Growth and Development of the Newborn and Infant
The caregiver of an infant tells the nurse that her dentist told her not to let the child go to bed with a bottle of milk. The caregiver states she doesn't understand the reason for this since her baby seems to enjoy the bottle. The most appropriate response to this caregiver would be:
"Bottles given at bedtime can cause erosion of the enamel on the teeth."
The nurse is preparing a list of abilities of 10-month-olds to use in teaching a parenting group. Which of the following should appear at this age?
Cruises around furniture
Which of the following milestones would you expect an infant to accomplish by 8 months of age?
Sitting without support
The best way for an infant's father to help his child complete the developmental task of the first year is to
respond to her consistently.
What is the correct amount of urine diapers a mature infant should have each day?
An infant should have 6 to 8 wet diapers/day.
The caregiver of 7-month-old twins tells the nurse that she has noticed that both of her children enjoy playing with a toy by moving the object back and forth between their hands over and over again. Which of the following statements made by the nurse most accurately explains this behavior?
"Depth perception develops at seven months so the child can recognize where the object is in relation to the hands."
Stacy and Matt are searching for a daycare provider for their infant son Max. At discharge the couple asks their maternity nurse what to look for when finding daycare providers. What response should the nurse make?
"Go look at daycares and ask questions about licensure, nutrition, staff, and safety."
The family caregiver of an 8 month old infant makes the statement, "I can't leave the room he is in because when I do he cries." Which of the following statements is most appropriate for the nurse to respond?
"If he cannot see you he thinks you are gone and that is frightening."
Bob and Nancy have financial issues and ask the nurse if a borrowed crib would be okay to use for their new twin boys. Which response should the nurse use in educating the parents?
"You can use the crib, but there are guidelines to follow."
Place these primitive protective reflexes of infancy in the order in which they will disappear as the child matures.
1 Step 2 Root 3 Moro 4 Plantar 5 Babinski
A newborn infant requires skin care that includes bathing. Besides hygiene, what are other reasons for bathing an infant?
Bathing is a time for bonding with the parents.
A new mother asks for advice from the nurse about bathing her infant. Which of the following should the nurse tell her?
Be sure to wash the infant's face, hands, and diaper area daily
The nurse is teaching a class to the caregivers of infants about nutrition and choosing solid foods to offer their infants. Which of the following statements is most accurate about how most infants prefer solid food? The foods should be
Bland
An infant is breastfed. When assessing her stools, which of the following data would be typical?
Breastfed infants are less likely to be constipated than bottle-fed infants.
While evaluating the development of 10-month-old boy, a nurse hides the boy's stuffed animal behind her back. The boy crawls around the examination table to look behind the nurse's back for the stuffed animal. Which of the following developmental phenomena has this infant demonstrated?
Object permanence
What feeding practice used by the parents of an 8-month-old should the nurse discourage?
Placing all liquids given the child in a "no spill" sippy cup
The nurse pulls the 5-month-old to sitting position from supine and notes head lag. The nurse's response is to:
Refer the infant for developmental and/or neurologic evaluation.
A mother is discussing her 10-month old boy with the nurse. Which comment indicates a need for teaching?
"He loves being in his walker and 'zips' around the house."
The nurse goes in to check on Lilly and how breast-feeding is going with her new son. The nurse observes the infant is on her lap with the blanket unwrapped, and Lilly is washing his face, and gently stroking the baby. Lily has had trouble breast-feeding the last few times. What is the appropriate response from her nurse?
"Lilly, you are doing a wonderful job attempting to waken the baby."
The nurse comes into infant Lucy's room on the pediatric floor. She is going to try and feed her for the first time since her surgery. How does the nurse know what infant state Lucy is in by what Mom says and that it is okay to try and feed Lucy?
"Lucy has been a chatterbox and smiles just like her brother."
A frustrated mother comes to a 9-month well-baby checkup complaining to you that her son is refusing all of the solid food she gives him. When talking with this mother, the nurse discovers that she has struggled all her life with a weight problem. She attributes this problem to being forced to eat all of the food she was served as a child, even when she was full. Because she doesn't want to cause the same problem in her child, she tells the nurse that each time her son pushes food away with his tongue she believes that he doesn't want it. Which of the following statements would be most appropriate for the nurse to say to this mother?
"The baby needs to learn how to move the food to the back of the mouth for swallowing, so catch the food and offer it again until the baby learns this."
The infant measures 21 ½ inches at birth. If the infant is following a normal pattern of growth, which of the following would be an expected height for this child at the age of six months?
27 ½ inches
The infant measured 20 inches at birth. If the infant is following a normal pattern of growth, which of the following ranges would be an expected height for this child at the age of 12 months?
30-32 inches Explanation: By one year of age, the infant has tripled his or her birth weight and has grown 10 to 12 inches.
When weighing and measuring a child at her 1-year well-baby checkup, the nurse would expect to see that over the previous 6 months a baby who weighed 8 pounds and was 20 inches long at birth would have gained about
8 pounds and grown 4-6 inches During the first 6 months, an infant's birth weight doubles and his or her height increases by about 6 inches. Growth slows slightly during the second 6 months but is still rapid. By 1 year of age, the infant has tripled his or her birth weight and has grown 10 inches to 12 inches.
A new mother tells the nurse that she a bought car seat for her infant at a garage sale when she was pregnant but that a friend recently told her that she should buy a new one. To which organization's web site should the nurse refer this mother for information on car seats?
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
A nurse tests the gross motor development of a 2-month-old boy by holding the infant in the ventral suspension position. Which of the following should she expect to see if the infant is developing normally?
He holds his head in the same plane as the rest of his body
Julie is 3 months old. Which of the facts below is a developmental milestone for her age?
Julie loves watching activities.
A staff nurse is talking about Piaget's theory with a nursing student. Infants are in the sensorimotor stage of cognitive development during which object permanence is mastered. An example of an infant displaying this ability is:
Looking for a toy in her crib at the last place she saw it
The family caregiver of an 8 month old infant makes the statement, "I can't leave the room he is in because when I do he cries." Which of the following statements is most appropriate for the nurse to respond?
Looking for a toy in her crib at the last place she saw it
The nurse is teaching the mother of a 2-month-old girl about the social and emotional developments that will occur in the next 8 weeks. Which of the following behaviors is most likely to occur?
Mimicking mother's facial expressions
The mother of a 3-month-old is concerned because her daughter does not yet sit by herself. Which of the following statements best reflects average sitting ability?
Most babies do not sit steadily until 8 months; she is normal.
The nurse conducting a 6-month well-baby check-up assesses for the presence/absence of the asymmetric tonic neck reflex. At this age the reflex:
Should have disappeared
If the infant is following a normal pattern of dentition, the child would most likely have how many teeth by the age of 14 months?
Six to 12 teeth
A father mentioned to the nurse that his usually smiling, happy 8-month-old boy was clingy and intensely serious when his grandmother visited from a distant city. The nurse explained the child was experiencing:
Stranger anxiety
In working with the infant age child, the nurse recognizes which of the following as a characteristic of the infant.
The child grows and develops skills more rapidly than at any other time in their life
A 5-month-old infant being assessed was born at 32 weeks. The nurse doing the well-child check-up should compare the baby to what norms?
The development of a 3-month-old
During a mother baby class the nurse is discussing information related to teeth and teething. Which of the following statements is accurate regarding infants' teeth?
The first tooth usually erupts between 6-8 months
Which of the following shows an example of Erik Erikson's developmental task for the infant?
The infant cries and the caregiver picks the child up.
The nurse is examining an 8-month-old girl for appropriate development during a regular check-up. Which of the following observations points to a developmental risk?
Uses only the left hand to grasp
The mother of an infant asks you when to begin tooth brushing with her son. Your best response would be
as soon as the first tooth erupts.
When teaching an infant's mother about bathing her, it would be important to instruct her that
bath time provides an opportunity for play.
Anticipatory guidance for an infant for the 4th month should include the fact that she probably will
be able to turn over onto the back.
