Skills such as waving bye, turning or shaking head, pointing at objects, or looking in the mirror are called developmental milestones. Children reach milestones in how they play, learn, speak, behave, and move (crawling, walking, etc.) (Center for Disease Control and Prevention , 2014). Although babies and children develop at their own pace, these milestones provide a general ‘map” of development.
Case Study: Antonio
During the first month of life a child begins to develop their primary reflexes, including the sucking reflex (Pediatrics, 2014). The child makes jerky, quivering arm thrusts, moves his/her head side to side while laying down, makes a fist, and beings to bring hands close to eyes and mouth. Although their vision is the least mature of the sensory capacities, a newborn’s eyes will wander and occasionally cross (Pediatrics, 2014). Newborns can only see clearly between 8-12 inches, which is ideal for gazing into the eyes of their care provider when being held or fed. Newborns also prefer black and white or high contrast patterns and/or human faces. At this stage a newborn’s hearing is fully mature and they will recognize some sound. At this age a child will rapidly gain weight.
Antonio appeared to develop at a regular pace during the first month of his life. He was born via natural child birth and for the first month he slept 15 to 16 hours a day. He also liked to suck on his fingers, pacifier, and anything else that got close to his mouth. He cried when he was hungry or wet but his mother, Hilda was always there to change or feed him. This stage of development is referred to as the infancy stage, and goes from birth to 18 or 24 months.
At about 2 months a child usually begins to smile at people. She/he can briefly calm him/herself and try to look at their parent. Children at this age began to “coo” and make gurgling sounds and turn their heads toward sounds (Center for Disease Control and Prevention , 2014) . At six weeks Antonio was already at this stage of development. Antonio was familiar with Hilda’s voice. He would smile at her and turn his head whenever he heard her voice. He also would “coo” and laugh. Antonio was continuing to develop at a normal pace.
Between 4 and 6 months a child has several developmental milestones. At 4 months a child will began teething, which includes the physical development of being able to bring his/her hand to mouth. A child will also be able to hold their head steady without being supported and reach with their arms. Children at this age watch faces closely and as their vision continues to improve they recognize familiar people and things at a distance and follow things with eyes from side to side. A child will show emotions and let you know if he/she is happy or sad and he/she will also respond to affection. (Center for Disease Control and Prevention , 2014) A child will begin to babble as communication continues to develop at 4 months. These babbles will come with expression and copy sounds that the child hears. A child will also begin to cry in different ways to show hunger, pain, or being tired (Center for Disease Control and Prevention , 2014).
At 6 months a child continues pass through important communication and social/emotional development milestones. Children at this age know familiar faces and begin to know if someone is a stranger. They enjoy playing with others, especially their parents (Center for Disease Control and Prevention , 2014). Children at this stage respond to other people’s emotions (Center for Disease Control and Prevention , 2014). Language and communication develop as a child responds to sounds by making sounds. Children at 6 months string vowels together when babbling and like to make sounds to show joy and displeasure. (Center for Disease Control and Prevention , 2014) Hand and eye coordination also increases and a child is able to roll over in both directions, and sit without