Childhood Development: The Four Stages Of Growth And Development

Each stage of life is filled with unique areas of growth and development. It can be seen in the prenatal stage with the transformation from egg to fetus, and in the adolescent stage from child to teenager. No stage sees quite as much physical and cognitive development at such a fast pace, however, as infancy. The first two years of life are a time of extensive growth for infants as they experience rapid physical growth, development of motors skills, and sensory and perception skills.
There are a few physical aspects that experience a significant amount of growth during infancy. One such area that experiences a large amount of growth is an infant's size, which experiences a rapid transformation during the first two years of life. For instance,
When a baby is born, their brain is at 25% of its adult weight. Stunningly, by the time the infant reaches two years old, their brain is at 75% of its adult weight; that is a shocking amount of development in such a short period of time (Santrock, 2015, pg. 107). However, while great growth occurs in an infant's brain during this time, it does not occur all at once; some areas of the brain develop more quickly than others (Santrock, 2015, pg. 110). Furthermore, according to the neurocontructivist view, the brain's development is influenced by biological and environmental conditions, is malleable and context-dependent, and cognitive development is linked with brain development (Santrock, 2015,
The first way that motor skills present themselves is as reflexes. Reflexes describe the infant's basic, inherent responses to stimuli (Santrock, 2015, pg. 120). Examples of reflexes include: the rooting reflex, Moro reflex, coughing, and sneezing. Reflexes can fall away, as seen with the rooting and Moro reflexes, while others are persistent, as seen with coughing and sneezing. (Santrock, 2015, pg.121). The next stage in motor skill growth is the development of gross motor skills. Gross motor skills refer to large-muscle activities. Examples of gross motor skills include: moving arms and legs, crawling, and walking. Fine motor skills are the final stage of motor skill development; these are motor skills that require more deliberate, fine-tuned movements. These skills include grasping and any activity that requires finger dexterity (Santrock, 2015, pg. 124). While the development of motor skills can be a time of great excitement for the parent of an infant who is reaching milestones, there are also some signs to look out for that may indicate that one’s child is experiencing delayed development. According to Children's Therapy and Family Resource Center, there are some red flags to look out for in terms of development including: failure to meet milestones, flat head, stiff body, and failure to turn head to both sides. These symptoms may indicate that the baby