to something; rudimentary
walking with support
 10-11 months
 Can stand briefly without holding on
 12-15 months
 Begin to walk unaided; earning name of toddler
Motor Development in Infancy
TODDLERS: NATURE & NURTURE

 Nature (Maturation)

 As child matures, so does muscle strength, bone

density, balance, and coordination.

 Certain voluntary motor skills not possible until

brain has matured in terms of myelination and
differentiation of motor areas in cortex.

 By age 2, can run, walk backward, kick, and jump

 TODDLERS: NATURE & NURTURE
 Nurture (Experience)
 Determines if a child will develop skills that reach
upper limits of their range
 Environmental effects on motor skills
 Native American Hopi babies are strapped to a cradle board
first year of life.
 Catch up to walking early in 2nd year
TODDLERS: NATURE & NURTURE

 Environmental effects on motor skills (cont.)

 Identical Twin Study
 One received motor skill training the other none;

trained baby had better skills at first, but untrained

baby soon caught up with equal skills
 Iranian and Lebanese Orphanages

 Iranian infants experiencing severe social & physical

neglect showed significant retardation in motor skill
development
 Children with similar deprivations and results were

shown to make dramatic improvements with minimal

interventions.