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Infancy and Early Childhood Development

In: Philosophy and Psychology

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Pages 6
Infancy and Early Childhood Development
Cynthia Miranda
PSY 375
July 2, 2012
Dr. Aneta Bhojwani

Infancy and Early Childhood Development Every human being begins developing in one way or another, from the moment they come into this world. Development and all its aspects begin in infancy and continue throughout one’s entire lifetime. It is a common belief that infants and young children are influenced by the environment that surrounds them. Cognitive and social aspects of development are shaped and molded at an early age, as well as language, speech, perception, and motor skills. A young child’s life is influenced by parents and family members, which is why they have a significant impact on the child’s development. When a child is old enough to attend school, he or she will also begin to adapt to the atmosphere of the school they are attending and to educational environment in that school; this will in turn affect the child’s cognitive development and social skills.
Family Influences When a baby is first born, his or her brain begins to go through developmental changes. During the early stages of childhood, experiences can be split into two categories, experience-expectant and experience-dependent. Expectant experiences are those experiences that are common and somewhat universal experiences, and that most infants go through. Some of these experiences can be, but are not limited to, love from parents or families, perception of surrounding objects, and recognizing facial expressions (Berger, 2008). Dependent experiences are less universal and are more individualized, and depend mostly on the infant’s environment and surroundings. Different cultures and family belief systems come into play in dependent experiences. The experience-dependent aspects of development are the experiences that create diversity among infants and young children.

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