Morality and Babyhood Essay

Characteristics of babyhood: (From 2 weeks to 2 years) i) Babyhood is the true foundation age. At this time, many behavior patterns, attitudes and emotional expressions are established. It is a critical period in setting the pattern for personal and emotional adjustments. ii) Babyhood is an age of rapid growth and development. Babies grow rapidly both physically and psychologically. Changes are rapid in appearance (height and weight) and capacities. The limbs develop in better proportion to the large head. Intellectual growth and change are parallel to physical growth and change. iii) Ability grows to recognize and respond to people and objects in the environment. The baby is able to understand many things and communicate its needs and wants. iv) The babyhood is an age of decreasing dependency. The baby begins to do things to itself. With decrease of dependency, a rebellion against being treated as baby. A protest takes protest comes in the form of angry outbursts and crying when independence is denied. v) It is an age of high individuality which can be realized in appearance and in patterns of behavior. vi) Babyhood is the beginning of Creativity, sex role and socialization for adjustment in future life. vii) Babyhood is a hazardous period. The physical hazards are illness, accidents, disabilities and death. Psychological hazards are disinterests and negative attitude. Havighurst’s Developmental Tasks During The babyhood Learning to take solid food Learning to walk. Learning to talk. Learning to control the elimination of body wastes. Learning sex differences and sex modesty. Getting ready to read. Learning to distinguish right & wrong and beginning to develop a conscience. Babyhood skills Hand skills – self-feeding , self dressing,and play skills Leg skills-Jumping, climbing stairs, running without falling speech development in babyhood Talking is one of the biggest milestones there is, and the latest research suggests there’s a lot you can do to help your child become a master chatter. Months before my daughter Ella spat out her first official word (â€Å"bath! â€Å"), she was a Chatty Cathy in terms of sheer noise–exercising her pipes by howling for a feeding, squealing at a sock puppet, or babbling â€Å"ba ba ba† at the top of her lungs. And it turns out there’s a reason behind the racket. For babies, it’s a kind of linguistic cross-training–a way they prep for the main event of real speech, otherwise known as one of the coolest milestones ever. The average age at which kids utter a bona fide first word is 12 months, and they’re able to manage two-word â€Å"sentences† by the time they’re 2. But (reality check! ) as any pediatrician will attest, babies hit language milestones at a wide range of ages. A child who seems behind can all of a sudden make a giant leap ahead of her peers, verbally. And a kid who starts talking early may get stuck on the same few words for months before adding more to her repertoire. So no comparing or panicking! Sure, you can hardly wait to hear that first word or â€Å"wuv you. † But like all Big Moments in your baby’s life–sleeping through the night, sitting up, first steps–it will happen when she’s ready. There are, however, proven ways you can nudge language development along, experts say. Check out our stage-by-stage (and completely anxiety-free! ) guide to baby talk for the scoop on what you’ll hear, when to expect it, and how best to keep up your end of the conversation. 1 Month Waaah. Crying may not sound conversational, but it’s your newborn’s primary way to communicate, meaning she uses it for everything from â€Å"I’m tired† and â€Å"I need food† to â€Å"It’s a little too bright in here. † Wailing also primes your baby for genuine language by strengthening the same neural pathways in the brain that are used for speech–and by giving her larynx, the organ in the throat responsible for sound production, a good workout. What to say back: Something that will soothe the fussing and squalling. While a good cry may exercise your baby’s vocal cords, the sooner you can comfort her, the more confident she’ll be that you’re really listening to her–and the more willing she’ll be to keep trying to â€Å"tell† you what she’s feeling. 2 to 5 months Ooh? aah. Those supercute coos are airy sounds that come straight from the larynx–making them easy to say for tiny babies still figuring out how to use their lips and tongues. They’re also fun. â€Å"Kids tend to focus on particular sounds: squeals, vowels, or growls, as we call them,† says D. Kimbrough Oller, Ph. D. , a professor of audiology and speech-language pathology at the University of Memphis. These will help your little one learn to control vocal tone and volume–something she’ll need to form her first word. What to say back: Anything in â€Å"parentese,† that singsongy voice that sounds like it came off a children’s CD–only it’s you repeating â€Å"Hiiiii! † Research shows the high pitch makes your infant really take notice of–and want to imitate–what you say. 5 to 7 months Ah? goo. When your baby begins to add in consonants, it means she’s now able to produce a full repertoire of sounds–a major linguistic milestone. â€Å"It’s harder to produce consonants because they require interaction between the tongue and the lips,† says Roberta Golinkoff, Ph. D. , director of the University of Delaware Infant Language Project in Newark. â€Å"It’s a big deal. † What to say back: Narrate the sights you see on your drive or your daily plans (â€Å"We’re going to the store for some milk, and then Daddy’s taking you to the park! â€Å"). Talking to a non-talker may feel bizarre, but research has found that infants actually understand far more than we realize. In one study, 6-month-olds who heard the word â€Å"mommy† responded by looking at a picture of their mom. 7 to 9 months Ma-ma-ma. Was that a first word? Hmm? Though your baby is probably still simply parroting sounds, once she starts babbling in distinct syllables, her â€Å"conversation† can sound so much like language that it’s hard to tell. Consider this her final dress rehearsal for putting those syllables together in a way that has real meaning. What to say back: Talk about the things around her so she’ll connect objects with words. Just don’t assume â€Å"bo-bo† means â€Å"ball† if she says it while reaching for her shoe. â€Å"Notice where your child is looking before you label an object. It’s very adaptive for babies–and a lot of parents do it naturally,† says Jenny Saffran, Ph. D. , director of the Infant Learning Lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. 9 to 12 months Nee-nigh. Getting out just the right sounds takes practice, so for now, your baby’s making up combos that indicate real objects–a halfway point between babbling and true speech. She may say â€Å"nee-nigh† for â€Å"bottle,† or â€Å"sho-sho† for â€Å"yogurt,† for example. What to say back: As long as you know what your baby’s trying to say, don’t quibble over correct pronunciation. Swapping in weird names for regular words is normal for new talkers–so your best move is to respond in a way that shows you understand: She says â€Å"banktee,† you produce her blanket. It’s cute to hear (and say) her made-up words, and experts say it’s fine if â€Å"banktee† becomes de rigueur in your household. Eventually, you’ll phase it out for the real thing. 12 to 15 months Dog. Whatever recognizable word your child produces first, it’s bound to be something she’s fascinated by and something she can easily say–which is why the single-syllable â€Å"Da,† â€Å"Ma,† â€Å"ball,† and, yes, â€Å"dog† are fairly common first words. â€Å"Kitten† and â€Å"television†? Not so much. What to say back: â€Å"Hurrah! † Cheering on her speaking attempts will motivate her to master new words. Plus, Golinkoff notes that the rule for babies learning to talk is â€Å"the more language in, the more language out. † So keep chatting! By doing so, you’re supplying the words for interesting objects and emotions. Add that to praising her for using the ones she already knows and you’ll soon have a total motor mouth on your hands. 15 to 18 months Go. After your toddler has spit out that first word, she’ll learn what she needs to do to make others–including different parts of speech, like verbs and adjectives. By 15 months, most kids are able to say 20 or more words, and the lexicon expands as weeks go by. What to say back: Cuddle up with a good story for a no-brainer vocab booster. Perfect at this age: board books filled with short-and-sweet words, like Where Is Baby’s Belly Button? by Karen Katz, or Dear Zoo, by Rod Campbell. â€Å"Talk about what’s in the pictures, as well,† suggests Julie Masterson, coauthor of Beyond Baby Talk: From Sounds to Sentences, A Parent’s Complete Guide to Language Development. â€Å"It’s fun for kids to hear you say ‘See the dog? It says ‘woof. ‘† 18 to 22 months Da-me-fo-bee. You know your toddler is saying something amazing–if only you could understand it. In their second year, kids become masters of nonsensical speech, producing strings of elegant gibberish that sound like a faux version of adult conversation (often complete with inflection and hand gestures). She’ll also be saying around 30 or so real words-but even those may not be crystal clear. What to say back: Ask questions that get your kid talking. If she says â€Å"boo-bee-lala† while building a block tower, ask â€Å"What do you like about the blocks? † One recent study in the journal Pediatrics showed that back-and-forth conversations between adults and little ones are the best way to improve their verbal skills. 22 to 24 months. More milk. By the time she turns 2, your toddler will likely be able to string two or three words together to make mini-sentences. A favorite to throw into the mix of the dozens of words in her growing vocabulary: â€Å"more. † It’s a sign that your kid is figuring out the ability of language to make things happen. What to say back: Give her what she asks for! (Within reason, of course. ) Being able to tell you what she wants is a major milestone for her, but it’s a happy day for you, too. Just think: fewer meltdowns over misunderstood requests! And by responding, you show her just how powerful and rewarding talking really can be. Prespeech forms of communication Four prespeech forms of communication are there Crying- Hurlock considers it to be the very first piece of human behaviour that has social value. It gradually becomes differentiated as the newborn reaches the third or fourth week of life. Cooing and Babbling-As the baby’s vocal mechanisms develop,he becomes capable of producing explosive sounds which develop into babbling or lallation. Babbling begins during the second or third month of life. Gesturing –This develops and is used by the baby not to supplement,but to substitute for his speech. Emotional expressions- This is most effective forms of preseech. Baby communicates with others by using some gestures and emotional expressions emotional development in babyhood month 1 Makes eye contact Cries for help Responds to parents’ smiles and voices Month 2 Begins to develop a social smile Enjoys playing with other people and may cry when play stops Prefers looking at people rather than objects Studies faces Gurgles and coos in response to sounds around her First begins to express anger Month 3 Starts a â€Å"conversation† by smiling at you and gurgling to get your attention Smiles back when you smile at him. The big smile involves his whole body — hands open wide, arms lift up, legs move Can imitate some movements and facial expressions Month 4 Is intrigued by children. Will turn toward children’s voices in person or on TV Laughs when tickled and when interacting with others Cries if play is disrupted Month 5 Becomes increasingly assertive Can differentiate between family members (parents and siblings) and strangers Likes to play during meals Month 6 May quickly tire of a toy but will never tire of your attention Temperament becomes increasingly apparent. You’ll see whether she tends to be easygoing or easily upset; gentle or active Recognizes his own name Coos for pleasure and cries with displeasure Can make noises like grunts and squeals; clicks his tongue Month 7 Starts to understand the meaning of â€Å"no† Enjoys social interaction Expresses anger more strongly Tries to mimic adult sounds Month 8 Can differentiate between familiar and unfamiliar May become shy or anxious with strangers Cries in frustration when he can’t reach a toy or do something he wants to do Month 9 Imitates gestures that other people make Looks at correct picture when an image is named. Smiles and kisses own image in the mirror Likes to play near parent (i. e. , in kitchen while Mom is cooking) May be more sensitive to the presence of other children Month 10 Separation anxiety may begin Self-esteem begins to develop Responds to positive recognition such as clapping Becomes cautious of heights Shows moods such as sad, happy, and angry Month 11 Tries to gain approval and avoid disapproval Can be uncooperative Month 12 May have temper tantrums Can fluctuate between being cooperative and uncooperative Shows a developing sense of humor May cling to parents or one parent in particular Development of understanding. As the babies grow the criteria of understanding increases. It depends largely on two factors : their level of intelligence and their previous experiences. Most important concepts that are related are Space Weight Time Self Sex-role Social Beauty The comic Functions and vertues od play: 1 it aids growth 2 it is a voluntary activity 3 language can be developed through it 4 it offers opportunities for matery of physical self PLAY PATTERNS OF BABYHOOD: sensorimotor play exploratory play imitative play make -believe play games and amusements Moral development in babyhood: Babies have no scale of values and no conscience. They are therefore neither moral nor immoral but nonmoral in the sense that their behavior is not guided by moral standards. Eventually they will learn moral codes from their parents, and later from their teachers and playmates etc. Learning to behave in a morally approved manner is a long, slow process. However, foundations are laid in babyhood and on these foundations children build moral codes which guide their behavior as they grow older. Because of their limited intelligence, babies judge the rightness or wrongness of an act in terms of the pleasures or pain it brings them rather than in terms of its good and harmful effects on others. They therefore perceive an act as wrong only when it has some harmful defect in themselves. They have no sense of guilt because they lack definite standards of right and wrong. They so not feel guilty when they take things that belong to others because they have no concept of personal property rights. Baby is in a stage of moral development which Piaget has called morality by constraint- the first of three stages in development. This stage lasts until the age of seven or eight years and is characterized by automatic obedience to rules without reasoning or judgment.