Infants are defined as children from birth to 12 months old. During this time, infants are learning about their world through their senses and interactions. Their movements start as reflexes but develop into purposeful activities like grasping, rolling over, and sitting with support. By one year old, most infants can sit alone, crawl, pull themselves up, walk when led, and weigh three times their birth weight. Infants need a safe environment to explore with responsive adults who recognize and meet their individual needs through consistent nurturing care, routines, play, and social interaction.

1. WHAT IS INFANTS ?
INFANTS(from birth to 12 months)
anything in the first stage
of existence or progress.

2.  Infants are learning to anticipate events,
make sense of their worlds and
communicate their needs in these early
months of life. They learn through touch,
sight, sound, smell, and taste in
exploration of their everyday
environments, and through interactions
with adults and other children in
environments that are safe yet provide
sensory stimulation.

3. Newborns’
earliest
movements are
reflexive, but
they quickly
develop into
more purposely
activity.

4. •By the middle of the first year, babies are reaching
for and grasping objects, rolling over and sitting
up with support.
From birth-six months
•At birth, infants cannot control their body
movements. Most of their movements are reflexes.
Their nervous system is not fully developed.

5. Grasping object

6. Rolling over of babies

7. Sitting up with support.

8. • 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.
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.

9. Pencing grasp (holding objects with thumb and
forefingers

10. Crawling

11. Pulling themselves upright

12. Walking alone

13.  Infants need a safe, interesting and calm
place to explore and adults or other children
to play, interact and talk with them.
 Infants need responsive adults recognize
and meet their individual needs in a
consistent nurturing respectful manner.
 They provide daily routines that are tailored
to each child’s individual rhythm and needs
for care, food, sleep, play and social
interaction.

14. Special activities for infants might include:
 batting/grasping/kicking, use scarves, toys that roll
and mobiles;
 infant ‘peepo’, use net curtains, boxes, mirrors and
scarves;
 for pulling up, use towel rails attached to wall, steps
and couches;
 use an empty paddling pool to create a play pit, use
balls, washable scarves and ribbons; and
 a cosy quiet area, use pillows, curtains and soft toys
 sensory objects to touch, taste, shake, smell, bang,
push, prod, and look at

15. Children experience the world with
their whole being body, spirit,
energy, minds, hearts, compassion,
tears, laughter, anger, pride,
learning, understanding, love and soul.
Children play, grow and feel the world
around them’
(R Keeler, 2008)