Her hands and fingers quiver and flex in excited anticipation as she prepares to touch surfaces that give her particular pleasure, such as patting the family pets. Her character shows her to be an increasingly mischievious and fun-loving baby who delights in play whether alone or with the adults around her. Jasmine watches older babies and toddlers with interest, but makes little response to those younger than herself.
Jasmine has discovered the pleasure of dropping things from her high chair, looking to see where they land. She now has four teeth, which she occasionally grinds together. These appeared with relatively little suffering. She blows kisses to close family members, and continues to increase her ability and agility in getting to her feet and moving from object to object around the room.
Jasmine is starting to place building bricks in a tower of two with increasing success. She is now able to find objects that have been completely hidden as she watches, and she shows a definite preference for anything yellow.
Jasmine is able to be apart from her mother for short periods (looked after by grandparents), without distress, but shows delight in her mother's return, indicating that she feels very secure. She has not yet shown any great wariness of strangers.
Questions
1 Jasmine has four teeth. Which teeth would you expect these to be?
2 At what age would you expect Jasmine to be walking?
3 At what age do babies often become wary of strangers?
Answers to part ten questions: (21 February)
1 The pincer grasp is present when an infant can pick up tiny items between their index finger and thumb.
2 The term used to confirm that an infant has understanding that an object exists even when it cannot be seen is 'object permanence'.
3 Some infants will copy an adult clapping from about nine months. By 12 months most will usually clap and also wave bye-bye spontaneously.
By Sandy Green, an early years consultant and freelance trainer. She is also Jasmine's grandmother
