Over the last couple of months I have been able to experience something that I though would not happen for a while. Currently, I live with my aunt, uncle, two cousins, and most recently my cousin's baby. It is quite an experience to live with a newborn in the household. Over the last two months I have had the chance to observe the infant on a daily basis and I have noticed many things about him. A couple days ago I tested out some of his infant reflexes and I will talk about some of these findings in this paper. Also, I will talk about some other things besides infant reflexes that I have noticed about the baby.
In class we talked about several of the infant reflexes that are most common. Most of these reflexes serve as a function in the development of the infant. The definition of a reflex is an innate, automatic response to stimulation (lecture, 9/24/03). The text for the class lists 10 newborn reflexes, 9 of which I will explain in detail. I tested most of the reflexes on my cousin's baby but I did not use all of them. .
The eye blink reflex occurs when a bright light or a loud clap is directly near or at a baby's face. The infant will quickly close its eyelids in response. This reflex is a permanent occurrence, which function is to protect from over stimulation (Berk, p. 101). I tested this reflex on the baby and I noticed his sight was not very acute when compare to his hearing. He would respond more frequently to the clapping. If I moved my hand back and forth in front of his face he would not blink because his vision is not yet fully developed.
Rooting is a reflex which function is to help the infant find the nipple (Berk, p. 101). I rubbed the baby on his cheek and he would turn his head and open his mouth toward the side that was being touched. If I did it too often he would get mad probably because he would not find the nipple or bottle which he is accustomed to finding.