PHYSICAL
DEVELOPMENT OF
INFANTS AND
TODDLERS
CEPHALOCAUDAL
AND
PROXIMODISTAL
PATTERN
Cephalocaudal
trend is the
postnatal
growth from
conception to 5
months when
the head grows
more than the
body.
Proximodistal
trend is the pre-
natal growth
from 5 months
to birth when
the fetus grows
from the inside
of the body
outwards.
HEIGHT AND WEIGHT
• Its normal for newborn babies to
drop 5 to 10 percent of their
body weight within a couple of
weeks of birth. That is due to the
baby’s adjustment to neonatal
feeding. Once they adjust to
sucking, swallowing and
digesting, they grow rapidly.
• Breastfed babies are typically
heavier than the bottle-fed
babies through the first six
months. After six months,
breastfed babies usually weigh
less than bottle-fed babies.
BRAIN DEVELOPMENT
• Myelination or
myelinization is the
process by which the
axons are covered and
insulated by layers of fat
cells, begins prenatally and
continues after birth.
• The process of
myelination increases the
speed at which
information travels
through the nervous
system.
MOTOR
DEVELOPMENT
Along this aspect of motor
development, infants and
toddlers begin from reflexes,
to gross motor skills and fine
motor skills.
REFLEXES
• Sucking Reflex
Initiated when something touches the
roof of an infant’s mouth. Infants have a strong
sucking reflex which helps to ensure they can latch
unto a bottle or breast.
• Rooting Reflex
Most evident when an infant’s cheek is
stroked. The baby responds by turning his or her
head in the direction of the touch and opening their
mouth for feeding.
• Gripping Reflex
Babies will grasp anything that is
placed in their palm. The strength of this grip is
strong, and most babies can support their entire
weight in their grip.
• Curling Reflex
When the inner sole of a baby’s foot
is stroked, the infant respond by curling his or
her toes. When the outer sole of a baby’s foot is
stroked, the infant will respond by spreading out
their toes.
• Startle/Moro Reflex
Infants will respond to sudden
sounds or movements by throwing their arms
and legs out, and throwing their heads back.
Most infants will usually cry when startled and
proceed to pull their limbs into their bodies.
• Galant Reflex
Shown when an infant’s middle or
lower back is stroked next to the spinal cord. The
baby will respond by curving his or her body
toward the side which is being stroked.
• Tonic Neck Reflex
Demonstrated in infants who are
placed on their abdomens. Whichever side the
child’s head is facing, the limbs on that side will
straighten, while the opposite limbs will curl.
Gross Motor Skills
Fine Motor Skills
Fine motor skills, are skills
that involve a refined use of
the small muscles controlling
the hand, fingers, and thumb.
The development of these
skills allows one to be able to
complete tasks such as
writing, drawing, and
buttoning.
What are some research
findings regarding
newborn's visual
perceptions?
Can newborn see?
• The newborn’s vision is about 10 to 30 times lower
than normal adult vision.
• In an experiment conducted by Robert Fantz (1963
cited by santrock, 2002), it was found out that infants
preferred to look at patterns such as faces and
concentric circles rather than at color or brightness.
Can newborns hear?
• The sense of hearing in an infant develops much
before the birth of the baby. When in the womb, the
baby hears his/her mother's heartbeats, the
grumbling of his/her stomach, the mother's voice and
music.
Can newborns differentiate odors?
• In an experiment conducted by MacFarlane (1975)
"young infants who where breastfed showed a clear
preference for smelling their mother's breast pad
when they were 6 days old.
Can newborns feel pain? Do they respond
to touch?
• Babies do feel pain and they respond to touch.
Can newborns distinguish the different tastes?
• In a study conducted with babies only two hour old,
babies made different facial expressions when they
tasted sweet, sour and bitter solution.
Do infants relate information through several
senses? In short, are infants capable of
intermodal perception?
• Intermodal perception is the ability to relate,
connect and integrate information about two or
more sensory modalities such as vision and hearing.
• In a study conducted by Spelke and Owsley (1979), it
was found out that as early as at 3 ½ months old,
infants looked more at their mother when they also
heard her voice and longer their father when they
also heard his voice.