Development 0-24 Months
Physical Development
Physical Development can be described in two sub-categories: gross motor skills and fine motor skills. Think of gross motor skills as big movements, like walking, running, and being able to sit up. Fine motor skills involve much more delicate movements like holding objects and hand manipulation of objects. Boyd and Bee break down normative physical development into stages based on age (2012, p. 90).
0-1 Month
Gross Motor Skills: The stepping reflex develops, which involves moving legs as if attempting to take steps. Will also begin to lift his or her head slightly.
Fine Motor Skills: Able to hold an object that is placed in hand.
2-3 Months
Gross Motor Skills: While lying on stomach, able to lift head up to a 90-degree angle.
Fine Motor Skills: Will swipe in the general direction of objects in line of sight.
4-6 Months
Gross Motor Skills: Able to roll over, sit with support, and hold head upright while sitting. Will also begin moving on hands and knees, although this movement is not quite “crawling.”
Fine Motor Skills: Will reach for and grasp nearby objects.
7-9 Months
Gross Motor Skills: Truly begins to crawl and can sit up unsupported.
Fine Motor Skills: Will transfer objects between hands.
10-12 Months
Gross Motor Skills: Able to pull self up and walk using furniture and other objects for support. Eventually walks alone, squats, and stoops. Able to play pat-a-cake.
Fine Motor Skills: Begins to show some hand preference (right-handedness or left-handedness). Can crudely grasp a spoon, but lacks coordination when bringing up to mouth.
13-18 Months
Gross Motor Skills: Walks backward and sideways, and will begin to run (14-20 months). Able to roll a ball.
Fine Motor Skills: Able to stack two blocks; puts objects into a container and dumps them out.
19-24 Months
Gross Motor Skills: Can walk up and down stairs using two feet for each step, and jumps with both feet off of the ground.
Fine Motor Skills: Can feed self with a spoon and stack between 4 and 10 blocks.
Physical Development can be described in two sub-categories: gross motor skills and fine motor skills. Think of gross motor skills as big movements, like walking, running, and being able to sit up. Fine motor skills involve much more delicate movements like holding objects and hand manipulation of objects. Boyd and Bee break down normative physical development into stages based on age (2012, p. 90).
0-1 Month
Gross Motor Skills: The stepping reflex develops, which involves moving legs as if attempting to take steps. Will also begin to lift his or her head slightly.
Fine Motor Skills: Able to hold an object that is placed in hand.
2-3 Months
Gross Motor Skills: While lying on stomach, able to lift head up to a 90-degree angle.
Fine Motor Skills: Will swipe in the general direction of objects in line of sight.
4-6 Months
Gross Motor Skills: Able to roll over, sit with support, and hold head upright while sitting. Will also begin moving on hands and knees, although this movement is not quite “crawling.”
Fine Motor Skills: Will reach for and grasp nearby objects.
7-9 Months
Gross Motor Skills: Truly begins to crawl and can sit up unsupported.
Fine Motor Skills: Will transfer objects between hands.
10-12 Months
Gross Motor Skills: Able to pull self up and walk using furniture and other objects for support. Eventually walks alone, squats, and stoops. Able to play pat-a-cake.
Fine Motor Skills: Begins to show some hand preference (right-handedness or left-handedness). Can crudely grasp a spoon, but lacks coordination when bringing up to mouth.
13-18 Months
Gross Motor Skills: Walks backward and sideways, and will begin to run (14-20 months). Able to roll a ball.
Fine Motor Skills: Able to stack two blocks; puts objects into a container and dumps them out.
19-24 Months
Gross Motor Skills: Can walk up and down stairs using two feet for each step, and jumps with both feet off of the ground.
Fine Motor Skills: Can feed self with a spoon and stack between 4 and 10 blocks.
Cognitive Development
Listed below are Piaget’s sub-stages to his sensorimotor stage of cognitive development (Boyd & Bee, 2012, p. 110). Some studies have suggested that certain cognitive skills like the object concept develop earlier in infants than Piaget initially believed. It is possible that infants begin to understand objects and their behavior before 4 months of age. However, a complete understanding of object behavior does not develop until much later. Piaget’s sub-stages are still a useful tool in understanding how an infant develops cognitively.
0-1 Month
Reflexes: Uses build-in schemes (concepts about the way the world works) to process, and makes a few changes to these schemes based on experience. Limited imitation, and unable to integrate senses from multiple senses
1-4 Months
Primary Circular Reactions: More changes to schemes like grasping, listening, looking, sucking. Able to combine information from multiple senses so that an infant will look toward a sound, and will suck on anything that can be brought to his mouth.
4-8 Months
Secondary Circular Reactions: Becomes aware of events outside of own body, and makes them happen with trial-and-error learning attempts; however, does not understand fully the causal relationship. Beginning to understand objects and how they behave.
8-12 Months
Coordination of Secondary Schemes: Understands more the causal nature of actions, and will intentionally act to get a certain reaction, like moving one toy to reach another that they want. Imitates novel behavior.
12-18 Month
Tertiary Circular Reactions: Begins to experiment by playing with and manipulating objects in new ways. Able to imitate an action soon after it occurs.
18-24 Months
Beginning of Mental Representation: Uses symbols to represent objects, meaning the infant is able to “picture” an object in his or her head or use a word to represent an object. This allows an infant to think through problem solving, and to defer imitation to a later time.
Listed below are Piaget’s sub-stages to his sensorimotor stage of cognitive development (Boyd & Bee, 2012, p. 110). Some studies have suggested that certain cognitive skills like the object concept develop earlier in infants than Piaget initially believed. It is possible that infants begin to understand objects and their behavior before 4 months of age. However, a complete understanding of object behavior does not develop until much later. Piaget’s sub-stages are still a useful tool in understanding how an infant develops cognitively.
0-1 Month
Reflexes: Uses build-in schemes (concepts about the way the world works) to process, and makes a few changes to these schemes based on experience. Limited imitation, and unable to integrate senses from multiple senses
1-4 Months
Primary Circular Reactions: More changes to schemes like grasping, listening, looking, sucking. Able to combine information from multiple senses so that an infant will look toward a sound, and will suck on anything that can be brought to his mouth.
4-8 Months
Secondary Circular Reactions: Becomes aware of events outside of own body, and makes them happen with trial-and-error learning attempts; however, does not understand fully the causal relationship. Beginning to understand objects and how they behave.
8-12 Months
Coordination of Secondary Schemes: Understands more the causal nature of actions, and will intentionally act to get a certain reaction, like moving one toy to reach another that they want. Imitates novel behavior.
12-18 Month
Tertiary Circular Reactions: Begins to experiment by playing with and manipulating objects in new ways. Able to imitate an action soon after it occurs.
18-24 Months
Beginning of Mental Representation: Uses symbols to represent objects, meaning the infant is able to “picture” an object in his or her head or use a word to represent an object. This allows an infant to think through problem solving, and to defer imitation to a later time.
Social Development:
According to Erikson, an infant is in the trust versus mistrust stage for the first two years of life wherein in he will learn to trust the world around him, or to become cynical. Another perspective also viewed the first two years of life as important to social development, but believed that the importance lies in forming a close relationship with caregivers. If an attachment with caregivers does not develop in the first two years, theorists believe that these individuals will have social and personality problems later in life. Theorists believe that these relationships lead to the development of “models” which infants will recreate later in life to frame future relationships. Elements of these models include confidence that a person will be available when needed and how the person responds to the infant in different situations. According to Boyd and Bee, Bowlby (2012) suggested four stages to describe how an infant develops attachment to caregivers, the first three stages occur during infancy (p. 135).
0-3 Months
Nonfocused orienting and signaling: Babies direct signals to all individuals with whom they come into contact. Signals include crying, smiling, and making eye contact.
3-6 Months
Focus on one or more figures: Infants direct their signals to fewer people, typically primary caregivers, and begin to respond less to strangers.
6-24 Months
Secure base behavior: True attachment to a primary caregiver emerges. Infants treat this person as a “safe base” and will follow or cling to them when nervous, injured, or have needs. Will direct behavior to others if the primary caregiver is not available.
According to Erikson, an infant is in the trust versus mistrust stage for the first two years of life wherein in he will learn to trust the world around him, or to become cynical. Another perspective also viewed the first two years of life as important to social development, but believed that the importance lies in forming a close relationship with caregivers. If an attachment with caregivers does not develop in the first two years, theorists believe that these individuals will have social and personality problems later in life. Theorists believe that these relationships lead to the development of “models” which infants will recreate later in life to frame future relationships. Elements of these models include confidence that a person will be available when needed and how the person responds to the infant in different situations. According to Boyd and Bee, Bowlby (2012) suggested four stages to describe how an infant develops attachment to caregivers, the first three stages occur during infancy (p. 135).
0-3 Months
Nonfocused orienting and signaling: Babies direct signals to all individuals with whom they come into contact. Signals include crying, smiling, and making eye contact.
3-6 Months
Focus on one or more figures: Infants direct their signals to fewer people, typically primary caregivers, and begin to respond less to strangers.
6-24 Months
Secure base behavior: True attachment to a primary caregiver emerges. Infants treat this person as a “safe base” and will follow or cling to them when nervous, injured, or have needs. Will direct behavior to others if the primary caregiver is not available.