Description of Infants

Young
infants, birth through eight months,
are wonderful perceivers and explorers.
To newborn babies the human face, voice and touch are their connection
to the world.  They catch our eye to
smile and stretch their arms up to be picked up.  They learn about language when we talk,
sing and read with them.  They suck
their fingers and study their hands.
They reach for and grasp objects, and learn to distinguish familiar
faces from strangers.  Young infants
learn to hold up their heads, roll over, sit, scoot and crawl.

Young
infants communicate through gestures, body movements and crying.  They have different cries to tell us
they are wet, hungry, frightened, or want to be walked or rocked.  They learn to coo, babble and make
sounds.  They learn that their world
is safe to explore when we encourage and watch over them.  They can depend on us and their needs
will be met.

Older
infants, nine to eighteen months,
laugh with joy when they are having fun.
They smile, give hugs and climb up on our laps.  They may feel frightened amongst
strangers or in new environments.
They need routines and predictability.  They learn their name and can point and
tell us the names of friends, objects or body parts.  They feel competent and begin to insist
on doing things their way.  They
feel proud of their accomplishments and praise helps them feel even better.  Older infants have strong feelings and
may hit, push or bite when they feel angry or frustrated.

Older
infants are learning to make choices.
They play out simple scenes and enjoy imitating adults.  They become interested in chasing
friends, throwing and kicking balls, sticking objects together, stacking
blocks, and using table utensils.
They begin to dress and undress themselves, pour, put sheets on mats and
help with “real work”.
They watch and listen to everything we do!