Various Aspects of Lifespan Development - Essay Example

Lifespan Development and Personality Paper 17/10/14 Introduction Since the birth, human beings develop in various aspects(Grinder, 1961). Development in this case refers to the process of continuous increment in the thinking capacity and even how they do and react to various environments that they find themselves living in the society. In this essay, I will devote my focus on the development during infancy that is from birth to one-year-old baby. This is one of the most crucial stages of human life since it determines ones personality in the other stages that come thereafter. I will be paying much emphasis on various aspects such as physical, social, moral and personality development. Physical development Physical development can be defined as the process through which the infants or rather the newborns gain control over their bodies. Thus, they get to move on their own with or without the support of other people or items (Krapp & Wilson, 2005) . Between the first two to five months; these young babies can roll over in both directions and therefore they cannot move or rather walk, stand or grow on their own. This is because their bones are still very weak, and the physiological development is still at initial stages thus from this scenario it is true thus to say that a child’s physical development starts with muscular control. This process, however, is gradual, and the parents should not get worried in case it seems to delay. In between five and seven months the children develop the first teeth. Assuming that the child has been undergoing the normal breastfeeding, they now have high levels of calcium in their bodies hence they develop teeth (Festingen, 1962). After this time, the child is now between 5 and seven months. They start exhibiting the ability to sit unsupported (although not for a long time as they easily get tired). The infants under this stage also crawl on hands and knees, and they can even pull themselves up while holding on objects. This gives their parents a signal that they can now start giving the child more exercise. Parent, therefore, hold their babies hands and encouraging them to make their first steps. Factors affecting physical development Physical development can be affected by both genetic or rather hereditary and environmental factors. First I will begin by considering genetic factors. When a child is conceived, they usually take up the genetic makeup of their parents. For instance, if the genes of either of their parents or both are such that they grow slowly, it goes without saying that the child will follow suit too. Therefore, it is easy to tell the type of trends the kids are probable to have used genetic makeup of the parents (Berk, 2011). If the parents, for instance, are very tall, it is likely the child will also be very tall, and even a child is likely to develop much faster compared to that of short parents. It is important that the children are fed balanced diets as recommended by the nutritionists. This can clearly explain why children of the same age weigh differently, have different body sizes and even their in capabilities are different. Malnutrition can delay the physical development and if it’s extreme it can even lead to retardation. The infants since birth to the age of one year undergo the process of ‘bone building.’ Diet thus should be balanced to build strong bones and teeth. Diseases. Unfortunately, some children may fall sick during this crucial stage of development and thus their rate of physical growth gets tampered. Some children undergo surgeries as soon as they are born so as to correct conditions such as sickle cell anaemia and other imperfections in their bodies. Such surgeries may affect the pace of physical development. Cognitive development Cognitive development refers to the child’s growth development of information processing and language learning including all other details of brain development and thinking (Grinder, 1961). Despite the fact that even on birth infants produce sounds such as cries on attaining the age of between two and three months, they can now make vowel sounds. This to some extents implies that the infants can perceive what other people are saying although their brains (not fully developed) take so long to interpret the impulses. Between the age of five and seven months, they begin to bubble, and they can smile back when other people smile to them. At the age of between six and seven months, infants can now look for hidden objects. Usually, infants can search for hidden objects as long as they believe it continues to exist even if it is taken away. This shows that their brains are still maturing up. Factors that affect cognitive growth Cognitive development also involves memory and sensory developments. There are many factors that influence this process. Environments in which these infants are brought up greatly contribute to their cognitive development process. For instance, some infants who are brought up by quarrelsome parents and irresponsible guardians who shout at them may have a slower pace in their cognitive development as compared to those brought up in a peaceful set up. Some parents are also too occupied and thus spend very little time to with their children. Despite the fact, parents may not realize this fact, the long term effects of this usually reveal themselves in the long-run. For instance, such a child is likely to grow in solitude and even when they become adults, they may find it hard to socialize with other people. Sensory development- for the senses to develop and become fully and efficiently functional, it is important that the infants are exposed to fair conditions. People incline to think that visual skills, hearing and smelling developed abruptly and spontaneous (Festingen, 1962). However, this not true as such skills require regular exercises and practice. Parent are advised to provide enough warmth to infants in order to protect them from adverse weather conditions and diseases.Moreover, it is also important to expose them to sounds such as music (this should however be regulated). Children should also be allowed to look at televisions at safe distances so to nurture their visual skills. Environmental stimuli also tend to affect the infants cognitive development. For instance, some parents like talking or even singing melodies to their children. Such children are likely to have good communication skills than those brought up in super silent environments. It is, therefore, important to ensure that children at this stage are exposed to favourable environments. Genetics- some infants may have genetically built intellectual deficits. For instance, if the two parents have very low intelligent quotients, their children may also develop the same defect and unless earlier step is taken such children cognitive development may be tampered. The pace may also be slower than normal. Factors that affect social, moral and personality development Family role. This is the most important aspect of any infant’s social, moral and aspect development (Grinder, 1961). Infants that are brought up in well knit family are more likely to exhibit excellent social traits than those without stable families. Love and affection that the infants get at this stage also greatly affect their moral and personality skills. For example, kids brought up as an orphan they miss the parental love that is important in their wellbeing. Hence, they may grow to be very hostile and arrogant to other people (Burgess-Jackson, 2014). Home environments can also affect the moral, social and personality traits of infants hence such environments ought to be chosen wisely. References Berk, L. E. (2011). Infants, Children, and Adolescents, 7/e. In Genetic and Environmental Foundations (pp. 50-89). Boston : Pearson . Burgess-Jackson, K. (2014, October 14). Deontological Egoism. Social Psychology, 21-23. Retrieved from ProQuest: search.proquest.com/docview/199370815?accountid=35812 Festingen, L. (1962). A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. Redwood: Stanford Univeristy Press. Grinder, R. E. (1961). New Techniques for Research in Childrens Temptation Behavior. Child Development, 679-688. Krapp, K. M., & Wilson, J. (2005). The Gale Encyclopedia of Childrens Health: Infancy Through Adolescence. Boston: Cengage Learning. Read More