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Physical: Rooting
At birth infants can instinctively "root" themselves. This means that anything that brushes their cheek they will attempt to put into their mouth to figure out what it is. This helps the baby get milk from the mother. -
Physical: Grasping
At birth, the infant can grasp at anything placed in its palm. It is an extremely useful tactic, as infants have impressive grip one they close their hands. -
Perception" Beginnings
Though newborns will not avoid what appear to be dangerous ledges, they show clear signs of the beginning of depth perception, as hear-rates will increase when going over the "visual cliff." -
Reflex: Startle
Infants will startle and cry reflexively at loud noises such as things falling or car horns. -
Physical: Raising Hand
Infants, as they start to get stronger, are able to raise their hands above themselves and to their stomachs. -
Physical: Reactions to Being Spoken To
Infants, by the end of 3 months, will begin to either quiet down or smile when spoken to. -
Perception: Sounds
Around this time infants should begin to identify sounds that their toys make, and anticipate what sort of interactions produce different sounds. -
Reflex: Looking
Infants will instictively turn to look in the direction of diffent movement or sounds. -
Language: Starts
Crying begins to lessen as infant starts to pick up on human language. Cooing starts. -
Perception: Depth Perception
Through study of the "visual cliff" it was discovered that by 6 months of age, infants can discern varied depths, and will be cautious of going over "cliffs." -
Physical: Sitting
By this point babies should be able to sit up on their own. -
Perception: Music
Infants will start to notice and respond to music around them -
Language: Babble
As the infant picks up on the sounds its parents make, it moves to the "babble" as scientists call it. They start to form what start to sound like words, quickly learning language as they progress. -
Language: Forming Simple Words
By this point, the infant should be able to understand and say simple words, such as names for their parents and objects that they interact with on a daily basis.