Periods of child development: infancy

In the period from birth to a year, the child’s body makes a tremendous breakthrough in development. A lump with randomly moving limbs and a “cosmic” unfocused gaze turns into a small person who independently moves in space and adequately responds to signals from the external environment.

What happens to the body?

During this year, bodily functions are formed almost completely. Another equally serious transformation will occur only at puberty.

During infancy, the body and physicality develop most actively. There is a synchronization of all systems: the gastrointestinal tract, the cardiovascular and endocrine systems, the sense organs and movement. At this age, we are not yet talking about the development of the emotional and cognitive systems – the body comes first.

In the same period, the main rhythms are laid and develop: heart rate, peristalsis, respiration. Further – more complex cycles: sleep and wakefulness, feeding, excretion.

The rhythms of all systems must line up in a harmonious system that will ensure the functioning of the body throughout life.

The child sets his own rhythm

All children are different, these differences are due to inherited characteristics, features of intrauterine development, the process of childbirth. Someone sleeps for a long time and deeply, someone often wakes up, someone needs to eat every 2 hours, and someone from the second month endures long breaks in feeding.

These are the baby’s natural rhythms that are important to consider. Responding to the needs of the baby, we help the child’s body to adjust the rhythm and work of internal systems.

In other words, if the baby asks for breasts often or goes into long sleeps during the day, it is best to respond to this need, if possible, and not impose your own feeding and sleeping regimen. Within a few months (or less), he will adjust to his normal rhythm, the breaks in feeding will increase, and the night’s sleep will be without frequent awakenings.

For independence, you need … close contact

Surprisingly, the more the child is close to the parent in childhood (in her arms, kissing her breast on demand, living with adults in the same room and constantly feeling their presence), the more independent she becomes in the future.

The need for an adult is extremely high in the first 6 months of life, and it must be satisfied. Otherwise, it may turn out that the unmet need will persist for many years, and it will be difficult for the child to get used to the absence of his mother when he goes to kindergarten or goes to his grandmother for a few days.

There is a myth saying that we will spoil the child by constantly carrying it in our arms, that he will get used to it and in the future it will be difficult to wean him. But the truth is exactly the opposite: if you give the child what he “asks” at the early stages, then he will develop faster and become autonomous.

Active physical contact with an adult in the early period is also extremely important for the development of the brain and higher mental functions. The body and motor skills are much better formed if the child constantly feels contact with the body of an adult, if the child is touched, hugged, pressed to himself.

The more bodily experience of sensations and joint movements, the faster and more complete the development of the psyche in the future.

How much should you eat, be in your arms, play and sleep?

As much as your child needs. It is impossible to give universal clear prescriptions: each child is unique, his needs for the frequency and quality of contact with an adult are also extremely individual. Someone needs to spend the whole day on their hands, while someone needs 4-5 hours.

And how to understand what he needs, you ask. After all, the child is not able to say what he wants?

1. First, the child can “say” only does it in his own way. He is crying. If something hurts or you want something, if you are scared or bored. Crying is a signal to an adult that his participation is needed.

The kid demands his own persistently and selfishly. Yes, he does not “think” that mom is tired or busy. He is fighting for himself, his development, his future. And he always asks for as much as he needs, no more. As soon as the need is satisfied, the child immediately calms down or falls asleep.

2. Secondly, a mother always knows what her child wants. In the first months of life, the bond between the child and the mother is very strong.

The problem of our time and culture is that young mothers do not trust their feelings, but look for “scientific” information in different sources. However, the most direct way to understand what your child needs is to listen to your feelings.

Very often, mothers experience anxiety if the baby cries. It is better to listen to this disturbing feeling, and not to drive it away from you, because the doctor said that everything is fine, just the child is “naughty”. But in infancy, children do not act up, much less ask for something consciously.

You can often hear: “He is cunning, cries until you approach him and sing a song.” He is not cunning at all, he needs a song to fall asleep and recover, because it’s scary to fall asleep without a mother. And fear steals the energy that can be used to form body systems.

Calm, only calm!

Here I would like to make an important remark. No need to worry about every incident with a child. It is important to be attentive to his needs and crying, but if it was not possible to calm the baby quickly and give him what he wants, then the tragedy did not happen.

Young children have a large “margin of safety”, and there will be no serious consequences from single “mistakes” of an adult. In the end, the psychological comfort of the mother, her sincere desire to communicate with the child and give him parental warmth, is the key to the normal development of a small organism.

Don’t rush baby

Age from birth to one year is associated with the development of the body. The attention of the parent should be directed specifically to bodily functions: he turned over, sat down, got up, crawled. Every stage of development is important.

Many want the child to walk as quickly as possible, so they put the baby in a walker as early as 6 months, not giving this child the opportunity to crawl a lot. But moving on all fours is one of the most important stages in the formation of not only motor skills, but also spatial and emotional functions. Ignoring this phase can lead to a distortion in the development of higher mental functions in the future.

Infancy is a period of complete dependence on an adult, and the more the presence of an adult in the life of a baby, the more independent he will become in the future. It’s too early to punish and encourage, to teach something, it’s enough just to be around, feed and carry in your arms.

The next post in this series, on child development ages 1-3, will be released on Sunday, October 3rd.