James had just arrived into the world and he was an infant. At this stage he started getting used to the outside world and his surroundings. He would mainly sleep, cry and get breast fed by his mother. This may not sound like much but infants do take a lot in and learn new things, Mary would make faces at James and James would mimic her, this shows how infants start to learn and develop facial expressions and get used to their parent’s faces and features. Infants do not have much of a personality so they express themselves in the only way they know which is crying. James would also cry during nights because he was adjusting to the world, James used to cry a lot when he was an infant but when Mary would kiss him stroke him or rock him, he would calm down this is an important way of communication.
At 3 months old James’s head and neck muscles started to become stronger and he had started to roll over on the floor. His body became stronger and he started waving his arms and kicking his legs. James also started to attempt to talk by babbling a little and he didn’t cry as much, this shows he is trying to speak and communicate, Mary would speak to him and try to make him say words such as ‘mum’ and ‘dad’. He started to smile and understand who is who in his life, the part of his brain that allows him to recognize objects and things had started to rapidly develop at this stage and his memory was also rapidly developing. James had started to develop a sleeping routine and didn’t cry as much on nights only now and then for a feed.
At 6 months old James had started attempting to eat solid foods and pinching Mary and Nick’s food, wanting to try new things and copy his parents. James’s body had become stronger and he had started to crawl, his hand control had also developed quickly and he was able to grab toys and objects, James’s world had become more and more interesting. At this stage James started to want attention, he didn’t mind who he got it from he just craved attention from anyone who would smile at him, they would become a new friend. James also started to make noises and see what response Mary or Nick would give to him.
As James reached the age of 1 year old he had developed more communication skills from hearing his parents talking, he started to make blabber sounds that sounded more like words, he could say ‘mama’ and ‘you’. At this age James knew that his parents are his parents and had a good idea of his acquaintances, at this age he thinks that everyone around him thinks the same as him. His body had also developed more and he could stand and take a few steps, he also started to imitate his parent’s activities and learnt more about communication for example he would make gestures to indicate that he wanted something. He could also understand tones of voices and could respond to very simple instructions. James had also become very clingy to Mary, if she was to leave him alone for a little while he would start crying because of separation anxiety. In these situations James would tend to fear that once Mary was gone she would be gone forever, this thought would make him cry, even when Mary would return James would start to cry again this could be because on seeing Mary, James was reminded of how he felt when she was gone and he would be afraid that she will leave again.
When James reached 3 years old he could walk very well almost adult style, he could also run. He started to learn how to play with toys such as balls, he could throw and catch balls, Mary and Nick gifted James with a tricycle for his third birthday which he could ride. Mary and Nick had also enrolled James into nursery where he learnt to do simple little puzzles, finger paint and learnt how to stack blocks. James also started to learn more words and could speak quite clearly and he could speak in short sentences. He could also match pictures with words and slowly learnt concepts of time such as ‘now’ and ‘later’. James also started to notice other people’s moods and feelings, and preferred to play alone but around other children and didn’t really like to share toys. He also developed the ability to choose between two different things. James also tended to ask Mary for help at times.
At 4 years old James could walk confidently and had learnt to walk up and down the stairs. He could also run faster and played catch with his father, Nick. Nick was also teaching James to ride a bike with stabilizers. James had also learnt to use the toilet at this stage but tended to wet the bed now and then. He could also dress himself confidently and played with other children in the park, he could even play on the swings with a bit of help from Mary. James’s ability to speak had also developed at this stage he could say his own name and age. He could also answer simple questions and could tell little stories. He also learnt how to count and could name familiar colours. James’s also developed a good imagination and started to fantasize more creatively. James’s also learnt how to say words to describe how he feels which meant he had less tantrums, he also began to form his own personality and had his own likes and dislikes. James’s also started to pinch and bite Mary when he was upset or angry, Mary would tell him that this is wrong and he shouldn’t do this, making James lose this habit for the future.
As time went on and James reached the age of 9 years old, he was on the brink of adolescence. In a few years he will experience significant changes in his physical development as he enters puberty and his preteen years. James had grown taller and his body had gone slim. James’s speed and strength had strengthened since he was younger and he had become really good at playing sport. He started to learn how to swim and his balance and coordination had improved. James could brush his teeth himself and also bathe himself his baby teeth were continuing to fall out at this stage. James was paying attention in school and loved visiting the library he was interested in learning about history. His favorite topic was ancient Egypt, at this stage James would read books about ancient Egypt and had a passion for learning more about their culture. James was also good at working in groups and learnt to share well. James started to become more independent had made a group of friends which he spent a lot of time with. James started to put more importance on his peers rather than his parents at this stage. James had become more mature and learnt to take responsibility in things such as cleaning his room and doing homework. James would also help around the house every Wednesday night he would help wash the dishes and clean the dining table. James started to look up to his father Nick more and saw him as a role model.
James had grown taller as he reached 10 years old. He started to gain a little bit of weight. James started to grow pubic hair on his body under his arms and in the groin area. At this stage James started to draw and write better and had taken an interest in playing videogames. He could also ride a bicycle without stabilizers. James’s permanent teeth had also started to come in and he started to want more privacy. James also started to do more difficult tasks as his brain and body had developed to be stronger. James started to spend more time with his group of friends and wasn’t really interested in doing family activities. James also started to have his own opinion on things and began to stand up for his opinions. James also started to develop new emotions such as embarrassment, excitement and uncertainty. He started to like girls in a different way and started to develop his own style.
James is now the age of 18 years old. He has grown to the height of 5ft 8inches tall. His body has started to develop more muscle and he has become more aware of what he eats, he tries to have a healthy diet. James has been through puberty and he continues to grow pubic hair and has started to grow facial hair as well and his testes have started making sperm cells, at the age of 14 James had his first wet dream. James also started to get spots on his face now and then which is acne caused by more oils coming out of the skin. James’s group of friends has become smaller and he only has a few good friends which he feels he can trust. He is very focused on his education and his vocational future and he thinks more about what he would like to do as a career. James also has a girlfriend which he is thinking of settling down with in the future, he feels more responsible for his own health. James tends to get depressed at times due to lack of sleep and drinking energy drinks. At times he feels stressed and confused about the future and his plans.
When James approaches 19 years old he will be reaching adulthood. He will become an independent adult member of society. When James reaches about 22 years old he will probably be graduated at university ready to get a job and maybe thinking about getting married. He will start to gain more responsibilities and have lots of plans and ambitions. His body should have stopped growing at this age and he should have developed sexual maturity. He will start to have more of an interest in matters to do with society and will start to stress more about things that he’s worried about. He may have been in and out of quite a few relationships at this stage of life and he will start to learn more about other people’s personalities.
When James approaches the age of 45 years old he will undergo various physical changes. Wrinkles will start to form on his face and his hair will start to turn grey. His organs won’t function as efficiently as they used to. He will also start to notice a decrease in his strength, reaction time and most of his senses will start to weaken such as eyesight and hearing. He may be married at this stage with his own children he will probably be working in a stable job and running a house. He may have had a few divorces in the past years from trying to find the right person to settle down with. After a few years he will start to experience biological changes, testosterone production lessens, which creates physical symptoms, such as weakness, poor appetite, and inability to focus on specific tasks for extended periods. He will probably start to get a little depressed as he starts to realize he is no longer twenty years old and may tend to do things younger people do, this is called mid-life crisis. He will slowly start too bald and his metabolism will start to slow down which will make him gain weight around the waist. He may also start to suffer from low self-esteem.
When James starts to reach the age of 65 he will be at the life stage known as older adulthood. At this point James will be thinking about retiring and just relaxing after working for so long. He may have grandchildren at this stage that he will want to spend time with. At this age James may start to think about the future and adapting to the idea that he will be facing death soon. This thought may make him feel depressed and may make him suffer from anxiety. James will start to get wrinkles and his skin will become less firm, he will start to get aging spots and maybe warts. His hair will start to thin and become grey and his height may start to decrease in maybe a few inches. James’s eyesight will start to weaken which may interfere in his ability to read and his hearing may start to get weaker, also his speed in doing tasks may decrease.
The average life expectancy for men in England is about 78 years old. If or when James starts to reach 70 years old he will start to think about death and will probably write his will and start thinking more about his family. This is the final stage of the life stages which is known as death.
Unit 4
Task 1 M1 and D1
Nature vs. Nurture Debate
When James was 4 years old he learnt to speak. As James grew up throughout birth to infancy, his mother and father spoke to him clearly in sentences. All humans are born with the ability to pick up language and speech. They have a mouth and vocal cords so they can naturally develop their speech. However it can be said that due to his family speaking to him over the years this had a big impact on James’s language development. James learnt how to speak because of the environment he was living in, if James’s family didn’t speak to him throughout his infancy and toddler years he would not have learnt simple words and would not have been able to speak clearly in English. Even though humans genetically have abilities to speak it takes social communication for humans to develop their speech and language skills.
Conclusion
This shows that nature and nurture both take place in the development in language skills. Nature plays a role due to how genetically we are all born with abilities and traits that make us speak, however nurture plays more of a role than nature because without social communication a human would not know how to say a simple sentence or word because the brain picks up words that are spoken and remembers the way they are spoken and the sounds that are involved. If someone was born in an environment without anyone speaking to them they will not have any knowledge of how to speak.
Nature vs. Nurture Debate
When James’s mother was 18 years old she suffered from depression, James is 18 years old and he tends to get depressed quite a lot this could be a genetic trait that he got from his mother. On the other hand James could be depressed because of stress and other problems in his life and it could be that without these problems he would not get depressed at all. James’s grandmother who is Mary’s mother also suffered from depression at a young age so this can prove to be a genetic trait that depression runs in the family. But if a person is in an environment where there is a lot of stress and worries then a person will tend to get depressed.
Conclusion
I believe that depression is caused by nurture not nature. I don’t think someone can be born with a genetic trait of depression in them. It could be that having a parent that is depressed can make the child’s environment rather glum and stressful which makes the child depressed.