INFANCY

Healthy Lifestyles

Infants' vitality and successful development depend on good nutrition during the first year of life. Full-term infants who are fed on demand usually consume the amount they need to grow well. But feeding infants is much more complex than simply offering food when they are hungry, and it serves purposes far beyond supporting their physical growth. Feeding provides opportunities for emotional bonding between the parent and infant. Infants improve their hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills as they begin to feed themselves.

In addition to interaction during feeding times, infants need play time to explore objects, engage in activities that stimulate their senses, and experience movement and action.

Building Partnerships

Partnerships among health professionals, families, and communities are essential for ensuring that families receive guidance on physical activity during infancy. Health professionals can have a tremendous impact on decisions about physical activity as they inform families about the importance of physical activity for motor skill development. They provide an opportunity for families to discuss, reflect on, and decide which options best suit their circumstances. Health professionals also identify and contact community resources that help families.

The community may also need to help families by providing programs that

Encourage families to promote physical activity in infants. Teach families about physical and motor skill development during infancy. Give infants the opportunity to be physically active.

In addition, communities can provide (1) affordable, skilled child care providers who promote physical activity in infants, (2) safe environments for indoor and outdoor physical activity, and (3) support for families of infants with special health care needs.

Strengths, and Issues and Concerns

During health supervision visits, health professionals should emphasize the physical activity strengths of the infant, family, and community (Table 1) and address any physical activity issues and concerns (Table 2).

Table 1. Physical Activity Strengths During Infancy

Infant	Family	Community
Enjoys playing with parents, siblings, grandparents, and others Enjoys physical activity (e.g., movement, play) Enjoys playing with objects and toys Is curious and explores environment through a variety of physical activities Moves in new ways when challenged with interesting activities	Spends time playing with the infant Encourages the infant to move and explore Provides a stimulating environment that promotes play and physical activity Participates in physical activity themselves	Encourages families to promote play and physical activity in their infants Provides programs that teach families about physical and motor skill development Provides programs that give infants the opportunity to be physically active Provides affordable, skilled child care providers who promote physical activity in infants Provides safe environments for indoor and outdoor physical activity Provides support for families of infants with special health care needs

 

Table 2. Physical Activity Issues and Concerns During Infancy

Infant	Family	Community
Was born prematurely Experiences developmental delays Experiences discomfort with physical activity Has health problems	Lacks knowledge of physical and motor skill development Has health problems that affect the amount of time spent with the infant Has a work schedule or other commitments that reduce the amount of time spent with the infant	Lacks programs that promote physical activity in infants Lacks affordable, skilled child care providers who promote physical activity in infants Does not provide support for families of infants with special health care needs

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