Infant Toddler Learning & Development Foundations

social-emotional behavior. By three
months, babies have already learned to
alter their responses to adults according
to how the adults respond to them.
For example, when adults acknowledge
babies’ vocalizations with a smile, a
vocal response, or light touch, children
increase their vocalizations. The interest
of others stimulates the interest of
the baby (Crick 1984).
The power children have in relationships,
by four months of age, is clearly
evident, as is the power that relationships
have over them. They are becoming
more skilled at reading others’
behavior and adapting their own
behavior. They are also gaining skills
to make themselves increasingly
engaging and effective socially. Fourmonth-olds
will:
• Send clear messages.
• Become quiet in anticipation as
someone comes near to care for
them.
• Seek adults’ attention with smiles
and laughter.
• Participate in extended back and
forth interaction with others.
• Engage in simple social imitation.
Emotionally, infants grow just as
rapidly as they grow socially. Compared
with younger babies, babies at
around four months send clearer emotional
messages through varying cries,
movements, and facial expressions.
They also show pleasure when mastering
simple motor tasks such as when
they successfully position their bodies
for exploration. Positive emotional
experiences motivate infants to keep
practicing new skills, exploring new
possibilities, and learning.
Interpreting and Responding
to Early Development
In the first few months, amazing
advances occur in infants’ development.
Starting with basic responses,
newborns reach out to the world.
Within weeks they come to expect and
depend on appropriate responses from
those who care for them.
Noticing and responding to key
aspects of growth during this rapid
developmental period can be challenging.
Early behaviors in one developmental
domain are often coupled
with behaviors in other domains. In
addition, many early behaviors may
mean several things at the same time.
For example, a young baby’s cry may
simultaneously represent the beginning
of communication (language
development), a tool for getting needs
met (intellectual development), and
a way of relating to others (socialemotional
development). Or behaviors
that look almost identical may have a
different meaning at different times.
For example, at one time prolonged
focus on a person may be an emerging
strategy to deepen emotional connections.
At another time, this same
behavior may be a way to increase
understanding of how people move
in space. To be in tune with young
babies, adults need to know both when
a baby wants a social response and
when a baby is making a discovery
through individual exploration and
observation.
Because major changes that occur
during the first few months of life are
sometimes difficult to identify, one can
easily miss them. Yet the advances of
the early months are just as important
to a young child’s healthy development
as are the more obvious advances of
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THE EARLY MONTHS