Physical development in infants between 0 and 36 months is essential for their emotional, social, and cognitive health. Characterized by increase in length and weight, enhancing motor skills, and increasing maturation of senses, infant physical development lays a vital foundation on the functioning of the child from childhood, adolescent, and beyond the early adulthood stages of life. In scientific and cultural contexts universally, well-fed and healthy babies are easily identified by their increasing weight gain, developing muscle control and strength, and independent walking by age two (Gross, 201 9) The three videos provided show the extent to which children of varying ages between 8 and 30 months exhibit physical development and how the latter affects their motor skills and senses. The children under study are Taylor (8 months), Ernesto (18 months), and Catherine (30 months) in a controlled setting where they show their motor skills and senses freely without prior knowledge they are under investigation. Therefore, the outcomes are non-biased and free from interference by factors such as changed behavior in experiment subjects because of prior knowledge that they are being observed. Using the short notes noted down from the videos, the physical and motor development of each child are well-identified and are sufficient for the report’s completion.
Typical Physical and Motor Skills Development
Infants of different stages develop in different ways, albeit with increasing maturation of senses and motor skills, and increased weight and length. Ideally, a typical child aged 8 months old should weigh 14.2lbs and be 29 inches in length and at18 months, the infant should be 34.75 inches long and 17.7lbs heavy. Finally, at 30 months, the child should be 38.75 inches long and should have an average weight of approximately 20.25lbs. Overweight and underweight children of non-normal lengths tend to indicate the need for urgent or moderate medical intervention because they experience delayed milestones that, under severe circumstances, derail their cognitive and physical functioning in early childhood beyond the infancy stage or adolescence ( Gross, 2019 ). Furthermore, a typical infant of between ages 8 and 30 months old should have fully developed senses, in that the child can differentiate sounds, tastes, visual objects, smells, and objects smoothness or roughness by touch ( Gross, 2019 ).
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Further, an infant’s gross motor skill develops in stages. For instance, at 8 months old, the child’s gross motor skills should comprise head control, upper body control, rolling, rolling over, independent sitting, and for some infants, crawling ( Gross, 2019 ). At 18 months, the child must be able to climb or crawl up and down stairs, pull themselves up to a standing position, and properly adjust their bodies while in motion ( Gross, 2019 ). At 30 months, the infant must be able to run, hop, and gallop. Further, the infant’s gross motor skills must progress accordingly as the child develops from one stage of infancy to another (Gross, 2019) . At 8 months, the child’s fine motor skills should include extending of arms to reach nearby objects, examination of held objects, targeted movements, and grasping of objects using hands. The infant’s fine motor skills continue to develop, and at 18 months the typical infant should be able to transfer objects from one hand to another, perform complex actions, such as drawing, and scribbling ( Gross, 2019 ). At 30 months, the child’s fine motor skills must be fully developed. Therefore, the infant must be able to attain typical weight, length, fine and gross motor skills, and senses according to the milestones explained above ( Gross, 2019 ).
Analysis of each Infant
Taylor, 8 months
Taylor is an 8-month-old infant who weighs 20lbs and is 30 inches long. According to the typical development progress, Taylor’s weight is on the 75 th percentile and her height is on the 95 th percentile. Therefore, Taylor is taller than other infants of her age. From the video analysis, Taylor’s senses are fully developed. For instance, Taylor easily identifies bright objects placed on the floor based on her preference to pick them up instead of other objects around her (00:00:26). Additionally, Taylor’s hearing is exhibited by her turning of the head towards sources of noise and the shaking of rattles up and down to produce music (00:00:26). Taylor’s sense of taste is evidenced in her staring at food when the caregiver puts it aside temporarily and the wide opening of the mouth to feed , a sign that she finds the food tasty (00:17:25). However, the video does not show any evidence that Taylor can smell objects or the atmosphere around her. However, at her age, Taylor’s sense of smell is fully developed because the sense is often developed in infants from birth.
Taylor has attained fine motor skills as expected of her age. For instance, Taylor can sit without support (00:00:06). Additionally, Taylor can reach for objects and grasp them in her hands (00:00:08). Taylor can also pass objects from one hand to another as well as move them up and down (00:00:26). Further, Taylor’s gross motor skills according to the video include supporting the head while seated (00:01:27), pulling herself up to a standing position (00:02:47), turning her head from side to side (00:05:35), and fanning out her toes when placed in a standing posture (00:14:58). Finally, when placed on her stomach, Taylor can support herself using the middle part of her body (00:46:41). Therefore, Taylor’s has achieved all the milestones of a typical 8 months old child in terms of senses, fine and gross motor skills, and length. However, based on her weight, Taylor is above the typical percentile range and can be termed as overweight.
Ernesto (18 months)
Ernesto has achieved all the typical milestones of an infant his age based on his weight, height, fine and gross motor skills, and exhibited senses. Ernesto’s weight is on the 25 th percentile and height is at 50 th percentile implying that Ernesto’s development is normal. Ernesto’s hearing sense is seen in his movement of head towards a source of noise (00:28:37) and his sense of sight is evinced in his facilitated gaze at the objects and people around the experiment room (00:01:14). Ernesto can also touch objects (00:01:11) and taste food and drink (00:09:39). However, the video does not provide any details to prove the development capacity of Ernesto’s sense of smell. Ernest’s motor skills have developed to their expected levels at 18 months. For instance, the infant above can stand without support (00:00:05), walk around a room (00:00:06), grasp objects with his hands (00:00:20), and bend to pick objects from the floor (00:00:36).
Further, Ernesto can interchange objects from one hand to another (00:00:52), balance his body on one foot (00:03:25), pull objects in higher positions (00:03:51), rub his eyes (00:04:43), sit down without support (00:04:47). Ernesto can also bend his head backwards and forwards when seated (00:05:59), shift from side to side when seated on the floor (00:06:24), turn around, clap his hands (00:05:51), and point objects using his fingers (00:06:09). Further, Ernesto can crawl (00:06:35), lie on his back by himself (00:06:46), kick light objects (00:07:11), and lift objects when seated on the floor (00:09:34). Finally, Ernesto can sustain a kneeling posture (00:09:51), cross his legs (00:10:56), climb stairs (00:11:36), and squat (00:13:33). Therefore, Ernesto appears to have achieved all the development milestones of an 18 months old infant as expected and evidenced in the examples above. The senses, physical growth, and motor skills of Ernesto correlate with that discussed by Gross in the book Infancy: Development from birth to age 3 .
Catherine (30 months)
Catherine is a 30-month-old infant who has also achieved all the motor and physical stages of children her age. For instance, Catherine’s weight is on the 25th percentile while her height is on the 75 th percentile indicating that she is developing normally. Catherine’s senses are also fully developed as evidenced in the shared video. For instance, Catherine occasionally stares around the room and at the book in her hand (00:01:23). Additionally, Catherine can hear sounds from other sources and fixes her face on the source of noise (00:12:56). Moreover, Catherine can touch objects as evidenced by the grasp of a book by her hand (00:01:26). However, the video does not document Catherine sense of smell and taste.
Catherine’s motor skills are also fully developed as evidenced by the video. For instance, Catherine can sit unsupported (00:00:30), turn her head around (00:00:32), and turn around when seated (00:00:32). Furthermore, Catherine can kneel (00:00:32), extend her hands to reach out for objects (00:00:44), lift light objects (00:00:44), and roll on the ground (00:00:48). Further, Catherine can lift her legs when lying on her back (00:01:16), use her hands to flip the pages of a book (00:02:14), Can turn her body around while sustaining the seated posture (00:00:32), lift light objects while lying down on her back (00:00:57), support her head while lying on her stomach (00:02:09), and use her fingers to rub her face (00:02:22). Moreover, Catherine can bend knees upwards while on her stomach (00:02:38), move hands across the floor when lying on the stomach (00:02:43), push light objects with her back (00:03:11), bend ankle forwards and backwards (00:03:23), and push herself forwards and backwards while seated (00:03:29). Therefore, the video evidences that Catherine has attained all the physical and motor development stages as is predicted by Gross in Infancy: Development from birth to age 3
Application
In the videos, the infants exhibit their increasingly advanced motor and physical skills as they interact with their caregivers. For instance, Taylor sustains a facilitated gaze at the caregiver when she shifts her attention from feeding her to another child (00:14:17) and stares at the caregiver when her name is called out. Taylor also smiles in response to her caregiver’s touch and flexes her feet when placed on the ground by the caregiver. Finally, Taylor occasionally stares at other children playing and rolls on the ground when the caregiver places her on the floor (00:07:02). Taylor’s senses and motor skills do not vary when alone and when with her caregiver. Instead, the infant reacts in a similar manner when alone and when being held by the caregiver. Similarly, Ernesto stares at other children playing around the room and pulls away when they appear to irritate him. Ernesto also eats by himself when placed in a group of other children and stares at the caregiver when she talks to him. Outside, Ernesto scoops sand with his fingers and can dig out dirt using light plastic toys. Ernesto’s motor skills appear to be more pronounced when he interacts with outsiders, such as other children and the caregiver. For instance, before, Ernesto did not show the capacity for scooping items using his hands. However, when left outside, Ernesto performs the above activity effortlessly. Finally, Catherine is receptive of the caregiver and snuggles up to her when she is held. Outside, Catherine runs around and plays with other children by pushing a toy car with her hands. Catherine, just as Ernesto, appears to have more pronounced motor skills when interacting with other individuals, such as the children she plays with. For instance, Catherine only starts running when placed in an environment where other children run. The subject did not exhibit the running motor skill before interacting with other parties. Therefore, the children apply their physical and motor skills In different ways when interacting with other children and adults.
Conclusion
Infant physical development is primarily characterized by enhanced senses, weight, height, and motor skills. The videos discussed show infants in various developmental stages and the physical and motor milestones that every child should attain at their respective ages. The infants in the video are normal as they show the attainment of milestones as is expected of them. Additionally, the infants apply their motor skills and senses to interact with other individuals in the experiment room. Overall, the videos provided are very educative and show how children should develop between the ages of 8 and 30 months. Child development is an incremental process that enables the infant to move from performing simple functions using their fine and gross motor skills to engaging in complex activities, such as running and digging out dirt.
Reference
Gross, D. (2018). Infancy: Development from birth to age 3 . Rowman & Littlefield.
