Infancy Flashcards
(91 cards)
1
Q
A healthy birthweight for an infant is typically…..
A
5 - 8 pounds
2
Q
What percentage of body weight does an infant lose in its first few days of life?
A
5 percent
3
Q
True or False: Infants experience exponential growth in their weight as they grow up to age 2
A
True. By the time an infant is 4 months old, their body weight has doubled. By one year, that weight has tripled and then quadrupled by the time they reach 2.
4
Q
How are a baby’s measurements of growth expressed and what do they mean?
A
- A baby’s measurements are expressed in percentiles.
- Is a comparison of the baby’s weight to other babies that are the same age.
- Ex. If a baby is in the 50 percentile, then that means that 50% percent of babies weigh less than them and 50% weigh more than them.
5
Q
What is a sign that a baby could be in failure to thrive?
A
When their weight dramatically decreases in the percentiles. Ex. A bay goes from the 50th percentile to the 20th.
6
Q
What % of length does the head make up in the womb? How does that % change at birth?
A
50% in the womb. It decreases to 25% at birth.
7
Q
What % of weight is an infant’s brain in comparison to an adult brain? What happens to this percentage as the infant grows up?
A
25%. It increases.
8
Q
What is transient exuberance in an infant’s development?
A
It is a period of temporary rapid growth of dendrites in the brain up until age 2.
9
Q
What happens after transient exuberance?
A
The child’s brain prunes (eliminates) any neural connections that are not used.
10
Q
What area of the brain does transient exuberance and pruning occur?
A
Cortex
11
Q
What other part of the neuron develops during infancy that helps in enhancing the building of neural connections?
A
Myelin
12
Q
What reflexes do infants have that are necessary for survival? (Hint: there are 4)
A
- Breathing Reflex (Thrashing, hiccups, and and sneezing)
- Temperature Regulating Reflexes (Crying, Shivering, Pushing away blankets, etc)
- Sucking Reflex
- Rooting Reflex (Turning towards any object that touches its cheek).
13
Q
What reflexes do infants have that are not necessary for survival? (Hint: there are
A
- Babinski reflex (toes fan upward when feet are stroked)
- Stepping reflex (Babies move their legs as if to walk when feet touch a flat surface)
- Palmer grasp (Infant will tightly grasp any object placed in its palm)
- Moro reflex (Babies fling their arms when they hear a loud noise)
14
Q
Why is it important to check on reflexes that are not necessary for survival?
A
They help signify the state of the brain and bodily functions.
15
Q
What happens to an infant’s reflexes as they get older?
A
The reflexes disappear and are replaced with voluntary movements or motor skills.
16
Q
In what two directions does motor development in an infant occur?
A
Cephalocaudal (from head-down) and proximodistal (from center-out)
17
Q
What are some examples of developmental milestones that an infant should achieve? (Hint: there are two)
A
Holding up its head and sitting alone
18
Q
At what age are babies able to hold up their heads on average?
A
6 weeks
19
Q
90% of babies can hold up their heads between _ weeks and _ months old
A
3 weeks and 4 months old
20
Q
What is the difference between fine and gross motor skills?
A
Gross motor skills involve the use of large muscle groups while fine motor skills involve the use of small muscle groups.
21
Q
What are some examples of gross motor skills?
A
- Moving their chin up when lying down on their stomach
- Moving their chest up
- Rocking back and forth on hands and knees
22
Q
What are some examples of fine motor skills?
A
- Writing with a pencil
- Using a spoon
- Grasping a toy
23
Q
What is sensation?
A
The interaction of information with sensory receptors
24
Q
What is perception?
A
The process of interpreting what is sensed
25
Which sense is the most poorly developed at birth?
Vision
26
True or False: An infant will prefer a stranger's voice over their mother's
False. An infant listens more closely to their mother's voice.
27
True or False: An infant can distinguish between very similar sounds
True. An infant can perform this task as early as one month
28
What are some things that circumcision can help prevent?
(There are three)
Urinary tract infections, penile cancer, and some STDs
29
What are some benefits of gentle touch for infants?
Gentle touch helps infants learn about the world, bond with their caregivers, and communicate their needs and wants.
30
True or False. An infant prefers the odor of their mother over others
True
31
True or False: Newborns cannot distinguish between sour, bitter, sweet, and salty flavors
False
32
What will happen when an infant is placed on their mother's chest?
They will inch up to their mother's breasts.
33
What is the milk produced during pregnancy and after birth?
Colostrum
34
What is the benefit of colostrum?
It is packed with nutrients that help the baby build up its immune system
35
How does breastfeeding benefit brain development?
Breast milk contains fat that infants need to produce myelin in their brains. It also contains other nutrients that the immature brain needs to grow.
36
What are the observed health benefits for children who are breastfed?
- Lower rates of childhood leukemia, asthma, obesity, type 1 and 2 diabetes, and a lower risk of SIDS.
37
What are the observed health benefits of mothers who breastfeed?
Lower risk of developing breast cancer, ovarian cancer, type 2 diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis.
38
True or False: There is a lot of support for women who breastfeed outside of the hospital in the US
False. Many workplaces do not support breastfeeding and public support for it is not too high.
39
When should solid foods be introduced to an infant's diet?
After six months while accompanied by breastmilk
40
What foods should be avoided for infants? (There are five of them)
Salt, sugar, processed meat, juices, and canned foods.
41
What is milk anemia?
A condition in which milk consumption leads to a lack of iron in the diet
42
What three things does the WHO recommend regarding breastfeeding?
- Initiate breastfeeding within one hour of birth
- Exclusively breastfeed your infant for the first six months
- Introduce solid foods after six months with continued breastfeeding up until two years of age.
43
What are the two major types of malnutrition that a child can experience?
Infantile marasmus and kwashiorkor
44
What is infantile marasmus?
Starvation due to lack of calories and protein
45
What is kwashiorkor?
Loss of appetite and swelling of the abdomen caused by a lack of protein in the diet.
46
What is another name for kwashiorkor?
The disease of the displaced child. It is named this because this disease often occurs after another child has been born and has taken over breastfeeding.
47
What is the leading cause of death in infants 0 - 12 months?
SIDS (Sudden infant death syndrome)
48
What are some ways that a parent can provide a safe sleeping environment for infants? (four things)
- ALWAYS place the child on their back whenever they sleep
- Keep the crib bare
- Share a bedroom with parents but not the same sleeping surface
- Avoid infant's exposure to alcohol, smoke, or illicit drugs
49
What are some risk factors for SIDS?
- Low birth weight
- Siblings who have had SIDS
- Sleep apnea
- African American or Inuit descent
- Low socioeconomic status
- Smoking in the home
50
What are the first stages of cognitive development called according to Piaget?
Sensorimotor intelligence
51
What are the six substages of sensorimotor intelligence?
1. Reflexes (Birth - 6 weeks)
2. Primary circular reactions (6 weeks - 4 months)
3. Secondary circular reactions (4 months-8 months)
4. Coordination of Secondary Circular reactions (8 months-12 months)
5. Tertiary Circular reactions (12 months-18 months)
6. Mental Representations (18 months-2 years)
52
What do infants in substage 1 do?
The infants use automatic reflexes to learn about their environment. Ex. They lick or suck anything that touches their cheek.
53
What do infants in substage 2 do?
They replace their reflexes with voluntary movements. infants will learn new behaviors by engaging in them accidentally and then doing it again and again.
54
What do infants in substage 3 do?
Infants will perform repeated actions to receive a favorable response from the environment. Ex. Shake a rattle and laugh
55
What do infants in substage 4 do?
Infants develop more goal-directed behavior and object permanence.
56
What do infants in substage 5 do?
Infants become "little scientists" by using trial-and-error methods to make sense of the world around them.
57
What do infants in substage 6 do?
Infants use mental strategies to do things like remember something said before, engage in pretend play, and find objects that are out of their sight.
58
What are holophrases?
One-word expressions that infants use. Shorter than actual words. Ex. An infant may say ju for juice
59
What are underextensions?
Words that an infant may use for only one particular object (does not know that a label can extend to more than just that one object).
60
True or False. The type of words that a child speaks first is universal throughout the world
False. Culture plays a role in the kinds of words that a child may learn first. Children in the US learn to speak nouns first while Chinese children learn to speak verbs first.
61
What is naming explosion?
Period of rapid language growth that takes place between ages 1-2.
62
What does Chomsky's nativism theory say causes infants to develop language?
Nativism states that infants are naturally equipped to learn language thanks to a language acquisition device (LAD) located in their brains. Infants will develop language as long as they are exposed to it.
63
What does BF Skinner's reinforcement theory say causes infants to develop language?
Reinforcement theory states that language develops thanks to reinforcement (attention, words of praise, etc) that will encourage an infant to repeat the behavior. By repeating language, associations in the infant's brains strengthen which causes them to learn language faster.
64
What does the social pragmatic theory say causes infants to develop language?
Social pragmatic theory states that infants develop language because of their primitive need for connection with others. They do their best to master words and grammar to join the social world.
65
What two emotional responses do infants exhibit at birth?
Attraction and withdrawal
66
What is social smiling?
An event where infants respond with smiles to those who engage in their positive attention
67
What is stranger wariness?
An infant's ability to separate people they know from people that they don't know
68
Separation anxiety
The fear that infants experience when their caregiver leaves them
69
When does separation anxiety first start? When does it peak?
It starts when infants are 7-8 months old and peaks around 14 months
70
What does stranger wariness and separation anxiety represent?
They represent cognitive advances and growing social/emotional bonds between infant and caregiver
71
What are the two components of emotional regulation?
Emotions as regulating and emotions as regulated
72
What is "emotions as regulating"?
These are changes that are elicited by activated emotions. Ex. Sadness in a child eliciting a change in the parent's response
73
What is "emotions as regulated"?
Activated emotion is changed by deliberate actions taken by the self (ex. self-soothing) or others (ex. comfort)
74
What is the most common technique for testing self-awareness in infants?
Rouge Test
75
When does self-awareness develop in infants?
15 - 24 months
76
What are the four types of attachment styles?
Secure, avoidant, resistant, and disorganized
77
What does a secure attachment look like?
Infants feel secure enough to explore their surroundings with their parents nearby. They feel distressed when their caregiver leaves the room and happy when they return. Often seen in kids who have a caregiver that is sensitive and responsive to their needs.
78
What does an avoidant attachment look like?
The child is unresponsive to the parent and does not care if the parent leaves. When the parent returns, the child is slow to show a positive reaction. Often seen in children who have insensitive and inattentive caregivers.
79
What does a resistant attachment look like?
Children show clingy behavior but then reject the caregiver's attempts to interact with them. They get disturbed and angry when their parent leaves and are not easy to comfort when they return. Is seen often in kids who caregivers are inconsistent with how responsive they are.
80
What does a disorganized attachment look like?
Child behaves oddly when caregiver is around. They may freeze or run away from their caregiver returns. Is seen most often in kids who are abused or severely neglected.
81
What does the caregiver sensitivity hypothesis state?
It states that differences in infant's attachment styles are dependent on the mother's behavior during development.
82
What is the difference between temperament and personality?
Personality traits are learned while temperament is genetic
83
What are the nine dimensions of temperament?
- Activity level (Are they more active or inactive?)
- Regularity (How predictable is the child with their sleeping, eating, and eliminating patterns?)
- Approach-Withdrawl (Does the child react positively or negatively to new situations?)
- Adaptability (How well does a child adapt to unfamiliar circumstances?)
- Responsiveness (Does it take a small or large amount of stimulation to elicit a response?)
- Reaction Intensity (Does the child show low or high energy when reacting to stimuli?)
- Mood Quality (Is the child normally happy or unhappy?)
- Distractibility (Is a child's attention easily diverted by external stimuli?)
- Persistence/Attention span (How long will a child contineu an activity despite difficulty and how long can a child maintain interst in an activity?)
84
What are easy babies defined as?
Infants that are positive, adaptable, curious about new situations, and have moderate or low intensity emotions.
85
What are difficult babies defined as?
Infants who have more negative moods and are slow to adapt to new situations
86
What are slow to warm babies defined as?
Infants who are inactive, negative, and withdrawn from new situations
87
What are undifferiented babies defined as?
Infants who show a variety of combinations of characteristics
88
What is goodness of fit?
The interaction between a child's characteristics and their physical and social environment.
89
How can knowing about different temperaments help caregivers?
It can help caregivers interact with their child more efficiently because the caregiver will understand better what their child's needs are and how their child's "negative" traits can serve them well in other situations.
90
What is the first stage of Erikson's developmental theory that infants go through? What does it mean?
Trust vs. Mistrust. It means that the child will be dictating whether or not the world is a safe place based on how well their caregiver attends to their needs.
91
What is the second stage of Erikson's theory that toddlers go through?
Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt. Toddlers are concerned with being more independent as they explore their surroundings and test the limits of what can be said and done. Caregivers should allow their child to learn by doing but still keep them safe.
