Physical Milestones

Motor development is a result of

exploring the environment and
practicing each new skill, correcting
and adjusting technique until it is
mastered. The first physical
milestone is holding his head
upright and steady, which typically
happens around six weeks after
birth. By the end of infancy he
should be able to navigate stairs
with the help of an older child or
adult (Berk, 2012).
Language Milestones
Infant language consists first of
crying to alert caregivers that they
are uncomfortable in some way, and
then from one to three months they
will begin cooing and making
simple consonant articulations. By
about six months infants add vowels
to the consonant strings and begin
babbling. Multisyllabic words or
phrases are taxing on cognitive
resources. Therefore, holophrases,
which are one-word sentences, are
the toddlers primary way of
communicating his wants and needs
(Siegler & Alibali, 2005). Oneyear-olds will also begin pointing at
an object to direct an adults
attention toward something he wants
or needs (Berk, 2012).
Cognitive Milestones
Between eight and twelve months an
infant begins to understand the
concept of object permanence. If an
object or a person is removed from

his sight, the infant understands it

still exists and begins looking for it.
Also, infants develop the ability to
create mental representations of
situations or objects encountered in
the recent past and they demonstrate
these ideas by recalling and/or
recreating the event (Mossler,
2011).
Social-Emotional Milestones

Strategies for Families

When infants point to something

and a parent acknowledges the item,
children learning reciprocal
communication skills.

Using infant or child-directed

speech (CDS) is something many
cultures use when talking to babies
and toddlers. CDS is not a way to
teach language, but a way for adults
to speak to infants and children in
shorter, slower sentences with
higher pitch and exaggerated
expressions. This technique may
facilitate understanding and hold a
childs attention. The important
factor is just talking and
communicating with the child.
Particularly by the second year
when didactic communication
becomes instrumental to language
learning (Berk, 2012; Siegler &
Alibali, 2005). Families can
support language acquisition and
social-emotional development
through talking, singing, eye
contact, and reading to a child.
Narrating to the child while going
about daily tasks will enhance
vocabulary and expose him to
grammatical structures, while
playing finger games and peek-aboo will promote strong
attachments.

Cultural and Social Factors

Cultures that carry the infant on
their bodies all day produce strong
attachments, while cultures that put
the infant down encourage selfsoothing techniques.
Signs of Atypical Development
A disruption in the infants REMNREM sleep cycles may indicate a
higher risk of Sudden Infant Death
Syndrome (SIDS). In addition,
respiratory problems, low Apgar
scores, premature birth and low
birth weight have all been
associated with SIDS. As reflexive
actions decline and the infant
transitions to voluntary actions
around 2-4 months, neurological
weakness may prevent the infant
from developing the voluntary
responses, leaving him without a
defense against low oxygen supply
while sleeping.