As my son approaches his first birthday, my mind rewinds all the moments associated with him since I took him
in my hands just 15 minutes after his birth. Since then there isn't a single
day when I haven't seen him, which allowed me to observe his natural growth
over the one year.
I have divided the growth in 3 different phases:
1. Dependent Phase
The first four months describe this phase. The child has just come into this world. He is getting used to the day-night schedule, lights and sounds, faces and expressions. He remains confined to whichever place you take him to, relying mostly on mother's milk for food, sleeping for almost 14 hours a day, this is the quietest phase of his childhood.
They slowly develop their vision and
hearing capabilities. Most of their instincts rely on the feeling of touch.
They are yet to identify their parents, and therefore do not hesitate spending
time with others.
Best Part: Playing with his tiny
and delicate hands and feet
2. Observer Phase
Though the child starts observing events and
people since his birth, it is only by the end of the first phase that the child
has developed enough senses to explore the outside world in a much better way.
Increase in diet will add to his physical strength. Everything and anything
excites the child now, be it pressure cooker whistle in kitchen, sound of
train or bus, spectacles on face or kids in garden.
The child learns to hold things in his palm and
his liking for toys increases. His most favorite activity would be to make
efforts to move away from the place where he has been kept. During this phase,
the child learns to identify different colors, sounds and faces. They like
story-telling despite not understanding anything.
This observer phase often lasts for longer period
of time, and co-exists with the Experimental phase.
Best Part: Watching him flip over and
make desperate attempts to move ahead
3. Experimental Phase
By this phase, the child has gained enough
physical strength to pursue his mental desire. He would want to explore every
possible thing that comes across him. In the initial phase, the child will
start making efforts to crawl and move ahead. He will also learn to sit for
longer time. This will give him freedom to use both his hands to hold
something, twist it and break it.
As a parent, you'll notice that your child is
becoming more adventurous day-by-day. He will imitate your actions
and behavior. By this time, he has started recognizing his close family
and will hesitate to go with someone else. He will feel sad when the
father/mother is not around him and will search for them in the house. He
develops liking for other kids and likes playing group games.
Gradually he learns to stand-up and walk using support and this excites him a
lot.
The child will start having a proper routine for
food, though there will be mood-swings when he will get his initial set of
teeth. With this, he will learn to bite and his first experiments will be on
the parents! He will love spending time with the water during bath and will
learn to recognize hot water and cold water.
Best Part: Crawling, Story-telling, watch him speak 'Mama'
'Papa' for the first time!
Soon after his first birthday (and sometimes even
before that), the child will start standing and walking independently and this
will mark beginning of a next phase - The Explorer Phase!
Samarth and Papa (2011)
