Infant Physical and Emotional Development

Study Notes

Infants begin by lifting their heads while lying on their front (1 month)
They then push themselves up and support themselves using their arms (2-4 months)
Rolling over (2-5 months)
Reaching for objects using their hands and arms (3-6 months)
Crawling on all fours without support (5-8 months)
Pulling themselves up (5-10 months)
Standing with support (5-10 months)
Walking while holding onto furniture for support (6-10 months)
Walking independently (10-14 months)
Running (11-15 months)

Infants recognize emotions in their mothers by 12 weeks
Infants recognize emotions in unfamiliar women by 15 weeks
Infants recognize emotions in their fathers by 18 weeks
Fear of strangers appears around 7 months
A understanding of mixed emotions unfolds around 18 months.
Emotional awareness and control improve with age (more evident by 18 months, and improved in 3 years old)
Children learn to express their emotions and those of others through communication by 18-24 months

Children develop an understanding of how to control their emotions between 3-6 years old.
Children can recognize different types of emotions such as pretend vs real from ages 6-11

Infants initially show no difference between familiar and unfamiliar people (0-1.2 months)
Distinguishing between familiar and unfamiliar people develops (1.2 – 2.7 months)
Strong attachments develop with significant people around 7 months
Self-sufficiency / independence with attachment grows around 2 years

Newborns rely on reflexes to understand their surroundings (0.1 months)
Infants repeat actions that generate pleasurable results (1 - 4 months)
Infants understand that objects continue to exist even when they are not visible (9 – 24 months)

In this stage, an understanding of tangible objects grows in parallel with creativity (2-7 years).
Development of logical thinking starts around 7 - 11 years of age
By 11 years, complex and sophisticated logical operations appear