Motor Development in Infants
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Motor development in young infants progresses in roughly three month intervals, with most normal babies following the same general patter of development (IndiaParenting, 2001). Motor development leads to muscle control, coordination, the ability to raise the head, to sit, to stand, and to walk, as well as manipulative abilities. This process cannot be hurried as it depends on several factors. Muscle development is a primary factor, as movements cannot be made without the necessary muscle development to support them. Motor development is also dependent on cognitive ability, since the infant needs to be able to process the complex series of events needed to make the movements happen; and the necessary brain development must have occurred to put all this together. The infant must also be motivated to use its motor skills, and for this the senses of vision and hearing must be developed sufficiently for the infant to see or hear things which will motivate it to turn towards, swing at, grab, or, later on, crawl to reach them. Each of these interacting systems needs to be at the right stage of development for motor development to take place. A particular motor skill cannot develop unless all these systems are acting in unison. As new motor skills develop, old ones are discarded (IndiaParenting, 2001). There is a gradual progression from clumsy, awkward, imprecise movements to more and more refined and controlled movements, well-coordinated and precise. Each new skill level
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nts develop object permanence (knowing objects still exist even though they are out of sight). This stimulates them to go and find things, hence to crawl if they are able (Bell, 2000). At this stage, they are also developing an increased attention span and sophisticated powers of reasoning which they will need to help them finding something they cannot see. Crawling consumes a lot of energy, so at this stage, the development of fine motor skills may slow down for a while, and sleep patterns may become disturbed. By this time, the infant will be able to clap its hands and wave, and will have learned to drop things. At 11 months, an infant will be able to take a few wobbly steps with support. Between 9 and 12 months a baby begins to assert some independence now that it can move independently, but this independent streak is mitigated by separation anxiety.
By the end of its first year, an infant will be much stronger and more muscular, will have developed some balance and coordination skills, and will start to learn fine motor movements. Within the next three months, it will be able to stand unaided, and will try to take a few steps. The infant will also be able to hold more than one object in its hand at the same time, mak
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Approximate Word count = 2276
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)
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