Infancy and Toddlerhood Period of Development

Physical developmental milestones that typically developing children should attain

during this period of development.
Infants attain many different reflexes. The grasping reflex occurs when an object is placed in the
hand of the infant and makes the fingers curl around the object. The plantar reflex occurs when
pressure is applied on the ball of the feet making the toes curl (Marotz, & Allen, 2013).
Toddlers have many different physical developmental milestones they should meet. Toddlers
should be able to get to their feet without any assistance and then stand alone (Marotz, & Allen,
2013).

Language developmental milestones that typically developing children should attain
during this period of development.
Infants main form of communication is the act of crying or fussing, and they react to loud noises
in various ways, such as blinking and even becoming startled this is known as the Moro reflex
(Berk, 2013).
Toddlers use anywhere from 50-300 words to communicate. They are also able to use three to
four word statements when communicating with others (Marotz, & Allen, 2013).
Cognitive developmental milestones that typically developing children should attain
during this period of development.
Infants learn different tastes and begin to have a preference, and they are able to follow objects
with their eyes (Marotz, & Allen, 2013).

Toddlers begins to use objects for things that they are not supposed to be used for. For example,
using a bowl for a hat. They also are able to follow simple directions, such as stop, no, and come
here (Marotz & Allen, 2013).
Social emotional milestones during this period of development.
Children in this period of development start to smile during social interactions and the child
starts to laugh out loud. They are also able to match their caregivers emotions during face-to-
face interactions (Berk, 2013).
Moral reasoning/self-regulation milestones during this period of development.
A child in this period of development are more prone to verbal aggression while their physical
aggression starts to decline. They also act more in the moment and their aggression is more on
impulse (Berk, 2013).
Signs that may signal atypical development during this period of development.
If the infant is not able to raise its head on their own at 4-8 months this could signal a
developmental alert. If the infant does not get startled when hearing a loud noise this could
signal a developmental alert (Marotz, & Allen, 2013).
If a toddler at the age of two years cannot avoid bumping into objects this could signal a
developmental alert. If a toddler does not make attempts to talk and learn new words this could
signal a developmental alert (Marotz, & Allen, 2013).

One social and one cultural influence during this period of development.
One social influence for infants and toddlers during this period of development is their parents.
Their parents take care of all the childs needs and wants, and this influences how well the child
behaviors, such as how happy they are by smiling and laughing. One cultural influence during
this period of development is the type of ethnic background that they come from. For example,
infants and toddlers that come from an Hispanic ethnicity can have the influence of both English
and Spanish for language, therefore making them become bilingual (Berk, 2013).
Strategies that families can use to influence their childrens learning and development
during this period of development.
Families can read to their infants and toddlers as a way to help their language and vocabulary
grow (Tamis-LeMonda, & Bornstein, 1994). Parents need to respond to their toddlers jabbering
and voice inflections in order to help the child associate words with actions and objects (Marotz,
& Allen, 2013).

References
Berk, L. E. (2013). Child development. Boston: Pearson Education
Marotz, L. R., & Allen, K. E. (2013). Developmental Profiles: Pre-Birth Through Adolescence.
Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. Belmont, CA.
Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., & Bornstein, M. H. (1994). Specificity in mother-toddler language-play
relations across the second year. Developmental Psychology, 30(2), 283.