On February 13, 2017, our Life-Span Development class had the opportunity to observe the physical, cognitive, and social development of Riley, a five-month old female infant. The observation was conducted at Dordt College in room 1148 and the infant’s parent consented to participate in the live observation.
Riley’s parents Eric and Robin began by telling us they had struggled with the infertility process before conceiving Riley. Robin was 3 ½ weeks along when she found out she was expecting. Throughout her pregnancy, Robin had many ultrasounds which took place about every three weeks. She and her husband later decided to have a basic genetic screening test done when she was twenty weeks along. The couple also took classes with other expecting …show more content…
Eric estimated her to be approximately 23 inches long. The observation began with testing Riley’s physical development. Eric tickled the bottom of her foot, causing her toes to fan and then scrunch back together. This response is known as the Babinski reflex and it does not disappear until a baby is nine months or older (Santrock, 2014). She also showed evidence of the blinking reflex when her dad blew a puff of air into her face. This is another example of a typical response of an infant her age; however, this reflex is the only one that is permanent (Santrock, 2014). Riley exhibited the stepping reflex which typically disappears after three or four months. She tried to chew on her dad’s pinky rather than sucking it. Dr. Christians tested Riley on her Moro reflex as well. When the book landed on the table, Riley jumped at the loud noise, but her arms and legs did not fling out and suddenly close in towards the center of her body the way a younger infant’s should …show more content…
Riley shows she is happy by smiling, and jumps when she is surprised by something. She is a very social baby and likes to be surrounded by people. She does not have extreme stranger anxiety, but she does tend to get a little antsy after about five minutes of being by someone who is not one of her parents. Stranger anxiety typically develops gradually, first appearing when the baby is about six months old (Santrock, 2014). This would explain why Riley was not terribly uncomfortable when Dr. Christians held her for a few minutes and Eric disappeared. Riley’s temperament appeared to be very easy going and Eric told us her emotions were usually pretty
Riley’s parents Eric and Robin began by telling us they had struggled with the infertility process before conceiving Riley. Robin was 3 ½ weeks along when she found out she was expecting. Throughout her pregnancy, Robin had many ultrasounds which took place about every three weeks. She and her husband later decided to have a basic genetic screening test done when she was twenty weeks along. The couple also took classes with other expecting …show more content…
Eric estimated her to be approximately 23 inches long. The observation began with testing Riley’s physical development. Eric tickled the bottom of her foot, causing her toes to fan and then scrunch back together. This response is known as the Babinski reflex and it does not disappear until a baby is nine months or older (Santrock, 2014). She also showed evidence of the blinking reflex when her dad blew a puff of air into her face. This is another example of a typical response of an infant her age; however, this reflex is the only one that is permanent (Santrock, 2014). Riley exhibited the stepping reflex which typically disappears after three or four months. She tried to chew on her dad’s pinky rather than sucking it. Dr. Christians tested Riley on her Moro reflex as well. When the book landed on the table, Riley jumped at the loud noise, but her arms and legs did not fling out and suddenly close in towards the center of her body the way a younger infant’s should …show more content…
Riley shows she is happy by smiling, and jumps when she is surprised by something. She is a very social baby and likes to be surrounded by people. She does not have extreme stranger anxiety, but she does tend to get a little antsy after about five minutes of being by someone who is not one of her parents. Stranger anxiety typically develops gradually, first appearing when the baby is about six months old (Santrock, 2014). This would explain why Riley was not terribly uncomfortable when Dr. Christians held her for a few minutes and Eric disappeared. Riley’s temperament appeared to be very easy going and Eric told us her emotions were usually pretty