Fundamentals of Nursing Q 274
The nurse is assessing a 4 month-old infant. Which motor skill would the nurse anticipate finding?
A. Hold a rattle
B. Bang two blocks
C. Drink from a cup
D. Wave “bye-bye”
Correct Answer: A. Hold a rattle
The age at which a baby will develop the skill of grasping a toy with help is 4 to 6 months. The baby is becoming more dexterous and doing more with their hands. Their hands now work together to move a toy or shake a rattle. In fact, those hands will grab for just about anything within reach, including a stuffed animal, the mother’s hair, and any colorful or shiny object hanging nearby
Option B: At 9 months, babies repeat different actions with objects. They mouth objects to explore the features. They bang objects with their hand and bang two objects together to create sounds and actions. They drop objects sometimes by chance and other times on purpose.
Option C: Babies are learning functional actions with a purpose in mind. They can put things in, such as put clothes in the dryer or a shape in a puzzle. From “put in” they learn a variety of functional actions. They can put a sippy cup to their mouth to drink, a spoon in a bowl to scoop, and a spoon in their mouth to eat.
Option D: Learning how to wave bye-bye is an important milestone for an infant that usually occurs between the age of 10 months and a year. A study in Pediatrics International found premature infants mastered the bye-bye gesture significantly later than full-term babies and used different hand and wrist motions.