OBSERVATION SUMMARY
While watching the three babies in the PALS Day Care video (2010), it appears that the three babies are between the ages of 7 - 9 months old, with the youngest being the bib-wearing baby. All of the babies can sit on their own; however, the baby wearing the bib seems a bit wobblier than the other two, puts items (clothespin and sleeve) in his/her mouth, and sits with his/her hands grasped together. The baby nearest to the teacher appears to be a month older than the baby wearing the bib; he is more stable when sitting up, yet, he holds the clothespins with a raking grasp. The third baby appears to be the oldest. He is very stable while sitting, observes other things by looking around, and holds the clothespin with a pincer grasp. The teacher is working with all three babies to help improve their fine motor skills by having them drop a clothespin into a bottle. DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES and DOMAINS In regards to the three infants, each one is at a different developmental stage within the developmental domains. …show more content…
There are five developmental domains of early childhood development. These domains are: • Physical and motor development – Fine motor (in the case of the three infants) teach hand-eye coordination and controlling the muscles in the hands. Gross motor involves crawling, walking, running, jumping, and climbing. • Social – emotional development – Learning how to play with others. • Self-help development – Learning to dress oneself, feeding oneself, brushing one’s teeth, using the toilet, tying shoes, and bathing. • Cognitive development – Includes cause-and-effect, and reasoning. • Language development – Learning ABC’s, phonemic awareness, oral and written language. Each baby is at a different stage of development and has achieved milestones associated with their age, such as - • First infant (baby wearing a bib) – The youngest of the three, he/she is around seven months old. His/her biggest milestone, so far, is sitting without support, however, still a little wobbly. He/she puts the clothespin in his/her mouth and holds the clothespin with a raking grasp. • Second infant (baby nearest teacher) – Appears to be around eight months old. His milestones are sitting nicely with the other infants and responding by smiling at the camera. He tries to put a clothespin in the bottle; however, his grasp is still a raking grasp. • Third baby – The oldest of the three, he is around nine months old. His milestones are being very aware of his surroundings and holding a clothespin with a pincer grasp. TYPICAL DEVELOPMENT Between the ages of 7–9 months, there are typical developments of an infant. In the video of the three infants, the baby closest to the teacher appears to have a delay in his fine motor skills. By his age, he should be able to grasp objects with a pincer grasp; however, he has the clothespins in a raking grasp and appears to have trouble dropping a clothespin into the bottle. DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT STRATEGIES As a child care provider, planning certain play activities will support and help an infant, such as the second baby in the video, with his or her fine motor skills. As can be seen in the video, the second baby, the one nearest to the teacher, is having a difficult time with his grasp of the clothespins. At his age, around eight months, he should be grasping objects with the pincer grasp and have the ability to put a clothespin into the bottle. The teacher, in the video, is working with him to help develop his fine motor skills. Along with this type of activity, there are others “that help with developing fine motor skills. These