294 Unit 3 Infancy
Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Helping Infants Develop
Self-Awareness
Through infant-adult interactions, parents and
caregivers can help infants learn more about them-
selves. In the fi rst year, an infant begins to develop
self-awareness or an understanding of him- or
herself as a unique person. As infants develop
self-awareness, they form a mental picture of
themselves and an idea of who they are and what
they can do. Infants develop self-awareness in the
following ways:
• Hand regard. Infants gaze at their hands
for hours, making slight movements
(called hand regard). As their brains
process the sight and sensation of the
moving hands, infants learn their hands
are a part of their bodies.
• Cause and effect. Infants learn how
their movements can affect other objects
(Figure 10.14). For example, an infant
might move a hand, bat a toy on an
activity gym, and make the toy turn. This
discovery teaches the infant which objects
are part of him- or herself (the hand) and
which are not (the toy and the activity
gym). When an infant crawls to get a toy,
the infant learns his or her actions can
make things happen.
• Observe and learn to read the baby’s
signals and consider his or her preferences
for meeting needs. Babies prefer to be
soothed in different ways.
• Allow the mobile infant to seek proximity
(nearness) and maintain contact. For
example, most infants prefer to play within
a few feet of their parents—not in a far-off
playroom or nursery. Ignoring or rejecting
an infant’s overtures (cues for positive
relationship building) leads to insecurity
for the infant.
• Minimize separation anxiety by leaving the
infant for a short period of time, if possible,
and with a familiar caregiver who will
soothe him or her once the parent leaves.
Infants can develop multiple attachments,
which also depend on how other
caregivers respond to the infant’s needs.
• Realize attachment develops over time.
No parent can be 100 percent correct and
responsive in meeting each and every
need of a baby. Because babies develop
so rapidly, even the best adult observers
can miss a cue. Like all other interactions,
the balance of correct readings and
consistent responses needs to be on the
positive side.
Figure 10.13 A baby’s attachment is a powerful infl uence
on his or her social-emotional development. Without strong,
positive attachment, babies may experience social-emotional
developmental delays. If a caregiver is worried that his or
her baby is not forming attachment, what should he or
she do?
Figure 10.14 Infants develop self-awareness by learning
cause and effect and by witnessing how their movement and
actions affect the environment around them. How can parents
encourage their babies to learn about cause and effect?