P1-unit 4 describe physical, intellectual, emotional and social development through each of the life stages.

Infancy 0-3.

Physically:

At around nine months after the baby being conceived my mother was born. My mother as a new born baby wouldn’t have been able digest food other than breast milk or a substitute. My mother wouldn’t have been able to hear everything as a baby’s brain isn’t fully developed at this life stage. My mother would have been able to tell the differences between the way things taste and the way her mother would have smelt. A baby is born with various temporary and primitive reflexes.

Some of these are:

A new-born baby will turn their heads towards any touch on the cheek. This is called the rooting reflex and helps the baby to get the nipple or bottle into their mouth to feed.

If you place a finger in a baby palm, they will grasp your finger tightly. This reflex is called the grasp reflex.

If a baby is startled, this could be by a loud noise, they will throw their hands and arms outwards, arching the back and straightening their back this is called the startle reflex.

If a new-born baby is held upright with their feet touching the ground, they will make movements as if their attempting to walk. This is called the walking reflex.

My mother would have the physical ability to recognise and interact with people. My mother would have preferred to listen to other peoples voices; this would have been a good thing as they learn to listen to their mother’s voice.

Physically my mother was born with dislocated hips so she had to have metal screws put into her hips to put them back into the correct place. The treatment of hip dysplasia depends on the age of the child. The goal of treatment is to properly position the hip joint (“reduce” the hip). Once an adequate reduction is obtained, the doctor will hold the hip in that reduced position and allow the body to adapt to the new position. The younger the child, the better capacity to adapt the hip, and the better chance of full recovery. Over time, the body becomes less accommodating to repositioning of the hip joint. My mother was also born with pneumonia meaning that she had a lot of physical complications when she was born. Pneumonia is an infection of the lungs caused by any one of several viruses and bacteria. The lungs become inflamed and filled with fluid, causing a cough and making it harder to breathe.

Although my mum faced all of this as an infant she was still able to reach the necessary millstones they were just slightly delayed because of the time she spent in hospital. However because of the dislocated hips she was unable to skip and jumping could be issues if she landed in the incorrect way. Nevertheless when is come to developing her fine motor skills she was very talented as she was able to do that frequently during hospital. She was also able to grow the same as all the other children, so the other thing her health complications hindered was her gross motor skills.

Intellectual:

Intellectually a baby should be able to recognise sounds as the brains grown fast. They are also able to make variations of sounds due to increased vocabulary.

Babies are born with the ability to sense objects. They are also born with a range of reflexes such as sucking this will allow them to feed, these action lead to motor actions which control the bodies muscles. The sensorimotor stage is when the mind is limited to thinking about sensing objects and preforming motor actions.

Emotional:

Gradual development of emotions e.g. happiness/enjoyment (perhaps of baths). They may show some preferences towards food and games towards the end of infancy.

Emotionally my mother would have become aware of those who are around her most (mother, father, grandparents and aunts/uncles) this means that she would have started bonding and creating relationships. She would have also developed other emotions, a few could have been developed whilst in hospital e.g. nerves and afraid feelings and thoughts. Emotionally my mother wasn’t able to form a bond with her father as he died when she was only 6 months old, therefore she may have tried to fill his place as she wasn’t aware of what was happening at this point, it could have also caused my emotional attachments towards her mother.

Social:

An infant will begin to enjoy routines (bath time, feeding and sleeping). They will also discover sensorimotor at the end of infancy e.g. waves, cries when left on their own, copies actions of adults.

Socially my mother was around a lot of different people because of her stay at hospital, this made it difficult to form bonds with family members as she was likely unsure of whom the person was which would make her bond with her mother even closer. As she was the only person she could be sure of, although my mother did have the chance to spend time with other infants at the hospital.

Childhood 4-10.

 

Physical:

Physically children begin to grow more gradually than they do during infancy. However when in the childhood life stage they have a growth spurt between 5-7. They also begin to develop fine motor skills e.g. writing. Children also begin to develop sense of balance making it less likely to fall over when doing activities. Children usually gain around 3kg and 5.8cm per year.

My mother’s childhood was also partly spent in hospital, this was because of the dislocated hips she had when she was an infant. Because this was a fragile part of her body it meant that there should be less strain put on them, as they could pop out again and they did quite a bit during her childhood. Physically my mother was able to go to school at this age so she was able to act like a normal child, and take part in most of the activities they had to offer. My mother was also overweight from a very young age the doctors began to think it was because she was unable to a lot of exercise because of her hips.

 

Intellectual:

Intellectually a child should have gained vocabulary which can allow them to have a conversation with people. At this life stage they are also aware of simple right and wrongs; they are also no longer egocentric. At this stage their brains are also developing at a much faster speed.

My mother was attending school which meant that her vocabulary was developing fast she was able to have a conversation with an adult and understand the responses they we’re giving. She also understood the right and wrongs of how to behave at both school and at home. She also understood that the world wasn’t going to evolve around her just because she was unwell; this meant that she was no longer egocentric. My mother was able to learn lots of things from both her teachers and her family (simple understanding of math, English).

Emotional:

At this life stage they are able to develop a wider range of emotions (happiness, nerves, frustration, and negativity). Children will also develop how to express emotion in different situations. Relationships with other family members may influence how a child feels valued, a sense of worth and self-esteem. This can also be influenced by teachers and friends this could cause positive or negative situations.

Emotionally my mother was able to experience a lot of different emotions at an early age because of the time she spent in hospital. She also felt what it was to lose someone because she understood why her father wasn’t there. During her childhood she also developed some issues to do with self-confidence as her mother was very hard on her because of her weight this meant she never felt like she was good enough. So she was always looking for acceptance off of friends and family during her childhood. My mother grew a very strong attachment to her grandmother, as she was able to except her for whom and what she was.

Social:

Socially children usually learn to share because of friends and siblings. The number of people that children know will begin to expand because of the friends that they will make during school. They also begin to compare themselves to other people when they reach this life stage.

Socially my mother was an only child so she only had the opportunity to learn to share at school. She began to make bigger school groups and friends whilst at school this gave her the opportunity to have sleep overs and grow better bonds with the people from her school. My mother also began to see that she was different form the other children as she was overweight this did effect the people that she chose to hang around with, because she was frightened that they may say something about it.

Adolescence 11-18.

Adolescence is when a person’s personality develops and if parents and family are not very understanding then the adolescence may become insecure.

Physical:

When you reach adolescence men a women develop different physical attributes.

Women: period starts, breasts develop and hips widen
.

Male: voice breaks, chest broadens, possibility of wet dreams, testes and penis grows.

During adolescence my mother started her period developed breast and her hips began to widen. She also began to experiment physically in relationships (sexual contact and sexual intercourse) she also experimented with drinking and drugs. My mother also developed many hobbies one of which was swimming this helped her to improve her health without being to straining on her hips.

Intellectual:

When you reach adolescence you gain more connections because you start secondary school. You also start to use abstract thinking which leads to arguments with authoritative figures. You also start to think independently this can be due to hormones rising.

During adolescence my mother started to attend secondary school, however due to peer pressure she started skipping lessons which was creating arguments between her and her mother. She also began to think that she was always right in every situation which had a tendency to get her in trouble with the authorities. During adolescence you also start to develop hobbies and my mum liked to swim, this meant that she was able to improve her physical state.

 

Emotional:

When in adolescence your mood is continuously changing due to hormones. You are also more likely to experience worry and stress this could be linked to your exams. Teenagers begin to make opinions on other people this could be linked to the way they have been treated by them, or they feel threatened or even because it makes them feel better about themselves.

My mum spent most of her time at her grandmother’s house because she and her mother were always arguing because her mother got re-married. During exams season my mother began to skip lessons because she didn’t see the importance of revising what she had already learnt this meant that she wasn’t going to get the grades she needed which also adding to the reasons she and her mother were arguing.my mum has never been one to talk behind someone’s back as she had deal with that herself during her childhood so this meant that she never really created any enemies.

Socially:

Socially during adolescence you begin to become more independent staying out overnight by themselves, attending parties. Becoming more experimental (trying out drugs, alcohol, sex and different friendship groups). They also develop the skills to negotiate this can be with friends, parents and teachers. Teenagers can also develop insecurity attachments meaning that they may get jealous and clingy towards others.

During adolescence my mother wanted to test her boundaries so she stayed out a lot by lying to her mother, she also went out drinking (clubs, pubs and house parties). Whilst she was at these parties she experimented with all different things some of which were drugs, alcohol and sex. She also had different social groups that she acted different with. She began to make deals with the authorities within her life, about school, friendships and her mother. My mother never liked to get into long term relationships as it meant that if it ended she would have to deal with being alone.

Adulthood 19-65.

During adulthood, promotion is often sought and most people find a partner, leave home and start their own families.

Young adults are often at the peak of their physical performance between the ages of 18-28. Older adults usually lose some strength and speed when they reach the end of this life stage. There are a number of age related changes the come apparent as you get older (glasses, loss of hearing and thinning of hair).

Physically when my mother reached this life stage she was told that she wouldn’t be able to have a family of her own as she had polycystic ovaries and blocked Fallopian Tubes. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common condition that affects how a woman’s ovaries work.

PCOS affects millions of women in the UK.

The three main features of the condition are:

Cysts that develop in your ovaries (polycystic ovaries)

Your ovaries do not regularly release eggs (ovulate)

Having high levels of “male hormones” called androgens in your body.

Blocked Fallopian Tubes are when the fallopian tubes are two thin tubes, one on each side of the uterus, which help lead the mature egg from the ovaries to the uterus. When an obstruction prevents the egg from traveling down the tube, the woman has a blocked fallopian tube. It can occur on one or both sides. This is also known as tubal factor infertility, and is the cause of infertility in 40% of infertile women.

Physically my mother also had to face 2 miscarriages before she had me. A miscarriage is a pregnancy that ends by itself within the first 20 weeks. “Stillbirth” refers to the loss of a pregnancy with fatal death that occurs after the first 20 weeks. Experts estimate that about half of all fertilized eggs die and are miscarried, usually even before the woman knows she is pregnant. Most miscarriages occur between the 7th and 12th weeks of pregnancy. However despite all of the odds being against her my mother was able to conceive me. She got pregnant with me at the age of 29 and gave birth to me at 30. She spent 72 hours in labour as she wasn’t dilating fast enough, although she has to have a Caesarean, I was born with no further complications. My mother chose not to breast feed me but used a substitute.

During the middle of adulthood she faced a lot of health complications, and spends a lot of time in hospital because of them. She has a lot of medical conditions that she has to live with on a day-to-day basis (pancreatitis, type 1 diabetes, depression, rheumatoid arthritis, sciatica, asthma, high blood pressure, loss of feeling in her feet, obesity and gastro problems).

Intellectual:

When you reach adulthood you’re more likely to develop new skills (budgeting, skills at work). You will also move out and experience living alone at this age or even living with a partner. Most people also experience raising children. People that want a better degree may also go on to further education, they will think about what goals and aspiration they want to reach at this life stage. At the end of adulthood their reaction times will get slower and they will begin to forget things (memories). Adults are better at make big decisions as they have more experience dealing with the consequences.

When my mother reached 19 she applied for a job in a battered woman’s shelter and developed some new skills, after staying at her previous job for 2 years she decided that she want to work with the elderly so she work in a care home for terminally ill patients, this job was designed to test my mother’s skills and emotional stability, my mother enjoyed it so much she decided to stay long term and was there for 7 years till she got pregnant with me. She also moved in with my father after 3 years. During this life stage my mother also has done a few courses on different things, (counselling, teacher’s assistant, NVQ in a care and catering). My mother also made the decision to leave my father after being with him for 20 years.

Emotional:

During adulthood you will be able to behave more maturely (being able to share, respond and listen). You also begin to control emotions and empathy. At this life stage you also begin to lose people that you are close to (people leave and people die).

Emotionally during adulthood my mother was able to improve her maturity by moving in with my father this was love then my mother got pregnant and they had created their own family someone to love more than anything or anyone else. My mother was also able to learn how to leave her emotional for the people she cared for at work. During her adulthood she lost her mother which left a big hole in her emotionally as they never had a good relationship after my mother turned 5, she always had a better relationship with her grandmother. My mother had a lot of regrets during adulthood and not spending enough time with her mother was one of them. Emotionally my mother wasn’t able to cope, knowing that she had no one else to turn to if things went wrong. My mother and my father started arguing a lot after my nan died and he started to control the things she did and who she done it with, my mother never took to well to the orders and they split up when I was 9. This meant that she was truly on her own with no family to support her so she developed depression, so she was unable to carry on with her job.

Social:

Socially during adulthood taking responsibility for others as well as themselves is a main part of them developing socially. Developing relationships both formal and informal are a part of adulthood too this could be in-laws etc. during adulthood, friendship networks continue to be very important. For most people adulthood is dominated by the formation of adult sexual partnerships and by the need to find employment/establish a career. For many people marriage and marriage and parenthood represents major social developments in their life. Many adults in their forties and fifties experience time pressures that may limit their social activity. Mature adults may have to spilt their time between work, care of parents, other family committees and wider social activities. Some mature adults report a reduction in the amount of a social activity due to these pressures.

Socially my mother was expected to look after me and her mother when she got ill; this became a fulltime job so she wasn’t able to see friends that often. My mother didn’t get on with her in-laws they never accepted her and she became an outsider which never made my mother feel as though she wasn’t a part of the family. After my grandmother became ill my mother was looking after 6 year old me and my terminally ill grandmother, my mother was left with little time to socialise this meant she lost friendships during this part of her life. My mother never wanted to get married even though my father proposed more than once.

M1/D1-discuss the nature-nurture debate in relation to the development of your chosen celebrity or family member-using factual information and be able to evaluate it.