Desarrollo Infantil: Motor, Emocional, Social, Cognitivo y Sensorial

Infant physiological development is a complex process involving various aspects of growth and maturation. The following sections will discuss the major areas of infant development: motor development, emotional development, social development, cognitive development, and sensory development.

Motor Development

Motor development includes gross motor (large muscle movements) and fine motor (small muscle movements) skills. Gross motor skills like crawling, walking, running, and jumping develop from birth to age 6. Fine motor skills, such as grasping small objects or using utensils, mature more slowly and continue to improve until school age.

Emotional Development

Emotional development refers to an individual's ability to regulate emotions and form attachments with others. From birth to six months, babies primarily experience the three primary emotions: joy, sadness, and anger. By six months they begin to feel more complex emotions such as shame and guilt. Additionally, during this stage children learn to recognize their own emotions and respond appropriately to them.

Social Development

Social development involves learning how to interact with others, including understanding social cues, sharing, and taking turns. In early childhood, children often imitate others and enjoy playing alongside other children rather than directly with them. As they grow older, their social skills become more advanced, helping them build friendships and navigate group situations.

Cognitive Development

Cognitive development encompasses perceptual, linguistic, problem solving, memory, and critical thinking abilities. During the first year, infants can recognize familiar faces and follow people around rooms. They also start to understand symbolic concepts like "more" and "less." Between one and two years old, children may start to show interest in puzzles and games that require simple problem solving. From ages two to five, children learn to speak fluently, remember what they have learned, and engage in simple forms of mathematical reasoning.

Sensory Development

Sensory development refers to the maturation of an individual's senses, including vision, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. Babies rely heavily on their sense of touch initially, later developing perception through sight and sound. Research has shown that these senses all overlap, suggesting that there might be no single "pure" sense. A child's sensitivity to different stimuli varies throughout his or her lifetime, depending on factors like developmental progression and environmental influences.