Attractive Reflexes: Why Do Infants Do What They Do?

Mohammad Khan

My friend just had a healthy baby girl. My friend has noticed certain movements the baby does, and they are very curious about how does the baby know how to do these movements. As I am taking a human development class and also have learned about infants reflexes, I could help them find out why the infant does what they do. The movements the infants do are called primitive reflex behavior. They are involuntary reflexes. Our lower part of the brain is what controls these reflexes. Reflexes are the first part of brain that develops and these reflexes are only active for a brief period. These primitive reflexes are replaced by postural reflexes. We have more reflexes during the first year of our life then our adulthood. The reflexes are present at birth or soon after birth. As the child gets older their reflexes may disappear and some may integrate. Like most things in child development, I believe the reflexes have stages as well. As I mentioned, I believed that reflexes have stages as well. For example, the moro reflex and the rooting reflex are present from birth. The moro reflex is when a infant is startled when they hear a loud noise or sense they are falling down. They arms and legs extends, also their head draws back and the back arches. The rooting reflex is whenever an infant sense or feel …show more content…
Tonic neck reflex is there from birth and disappears around 4 months, tonic neck reflex example is when you turn an infant head to the side, the side where the face is turned that sides arm involuntary straightens and the opposite side arm bends. Another reflex which is there from birth is palmer reflex. Palmer reflex is when you put something in an infant’s hands and it automatically grasps it. As I have mentioned there are many reflexes that an infant may have and they either fade away or turn into postural