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Prenatal- Fetal Stage Rapid Growth (Physical Development)
The fetal stage is the longest stage, ranging from week 8 to birth. During this time the fetus undergoes remarkable growth. The proportions of the fetus change from month to month. At just eight weeks half of the total size of the fetus is its cranium. Three months later the head is still 3/8 the entire length of the body. During this time the brain and its neurons are becoming rapidly more sophisticated and interconnected. The hemispheres of the brain become coated with myelin. Image:Pinterest -
Prenatal- Brain/Head Growth (Physical Development)
At the end of the Embryonic stage, remarkable developments begin to take place. Neurons in the brain begin a period of rapid growth where up to 100,000 neurons are being produced every minute. This may partly explain why at the same time the embryo's head becomes 50% of it's entire size. Due to these neural developments the nervous system begins to start functioning around the 5th week. [Image:Google-growbabysmithgrow.blogspot] -
Prenatal- Major Organ Development (Physical development )
Week 2 to week 8 is marked by the development of the major organs of the human body. At the start of this period, an embryo consists of three layers which will eventually progress into specific structures. These layers are known as ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm. These layers will develop into the following: ectoderm- skin, hair, teeth, brain, spinal cord, sense organs; mesoderm- blood, bones, muscles, circulatoy system; endoderm-digestive/respitory systems, liver. [Image:baby2see.com] -
Prenatal- Germinal Stage (Physical Development)
The first, and shortest, stage of prenatal development is known as the Germinal stage. It spans up to two weeks after conception and is marked by rapid and goal-oriented cell division. The number of cells doubles from the third to the fourth day after fertilization and by week one consists of nearly 150 cells. If completed successfully, this process leads to the implantation of the zygote to the uterine wall, eventually leading to a new life! [Image; biologypop.com] -
Infancy- Visual Perception Improvement (Physical)
At birth a neonate see's only 8 to 14 inches in front of them. Their vision improves considerably within just 6 months of life however. At 4 weeks old, although vision is still blurry, it has already begun to improve. Studies suggest that infants as young as 6 months old to 14 weeks old alrady show signs of a developed depth perception By 3 months objects can be seen with clarity and at 6 months, 20/20 vision is achieved.[Image:hollywoodvision.com] -
Infancy- Social Growth; 9-12 months (Socio-emotional)
Btween 9 months of age and 12 months of age, infants go through great developments socially. Infants learn to imitate each other, which illustrates social referencing. During this age range they also become adept at mutually accepting and presenting items, such as toys. This skill is important as it creates the foundation for future social exchanges throughout childhood and adulthood. -
Toddlerhood- First Words (Cognitive)
When a child utters their first words, it is an exciting milestone. This occurs at around 10 to 14 months old. Althiugh the criteria of what constitues a first word is debated. [Image:Google] -
Toddlerhood- Rapid Language Growth (Cognitive)
One a toddler begins to speak his first words, an explosion of language development begins to unfold. Between 16 and 24 months old, a child's vocabulary increass rapidly and steadily. At 15 months the average toddler spaeks 10 words and increases to between 50 and 400 words during this growth period. [Image: Google] -
Toddlerhood- Empathy (Socio-emotional)
Empathy is a crucialskill for any person. It allow us to have an emotional response to what emotions others are feeling. The development of this skill occurs around 2 years old. This demonstrates a toddlers growing sense of mental activity. -
Infancy- Auditory/Visual Cortex Growth Spurts (Physical)
At around 3 to 4 months old, parts of the cerebral cortex undergo a growth spurt. Specifically, the synapses and myelin production in the parts known as the auditory cortex and the visual cortex. This in turn corresponds to rapid growth in auditory and visual skills areas during this age. [Image: my-ms.org] -
Infancy- Goal-directed Behavior (Cognitive)
VideoA goal-directed behavior involves the combination snd coordination of several schemes to accomplish a single act or solve a problem. This occurs at around 8 to 12 months old. This ismeaningful because it displays a nwfoundskill of anticipating future events and acting in a purposeful manner. This then creates the base for developing another important skill- object permanece. [Image:www.babble.com] -
Toddlerhood- Mental Representation (Cognitive)
During Piaget's final phase of the sensorimotor stage, a major acheivement is accomplished. Between 18 months to 2 years old, toddlers develop mental represntations, or internal images of previous events or objects. This higher sophistication of thinking is demonstrated in actions such as deffered imitation. [Image:studyblue.com] -
Early Years- Remarkable Brain Development (Physical)
The brain continues it's rapid growth during this period. One reason for this boom in developments has to do with a significant increase in the number of interconections among the cells. A significant process that takes places is lateralization. This is the process in which the two hemispheres begin to develop more specialized areas of function. By the end of theses years, the corpus callosum develops some 800 million fibers. [Image:http://intranet.tdmu.edu.ua] -
Early Years- Self-Concept (Social/Personality)
Build Self EsteemA child's belief about themselves really begins to unfold dramatically during these years. According to Erik Erikson, ages 3-6 is charcaterized by changes in the way preschoolers view themselves based on their experiences and cultural norms. This ability is still developing so they may not always be accurate in their beliefs. However, building positive self-esteem is key to a positive self-concept. -
Early Years- Potty Training (Physical)
AAP TIPSPotty training marks an exciting milestone-no more diapers! Although the age at which toilet training occurs has risen steadily since the late-1950's and various viewpoints persist, current research asserts there is no one "right time". A largely agreed upon ideology advises to wait for signs of readiness in the child. Childen typically show signs around 30 months (some earlier). Signs of reaidness include a desire to wear underwear coupled with an adversion to soiled diapers. -
Early Years- Blooming Vocabularies (Cognitive)
Languadge flouishes during this period. Besides increased sentence lengths, their use of synax doubles each month. By the age of 6, children on average have vocabularies of 14,000 words. Their pragmatic abilities improve. An important shift that occurs is the growth of social speech in which children direct meaningful speech to another person. [Image:Google] -
Early Years- Sophistication of Play (Social/Personality)
Play is crtitcal in the emotional, cognitive, pshysical, and social well-being of children. This stage marks the sophistication of the type of play children participate in. They engage in more constructive play by age 4 in which they purposefully manipulate or build something. This allows them to gain experience solving problems. By the end of these years, they engage in more associate and cooperative play which involves interaction with others. [Image:Google] -
Middle Childhood-Friendships (Social/Personality)
FriendshipFriendship undergoes significant changes becoming less superficial. During middle childhood years at around age 8 to 10 friendship is marked by children taking others’ personal qualities into consideration. A cornerstone of this period is mutual trust. Around age 11 the focus shifts to loyalty. Friendship begins to be viewed in terms of the Psychological benefits and closeness it brings. *Image:Google -
Middle Childhood- Language Sophistication (Cognitive)
Between the ages of 9 and 11 a child’s vocabulary grows to roughly 13,000 to 19,000 words. Mastery over grammar as well as conversational skills such as pragmatics and give-and-take skills become well-developed. Language development during these years fosters metalinguistic awareness as well as the development of self-control. *Image:Google -
Middle Childhood- Concrete Operations (Cognitive)
Between the ages of seven and 12 there is a marked increase in active inappropriate use of logic. Children begin applying logical thinking to concrete problems. They are able to correctly solve conservation problems; perhaps because egocentric thinking is less dominant. At this stage they began to develop the ability to take multiple aspects of a situation into account (decentering). The concept of reversibility becomes adept as well. *Image: Google -
Middle Childhood- Motor Skills (Physical)
Middle childhood is marked by significant improvements in both gross and fine motor skills. The improvement of muscle coordination is a particularly important milestone regarding gross motor skills at this age. By the end of middle childhood individuals will have as much dexterity as they will in adulthood. Typing on a keyboard and producing detailed drawings are possible during this period. Myelin production plays a large role in the strides and fine motor skills during this time. *Image:Google -
Adolescence- Puberty
[Physical] The period when sex hormones began producing at the same rate as adults, leading to sexual organ and physical maturation. Begins around age 11 or 12 and around 13 or 14 for boys. Menarche is an obvious sign a girl is entering puberty. Girls had been experiencing puberty at earlier and earlier ages. Primary sex characteristics in boys begin to grow at an accelorated rate and secondary characteristics develop. -
Adolecence-Use of Formal Operations
[Cognitive] Adolescence marks a vast intellectual development characterized by cognitive gains in abstract thinking, improved memory capacity, growth of metacognition, and many other cognitive functions. Adolescents begin employing propositional thought reasoning and hypotheticodeductive reasoning during this time which according to Jean Piaget, is the formal operational stage of cognitive development. It begins around 12 and becomes more proficient at age 15. [Image:google] -
Adolescence- Development of "Self"
Identity[Social-Personality] The adolescent years are marked by substantial changes in the self-concept and self-esteem of teenagers. They are exploring their own identity. I teenagers self-concepts begins to differentiate into two main categories- others views of them and their own. They are more likely to describe themselves in terms of their personal ideology rather than physical characteristics as they did in previous years. [Image:Google] -
Adolescence- Quest for Autonomy
[Social-Personality] A key characteristic of this stage is the attainment of autonomy. Individuals are seeking to gain a sense of independence and control over their lives. This ability develops gradually over the course of this period. Adolescents begin to question and re-assess views of the world around them. This new independence changes the relationship with the parents, sometimes causing conflict. By the end of adolescence the relationships tend to become more balanced. [Image:Google]
