Perceptual Development in Infants

4 to 9 Months

• Perceptual development progresses rather slowly until around 4 months of age, at which point an infant's vision increases to several feet away. Infants between 4 and 6 months of age feel themselves being touched by a person or object and look around, trying to find the source of the touch. They start attempting to mimic the sounds that others make; this becomes evident as familiar sounds begin to appear in the midst of baby babble.

  Infants in this age range are beginning to recognize familiar objects and show favoritism toward some objects. At around 7 months of age, babies follow objects with both eyes. By the time babies are crawling, they can remember the placement of favorite toys or other objects. A baby can crawl to the place where the object is stored (even if it is out of sight) to retrieve it.

9 to 18 Months

• Sensory perception increases a great deal between 9 and 18 months of age. At this age, an infant will nuzzle her face into a soft object to smell it. Between 12 and 18 months, infants become aware of the difficulty of some tasks and adjust accordingly. For instance, a child will walk slowly and carefully over surfaces, such as rocks, that are difficult to navigate. Babies begin to "dance" at this age, swaying and bouncing to music. It is also at this age that children begin to show either a preference for or an aversion to messy activities such as playing in the dirt at a playground. They begin to pull their hands away from unfamiliar objects with an offensive texture.

18 to 36 Months

• More leaps in perception are made between 18 and 36 months of age, and much of the information gathered in the previous months is connected to form more complex thoughts. Children begin to use big crayons and will watch the lines and squiggles they are making on the paper. They are more precise when imitating those around them and will try to copy objects being drawn in front of them. Rough play, such as wrestling and tickling, becomes more appealing to children in this age range. On the other hand, children of this age are perceptive enough to exercise caution with fragile objects and will walk more slowly and deliberately when carrying objects that may spill.