Unit 4 (P1) - Developing Through The Life Stages

Conception - This is where it all begins, a female becomes fertile and releases one egg cell each month, it then travels from the ovary to the uterus, in the fallopian tube. if sexual intercourse takes place while the egg is in the fallopian tube and the male has an orgasm millions of sperm will ejaculate inside of the woman. All it takes is one sperm to fertalise an egg this is when the sperm attaches to the egg and a new life is created. Sometimes its not as easy as it seems to be, many eggs are lost due to the woman not knowing that fertilistaion has even taken place.

Pregnancy - Pregnancy has three trimesters which last for 40 weeks, not all pregnancy's can last for this long as some people may have premature babies or the baby may be over due which means there still in the uterus longer than usual. This all begins when the sperm penetrates the egg, the single fertilized egg then begins to divide. After a couple of days there will be a lot of new cells which then travels to the uterus . The collection of new cells is called an Embryo, the Embryo will then grow into a baby. After three/four months of pregnancy the mother will be able to have her first scan to see how the baby is doing, after five months another scan is needed and the sex of the gender can be revealed or kept as a secret depending on what the parents decide. If the mother gives birth to the baby before nine months the baby is then called 'premature' some babies are put in incubators as they may struggle to breathe due to them not being full developed. However some parents are lucky to have there child at exactly nine months. The baby will feel emotionally attached to its mother because she has been carrying him/her for nine months, also the baby will recognize its fathers voice and the surrounding because it has been hearing the same sounds or voices for nine months, they have a sense of who's who, and this will make the baby feel comfortable with who there with. The baby will feed from its mother's nutrients, then physically the baby will begin to grow over the next 9 months. The baby ears, ankles, wrists, fingers and toes are formed, and so are the eye lids but they are kept shut, the babies toe nails and finger nails begin to grow, also fine hairs. Also the heart beat and many more things begin to grow. The begin to move around and kick the stomach. When the baby is kicking the stomach it is a process of them learning and discovering new things. There mother or father may sing to them when there in the stomach growing this will help them intellectually because when they are born the mother will sing the same song and the baby will recognize it, this will then help the babies memory and help them learn new things. Socially the baby will be used to familiar voices, close family members or close friends, if the mother has other children, they will also talk to the baby while its in the stomach introducing them selves as someone they can play games with and reassure them that they will look after them, once the baby is born the other little children will play games with them this will help there social development. The mother may attend classes while pregnant like antenatal classes to help with the giving birth process.

Infancy - Infancy is aged between 0 - 3 years. A lot of things happen and change during the 3 years, we may not notice the changes while it is taking place but after when you look back at it you will see how much a newborn has grown into a little toddler. Physically Changes will happen where the infants facial features will become more detailed, there hair will grow, become a bit taller and put on weight. The calcium from drinking milk from birth will produce healthy teeth, stronger nails and bones. During the 3 years The newborn will slowly learn how to crawl, roll, stand alone and eventually how to walk. Once the baby learns how to walk they will run a lot around the house, playing games, riding a tricycle, skip, jump and hop. Intellectually the baby will gain new skills and knowledge through out these years . They will start off by babbling saying two syllables words for example 'mama', then as they grow up they will begin to enjoy books, building things, speak clearly, and enjoy putting together puzzles. Emotionally the baby will cry when it wants to be fed, changed or when they want to go to sleep. They will discover feeling of being happy and sad, As they grow they will hit there an age where they will learn what it feels like to be angry and throw a tantrum most people call this the 'terrible two's'. A baby can feel any negative vibes around them which can also make them feel sad this is why a child needs to be raise in a happy, positive home. The baby will also feel emotionally attached to there carer and not want to leave them at all. To have a positive effect on there social development the parent/carer can bring the baby to a play group where they will meet new people and make new friends. The baby will already be able to distinguish familiar and unfamiliar faces, they would have started of by communicating with there carers and responding to them, as they grow up they will learn how to speak to other children there age and also smile as a nice gesture.

Childhood - Childhood is aged between 4 - 9 years. Physically they will become taller, loose teeth and gain new adult teeth, hair becomes longer, there shoe size becomes bigger and they will become more active. They will now know how to kick, throw and control a ball, also they will be riding a two wheel bicycle. They depend less on there carers they like doing things on there on because it gives them a sense of Independence for example they can now brush there teeth by themselves and get dressed without help. To help there intellectual needs they will now be able to go to school starting with nursery to primary. They will start of by scribbling but as years go on they will be able to write clearly, draw meaningful pictures with details, read and enjoy books. Emotionally they will be happy most of the time because they get to play, have fun and they wont worry about not being liked. At this age they will discover the feeling of being frightened as they still believe in the 'Boogeyman' or any other ghosts. The child will use there imagination a lot and create and imaginary friend in order to feel happy and give them a high self esteem, if they have a positive relationship with there parent/carer this gives them a boost in there confidence as they will feel valued. Socially they will make new friends throughout there nursery and school days, they will become more confident in making new friends, tell jokes and enjoy a conversation. They will learn about team work while playing games also they may even get a best friend.

Adolescence - Adolescence is aged between 10 - 18 years. Physically they would have grown a lot taller, hair and foot growth. At this age pubity would have taken place where, pubic hair will begin to grow, breasts start to develop, oily skin can lead to acne, penis enlarges and testes begin to produce sperm. They will now have a favourite sport or not, some adolescence will go clubs for there favourite sports on a weekly basis to keep it and the body in shape, males are become stronger than girls. To help improve there Intellectual skills they will move on from primary school to secondary school and then college. During there schools years there will be an improvement with there literacy and numeracy, they will also discover there weakness and strengths at school. Pubity also can effect a female emotionally causing them to have mood swings due to the hormones. They will become more anxious, argue a lot with there parents, also they may have a boyfriend or girlfriend this will show them the feelings of being in love, envy or even heartbreak. They would have made new friends over the school days, some prefer the company of there friends than family, if they have a hobby they can go to classes for it where they will make more new friends, by the influence around them they will be introduced to different culture music and clothes.

Adulthood - Adulthood is aged between 19 - 65 years. Physically they would have now fully grown, with an adult body where there breast will stop growing and testes stop enlarging. During the later years females would start to go through menopause this is when the female stops producing eggs therefore they are no longer fertile. In the early stages of adulthood the females would have experienced being pregnant and giving birth, males would still be able to reproduce even when there 65 years of age. With there intellectual development by now they should have a job and by getting there dream they would have had to go through there school years including college even university it's optional, however as you get older there will be no more school to attend so the brain will start to get use to doing nothing but to prevent this from happening Sudoku or word search will be a great way to exercise the brain and keep it active. Emotionally they would have now discovered every feeling possible including grief also they can feel attatched to there sexual partner, some people would be married and have kids, having a loving family and raising a child of there own will make them feel proud and happy with themselves this then gives them i high self esteem. Throughout there years they would have made a lot new friends, at work, in the shops, anywhere really as they would have become confident with themselves , however some are different and tend to reduce the amount of social activities they do due to them feeling pressured, it is said that they must stay emotionally involved with social life to help there social development.

Older - Older is aged between 65+. Physically there will be a change with there facial features, wrinkles will occur,in some cases hair will change colour to grey, teeth may drop out, skin will become more elasticy and thin. They will now be more prone to get a sickness, even just catching a flu could lead to death this is why they need to be healthy and fit. Some at this stage will have leg problems causing them to use a walking stick, zimmer frame or even be in a wheel chair, they deffnetly do become less active due to there bones and body becoming weak. At this age it is very likely that old age people have dementia, this effects the intellectual development as it makes there memories fade away, they find it hard to carry out a daily routine, it generally effects the mental brain functioning. Emotionally they may be feeling more down than usual because they now feel as if they are more likely to pass away and are a step further to death, this will give them a fear of death others may see the bright side to it and enjoy there time while they can with family member's this will then give them a high self esteem. To help improve there social skills they can join bingo or other classes with other people there age as there are now a lot of groups for the older people to help them enjoy themselves giving them a high self esteem and also they can attend a day care centre where they will make new friends and gain new skills and knowledge.