Infant and Toddler Development Assignment

Infant and Toddler Development Assignment

Assessment Instructions

ASSESSMENT INSTRUCTIONS

Note: Because the assessments in this course move progressively through periods of child development, you are encouraged to complete them in sequential order, 1–5.

In preparation for this assessment, take some time to visit an infant toy section at a local store or on a website that features toys for young children. Survey the toys available for children between birth to age 24 months. Note the kinds of toys that are labeled educational and the features that manufacturers say will enhance learning and development. Reflect on what you know about child development to critically evaluate the claims of these toys.

Imagine that you will serve as an advisor to a group of parents who are wondering what kind of toys to buy for their infants or toddlers (somewhere between birth and age 2). As such, write a 3–4 page article, with citations, suitable for publication in a parenting newsletter. Highlight a toy recommendation for a specific age group (birth to 6 months; 6–12 months; 12–18 months; or 18–24 months); support your recommendation thoroughly with citations from the Resources or other scholarly sources. Keep in mind that Piaget’s theory of cognitive development could be a helpful resource in framing your recommendations.

Include the following in your finished article:

1. Identify the specific age range you are addressing. Choose from birth to 6 months, 6–12 months, 12–18 months, or 18–24 months. Describe the key developmental milestones associated with the specific age range you are addressing. Address each of the following areas of development.

1. Cognitive: language and thinking skills.
2. Physical: gross and fine motor.
3. Social and emotional.
4. Biological: reflexes, sensory systems, and so forth.

2. Describe the research methods used by child development experts aiming to investigate developmentally appropriate toys. Infant and Toddler Development Assignment

3. Highlight a toy that you believe would work to support the development of children in the range you selected. Draw on the ideas you gathered in your assessment preparation to select the toy you would like to feature. Assess how this toy addresses each of the developmental domains—cognitive, physical, social and emotional, and biological—for a child at the specific age you have selected.

4. Explain how theory or theories of child development justify your toy selection. What evidence do these theories provide that supports your case?

Be sure to cite all scholarly sources throughout your article.

You are urged to use Capella University’s Writing Center to help you develop clear and effective writing. Through the Writing Center, you will be able to receive feedback on your writing, use writing resources, discover new writing strategies, and explore different ways to draft, revise, edit, and proofread your own work.

If you wish, you may use the APA Paper Template, linked in the Resources, to complete your assessment.

Additional Requirements

• Written communication: Ensure that your writing is free of errors that detract from the overall
• message.
• APA formatting: Format your paper according to APA style.
• Length: Write 3–4 typed and double-spaced pages.
• Font and font size: Times New Roman, 12 point.

SUGGESTED RESOURCES

The resources provided here are optional and support the assessment. They provide helpful information about the topics. You may use other resources of your choice to prepare for this assessment; however, you will need to ensure that they are appropriate, credible, and valid. The PSYC-FP2700 – Child Development Library Guide can help direct your research. The Supplemental Resources and Research Resources, both linked from the left navigation menu in your courseroom, provide additional resources to help support you. Infant and Toddler Development Assignment

Developmental Milestones and Research Methods

• Berk, L. E., & Meyers, A. B. (2016). Infants and children: Prenatal through middle childhood (8th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. Available from the bookstore.
  • Chapter 5, “Physical Development in Infancy and Toddlerhood,” pages 158–199.
    • This chapter also addresses research methods that are used to investigate developmentally appropriate infancy and toddlerhood.
  • Chapter 6, “Cognitive Development in Infancy and Toddlerhood,” pages 200–243.
  • Chapter 7, “Emotional and Social Development in Infancy and Toddlerhood,” pages 244–281.
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014). Infants and toddlers (ages 0–3)—Milestones and schedules. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/parents/infants/milestones.html
  • This resource provides examples of developmental milestones and typical schedules of development.
• FMG Video
  • This video was purchased through Films Media Group for use in this Capella Course.
    • Emotional Development of Children | Transcript.
      • This film focuses on the importance of emotional education during the various stages of childhood development and explains how caregivers and parents can monitor this vital growth.

Role of Toys in Child Development

• Mushimiyimana, D. (2017, August 23). How toys contribute to your child’s growth and development. The New Times (Rwanda).
  • This article addresses the importance that playing with toys has on child development.
• Iannaccone, A., Savarese, G., & Manzi, F. (2018). Object use in children with autism: Building with blocks from a Piagetian perspective. Frontiers in Education, 3, 1–9.
  • This article demonstrates how a theory (Piaget) can be connected to use of a specific toy.
• Page, T., & Thorsteinsson, G. (2017). Designing toys to support children’s development. I-Manager’s Journal on Educational Psychology, 11(2), 1–10.
  • This resource explores the topic of toy design and its importance on child development. Infant and Toddler Development Assignment