1. Chapter 11
The Child from Four to Eight Months
of Age
©2014 Cengage Learning.
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2. Materials and Activities
• Materials for this age group must be
challenging and safe
– Attention-catching toys stimulate the interest of
these infants and lengthen their playtime
– Limited control of their arm and hand muscles
causes them to be rather rough on their toys
• Materials may be homemade or commercially
made
©2014 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.

3. Caregiver Strategies to Enhance
Development
• Teachers make educational decisions based
upon specific observations of development
• Resources are available through organizations,
libraries, colleges, and universities
• Zero to Three is an example of a resource for
teachers and parents
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4. Physical Development
• Infants are highly motivated to master
physical skills and explore their environments
and as a result they develop rapidly
• Physical development includes:
– Locomotion
– Manipulation
– Eating
– Teething
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5. Suggestions for Implementing Curriculum--
Physical Development
• Position infants safely to practice sitting,
bouncing, standing with support
• Provide uncluttered space where infant can
roll around and push with arms and legs
• Provide materials for grasping, reaching,
hitting, banging, throwing, dropping
• Individualize/adjust sleeping and eating
routines, add spoon, cup, limited finger food
©2014 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.

6. Cognitive and Language Development
• Cognitive Development
– Sensory exploration continues in this stage and is
key to brain development
– Infants repeat actions to gain reactions
– Piaget’s Sensorimotor Stage of Cognitive
Development:
• In Stage 3, the infant explores object
permanence
©2014 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.

7. Suggestions for Implementing
Curriculum--Cognitive Development
• Observe movements the infant repeats and
provide materials to facilitate repetition
• Play peek-a-boo
• Cover up part of an object with a blanket and
let the infant pull it out
• Repeat and imitate the infant’s behaviors
• Initiate action and watch for infant to imitate
it
©2014 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.

8. Cognitive and Language Development
• Language Development
– Cooing and babbling are important steps in the
acquisition of language
– Infants seem to produce sounds first and then
discover them to reproduce over and over
– Babbling does not occur in social isolation
– Infants can distinguish and prefer ‘lexical’ words
(labels)
©2014 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.

9. Suggestions for Implementing Curriculum--
Language Development
• Talk directly to infant
• Place yourself so that the infant can see you
when you converse together
• Call the infant by name and talk with child.
• Make sounds, talk, sing to infant
• Use normal speaking patterns and tones when
talking with infants
©2014 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.

10. Emotional Development
• Infants at this age now express a wider range
of emotions
• Fear
– Stranger anxiety is a normal behavior
• Temperament
– Create a goodness of fit between the child and her
environment
©2014 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.

11. Suggestions for Implementing Curriculum--
Emotional Development
• Use primary caregiving strategies
– Limit the number of ‘strangers’
– Introduce new people carefully
• Tell the infant when you are leaving and greet
them again when you return
• Provide quiet space and time for infants
• Verbally affirm infant’s feelings
• Talk calmly and soothingly
©2014 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.

12. Social Development
• Infants are now developing definite and
strong attachments to family members and
primary caregivers
• Their interest in others and mobility
contribute to their initiating and responding
to interactions with other children and adults
©2014 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.

13. Suggestions for Implementing Curriculum--
Social Development
• Reinforce attachment to family members Provide
mirrors and photos of familiar people
• Allow infant to initiate and complete a task without
interruption
• Do not distract an infant to play your game
• Respond immediately and consistently to happy, sad,
or angry pleas for attention
• Allow infant to touch other children
• Arrange space so that infants can see adults from all
areas of the room
©2014 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.

14. Spotlight on Research
• Attachment to Objects
– Children use attachment objects for a wide variety
of reasons
– Making attachment objects accessible may serve
to alleviate some of the stress and assist young
children with healthy emotional and social
development
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All Rights Reserved.

15. Checkpoint Discussion Questions
• When an infant can roll from stomach to back
and from back to stomach, what additional
caregiver strategies are needed? Explain your
rationale for at least three strategies.
• Describe the development in eye-hand
coordination of an infant between four and eight
months old.
• Describe language development for infants
between four and eight months old. Match two
developmental changes with caregiver strategies.
©2014 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.

16. Checkpoint Discussion Questions
• Deborah, a five-month-old, is sitting up against a
pillow on the floor. She is looking at the toy she
has just thrown out of her reach. She leans
forward, tips over, and cries. Describe what you
would do next. Explain why you would do it.
• List three caregiver strategies that facilitate the
social development of the infant between four
and eight months.
©2014 Cengage Learning.
All Rights Reserved.