Infancy (0 to age 2) and Toddlerhood (ages 3-4)

Developmental Milestones

Physical Development

Physical development in infancy and toddlers consists of more than just size and weight, physical development also encompasses fine and gross motor skills, and perceptual development. Two of the Milestones of development during infancy and toddlerhood include,

1. Development of fine motor skills in toddlerhood, which include grasping of larger items, tracking and grasping, and development of the pincer grasp which is grabbing, and holding objects between the thumb and forefinger (Honig, 2003). 2. Gross motor skills include sitting, crawling, walking, running, kicking a ball, and catching a ball, hops, runs, and can pedal a bike or riding car (Berk, 2013).

Language Development

Language development in fancy begins with coos and babbles, then practicing sounds and syllables, such as mama, dada, byebye, these beginning sounds and the format for early language learning.

1. According to Charlesworth (2014, p. 185) children are able to distinguish their own cultural language from other cultural languages by the age of 1 month. Also by one

month infants have developed different cried for different needs, such as hunger, attention, illness or tiredness. 2. By toddlerhood language develops at a much faster rate, children begin to label things, such as kitty, doggy, apple, car. However, children at this age often leave out sounds, or change them to ones that are easier to say such as wuv, for love, and goggy for doggy, and feets for foot, and dink for drink.

Cognitive Development

1. Infants have perceptual cognitive develop, which is cognitive development based on sensory input, such as hearing, sight, smells, touch, and taste. Infants will turn towards a familiar voice, or stare at a familiar face, using touch to explore and reaching for small objects in order to grasps them and put them in their mouth. 2. Children by the age of 4 years old use propositions in speech such as on, in and and. Toddlers understand possessives such as, hers, his, mine, and can answer questions pertaining to who, what, where, why and how many (Allen & Marotz, 2010).

Atypical Development

1. Some atypical developments in infancy are: If the child does not pull themselves to a standing position Creep or crawl on hands or feet Sit up without assistance

 Does not attempt to walk or walk with some confidence 2. Some atypical developments by the end of the 4th year of age consist of: Unable to catch a large ball when bounced Have good control of posture and movement Unable to hop on one foot

Cultural and Social Development

Infants social skills primarily address needs and distress and responding to parents and caregivers reactions, as well as emotional closeness with the parent/caregiver and begins to develop a sense of security. Children at this age are not aware of cultural differences.

Strategies to Help Families Influence Learning and Development

1. Infants practice with tummy time, hiding toys behind blanket or pillows, practicing sitting p either in a walker or bumba seat (with a safety belt and never left unattended of course). Practice baby exercises to build muscles and strengthen posture. 2. For toddlers, practice throwing and catching a ball, walking on a chalk line to develop balance, practice hopping on one foot, and riding a pedal bike.