Video Case Study on Babies Film - Paper Example

The film Babies is based on the first year of life of four children from different parts of the globe. Two of the children are from rural areas. Ponijao is the lastborn of nine from Opuwo, Namibia and Bayar are from Bayanchandmani, Mongolia. The other two children are from urban homes. Hattie is a first child from San Fransico, U.S. and Mari is also a first child from Tokyo, Japan. The documentary portrays the impact environment, culture and parenting have on a growing infant.

The documentary begins with showing how the four children come into the world. There is a contrast in the manner of their birth. Hattie is born in a state of the art medical facility. Ponijao, on the other hand, is born in a modest hut. In another scene, Bayar is born and swaddled in a hospital, after which he heads to his rural home in the company of his parents and siblings on a motorbike. The film shows the babies develop in various aspects; cognitively, physically and social-emotionally from when they are infants to when they become toddlers. The four babies were all breastfed.

Some parts of the film did stand out. One instance is where Mari gets very upset and throws a tantrum when frustrated by a toy. During an organized play session, Hattie gets bored and leaves the group. Ponijao gets into a fight with a sibling when they are playing on the ground.

Without narrating, the film portrays different cultures. The different environment and culture in which the babies grow in influence their physical and emotional growth. The environment which every child had to interact with was different. Because Mari and Hattie were from cities, they had many toys and other objects to use while playing. Ponijao and Bayar, on the other hand, had nature including sticks, animals, and stones. All the children seem content and happy with their surroundings.

Children undergo development from birth to the age of about two years which can be attributed to the emergence of a broad range of intellectual, perceptual and motor capacities (Berk et al., 6). The babies show rooting reflex when they open their mouths to locate their mothers nipples. Gross motor skills of the children develop all through the movie. It seems easier for Ponijao to begin walking than Bayar. Bayar is swaddled most of the time tightly whereas Ponijao is in her mothers laps or hands most of the time. We see fine motor skills being portrayed when Hattie peeled the banana and when Mari attempts to place a sticker on a piece of paper.

The nature of the relationship the children had with their caretakers significantly impacts on their behavior and reactions to situations. Bayar who is by himself most of the time cries when his mother tries to breastfeed him. This could be attributed to the fact that he has not developed any connection to his mother. When he was petting a cat, he was rough and pulled the cats fur. This aggression can be because when he was crying, there was no one around to pick him up and comfort him. When his brother beats him with a cloth, he cries. He portrays the emotion of anger or being upset. Mari and Hattie interact with other children in their classes. Both of them did not have siblings, and this provided them a platform to interact with other kids. In one scene, Ponijao starts crying when a bottle is taken from her by a sibling. What she is dealing with is sadness or anger. Both she and her sibling respond to their emotions by hitting each other.

The nature of interaction the children had with their caregivers seems to have influenced their speech development. Ponijao, Mari, and Hattie who were with their mothers most of the time started cooing first because they heard their mothers talking or singing to them. This is not the case with Bayar who is by himself most of the time. The environment, parenting, and culture have a great impact on an infants development physically, socially and emotionally.

Work Cited

Berk, Laura E, and Adena B. Meyers. Infants, Children, and Adolescents. 2016.