Every baby born in the world begins life with a cry.
To a mother her babys first
cry is a wonderful sound, for it means she now has her own living baby. A baby can see at birth, but he does not see well. When he is looking straight at something he does not see it as it really appears but as a gray shadow. No baby sees perfectly until he is six months old, although by the time he is a month old he can follow a light, faces and sound with his eyes and at two months he will recognize a face. Nothing in life is as important to a human being as being cared for when small by someone who loves him and shows that love. A babys association with his mother is his first meeting with another human being. How she cares for him through infancy (babyhood) and childhood affects him all the rest of his life.
Babyhood extends from the end of the second week of life to the end of the second year. It is often referred to as INFANCY.
The term baby may likewise suggest a helpless individual; hence, the word toddler has been increasingly used to mean a baby that has achieved enough control of his body to permit relative independence, (such as moving, feeding himself, etc.).
Characteristics of Babyhood
It is the true foundation age.
Babyhood establishes many behavior patterns, attitudes, and emotional expressions. Thus, the established patterns in this time persist regardless whether good or bad, beneficial or harmful.
It is an age of rapid growth and change.
Rapid growth in both physical and psychological aspects of a baby is observed especially during the first year. Accompanying changes in body proportions are growth in height and weight, which likewise are paralleled by intellectual growth and change.
It is an age of increasing independency.
Babyhood enables the baby to sit, stand, and walk and to manipulate objects as the result of rapid development of body control due to increased independence. With this comes an attitude against being babied. This protest, which takes the form of angry outbursts and crying, develops into negativism.
It is an age of heightened individuality.
Babies are afforded the chance to develop themselves along the lines of their interest and abilities through increased independence.
It is the foundation period of socialization.
Young babies are very egocentric but later the attitude diminishes, they show a desire to belong to the group as evidenced by their not wanting to be left alone, by demonstrating attention-seeking behavior and they also manifest attachment behavior by developing a strong emotional ties with people they associate with.
It is the foundation period for sex-role typing.
Babies are already subjected to sex-role typing right after their being brought into this world by being addressed in clothes with colors appropriate to their sex, or being given toys, and etc., not absolutely.
It is an appealing age.
Babies bodies may be disproportionate but it is this characteristic that makes them appealing. Gradually, as babies become capable of doing things for themselves and their appearance becomes less appealing, they start giving adults a hard time since the former become less easy to manage and more resistant to help from the latter.
It is the foundation period for creativity.
Babies nonetheless learn to develop interests and the attitudes that will lay the foundations for creative behavior and for community and for conformity as well as nonconformity to patterns set by others while they are incapable of doing anything and not able to exercise control over their environment.
It is a hazardous age.
Illnesses and accidents which often lead to permanent disabilities or even death are the most common physical hazard. Meanwhile, when poor foundations of the various behavior patterns are established, results to serious psychological hazards.