Infant Development

Factors of Infant Development During the first year of life children’s brains form twice as many connections as adult brains do. The factors of infant development are quite numerous and complex. While the small things that infants do may seem insignificant, every movement and action is teaching them something about the world around them. The most prominent factors of child development are motivation, temperament, and attachment. These three factors are intertwined and without them infant development would not occur. Motivation is used to explain why children, or even people in general, do what they do. Humans, from birth, have an inborn motive to explore, understand, and control their environment. (Bojczyk, Shriner & Shriner, 2012).
This insight tells us a great deal about infants and motive behind their actions. This motivation is broken down even further into the specific means that infants use to express their motivation, sensorimotor. Piaget’s first developmental phase of sensorimotor says that infants learn through their five senses and through their increasing abilities to move about their environment. (Bojczyk, Shriner & Shriner, 2012). Infants especially are highly motivated to accomplish tasks that they set for themselves, such as getting toys that are out of reach. The motivation is the same for all infants. Temperament, however, varies quite a bit. Temperament is the individual differences in reactivity and self-regulation. (Bojczyk, Shriner & Shriner, 2012). Each child has a unique temperament all their own. This temperament plays a big role in how the motivation is displayed. Temperament, like motivation, is set at birth and manifests itself in infancy. Though all children have different temperaments, there are usually three categories that temperaments fall under, easy-to-warm-up, slow-to-warm-up, and difficult. Easy-to-warm-up, also known as flexible, is characterized by regular body functions, adaptability, curiosity, and moderate-to-low intensity of emotions. (Bojczyk, Shriner & Shriner, 2012). These children tend to be overlooked in group settings because they don’t require much attention. (Bojczyk, Shriner & Shriner, 2012). Those children who are slow-to-warm-up, or fearful, avoid new situations, are reluctant to engage in interactions with new people, and are resistant when confronted with new experiences. (Bojczyk, Shriner & Shriner, 2012). There are also children who fit into the difficult, or feisty, category and these children have intense and frequent negative moods. They cry often and loud and sleep and eat irregularly. (Bojczyk, Shriner & Shriner, 2012). These are the three most common categories but it is possible for some children to fall somewhere in between two of the categories. The last factor of infant development is very important because it requires interaction from parents and caregivers.
Attachment is the bond that is developed between the infant and its parents and caregiver. (Bojczyk, Shriner & Shriner, 2012). There are four different types of attachment. What type each infant has is based on their temperament and the temperament of the adult involved. Secure attachment is marked by a pattern of protesting behaviors when the caregiver leaves and actively seeking out the caregiver upon his or her return. Avoidant attachment is a pattern of unresponsiveness to both the caregiver’s departure and return. Resistant attachment involves a child who is markedly anxious before the caregiver leaves and is extremely upset during his or her absence. Disorganized attachment is when a child, having been separated from his or her caregiver, shows contradictory behaviors upon the caregiver’s return. (Bojczyk, Shriner & Shriner, 2012). These types of attachment are ultimately formed during the stages of attachment which last for three years. During these steps of attachment, children who are between eight and eighteen months are in the clear-cut attachment phase and in this phase, separation anxiety is prevalent. However, it doesn’t last for long because children from eighteen months to two years are learning to form a reciprocal relationship. (Bojczyk, Shriner & Shriner, 2012). This reciprocal relationship allows them to begin to understand a daily routine and the process by which their parents come and go throughout the day. (Bojczyk, Shriner & Shriner, 2012). Attachment has a negative connotation but it is a necessity for raising healthy
children. Children are learning twice as much as adults each day. They are using the world around them and their natural motivation to explore to learn how to live in our world. Motivation, temperament, and attachment all play off each other as infants grow and learn. Each of these is a necessary factor for infants to develop into healthy, well-adjusted individuals.
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References
Bojczyk, K. E., Shriner, B., & Shriner, M. (2012). Supporting children\\ 's socialization: A developmental approach. Bridgepoint Education, Inc.