Movement

Question 1

Goat vs. Human infants

Answer 1

o Goat can move at 3 days old. Babies cant. Us being late on certain milestones is for our advantage
o Motion and depth perception are tightly linked
o Stepping is actually a reflex. Can step at 3 days old. At 11 weeks old the stepping reflex is not as fluid as 3 days old. Baby hesitated. It is not as automatic. There is a slowing down curve for our reflexes

Question 2

What are the postnatal reflexes?

Answer 2

Blinking
babinski
grasping
moro
rooting 
stepping
sucking
swimming
tonic neck

Question 3

Blinking

Answer 3

Stimulation: flash of light/ puff of air
Response: closes eyes
permanent

Question 4

Babinski

Answer 4

Stimulation: sole of foot stroked
Response: twist foot in
Disappears 9-12 months

Question 5

Grasping

Answer 5

Stimulation: palms touched
Response: Grasp tightly
Weakens 3 months, disappears 1 year

Question 6

Moro

Answer 6

Stimulation: sudden stimulation
Response: startles
Disappears 3-4 months

Question 7

Rooting

Answer 7

Stimulation: side of mouth touched
Response: Turns, open mouth and begin to suck
Disappears 3-4 months

Question 8

Stepping

Answer 8

Stimulation: Held upright on a surface
Response: steps
Disappears 3-4 months

Question 9

Sucking

Answer 9

Stimulation: Object touching mouth
Response: suck automatically
Disappears 3-4 months

Question 10

Swimming

Answer 10

Stimulation: placed face down in water
Response: coordinated swimming
Disappears 6-7 months

Question 11

Tonic Neck

Answer 11

Stimulation: placed on back
Response: makes fist and turns head to right
Disappears 2 months

Question 12

What are the prenatal reflexes?

Answer 12

These are here at birth:
startle reflex, general movement, hiccups, isolated arm and leg movements, head retroflection, anteflexion, and rotation, hand-face contact, breathing movements, jaw opening, stretching, yawn, sucking, swallowing

Question 13

Why is it important for postnatal reflexes to disappear?

Answer 13

o So we can establish control over our bodies. Need conscious control to develop. Need to update system for movement.

Question 14

Postnatal Development of Coordinated Movement

Answer 14

Prone, lifts head - .5 mo
Rolls over - 2-5 mo, avg 2.5
Prone, chest up arm support - 2-4 mo, avg 3
Bears some weight on legs - 3-6 mo, avg 4
Sits w/o support - 5-7 mo, avg 5.5
Stands holding on - 5-10 mo, avg 6
Pulls self to stand - 6-10 mo, avg 7.5
Walks holding onto furniture - 7-13 mo, avg 9
Stands alone - 10-14, avg 11
Walks alone - 11-14, avg 12
Walks up steps - 14-23, avg 17

Question 15

Is crawling essential for walking? Why do some babies not learn to crawl?

Answer 15

o Crawling is not essential to being able to learn to walk. This generation babies sleep on their backs! Used to sleep on their belly. Bc of breathing issues. But sleeping on belly helps ab muscles develop. So they skip crawling. When babies sleep on their back they don’t learn to crawl?

Question 16

How do children learn walking?

Answer 16

♣ Crawling lets babies fall too, with walking they fall the same amount. However with walking they cover more distance per fall so its advantageous for them to learn to walk. They can travel further distances without extra costs.
♣ Free range movement (movement around a room as opposed to movement in a straight line) will help them walk bc it helps them navigate environment (walk up stairs, cross ledges…)
♣ A lot of exercise! When 1 yr old starts walking all they want to do is keep walking to practice.
♣ When crawling infants see the floor, when walking they see the room and an elevated height. Crawlers had to sit up occasionally to see the room.

Question 17

♣ Assume we pick 2 10mos, one walking and one not walking yet. Do their cognitive system work similarly?

Answer 17

• Their experiences of the world are different and they are processing different information. Different reactions to cliff experiments. Avoidance of the cliff with new walkers. Different learning curves. Makes sense that there are 2 different learning curves bc they are processing different visual information and perspective. So their cog systems are slightly different

Question 18

Motor skills and communication

Answer 18

• Motor skills at 1.5 yrs also predict communication skills at 3 yrs of age. However, communication at 1.5 yrs does not predict motor skills at 3.
o Avg age for awalking is 12 months. Avg age for first words is 12 months. So if they start walking at 14 months, their 1st words are at 14 months. When you walk away you need to be able to scream mommy!

Question 19

Does physical activity have social component?

Answer 19

Children (3 to 5 yos) are more likely to engage in one hour or more of daily physical activity:
- Parental support
- Parental rating of physical activity “highly” enjoyable
- Younger parents
Children (6-11 yos) are more likely to engage in physical activity:
- “Permissive” parents in contrast to “uninvolved” parents
Not only freedom but also approval

Question 20

Best intervention for memory?

Answer 20

• Moving your body!! Better than memory games.
• Physical exercise is a promising nonpharmaceutical intervention to prevent age-related cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases