Differences Between Babies And Infant Development

Babies are simply amazing in the amount of physical growth and mental development that occurs within the first year of life. What is fascinating are the distinct differences in development from one baby to the next in personality, physical growth and mental progression. Genetics certainly has a place within these areas of development; however, I want to dig into the external side of infant development within the home and caretakers. We see in the text a marked difference in the weight of the brain in deceased rats that were and were not exposed to stimuli within their environments. Also mentioned is the benefit of stimulation in infants with their physical and mental maturation. I will concur that the stimuli that lies in the hands of the caretakers and the home environment is critical to developmental milestones. Hailee, my granddaughter, and Lilly are cousins and approximately ten weeks apart in age. Lilly is eleven months old and lives with both parents who work and go to school part time. Lilly’s parents are quiet in nature and they live carefully within their means. Hailee is nine months old and lives with her mother, young aunt, and grandmother. Hailee’s mother works and goes to school part time and the household is …show more content…
It is recommended that tummy time begin early as to help with the development of neck and back muscles, and a precursor to developing the muscles to push up and crawl. Tummy time at a young age must be closely supervised, which encourages playtime interaction with the caretaker. Lilly was not content on her stomach, so the majority of her sleep and playtime has been spent on her back. As a result of so much back time, Lilly developed a very flat head and has been treated with a skull shaping helmet. Hailee began tummy time at two months old as she too had a flat spot developing. At nine months of age, the flat spot has now rounded out without the need of