Childhood and Growing Up

Facts About Development

1. Development involves change
2. Early development is more critical than later development
3. Development is the product of maturation and learning
4. Developmental pattern is predictable
5. Developmental pattern has predictable characteristics
6. There are individual differences in development
7. There are periods in the developmental pattern
8. There are social expectations for every developmental period
9. Every area of development has potential hazards
10.Happiness varies at different periods in development
 Principles of Human Development
 Continuity- Development is a continuous process from conception to
death. Development depends on the growth and maturity of individuals who
interact with the environment.
 Sequentiality- Most psychologists agree that development is sequential or
orderly. All children follow a development pattern with one stage leading to
the next. Infants stand before they walk; draw circles before they make
squares. Since development is continuous, what happens at one stage
influences the following stages.
 Generality to Specificity- Development proceeds from general to specific.
In all areas of development, general activity always precedes specific
activity. For example, the foetus moves its whole body but is incapable of
making specific responses. In early postnatal life infants wave their arms
randomly. In language, from genetic sounds emerges words and then
specific sentences with meaning.
Principles of Human Development
 Differentiality- Individuals differ in the rate of growth and
development. Boys and girls have different development rates.
There are periods of great intensity and equilibrium and there are
periods of imbalance. Developmental changes do not always go
forward in a straight line. While the development of different
physical and mental trails is continuous, it is never uniform
for example Mental abilities like verbal, numerical, spatial, etc.,
develop at different ages. Creative imagination develops rapidly in
childhood and reaches its peak in early adolescence. Reasoning
develops slowly. The point is all these changes in individuals are not
uniform, they occur at different rates.
Human Development
 Growth and Development are often used interchangeably but
conceptually they are different.
 Growth refers to quantitative changes in bodily dimensions (which
includes physical changes like height, weight, size, internal organs etc)
 Development means a progressive series of qualitative changes
(simultaneously with quantitative changes of growth) at physical as well
as mental levels
 Thus at each stage growth, certain development progresses bring
changes in the individual in different aspects of life: physical, socials,
physiological and emotional.
 Thus, development may be explained as the series of overall changes
in an individual duo. Development is an ongoing process.
Growth vs Development
Growth Development
1. Growth is quantitative Development is qualitative
2. The term is used in purely physical sense. It Development implies overall change in shape,
generally refers to increase in size, length form or structure resulting its improved
working or functioning

3. Growth does not continue throughout life. It It continues throughout life and is
stops when maturity has been attained progressive

4. The changes produced by growth are the Development implies improvement in

subject of measurement. They may be functioning and behavior and hence bring
quantified qualitative changes. It can be measured by
observation

5. Growth is cellular. It takes place due to the Development is progressive and orderly.
multiplication of cells.
 Any development process proceeds through some stages. Each
stage of development has its characteristics.
 The transition from one stage to the next is gradual rather than
sudden. Stage of development as per age group

Age Groups Stage of Development Schooling Stage

Birth to 2 years Infancy

2 years to 6 years Early Childhood Pre-Primary

6 years to 12 years Later Childhood Primary

12 years to 18 years Adolescence Secondary and Senior

Secondary

18 years to 40 years Young Adulthood

40 years to 65 years Mature Adulthood

Over 65 years Aged Adulthood

Infancy
Characteristics
 Infants usually have wrinkled, blotchy red skin and a large head.
 The baby begins centering its attention on its own body. By the age of nine months a
normal baby can creep.
 Motor ability develops from the head down to the toes
 Newborn babies have been shown to be capable of discriminating between sweet
and sour tastes
 Vision develops more slowly than many other senses
 By six month of age, infant can discriminate between colours, shapes and faces of
parents and strangers
 They recognize their mother’s voice, start crawling and then walking
 They start uttering some combination of words
Early Childhood (2 to 6 years)

Characteristics
 Early childhood is generally referred to as the pre-school period.
 children enlarge the scope of their behavior
 Mimic social practices while playing games
 Children become more curious and eager to seek information
 They have developed a set of cognitive skills by the age of six
 A major development task for a child during the first six years of
life is to acquire a gender identification
 Later Childhood (6 to 12 years)
Characteristics
 During this period physical growth is initially slow
 They develop their intellectual capabilities through information processing
 the memory and the problem-solving ability improves and children become aware of their
achievements
 They develop an understanding of the meaning of rules and their moral development takes
place
 These years are a time of rapid growth in children's knowledge of the social world and of the
requirements for social interaction.
 They assess the status of the people they encounter from their behavior (walking, eating,
reading, playing), their emotional stale (happy, sad, angry), their roles (teacher, parents) and
their social context (religious place, school, home).
 Children continue to grow in the strength, speed and coordination needed for motor skills.
 The function and role of schools become important for children's growth and development:
physical, intellectual and motor.
 Adolescence

Characteristics
 Adolescence is a period of stress and storms.
 Adolescence is very crucial stage of development. All types of
changes: biological, physical, socials, cognitive, etc., take place
during the adolescence stage
 An expansion in capacity and style of thought broadens adolescents
awareness, imagination, judgement and insight.
 These enhanced abilities also lead to a rapid accumulation of
knowledge that opens up a range of issues and problems
 also show an increasing ability to plan and think ahead
 Adolescents learn to examine objects, events or phenomena and
consciously develop their thinking ability.
Issues of Adolescents in Educational Institutions

 Delinquency in Adolescence
 Scholastic backwardness of Adolescence
 Examination fear
 Self pride- Inferiority complex
 Teenage identity crisis
 Adolescent suicide
 Adolescent depression
 Substance related problems
 Developments in Adolescence
 Physical development - various physical changes happens at this stage. Each
of these physical changes produces psychological effects.
 Cognitive development - The adolescents can imagine about a situation
which is not physically present before them and their long-term memory
increases. They can retain facts for a longer period, anticipate future needs
and plan for it.
 Moral development - The impact of religion and religious practices is also
felt for the first time at this stage. This is the level of self accepted principles .
 Social development - psychological development of individual (their
personalities and view of themselves) proceeds hand in hand with the social
relations they establish as they go through life.
 Emotional development - Their emotions fluctuate very frequently and
quickly. It is widely believed that adolescents are highly emotional
Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages
Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages
Sl. No. Approximate Erikson’s Psychosocial Stage
Age
Basic trust versus mistrust: From warm, responsive care, infants gain a
Stage 1 Birth-1 year sense of trust, or confidence, that the world is good.
Mistrust occurs if infants are neglected or handled harshly.
Autonomy versus shame and doubt: Using new mental and motor skills,
Stage 2 1-3 years children what to decide for themselves. Parents can foster autonomy by
permitting reasonable free choice and not forcing or shaming the child.

Initiative versus guilt: Through make-believe play, children gain insight

into the person they can become. Initiative—a sense of ambition and
Stage 3 3-6 years responsibility—develops when parents support their child’s sense of
purpose. But if parents demand too much selfcontrol, children experience
excessive guilt.

Industry versus inferiority: At school, children learn to work and cooperate

Stage 4 6-11 years with others. Inferiority develops when negative experiences at home, at
school, or with peers lead to feelings of incompetence.
Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages

Sl. No. Approximate Erikson’s Psychosocial Stage

Age
Identity versus role confusion: By exploring values and vocational goals,
Stage 5 Adolescence the young person forms a personal identity. The negative outcome is
confusion about future adult roles.

Intimacy versus isolation: Young adults establish intimate relationships.

Young Because of earlier disappointments, some individuals cannot form close
Stage 6
adulthood bonds and remain isolated.

Generativity versus stagnation: Generativity means giving to the

Middle next generation through child rearing, caring for others, or productive
Stage 7 work. The person who fails in these ways feels an absence of meaningful
adulthood
accomplishment.

Integrity versus despair: Integrity results from feeling that life was worth
Stage 8 Old age living as it happened. Older people who are dissatisfied with their lives
fear death.
Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development
Socialization
 Socialization is a process by which culture is transmitted to the
younger generation and men learn the rules and practices of social
groups to which they belong

Socialization Agents
 Socialization agents are the sources from which we learn about
society and ourselves. People and groups that influence our self-
concept, emotions, attitudes, and behaviour are called agents of
socialization
Socialization Agents
 Family - Family is the first agent of socialization. Mothers and fathers, siblings and
grandparents, plus members of an extended family, all teach a child what he or she
needs to know. The family serves as “the natural and convenient channel of social
continuity.
 School - The school is the second agency of socialization. In the school the child gets
his education which moulds his ideas and attitudes. A well-planned system of
education can produce socialized persons. Students don't just learn from the
academic curriculum prepared by teachers and school administrators, but also learn
social skills through interactions with teachers, staff, and other students.
 Peer - A peer group is made up of people who are similar in age and social status and
who share interests. Peer groups are important to adolescents in a new way, as they
begin to develop an identity separate from their parents and exert independence.
 Community - Traditional communities are neighbourhood or village-based. Research
shows that new communications technologies not only extend our social connections
but deepen them as well.
GENDER STEREOTYPES AND GENDER ROLES

It could be said that the roles of the male and female

derived from their assumed characteristics. These are
a reflection of our society in terms of the roles that men
and women are supposed to take on and by repeatedly
showing such stereotypical assumptions on the
respective gender roles, it would give the idea to
children that they are supposed to act and is the
natural state of things, when in reality gender is
subjective and comes in various forms and shapes.
Marginalized children
A marginalized children is a group of children that's confined to the lower or
peripheral edge of the society. Such a group is denied involvement in
mainstream economic, political, cultural and social activities.

Characteristics of marginalized groups

1. Children living in urban slum
2. Deprived children
3. Dalit
4. Tribe
5. Abused child
6. Children growing up in poverty
7. Street children
8. Child labour
Characteristics of marginalized groups

1. It suffers from discrimination and subordination.

2. They have physical and/or cultural traits that set them apart, and which are
disapproved of, by a dominant group.
3. They share a sense of collective identity and common burdens.
4. They have shared social rules about who belongs, and who does not.

5. They have a tendency to marry within the group.

Play
 Play is an essential and critical part of all children's
development.
 Play starts in the child's infancy and ideally, continues
throughout his or her life.
 Play is how children learn to socialize, to think, to solve
problems, to mature and most importantly, to have fun.
 Play connects children with their imagination, their
environment, their parents and family and the world.
VALUES OF PLAY
 PHYSICAL VALUE - Muscular & sensory abilities are developed.
 INTELLECTUAL VALUE - They learn to understand special
relationships, to do abstract thinking, & to engage in problem solving
activities. They learn the differences in sizes, shape, colors, textures,
numbers, & names of the objects.
 MORAL VALUE - Cultural values like honesty, integrity, sportsmanship,
& compassion are learned.
VALUES OF PLAY
 CREATIVE VALUE - Children are most
creative when they are playing. Eg playing
with materials like clay, paper & finger prints

 THERAPEUTIC VALUE - Play provides the

release of stress and tension. Children
express their emotions and reveal themselves
through play.

 SOCIALIZATION - When they play with

adults, parents and peers they develop social
relationship.
Media
Media

Communication channels through which news,

entertainment, education, data, or promotional
messages are disseminated. Media includes every
broadcasting and narrowcasting medium such as
newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, billboards, direct
mail, telephone, fax, and internet.
Media Effects

The media has a disturbing

potential to negatively affect many
aspects of children’s healthy
development, including weight
status, sexual initiation,
aggressive feelings and beliefs,
consumerism and social isolation.
Media Effects

Media also has potential for positive effects

on child health. We need to find ways to
optimize the role of media in our society,
taking advantage of their positive attributes
and minimizing
Recommended guidelines for use of media in
children by American Academy of Pediatrics

 Not allowing the bedroom to be a media center with TV, video

games, and Internet access
 Limiting media time to 1 to 2 hours of quality programming
 Discouraging TV viewing for children younger than 2 years
 Viewing and discussing content together
 Turning off the TV when no one is watching and during meals
 Being a good media role model.
 Role Of The Teacher In Facilitating Growth And
Development
 What we know about the child is vast and impressive. However, what we do not know is
even more vast and overwhelming.
 you need to update your knowledge of the problems of children so that you are able to,
make a reliable diagnosis and apply the knowledge of child psychology to better their
adjustment with themselves and with the world around them.
 You, as a teacher, should know what to expect from the child (student), and what he
needs physically, socially and emotionally.
 The routine teacher taught relationship would not benefit him unless he is dealt with
emphatically as a social being, as an individual self and as a biological organism.
 You should accept and make your student accept the reality of physical and biological
changes so that the transition takes a smooth curve.
 One way is to arrange conditions in way that makes desirable responses satisfying and
not annoying.
 Role Of The Teacher In Facilitating Growth And
Development
Positive training in self direction and self control be given to students
Points to remember –
Control and guidance should come from the student himself under teacher’s
supervision
Student should not be punished lest it interferes with his developing
leadership
Harsh, Strict and unsympathetic control and prescription of every details of
conduct (leaving no place for self control and self direction) are not conductive
to a student’s mental health and adjustments to life’s events.
Proper guidance and rational shift of treatment, and principles of autonomy
should be judicially applied to ensure smooth passage through the turbulent
period of students.