CH 5.3: Motor Development Flashcards
locomotion
moving about in the world
fine-motor vs gross-motor skills
fine: activities involving small muscle groups (grasping, holding)
gross: coordination of large muscle groups (walking, crawling)
5 common newborn reflexes
Babinski: a baby’s toes fan out when the sole of the foot is stroked from heel to toe
Palmer: baby grasps object placed in hand
Rooting: baby turns its head and opens its mouth when cheek is stroked
Sucking
Stepping
3 things reflexes do for babies
-prepare for new diet of life-sustaining milk
-protect from danger
-serves as foundation for larger motor activity
what do reflexes indicate about babies?
if their nervous system is working properly
most children can climb steps, walk backward and kick a ball by what age?
24 months
what can affect infant motor development?
climate, medical complications, massages
dynamic systems theory
…says that motor development involves many distinct skills reorganized multiple times to meet demands of tasks
what did Canada ban due to babies sustaining seious injuries from them?
infant walkers that support babies before they can walk on their own
why is it so hard for newborns to stay upright?
due to their cephalocaudal growth; they’re top heavy
after going through what period can infants better distribute their gravity?
“catching up” period: they put on a ton of weight quickly
what 2 cues do infants use to adjust their posture?
vision and an inner-ear mechanism
what key part of walking was proven to already have been developed in babies before they could walk?
alternate stepping motion
infants use what to judge if an area is suitable for walking?
perceptual factors
mastery of intricate motions requires what?
differentiation and integration
differentiation vs integration
diff: mastery of component skills
integ: combining component skills in proper sequence
when can infants successfully (but clumsily) reach for objects?
4 months
around what age do babies position their hands better to better grasp objects & with their thumbs?
7-8 months
when do babies start eating with a spoon?
12 months
do young babies prefer one hand over the other?
no
when does handedness develop and then become hard to reverse
preschool years; kindergarten
what determines handedness in children?
heredity and environment
big picture for locomotion and fine-motor skills for a baby’s first year of life
progress is RAPID
what was thought to affect a baby’s onset for walking but a study showed it didnt?
a restrictive environment (the babies secured to cradleboards still started walking at the same age as babies who weren’t kept on cradleboards
