Physical, cognitive, and sensory development progresses rapidly in infants. Physically, infants gain weight and motor skills like head control and grasping. Cognitively, infants develop object permanence and can recognize faces by 6 months. Sensory abilities also mature; infants can track moving objects visually by 3 months and prefer their mother's voice at birth. Standard tests evaluate hearing, vision, and developmental milestones. Piaget's stages describe cognitive growth from reflexive newborns to toddlers who can problem-solve.

1. PHYSICAL
DEVELOPMENT, SENSORY, PERCEPTION,
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT IN INFANCY
Reported by: Angelica Cyril C. Adivoso, RN
MA BIOLOGY EDUCATION

2. PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT FROM BIRTH
First month:
weight may drop after birth
but will be regained quickly
hand, arm, leg, and rooting
movements are all reflex
motions
head flops if not supported
focuses eyes at 18 to 45 cm
stares at high contrast
patterns and objects but
does not reach
recognizes mother’s voice
startles at noise
Second month:
muscles relax and twitch
less
lifts head about 45 degrees
while lying on tummy
hands start to unfold
may reach and grasp an
object for a short time
eyes move in unison and
can track close moving
objects
may roll over one way

3. Third month:
stretches out arms and legs
rolls over from back to side
holds head up to search for
sounds and movement
discovers feet and hands
holds objects longer
swipes with arms
briefly bears weight on legs
responds to
detailed, high-contrast
objects
cuts first tooth (3rd to 6th
month or later)
Fourth month:
stands up and holds weight
with help
rolls from front to side
lifts head about 90 degrees
sits with arms propped
reaches for objects
holds hands together

4. Fifth month:
rolls over from front to back
grabs toes and feet
wiggles forward on floor
reaches with a good aim
transfers objects from hand to
hand
Sixth month:
holds head steady
sits with back straight when
propped
grasps small objects and studies
them
rolls in both directions
understands that objects may be
hiding behind another

5.  Infants still take a nap in
the morning and
afternoon.
 They start to eat and
sleep at regular times.
 They eat three meals a
day and drink from
bottles at various times.
 They start using a cup
and a spoon to feed
themselves.
 Infants can sit alone.
 They crawl with their
stomach touching the
floor, and they creep on
their hands and knees.
By eight months, they can
reach for and hold
objects.

6.  They can pick up
objects with their
thumb and forefinger
and let objects go
(drop things).
 They start to throw
things. They pull up to
stand, they stand
holding onto furniture,
and they can walk
when led.
 By the time they are 12
months old, most
babies can weigh three
times what they
weighed at birth and
gain about an inch per
month in length.
 The average infant at
one year may be
between 26–30 inches
long.

7. INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT
 0-5 months
 Infants babble, coo
and gurgle.
 They study their hands
and feet. They turn to
locate the source of
sounds.
 Infants can focus on
and follow moving
objects with their eyes.
 They explore things
with their mouths.
 They put anything they
can hold into their
mouths.
 They cry in different
ways to express
hunger, anger and pain.
 They forget about
objects that they cannot
see.

8.  6 – 12 months
 Infants wave bye-bye
and play pat-a-cake.
 They respond to
simple directions.
 They look for things
not in sight.
 Infants make sounds
like "dada" and
"mama." They begin to
pretend by acting out
familiar activities.
 They make sounds that
can be understood by
people who know them
well.
 They repeat actions
that cause a response
such as when given a
rattle, they will shake it
and laugh.
 By 12 months, many
infants speak their first
understandable words.

9. SENSORY DEVELOPMENT
 Vision
is one of the least-developed senses at
birth. The American Optometric
Association reports that "babies learn to
see over a period of time, much like
they learn to walk and talk."
Focusing the eyes, moving them as
desired and using them together are
learned skills.
When a baby is born, his focal length is
roughly 8 to 10 inches from his face--
which is the location of mom's face
when the infant is nursing. The
American Optometric Association
explains that by 3 months of
age, babies begin to visually track
moving objects.


10.  Hearing develops
when the baby is still in
the womb. The New
York Times reports that
unlike vision, the
sense of hearing is
mature at birth. Infants
have distinct
preferences for certain
sounds. They startle at
sharp abrasive noises
and become soothed
at the sound of mom's
voice.

11.  Taste and Smell
 babies detect three
distinct tastes--
sweet, sour and bitter--
right after birth.
Curiously, infants are
unable to taste salt.
 UCLA psychology
researcher Phil Kellman
reports that infants will
drink just as much salt
water as fresh water.
 He speculates that salt
receptors on the tongue
are not developed until
the baby is 4 months old.
 The sense of smell
develops largely after
birth, but babies
recognize certain
smells, such as their
mother's scent, within the
first week of life.

12.  Touch
 Sensitive to hot and
cold temperature
 Responds positively to
love, warmth and
security it percieves
when cuddle, held or
touch
 They are also sensitive
to pain.

13. TESTING
 According to the American
Speech-Language-Hearing
Association, as of 2010,
audio screening of a
newborn before he leaves
the hospital is becoming
more common.
 Without this initial screening,
hearing deficits are not
usually detected until about
14 months of age.
 Such undetected deficits
result in problems with
language development and
learning.
 Testing the vision of infants
under 3 years involves a
physical examination of the
eye and determining whether
the child's vision can fix on a
particular object and track it
when it is moving.
 Failure to develop this ability
by 3 months raises the
possibility of eye or brain
abnormalities. The American
Optometric Association
recommends having the first
eye exam at age 6 months.

14. COGNITIVE DEVELOMENT
 Piaget is a Swiss
psychologist
 His theory is similar to
Freud and Erikson
 Defined 4 stages
within each stage are
finer units or schemas.

15. It focuses on
development, rather
than learning per se, so
it does not address
learning of information or
specific behaviours.
4 stages
Sensorimotor
Preoperational thought
Concrete Operational
Thought
Formal Operational
Thought
 Primary means the
child’s own body.
 Circular reaction refers to
the repetitive behaviour.
 Secondary means
separates from the child’s
body.

16. Stage of Development Age Span Nursing Implications
Sensorimotor
Neonatal Reflex 1 month Behaviour entirely reflexive
Primary circular reaction 1-4 month Hand- mouth and ear eye
coordination, beginning of
intention is present, enjoys
sucking; activity: rattle
Secondary circular
reaction
4- 8 months Infant learns to recognize;
memory traces are present,
activity: mirror. Peek- a -
boo
Coordination of secondary
reactions
8-12 months
Can search for and retrieve
toys that disappear from
view. Infants experiences
separation anxiety. Toys:
colour boxes so
experimenting and learning

17. REFERENCES:
 Maternal and Child Health Nursing by Adele
Pillitteri, 2004
 http://www.bestchance.gov.bc.ca/you-and-your-baby-
0-6/baby-development/introduction-to-baby-
development/index.html
 http://www.livestrong.com/article/230620-sensory-
development-in-infants/#ixzz2QXbAIoRs
 http://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html#sthash.B
6tleWVX.dpuf
 http://urbanext.illinois.edu/babysitting/age-infant.html