Physical & Cognitive Development in Infancy

Extraordinary physical and cognitive growth happens during infancy. A child changes more in the first year than at any other life stage.

Physical Growth

• Infants experience rapid growth.

  Babies grow most in length during the first six months. Weight increases most shortly after birth; by five months birth weight has doubled.

Motor Skill Development

• Motor skills progress throughout the first year.

  Motor skills develop progressively from the head to the feet. Face and head control come first, then reaching and grasping, and finally crawling and walking.

Brain Development

• Neurons in the brain change and make new connections during infancy.

  A newborn's brain is one-fourth the weight of an adult brain. During infancy, neurons increase in number, migrate throughout the brain and become specialized.

Brain Plasticity

• A baby's brain can change to make up for brain damage.

  An infant's brain is plastic, meaning its parts can take on new roles easily. If part of the infant's brain is damaged, another part can take over its function more easily than in a damaged adult brain.

Cognitive Development

• Babies learn a lot during the first year.

  Newborns are capable of simple learning, and six-month-old infants remember new faces for up to two weeks. Older infants can solve simple problems.

Language development

• Language development begins by listening.

  A newborn can tell human voices from other sounds and recognize her mother's voice. Babies understand language before they can speak; older infants babble and speak in gibberish to practice for speech.