Infancy and Early Childhood Development
Infancy and Early Childhood Development
Samantha Trudeau
PSY/375
June 27, 2011
Heather Harrison
Infancy and Early Childhood Development An infant’s brain is something quite similar to a blank video tape. During infancy the child records everything he or she sees and hears. The things that are recorded are stored for later use in life. The way that people behave with the infant as an individual and a family greatly impacts the development of the infant. It is for this reason that it is extremely important to raise children properly the first time around and to provide a safe and caring environment. After an infant is born the brain begins to go through developmental changes right away. The development that the brain goes through is caused by genes and the surroundings that the infant is born into and this begins his or her experiences. Experiences that an infant have can be divided into two different categories. The two categories of an infant’s experience are experience-expectant and experience-dependant. Experience-expectant is where the nervous system is expected to develop a particular manner. The right cognitive growth is reliant on the right environmental exposure. In order for the experience-expectant to be in the proper range of growth is there shouldn’t be any kind of fetal damage to the brain. For example, if an infant is exposed to light he or she should respond the way that is expected. This is called an expected cognitive response. On the other hand, experience-dependant is the learning of different things and new experiences that happen in life. This allows new brain growth and paired with constructive family environment, it can be the growth can be enhanced. Lack of either of these can greatly hinder a person both emotionally and cognitively. The parents are very important in the early stages of development for infant. If the parent of the infant raise the child in a neglectful environment, the infant will be likely
Samantha Trudeau
PSY/375
June 27, 2011
Heather Harrison
Infancy and Early Childhood Development An infant’s brain is something quite similar to a blank video tape. During infancy the child records everything he or she sees and hears. The things that are recorded are stored for later use in life. The way that people behave with the infant as an individual and a family greatly impacts the development of the infant. It is for this reason that it is extremely important to raise children properly the first time around and to provide a safe and caring environment. After an infant is born the brain begins to go through developmental changes right away. The development that the brain goes through is caused by genes and the surroundings that the infant is born into and this begins his or her experiences. Experiences that an infant have can be divided into two different categories. The two categories of an infant’s experience are experience-expectant and experience-dependant. Experience-expectant is where the nervous system is expected to develop a particular manner. The right cognitive growth is reliant on the right environmental exposure. In order for the experience-expectant to be in the proper range of growth is there shouldn’t be any kind of fetal damage to the brain. For example, if an infant is exposed to light he or she should respond the way that is expected. This is called an expected cognitive response. On the other hand, experience-dependant is the learning of different things and new experiences that happen in life. This allows new brain growth and paired with constructive family environment, it can be the growth can be enhanced. Lack of either of these can greatly hinder a person both emotionally and cognitively. The parents are very important in the early stages of development for infant. If the parent of the infant raise the child in a neglectful environment, the infant will be likely
References: Belsky, J. (2008). A Family Affair: Early Parenting. Retrieved from http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/family-affair/200809/early-parenting-matters Berger, K. S. (2008). The Developing Person Through the Life Span (7th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers. Livestrong. (2010). The Three Types of Parenting Styles. Retrieved from http://www.livestrong.com/article/76463-types-parentingstyles/ Seifert, K. (2004). Cognitive Development and the Education of Young Children. Retrieved from http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/-seifert/cogchapweb.html