Around this age children social development is still developing well. 6 and 7 year olds are quite concerned about pleasing their parents and other adults. They can sometimes struggle with being accepted by their peers, they also like being first and winning and taking turns can be hard. At this age children started to respect others ideas, opinions, and wishes.
Children around this age are eager to ask a lot of questions and their desire to learn is very strong, they love to repeat stories, and activities they have done or are going to do. Children at this age group think in the present, rather than the past or future. Their listening and speaking skills are developing quickly at this age; girls tend to be ahead of boys here as well. At this age a child thinks that everybody thinks what they do and has difficulty looking beyond the parts to see the whole picture, their thinking is very literal.
Child age 8-9 Years
A child’s physical ability about 9 years old isn’t much more from the age of 7, however it is still increasing. They are now able to use tools, such as a hammer or small garden tools quite well and there drawing is now really detail. Children this age tend to carry on with an activity until they are absolutely exhausted. More boys, rather than girls are also very interested about their strength and how far they can push themselves.
In this age group a child’s intellectual development still continues to grow at a steady speed, they now read to learn, rather than learning to read. They also are able to use a dictionary and are very interested in mastering skills. Also children between these ages can keep their train of thought well and will continue work even after interruptions, and they have a strong desire to complete tasks.
A child’s emotional and social development still continues to grow as now they start to show their mood swings, and they tend to dislike the opposite sex intensely. They now start to use physical complaints to avoid unpleasant tasks and also around this age children like to talk and share ideas with others.
Adolescence
An adolescences physical development is now moving an individual’s from childhood into physical maturity. Girls and boys both go through puberty.
Girls may begin to develop breast buds as early as 8 years old, with full breast development achieved anywhere from 12 to 18 years. Pubic hair growth begins as well as armpit and leg hair they typically begin at about age 9 or 10 years. Their body develops with wider hips and smaller waistlines.
Girls menstrual cycles normally occur about 2 years after initial teenage changes are noted. It may occur as early as 10 years, or as late as 15 years, with the average in the United Kingdom being about 12.5 years. A rapid growth in height occurs for girls between the ages of about 10 and 15 years.
Boys may begin to notice enlargement of the testicles and scrotum about 10 years old which is followed closely by the lengthening of the penis. Adult size and shape of the genitals is normally reached by the age of 17. Pubic hair begins in boys at about 12 as well as armpit, leg, chest, and facial hair.
A rapid growth in height occurs for boys between the ages of about 10 to 11 and 16 to 18. Puberty is not marked with a sudden incident in boys the appearance of regular wet dreams marks the onset of puberty in boys and typically occurs between the ages of 13 and 17 years, with the average about 14. Also their voice deepens.
Boy’s bones and muscles grow as well as their strength increases. Fat is lost in some parts of the body, such as the arms and legs as well as their broad shoulders developing. Body odour becomes adult-like and acne starts to appear.
Adolescences learn to think in a completely new way to understand complex ideas. They learn through selective and divided attention, and they now have a better memory. Problem solving skills also improve a lot. In this age group they are able to think in a logical way, use sound judgment and develop their ability to understand and make sense out of symbols or images.
An adolescent may begin to spend less time with parents and more with friends. They often long for freedom and start to detach themselves from their family. They begin to depend on themselves more and learn a sense of responsibility. During early adolescence having close relationships and being accepted into a peer group is very important. More time is spent with friends who give a child more chance to try new things which could be smoking, drinking alcohol, or sexual activity. By middle adolescence, boys and girls start to become friends which often lead to dating.
Emotional development continues once children reach adolescence. In fact, emotions have often been used to define the period of adolescence. When emotional stress does arise, it often is the result of adolescents' conflicts with their parents. These conflicts frequently occur because adolescents are striving to make independent choices and do not agree with parents' requests and opinions as readily as they did when they were younger. Conversations about general household tasks and curfews can be potentially volatile for instance, when a teenagers want to stay out late with their friends which conflict with the parents' as they want make sure their child are safe.
Sometimes emotional extremes are more than often the centre on interactions with peers, particularly romantic partners. These extreme feelings are tied to the adolescent's self-perceptions, sometimes producing feelings of worthlessness and sometimes bring out strong joy and desire. Some teens are able to surmount difficult emotional situations, whereas others may despair.
Adulthood
Early adulthood is the first stage of adulthood in which the body physically changes. In this stage, a person may continue to add a bit of height and weight to their teenage frame. The body continues to undergo important hormonal changes. These changes may make beards grow a bit thicker and the voice to become slightly deeper and richer. This is the period in which women usually have children, so it is the time in which women gain a little weight.
18 is the usual age recognised as becoming a young adult, adulthood is the stage of life from 18-65. Relationships with friends are important to adults and friends contribute to our pleasures with life, give us a sense of belonging, skill, and self-worth. Friends are people we know and trust and are special to us socially and emotionally because they are our favourite companions and closes friends. Friends are usually chosen from the people who are considered a person’s "social equals." This usually means that the people we pick as friends tend to be those who we have grown up with, have similar interests, have similar occupations, have children the same age and are the same general age as ourselves. The friendship with others usually consists of 5 main things which are enjoyment and spontaneity, trust, respect, confiding and mutual assistance.
Ageing is a highly individual experience. Each person experiences age-related changes at a rate determined by genetic form. The quality of a person’s life depends upon many factors, including heredity, physical health, nutrition, activity levels, mental health, and other unknown factors.
Women also go through the menopause in this stage of life which can bring on feelings of anxiety, depression, a hollow feeling and panic. The average age is of people who go through the menopause is about 51 years old. The menopause is when the biological clock stops ticking meaning that women are no longer fertile as the hormones oestrogen and progesterone stop producing. Symptoms of starting the menopause could be: hot flushes, night sweats, dizziness, heart palpitations, itchy skin, vaginal dryness, emotional changes, frequent urination and aches and pains.
Middle adulthood is the second stage of adulthood which is one of the most noticeable changes as there is loss of elasticity in the skin, especially in the face which results in lines and wrinkles that are seen as one of the first signs of aging. Men usually gain weight in the abdominal region, while women gain weight in the hips and thighs.. Women usually experience hormonal changes during this period that result in the loss of the ability to reproduce, a process called menopause. Both genders may experience greying of the hair or the hair may thin. Around the 40’s the shape of the eye lens changes meaning that the newspaper or books become harder to read meaning they are moved further away in order to read the print. Other changes make focusing more difficult. Vision may become increasingly blurred and fuzzy.
Late adulthood is the final stage of physical change in these years. The skin continues to lose elasticity as it did in middle adulthood and this results in deeper lines and wrinkles. Age spots, or brown spots on the skin, often form more frequently. Eyesight deteriorates, which causes many seniors to need glasses. Reaction time also slows down a lot.
The final stages of life
120 years is often accepted as the maximum a human being living for. Life itself has to come to an end at some point as there are a range of things that limit our lifespan. One reason is because our cells inside of us don’t always have to ability to renew themselves which means that if they don’t renew then they wont keep our body healthy or repair anything that needs it. To increase a person’s lifespan people should try and avoid any toxic substances such as smoking and drinking alcohol. They should try and eat a healthy diet.
When we get older the body needs more sleep and will seem more tired and some individuals can slip into a deep sleep which can be hard to wake them from. They also are in pain or discomfort a lot; this can be managed with medication or care. Some people at this end stage can become very confused and forgetful. They may not recognise relatives and friends which can be hard for both the person and the unrecognised person. This can be accompanied by loss of control over muscles and can decrease the ability to speak clearly. They may also start picking at bed covers, remove clothing and talk to themselves about visions or dreams as their brain cells are starting to decrease. People at this stage can also find it difficult to tolerate food which could result in frequent vomiting and have and absence of their gag reflex. Decreased need for fluid and food due to reduced activity. Their breathing may have changes and sometimes can become irregular, shallow or noisy.
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