Infancy (0-2years)

• Physical

  new-borns double their birth weight by 4-5 months and triple it by 12

  infants grow 4 inches and gain about 2.5kgs between 1+2 years old

  between their 2nd and 3rd birthday they gain another 2kgs and grow another 8cms
• What activities help with gross motor skills?

  3 months - supported sitting

  6 months - crawling games

  12 months - running + outdoor play

  18 months - playing catch

  2 years - obstacle courses
• what activities help with fine motor skills?

  3 months - encourage to reach for toys

  6 months - give a crayon

  12 months - turning pages in a book

  18 months - build a tower

  2 years - painting
• what are the 3 skills?

  gripping - strength in fingers + hands to hold an object firmly. eg holding rattle or spoon

  manipulation - movement of objects using fingers + hands such as turning + twisting eg playing musical instrument or building blocks

  hand-eye coordination - control eye movement + hand movement eg writing or doing a jigsaw
• what is the palmer grasp?

  first grasp to develop

  bringing the fingers towards the palm, allowing you to grab an object or toy

  eg. squeezing play dough, squeezing sponge or scrunching up paper balls
• What is a pincer grasp?

  coordination of index finger and thumb to hold an item

  eg. threading beads, craft activities, pop bubble wrap
• what is tripod grasp?

  when the thumb, index finger + middle finger work together to pick up small objects.

  eg. feeding + dressing themselves
• intellectual development

  • brain grows rapidly through the first years of life
  • at birth babies brain is about 30% the size of the adults brain, by the age of 2 it’s approximately 80%
  • language development begins before birth
  • by 6 months babies will start making babbling noises
• intellectual & language development in infancy 


  0-3 - begins to smile, can use senses to help them understand the world and makes babbling noises

  4-6 - can smile laugh, listens and responds when spoken to

  7-12 - recognises own name and says some words, imitate sounds

  1-2 - begins make play, say between 6&10 words

  2-3 - learn new skills, gain independence, make two word sentences
• how can you encourage language development

  blow bubbles, play with puppets, watch other children, look at picture books, join in with songs
• attachment in infancy 


  secure attachment will mean that child will feel secure, loved and have a sense of belonging. happier healthier attachments with others in the future.

  a lack of healthy attachment could lead to a mistrust of caregivers. can also lead to a behavioural issues and may not cope with life events as they won’t have a secure base.
• develop of self esteem in infancy?

  build self esteem by getting basic needs met eg. love and comfort. shows infant they are important, safe and secure. do not have an understanding of of self esteem but begin to realise that they can achieve and learn about themselves, what they can do and what they look like. infants who feel unloved will find it harder to develop self worth.
• what is solo play?


  play independently. limited social, cognitive and physical skills.
• what is parallel play?

  play along side eachother but with little interaction between them as they will be engrossed in their own activity. show interest in what others are doing.