1.2: Periods of Development

Generally child developmentalists are interested in the period from conception until the start of adulthood so that large timeframe from 40 weeks before birth until about 25 years (when the brain fully matures into adulthood) can broadly be divided into five stages

• Prenatal development – conception to birth
• Infancy and toddlerhood – 0-2 years
• Early childhood – 2-7 years
• Middle childhood – 7-13 years
• Adolescence – 13-25 years

Prenatal Development

At the point when sperm fertilizes the ovum, conception is said to have occurred. From this point onwards, the single cell begins to multiply, implant in the uterine wall, differentiate and continue growing. This is the fastest period of growth lasting 40 weeks until a baby is born. Seemingly a universal process, there are health and environmental factors that play a role in fetal development, and certainly both pregnancy and birth are products of many environmental conditions and cultural and socioeconomic influences.

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): By definition an embryo is less than eight weeks old, and here shows just the beginnings of limb and facial development. [1]

Infancy and Toddlerhood

The first two years of life are ones of dramatic growth and change. A newborn, with a keen sense of hearing but very poor vision is transformed into a walking, talking toddler within a relatively short period of time. Caregivers are also transformed from someone who manages feeding and sleep schedules to a constantly moving guide and safety inspector for a mobile, energetic child.

Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): Newborns are swaddled in many cultures and spend much of their time sleeping. [2]

Early Childhood

Early childhood is also referred to as the preschool years and consists of the years which follow toddlerhood and precede formal schooling. As a three to five-year-old, the child is busy learning language, is gaining a sense of self and greater independence, and is beginning to learn the workings of the physical world. This knowledge does not come quickly, however, and preschoolers may initially have interesting conceptions of size, time, space and distance such as fearing that they may go down the drain if they sit at the front of the bathtub or by demonstrating how long something will take by holding out their two index fingers several inches apart. A toddler’s fierce determination to do something may give way to a four-year-old’s sense of guilt for action that brings the disapproval of others.

Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\): In early childhood, children develop motor and social skills by interacting with their environment and each other.[3]

Middle Childhood

The ages of six through eleven comprise middle childhood and much of what children experience at this age is connected to their involvement in the early grades of school. Now the world becomes one of learning and testing new academic skills and by assessing one’s abilities and accomplishments by making comparisons between self and others. Schools compare students and make these comparisons public through team sports, test scores, and other forms of recognition. Growth rates slow down and children are able to refine their motor skills at this point in life. And children begin to learn about social relationships beyond the family through interaction with friends and fellow students.

Figure \(\PageIndex{4}\): In middle childhood, children develop motor skills by leaps and bounds[4]

Adolescence

Adolescence is a period of dramatic physical change marked by an overall physical growth spurt and sexual maturation, known as puberty. It is also a time of cognitive change as the adolescent begins to think of new possibilities and to consider abstract concepts such as love, fear, and freedom. Ironically, adolescents have a sense of invincibility that puts them at greater risk of dying from accidents or contracting sexually transmitted infections that can have lifelong consequences.[5]

Figure \(\PageIndex{5}\): Figure – Social interactions are paramount as children mature into teenagers and experiment with makeup, dress and social communications, straddling childhood and adulthood.[6]

Attributions:

Child Growth and Development by Jennifer Paris, Antoinette Ricardo, and Dawn Rymond, 2019, is licensed under CC BY 4.0

Lifespan Development: A Psychological Perspective by Martha Lally and Suzanne Valentine-French is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0(modified by Jennifer Paris)

Child Psychologyby Nicole Arduini-Van Hoose is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

[1] Image by lunar caustic is licensed under CC BY 2.0

[2] Image by Han Myo Htwe on Unsplash

[3] Image by Alaric Sim on Unsplash

[4] Image by Wayne Lee-Sing on Unsplash

[5] Periods of Development by Lumen Learning is licensed under CC BY 4.0

[6] Image by Matheus Ferrero on Unsplash