Development from Birth to 19 Essay

Physical:- 0-3 Physical development from birth is usually very quick, within the first few weeks of being born a baby will smile and start responding to sounds and environments. Gradually their muscles start to develop and by 6 months they will start reaching for and holding objects. Around the time a baby reaches one year they are beginning to crawl, and can roll from front to back. Using furniture to aid themselves in standing or using adult support to start taking some first steps. They are now able to sit unaided. Hand eye coordination starts improving as they pass objects between both hands. Teeth may start to show and more solid food will be introduced to them. As they move towards the age of two a child will begin walking and using toys to push and pull while they are walking. Picking objects up in different ways, building small towers and starting to show a preference for one hand. Pointing at their choices and waving and using their head to tell you yes or no. Between two and three they will start making marks on paper and developing their fine motor skills. Gross motor skills will develop, kicking balls and throwing them. 3-7 From three years gross motor skills will start advancing, such as jumping and running, stairs will become easier. They will gain more independence. Fine motor skills will be easier and they can start to dress and undress themselves with a small amount of assistance. By the time a child gets to four girls and boys become slightly different. Boy’s gross motor skills will be developed further when it comes to throwing, catching, climbing pedalling etc, however for girls their fine motor skills will be more developed with use of scissors, pens/pencils and threading beads. When children reach the age of five they will have more control with pencils, copying letters and shapes. Gross motor skills will keep on developing and they are able to kick with an aim, learning to hop on one leg and then the other. By six children will start taking risks with jumping from heights and will start riding bikes better as their confidence increases. They learn to do buttons while dressing thems elves and begin to learn laces. 7-12 At seven years old children can walk along a thin line with arms out to the side for balance. They will start riding a bike two-wheeled or possibly roller skates. Stamina will have increased showing in some activities such as swimming and gymnastics. They start to assess their environment when running avoiding objects that are in their way. Catching becomes better, and may even use only one hand when doing so. They are more competent with their writing skills, incorporating colours with their drawings, such as green at the bottom of the page for grass. Children aged eight and nine have a quicker reaction time and their body strength will have increased. They enjoy participating in sports and energetic games. They can control over small muscles and can draw and write with more skill and dexterity and start joining letters in their handwriting. At ten and eleven years girls and boys begin to differ again, girls experience puberty earlier than boys, generally girls are two years ahead of boys. Body proportions become more like those of adults. Writing has become established and they will now have a writing style, usually with joined up letters. 12-19 Physical becomes very different in each child from the age of twelve upwards as they are now in adolescence. Boys and girls have a big difference. Boys will become bigger than girls, body shape will change, muscles will develop and body hair will grow. Strength and coordination will increase. Other changes that happen within puberty will start such as their voices getting deeper, testicles and scrotum will begin to grow. With Girls body shape will change and start to round and become curvy. Their breasts will start to develop, menstruation will start however this can range from eight years until late teens, and the average age is around thirteen. Some girls may become physically mature by the age of fifteen and close to their adult height, however some may still develop larger breasts and a fuller figure. Intellectual:- 0-3 When a baby is born intellect is very simple by imitating and trying new ways of behaviour. For example, imitating adults when opening their mouth and sticking out their tongue. They start to make eye contact and recognise their primary carers and cry in expressive ways. Begin to understand the meanings of words such as bye and mama. By the time they are turning nine months old they will understand their daily routines and follow simple instructions. They will watch a toy be hidden and then look for it (object permanence) and also look in the correct direction for a falling toy. By one year old children will use the trial and error method to learn about objects. They understand simple instructions such as ‘clap hands’ or ‘wave bye’. They will start to learn body parts and will point to them and refer to themselves by name. By two years children begin to understand the consequences of their own actions and of those around them. They follow simple instructions and give empathy to other babies cry and try to provide comfort. Vocabulary will grow to about 1,000 words and will start to put phrases together. 3-7 At three years old children are able to match two or three colours, following instructions will have grown and are fascinated by cause and effect often asking ‘why’. They have grasped the concept of one and lots. At four years old children will talk about things in the past and in the future, their memory skills have increased and can often confuse fact with fiction, they can give reasons and solve problems, and are able to sort objects into groups. By five years old, a child can produce drawings with great detail, they become interested in reading and writing. By six years old, children think in a more co-ordinated way and can hold more than one point of view at a time. They are able to know the difference between reality and fantasy but may still be frightened by supernatural characters. They develop concepts of quantity such as length, volume, capacity and weight. Cultural conventions influence their drawing and writing. 7-12 At seven years old, children will start to become better with technology, using computers for simple word processing using the mouse and keyboard. They start to challenge themselves by using new materials for experiments. They enjoy learning mathematical and scientific concepts and can perform simple calculations in their heads and telling time. Children develop a logical way of thinking but are still limited compared to an adult. At eight and nine years old children have an increased attention span, they understand complex sentences and are able to speak and express their ideas. They learn to plan ahead and evaluate what they do. At ten and eleven, they begin to devise memory strategies, they understand the motives behind the actions of another. Children may become curious about alcohol, tobacco and drugs and want to understand more about them. 12-19 During adolescence teenagers become more responsible for their own thoughts, words and actions, they think about possibilities and their future, occupations and relationships etc. Teenagers form their individual identity with guidance from education, parents and peers. They think through hypotheses and by using their ability they think about situations that are contrary to fact. They use imagination when solving problems and they approach a problem with a systematic method. Communication and language:- 0-3 A child’s language development usually begins within their first three months, babies will watch faces and mouths and try to copy other people’s movement and sounds. They will coo, gurgle and cry in expressive ways, they smile in response to speech. They laugh and vocalise with increasing tone and intensity. At around six months babies babble spontaneously, talk to themselves and squeal with delight. At nine months babies enjoy communicating with sounds, they understand and obey the command ‘no’. At the age of one, children will speak two to six or more recognisable words and show that they understand many more. At twelve months deaf babies stop babbling and begin to learn the special manual gestures of sign language. They start to learn a few body parts. At eighteen months the vocabulary grows to six to forty recognisable words and understand many more than that, using gestures alongside these words. Singing is enjoyable as well as listening to songs and rhymes. At two years old children speak over 200 words and learn new words rapidly, but can understand many more words than they can speak. Phases are used as telegraphic speech some phrases can mean more than one thing. Naming things becomes fun and they spend a great deal of time doing this. ‘Why’ becomes a favourite word and questions are constantly being asked. As a child reaches three years old, they will join in and remember both words and actions to songs, speech progresses into longer sentences and can easily learn new words, names, places and so on. 3-7 As children grow at three years old, if more than one language is being spoken around them they will learn more than one language. They can carry on conversations but often miss link words like ‘the’ and ‘is’ During their singing and speaking they will use pitch and tone. At four years old, children start to talk in past and in the future. They begin to recognise patterns in the way words are formed and apply these when talking however they are unaware that many common words have irregular forms, they may say ‘I runned’ or ‘I goed’. Jokes and play on words become enjoyable. At five years old children will talk with a good knowledge of tense, using the past, present and future in conversation. They are fluent in speech and grammatically correct for the majority. Questions are asked about abstract words like ‘beyond’. Children at six years old gain confidence when they speak and remember and repeat songs and nursery r hymes. They may alternate between wanting stories read to them and reading books themselves. 7-12 At seven years old children understand that words have more than one meaning. Expressing themselves becomes easier in speech and writing. They use compound and complex sentences, and can carry adult-like conversation. At eight and nine, children use and understand complex sentences, they are very verbal and enjoy making up and telling jokes. Spelling becomes understood, and using simple punctuation becomes consistent. They use writing for different purposes, for both imaginative and factual. They use books to find out answers, reading independently for long periods of time, sometimes using the help of adults. Through the ages of ten and eleven children can write moderately lengthy essays, to do this they may use dictionaries, school libraries or the help of an adult to gain the correct information. They will look at work they have done and try to correct punctuation and revising their own writing. 12-19 During adolescents, language skills may still be developing, but with a more complex manner. They may start using sarcasm and wit the older they get. They will have a fast legitimate style of handwriting and will communicate in an adult manner, including increased maturity. Teenagers are able to process text talk and abstract meaning, understanding abstract language and the meaning, figurative language and metaphors. Emotional and Personal:- 0-3 From birth babies respond to adults especially their mother/father’s faces and voices.. At one years old children may show distress or separation anxiety. Objects such as blankets or teddies will be used for comfort. They become emotionally liable, meaning that they are likely to have variable moods throughout the day. From two years old, children want to please adults and become much more independent, but frustration will show when they are unable to complete some tasks without the help of an adult resulting in tantrums. Jealousy begins to show when they are not receiving attention, sharing may become hard for some children, this can be with attention from adults or even some toys. Frustration is now shown more because of not being able to express themselves. Children may also show toilet needs by restlessness or words. 3-7 From three years old, children will begin to learn to share better with other children. They feel more secure are able to cope in new surroundings and new adults for a longer period of time, but still need routine and structure to feel safe. They like to do more things independently and unaided. Affection is shown to siblings whether it be older or younger. Using the toilet independently and dry throughout the night but may still have accidents, although this may be different with each child. Fears may develop for example of the dark, this is because they are capable of pretending and imagining. At four years old children can eat skilfully with a spoon and a fork. Dressing themselves and doing things like brushing their teeth, washing and drying their hands can be done independently but still need help with buttons and laces. Children at five years old have definitive likes and dislikes, but may have small apparent logic, for example they may eat on food when it is only cut a certain way. From the age of six children begin to compare themselves with others around them, thinking that they are like others but in a different way. They carry out simple task and like to get rewarded for doing so, some people may use reward charts to do so. 7-12 At seven years old children learn how to control their emotions, learning that they can keep their emotions to themselves and hide their true thoughts and feelings. Who they would like to be becomes thought about and can be critical of their own work. Children at eight and nine years old can easily be embarrassed, can be discouraged easily and take pride in their own competence. They can become argumentative and bossy however can still be kind and approachable. The feelings and needs of others may not be fully understandable to them but they do begin to see things from somebody else’s point of view. Through the ages of ten and eleven, children have an increasing ability to understand the needs and opinions of others, developing a more defined individual personality. They can become gradually more self-conscious and are able to identify and describe what they are feeling to others. For girls especially those who start puberty early they may have sudden dramatic or emotiona l changes. 12-19 As teenagers go through adolescents through the ages of twelve and sixteen they may feel misunderstood, they may become self-conscious or anxious about their physical appearance and often compare themselves to others, needing a great deal of reassurance. They may alternate between behaving like a child and behaving as an adult, this is because they will experience big emotional changes and may find them difficult to control. Recognition from peers becomes important to teenagers feeling the need to be accepted, this may influence their clothing styles and interests. Through sixteen and nineteen teenagers may begin to explore their own sexuality, they can start to question their own family’s beliefs, values and attitudes and develop their own. Their peers have less influence on them as it becomes less important to them. Social and Behavioural:- 0-3 From Birth babies enjoy feeding and cuddling. They enjoy the company of others and games like ‘peek-a-boo’ become one of their favourites. They will become shy around others and look to their primary carer for comfort and reassurance. They begin to show a particular temperament, they can be placid or excitable. At around six months babies become more wary of strangers and show distress when their mothers leave, they smile at familiar faces and strangers. From one year, children help with daily routines, such as getting washed and dressed, they enjoy socialising at meal times, trying to master feeding themselves.. They may repeatedly throw objects on the floor during play or because of rejection. Playing by themselves contently but may prefer to be near a family member or familiar adult. At two years old children become curious about their environment and are eager to try new experiences, they like to play with other children but may not like sharing their toys. 3-7 From three years old children can see things from someone else’s point of view and family meal times become very enjoyable. They are willing to share their toys with their peers and begin to take turns when playing, it is interesting to make friends and having them. They are more cooperative with adults and like to help them. At four years old children like to be independent and are strongly self-willed. They like to be with other children but often show sensitivity to others. When a child reaches five years old they are able to amuse themselves for longer periods of time, for example looking at a book or watching a DVD, they show sympathy and comfort to friends who are hurt and are able to choose their own friends. At six years old children choose their friends from their personalities and interests, they hold long conversations with them naturally taking it in turns to speak and listen. 7-12 Children from seven years old start to form close relationships mainly with those of the same sex as them, however adult help may be needed in resolving arguments. Speaking up for themselves becomes easier for example when visiting people like the dentist or doctor. Around this age it is important for children to understand boundaries and why they are there. At eight and nine children make friends rather casually and may change quickly, the majority of friends are still the same sex as them but begin to show interest in the opposite sex. They start to join informal clubs formed by other children themselves but also like to join adult led groups like brownies or cubs, and start to show a sense of loyalty to these groups. Through the ages of ten and eleven children have stronger relationships with friends and usually have a best friend, the friendship will also last longer, these friendships will be formed on the basis of a mix of different shared interests and things that they have in common. Children fall into peer pressure and want to talk, dress and act like their friends, they prefer to spend time with friends and still continue to enjoy belonging to small groups of the same sex. 12-19 During adolescents teenagers start to identify more with friends and the relationship with parents becomes weaker. Because of the emotional need of feeling accepted from their peers, friends influence their interests. Teenagers become more socially skilled and become better at resolving conflicts with others. As they reach the age of sixteen to nineteen relationships with parents become strong again as they can have much more of an adult relationship with them. Friends and others around them influence their behaviour less as they become less important to them.