Reflections on Childhood Development

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In Infant development, as newborns progress in their development, many changes occur. Neonates, newborns have preferences already for certain senses such as odor, tastes, sounds, and some visual configuration. However, through infancy a baby develop better senses of hearing, and vision. For example, at birth typically a child’s vision is 20/600 and will not reach 20/20 until age two. They can usually focus on objects or people that are up to 9 inches away and can following a moving finger. Newborns also prefer colored stimuli compared to gray ones, but do not develop full perception of color until they are about four months old. Over the first 18 months of an infant’s life, motor skills also develop very progressively more. This development can primarily be linked to a process called maturation. Maturation is natural process where the genetically determined biological timetable develops. For example, many milestones, such as crawling, walking, sitting, and standing are recorded during maturation. These progressive actions are depended on by the growth and development of the central nervous system. For example, watching my youngest son develop as an infant was very similar to the characteristics described in the textbook, especially his motor development. At first birth, my son was very active and responsive to even the slightest touch. He was able to turn and move his head in the direction of a sound and very responsive to my voice. Around 2 months of age, my youngest son was now able to lift his head, was starting to learn how to roll over on the floor, and could sit up when propped up against a pillow or hard surface. Around 5 and 6 months of age, he was able to sit without the support of anything or being propped up again... ... middle of paper ... ...hrough out the course of adulthood. Although your body usually has developed at the age of 18, I felt that I was not psychologically fully mature to make good lifelong decisions. I remember having the attitude pf a know it all. My parents always enforced the saying of “As long as you are in my house, you live by my rules”. Hearing that for many years, gave me a sort of chip on my shoulder so when I turned 18 years of age, I knew I wanted to get out on my own, mainly out of spite. I now realize that they always had my best interest in my mind. Having the attitude that I knew everything caused me to marry at a young age, nor did I complete college. Although I do not regret my prior decisions, I do wish that I had listened to my parent’s advice when they tried to convince me to finish school. It was not until my late 20s that I feel that I fully emerged as an adult.

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