Infancy

Some things we might observe in this stage might be ... 

Physical

In infancy, motor skills will be developing,  with fine motor skills taking longer to develop than gross motor skills.  Strength will be increasing, and coordination/balance will be improving.  

Emotional

In very young infancy, babies are ‘reactive to physiological needs’ rather than being genuinely emotional, however by the age of about 12 months they begin to develop a sense of how they feel about things, and at approx 18 months they enter a stage often referred to as the ‘terrible two’s, becoming frustrated at times.  By this stage infants will enjoy physical affection and people joking with them and playing games.

Intellectual

Language skills develop quickly in infants, typically, by age 2, having a vocabulary of around 200 word.  He learns by listening and speaking to and with others.  Sensory awareness is also increasing quickly.

Social

Primary socialization is the main form of socialization at this stage, with the immediate family and close family friends being the main contacts that infants have.  Infants will initially tend to play alone, in isolation, then play develops into parallel play, and, by about 2 years, into collaborative play.

Cultural

Through primary socialization, infants learn about the expectations – the do’s and don’ts - of life.  He will be developing an awareness, although he may not even realise it, of the ‘patterns’ that make up his life, including family traditions or routines, and, by age 2 years, will be starting to develop a wider knowledge of things like religious practices, etc.
Created by Simon Watson.  April 2020.   
All images used under creative commons licenses.