1. Virtual Child Part One: Infant & Toddler
Healthy Development
Chris Cadieux
Alexa Callitsis
November 8, 2011

2. The Infant Years (0-4 Months)
How does your baby’s physical, social/emotional and intellectual domains compare to the developmental milestones patterns? Is it typical?
Developmental Answer Prove It (give examples from your reports) Example (give examples from the book)
Domain (Your original thoughts) (Cite your references) (cite your references)
• Brooke’s birth was typical • Brooke was born naturally after 10 • Labour usually takes 10-20
and she is meeting her hours of labour (virtual child reports) hours(www.babycenter.com)
developmental milestones • She shows different cries for different • Babies use a variety of cries to signal
Physical reasons. When she is hungry, wet or different states (Child Development: A
cold her crying is rhythmic and Chronological Approach, p.101)
moderately loud. If she is startled,
there’s a sudden intake of breath
followed by a loud wail (virtual child
reports)
• Mother and Brooke make an • Brooke and mother form a • An emotional connection between
emotional connection hormonal connection mother and baby is strengthened
• When Brooke cries mother begins through breastfeeding
Social /
to lactate (virtual child reports) (www.breastpumpdeals.com)
Emotional
• Brooke starts noticing things • At three months, Brooke is showing • By three months, babies can follow
around her interests in her surroundings, smiles moving objects with their eyes, very
at familiar people and toys and interested in their surroundings and
Intellectual
laugh at funny things can recognize familiar sounds,
• She is also developing lots of cute especially their parents voices
little habits (virtual child reports) (www.healthofchildren.com)

3. The Infant Years (5-8 Months)
How does your baby’s physical, social/emotional and intellectual domains compare to the developmental milestones patterns? Is it typical?
Developmental Answer Prove It (give examples from your reports) Example (give examples from the book)
Domain (Your original thoughts) (cite your references) (cite your references)
• Brooke can crawl, pull herself • Brooke is physically healthy and is • By four months old, babies can sit with
up to stand and manipulate advanced in her gross and fine motor support. At five months, they can sit on
objects skills. She enjoys crawling, pulling to lap and grasp objects. At six months,
Physical stand and manipulating objects (virtual they can sit in high chair and grasp
child reports) dangling object. At seven months, they
can sit alone and eight months they can
stand with help
• Crawling and pulling to stand occurs
between 10- 12 months (Children: A
Chronological Approach, p.127)
• Brooke is clingy and is fearful • Brooke is cautious around new people • Babies laugh, show excitement and
of strangers and cries when in situations but warms up quickly to likes and dislikes. They reach out for
upset or in pain friendly people and begins to vocalize a familiar people and begin to be afraid
Social / lot. She has typical emotional reactions of strangers. They stop crying when
Emotional for her age, such as fear for total commnicated with (www.child-
strangers, separation anxiety and a development-guide.com)
quick, loud cry when upset or in pain
(virtual child reports)
• Brooke knows how to play • Brooke likes the game finding hidden • At six months, infants begin to
simple games and is starting objects and shows interest by wanting remember familiar objects and react to
to vocalize and observant it repeated unfamiliar people or situations
Intellectual • She can vocalize and make eye contact (www.healthofchildren.com)
with people she recognizes (virtual
child reports)

4. The Infant Years (9-12 Months)
How does your baby’s physical, social/emotional and intellectual domains compare to the developmental milestones patterns? Is it typical?
Developmental Answer Prove It (give examples from your reports) Example (give examples from the book)
Domain (Your original thoughts) (cite your references) (cite your references)
• Brooke feels more • Brooke wants to climb the stairs but we • Between 9 and 12 months, infants
comfortable with her make sure for someone to be there should be able to walk, hold on to
mobility when she falls furniture or with adult help and crawl
Physical • Brooke is physically healthy very well
(Virtual Child reports) • Infants need space to practice walking
(Ages & Stages: A Brief Overview)
• Brooke is comfortable with • When Brooke becomes upset it is • By 12 months, infants can distinguish
people she recognizes difficult to soothe her down between different members of family
• She cries when she becomes • Brooke is comfortable with Melody as and socialize with them
Social / upset an attachment figure • Likes to be within sight and hearing of
Emotional (Virtual Child reports) familiar adult
• May be shy with strangers
(www.child-development-guide.com)
• Can start speaking words and • Brooke clearly understands a couple of • Infants say their first word
Intellectual can find things when hidden dozen words • They pay attention to conversations
• She just recently pronounced her first (Ages & Stages: A Brief Overview)
clear word and pointed at the object in
question
• She can also find object when they are
hidden under a cover

5. (Virtual Child reports)
The Toddler Years (2 Years old)
How is your child progressing based on typical toddler development?
Give specific examples in the areas of Physical, Social / Emotional and Intellectual domains.
Developmental Answer Prove It (give examples from the report Example (give examples from the book)
Domain (Your original thoughts) (cite your references) (cite your references)
• Brooke can complete many • Brooke likes riding her tricycle a lot • Many children will learn to use toilet
motor skills and wants to do • She wants to do more things herself • Experiment by doing things on their
things herself but needs help brushing teeth and hair own
Physical • She is toilet trained (Ages & Stages: A Brief Overview)
(Virtual Child reports)
• Brooke started showing • Brooke smiles shyly when asked to be • Children at this age are capable of a
emotions in pictures, looks guilty when she wide range of feelings and emotions
breaks something and gets (www.child-developement-guide.com)
Social / embarrassed when she has a potty
Emotional accident
(Virtual Child reports)
• Brooke’s intelligence level is • She is communicating better but her • Toddler’s memory continues to
still below average language comprehension is below improve quickly
average • They start to understand how some
Intellectual • Her speech still misses some common things work
grammatical features • They should be able to follow 2 step
• She is above average in solving instructions and understand
problems with more than 2 steps contrasting ideas like large and small
• She can remember recent experiences (www.healthofchildren.com)
(Virtual Child reports)

6. The Infant years (Birth to 12 Months Old)
Identify specific health and safety considerations that you will have to consider during the infant years.
How will you address these issues?
Example:
Hand washing
Proper hand washing is essential to keeping infants healthy as their immune system is low. “Hand washing is the most
important health practice that parents /educators and children must implement to reduce the spread of infections.”
(Pimento, Page 129) This was seen when my baby had many colds and ear infections within the first year. Although it is
common for infants to catch colds and infections, I need to use proper hand washing.
Now add your next point….
1. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
Ensure that Brooke sleeps on her back and not to overheat the baby by not putting too many blankets
and heavy sleepwear. (Children: A Chronological Approach, page 103)
2. Proper Nourishment
To ensure proper nourishment, I would breastfeed Brooke because human milk contains the proper
amounts of carbohydrates, fat, protein, vitamins, and minerals as well the mother’s antibodies.
(Children: A Chronological Approach, page 115)
3. Second Hand Smoke
Ensure that no one smokes in the house. Second hand smoke can cause breathing problems in babies.
4. Spread of Infectious Diseases
Can be stopped by hand washing and immunizing Brooke. (Healthy Foundations in Early Childhood
Settings, page 18)
5. Falling down the stairs
Baby proof the house by putting up baby gates and be behind her when she tries to climb the stairs.

7. The Toddler Years (2 Years Old)
Have there been any environmental events that you think might have influenced your child’s development?
Does this create any health or safety concerns for your toddler?
Brooke had got a number of ear aches which she probably got from her baths and we did not dry her ears
thoroughly. This caused her to be very irritable and miserable.
We kept Brooke a little sheltered which resulted in her in being slow to warm up to new situations with adults.
We did not spend as much time talking with Brooke which resulted in her communication skill, language
comprehension and language production to be that of a 15 month old.
Spending not enough time with Brooke resulted in a poor communication system between her and me. This
resulted in us not understanding each other.
Brooke had an accident while riding her tricycle which resulted in her being scared to ride again.
(Virtual Child reports)

8. Bibliography
1. Ages and Stages: A Brief Overview: Birth to 12 years.
2. www.babycenter.com
3. www.breastpumpdeals.com
4. www.child-development-guide.com
5. www.healthofchildren.com
6. www.myvirtualchild.com
7. Kail, Robert V. & Zolner, Theresa. Children: A Chronological Approach. Toronto: Pearson, 2012.
8. Kernested, Deborah & Pimento, Barbara. Healthy Foundations in Early Childhood Settings.
Toronto: Nelson Education Ltd., 2010.