In early childhood, babies and toddlers use various developmental schemas to explore, learn, and understand their environment. From a newborn’s first reflexive movements to a toddler’s independent play, schemas offer a window into how children interact with the world around them. For a deeper dive into schemas and how they support early learning, check out our previous blog dedicated entirely to schemas.
Mental Leaps and Monthly Schema Development
Have you noticed that on some days when your child is unusually clingy or cranky? Yeah, they may be going through a leap.
As children grow, they experience periods of rapid mental and physical development known as ‘Leaps’. These ‘leaps’ often bring new abilities and behaviors as babies transition through stages, while schemas play a crucial role in supporting these changes. Read more about the leaps, what to expect, and games, toys, and books you can buy to help support your child’s development in this article.
Below, we’ll look at how schemas emerge month by month in alignment with these leaps.
Schemas by Developmental Stage
Newborn (0-3 Months)
- Reflexive Actions: Newborns primarily rely on reflexive schemas, such as rooting and sucking, essential for feeding and survival.
- Early Gravitational Schema: Babies start adjusting to gravity as they are held, lifted, and moved. This schema sets the foundation for future balance and body awareness.
- Sensory Exploration: Babies engage with sounds, sights, and touch, recognizing voices and faces. This sensory schema lays the groundwork for later attachment and social bonds.
Infants (4-6 Months)
- Rotational Schema: Rolling over introduces babies to body rotation, which builds coordination and muscle strength, preparing for crawling.
- Trajectory Schema: Babies start reaching for objects and might drop them to observe how they fall, an early form of throwing that builds awareness of distance and direction.
- Cause-and-effect Schema: Babies are intrigued by toys that make sounds or move, learning that their actions can create responses. This schema becomes the basis for more complex problem-solving.
Infants (6-9 Months)
- Object Permanence Schema: As babies learn that objects still exist when out of sight, they enjoy games like peek-a-boo, laying a foundation for memory and predictability.
- Containment Schema: Placing items inside larger containers or boxes allows babies to explore boundaries and depth, a precursor to understanding spatial relationships.
- Trajectory Schema: Dropping objects from highchairs or playpens is a favorite activity as babies test gravity and movement paths, gaining confidence in manipulating objects.
Infants (9-12 Months)
- Gravitational Schema: Babies pull themselves to stand and begin cruising along furniture, refining their understanding of balance and stability.
- Enveloping Schema: Babies may cover or hide objects or themselves, often using blankets, exploring ideas of visibility and concealment.
- Connecting Schema: Building, stacking, and linking items together introduce babies to structural relationships, which develop their spatial and problem-solving skills.
Toddlers (12-18 Months)
- Throwing and Trajectory Schema: Throwing toys, balls, or even food is a common activity as toddlers refine their control over movement and distance.
- Enclosing and Containment Schema: Toddlers start stacking or arranging toys, practicing control over spatial arrangements and boundaries.
- Transporting Schema: Toddlers enjoy carrying objects from one place to another, which supports motor skills, spatial awareness, and organization.
Toddlers (18-24 Months)
- Advanced Trajectory Schema: Throwing activities become more intentional, with toddlers often aiming for specific targets or engaging in rolling and bouncing games.
- Symbolic Play and Categorization Schema: Sorting items by type, color, or size shows an early ability to categorize, and engaging in pretend play—like pretending a block is a car—marks the emergence of symbolic thinking.
- Positioning and Connecting Schemas: Toddlers begin arranging objects in lines or patterns and building with blocks, which enhance their sense of order and their understanding of how items connect.
Conclusion
Understanding developmental schemas like trajectory, containment, and connection offers valuable insights into how children explore and grow. By supporting these schemas through play and engagement, parents can help their children build essential skills for learning and development.