Infancy Newsletter
Overview
Prenatal development and infancy are very crucial stages in the wellbeing of a human. Prenatal development has some stages that are very important in ensuring that the development objective in human life from infancy, if achieved as appropriate. There are three stages that a very crucial that have to be adhered to ensure that a positive development is enhanced. The three areas include the physical, cognitive and socioemotional stages (Goldstein, 2003).
Development can only be indicated when there is growth. When there is growth, one cannot talk of development. When talking about physical development, a number of areas come into focus. For instance the brain and motor skills are some of the areas that come into focus when elaborating on the issue of physical development (Santrock, 2007). The nutritional value is of critical value when it comes to the development agenda. In seeking to gain development in an infant, there must be a proper nutritional value to ensure there is a progressive development in an infant. Health is very important if an infant is to achieve the development status (Goldstein, 2003).
Cognitive development
Cognitive development has all to do with the infant’s ability to make sense of the information brought about by the sensory entities (Joanne, 2004). Under this stage, the infant is to develop ability to ensure that information can be processed, used and retained for future referring. In all the development stages of the cognitive ability, there must be learning about the various issues. At the cognitive level, three elements are intrinsic. Intuition, language development and symbolic functionalism are crucial to a large extent (Santrock, 2007). Language development marks the first stage towards ensuring that speech is developed. On the other hand, symbolic functionalism has all to do with the ability of an infant to think through a situation that is not foreseen. Consequently, intuition deals with being able to being able to ask even the irrelevant issues. All the three development stages ensure that there is development of cognitive ability to a greater extent (Goldstein, 2003).
Socioemotional development
An infant’s development from the time of inception is very critical. Research has shown that what happens to a child at an early age could adversely affect the wellbeing of the child at later stages of life. Childhood experiences are, therefore, considered to be key determinants of how one fares on in life in future endeavors. When a child has a mind that is flexible choreographed with social occurrences the resultant factor becomes steady emotional upbringing and an awareness of the gender. Every environment where a child is brought up is critical in ensuring that a child becomes emotionally mature (Santrock, 2007).
Attachment issues during infancy
Attachment issues are very crucial in the development of a child. It should be noted that the attachment has got nothing to do with feeding of offering playtime for the infant. At the development stage, attachment has all to do with the relationship an infant has with the person giving care. The essence of attachment is to bring about the essence of security to the baby. Through such initiatives, the baby is able to explore the world around with relative comfort. Constant reassurance and love for the infant is of critical importance since it makes the infant develop confidence (Santrock, 2007). Responding to the needs of the infant remains one of the single most crucial issues. Improving attachment between the infant and the person giving care requires proper strategy to ensure that the infant’s wellbeing is enhanced.
Tips on fostering healthy development
1. For an infant’s physical development, it is important that physical development be encouraged to a greater extent. Kids should be encouraged to take up sporting activities (Santrock, 2007).
2. In development of cognitive ability, there should be early learning to enhance the child’s motor skills and brain development (Joanne, 2004).
3. Socioemotional development can be enhanced by protecting the kids from undue influences either in the social life or in the social sphere. Kids should be protected from violent activities of family issues such as divorce or separation (Goldstein, 2003).
References:
Goldstein, A. (2003). Handbook of Psychology (Vol. 11). (1. St, Ed.) New York: Wiley
Joanne Hui-Tzu Wang. (2004). A Study on Gross Motor Skills of Preschool Children. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 19(1), 32-43.
Santrock, J. W. (2007). Child development. Boston: McGraw-Hill.
