The Stage Of Infancy: 0-2 Years

Social and emotional development begins by showing affection and becoming attached to parents or carers and becoming what we usually call ‘clingy’. Young children may become distressed when a parent leaves the room or is not in sight. Slightly older children may demand attention and use tantrums to get their own way. They will generally be easily distracted from unwanted behaviour.

Infants go through different developmental stages. It is a part of the human life cycle. The beginning stages of an infant’s life is the most developing (Payne & Issacs, 2012). One of the stages that infant go through is the Late Infancy Stage. During the Late Infancy Stage, infants between 7-9 months reach many different milestones. As the infant grows and becomes aware of their surrounding the more developed they become. Infants discover new things daily and it is important to support their growth. Late Infancy stage involves the gross motor, fine motor, oral- motor, cognitive language, personal and social

| By this age the child likes to begin to explore and they are able to respond to the simple directions that they are given, can group objects by category, are able to stack rings on pegs in the order of the size (big to small), able to recognize themselves when looking in the mirror and finally they still like imitating more complex adult actions for example housekeeping play.

| * More exploration and become very inquisitive due to the ability to move around independently. * Can distinguish between ‘you’ and ‘me’ and is aware of ‘mine’. * Memory is improved and able to remember past events, people, animals, objects etc. * Vocabulary is increased, able to say more complex words; from around 10 at 15 months to as many as 100 or more between 18 months to 2 years. * Begin to understand similar items and objects that belong together; crayon and paper; matching and fitting with simple puzzles.

During each stage of the life cycle, different physical, emotional, cognitive, social and cultural developments occur; In infancy, physical changes include learning to sit up, crawl and walk independently. At this stage, the infant will begin to look for attention from others

seen and provide a way that afterwards the child can then understand and be able to communicate what they have seen effectively. These skills are all very crucial in helping children and young people to learn and manage how to listen and understand different concepts. They can then have a chance to develop their own opinions and ideas to then be able to participate in different decision making and problem solving in appropriate ways. Babies are nonverbal so to begin with they use sounds and facial expressions to communicate to adults expressing themselves and their needs (e.g. smiling, cooing and gurgling). Toddlers then start to have a small understanding and can use words and gestures to make connections to people and be able to develop their knowledge and understanding

They will express themselves and communicate more with their face and body. Baby will be drawn to their own image in the mirror. Might start to learn how to comfort themselves. Baby will respond to other people's expressions of emotion.

The idea of attachment theory is that infants become attached to adults who are sensitive and responsive in social relationships with them, and who remain consistent caregivers for some months during the period of early six months to two/three years of age.

Their development in these first few months revolves around their increased understanding of their surroundings. This leads to their consequent displeasure when removed from a familiar setting. They recognise adults and sounds and now begin to react to a greater degree. They have favourite objects and show happiness around the people they recognise.

Their movement improves going from just leg kicking to rolling over and crawling, exploring their environment, showing an interest in objects and learning to play with soft toys . They will now see people as individuals, recognising different voices and faces, smiling and eager to make themselves heard. Eager to learn and develop attatchment they can show their emotions facial expressions and gestures. The development at this early stage is probably quicker than at any other time in a childs life, The first few years are so important in their progression into adulthood. Between 9 months and 18 months a child will develop an understanding of simple instructions and their vocabulary should begin with a few recognisable and simple words. They move on from crawling to walking and continuing to explore and learn from their surroundings. Their dexteroty increases, being able to scribble and hold onto things more precisely. They become curious and will often concentrate on things for short periods. A child at this age is still very self centered and will have many tantrums when they dont get their own

| * Identifies facial features and main body parts * Follows 2 step instructions * Points to named objects in pictures and books * Develops understanding of big and small * Begins to understand the concept of time at basic level (before and after,

During the first few months a child will learn eat,sleep,talk/make sounds. In the 1st year a child will learn the gross motor skill, which is the basic motion of When he/ she moves about pretty quickly by grabbing hold of furniture or other objects. They will also feel the need investigate objects around them. Anything that will either shake and bang will entertain them and keep them occupied for hours (L.C.C. 2015). During the first year they will also learn things like feeding themselves,beginning to scribble with a crayons or pens, covering and uncovering jars or boxes, tearing up paper and throwing it around, putting items into containers and taking them out again, turning rotating handles (eg. on a jack-in-the-box toy) and finally playing with items together eg keys or plastic plates and bowls to create different sounds.The child will be able to find hidden objects,manipulate items to get a response (shake a maraca, bang the bottom of a bucket. The child will be able to understand proper use for things as they watch you use things for example they will learn how a fork or spoon is used because you show them accordingly. As the child grows it will be able to indefinitely their name and there limbs

Attachments are formed in the very earliest months and years of life. These have a significant influence on emotional development as well as providing a template for the child as he or she grows into adulthood.

They now begin to walk if they have not already, and are exploring their surroundings more and more. During this year, children become more independent and even start to rebel against their parents by being defiant. In this time, toddlers are able to recognize themselves in the mirror as well as in pictures and videos. Setting a good example is important in this stage because children at this age like to copy and mimic everything that is done or said. At this point, children are able to say some words and phrases and have an understanding of many things and what is being said to them. This is the stage that is important to use gates and other proofing devices to prevent injuries. They try different things to see what kind of outcomes will come from doing so. Trial and error becomes a great problem solving strategy. Finally, from eighteen to 24 months of age, now trial and error is not necessary as they can think about and perceive events. At this age, communication is produced by gestures and small words. They learn to pretend (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011).

“As infants grows older, they form close and enduring emotional attachments with the important people in their lives”. Reference 1. This essay will discuss the developmental period of infancy. Infancy is categorised as the development stage of a human from birth to 2 years of age. Infancy is a time in the human life that involves rapid growth and extraordinary changes in the first two years of life. Infants not only grow dramatically physically, their brains develop, and there is the start of locomotor skill development as well as the start of reflexes and sensory growth. The essay will also discuss anxiety and the role it plays with infants in regards to physical, cognitive and psychosocial stages an infant experiences. This essay will argue that the attachment of an infant to its mother is highly important. It will discuss the different way in which attachment affects an infant. This essay will discuss typical development milsetones in the first year years of human life. It will then go to analysis the relationship between infants being in day care or at home with their mother. T The typical physical development of a babys starts at borth. When a Baby is born on average it will weigh 3.4 kilograms and measure to be around 51 centimeters. A baby is typically 25 percent of its final adult weight when it is born but by its