GCSE Health & Social Care Life Stages

Growth.

The term growth refers to an increase in quantity or size. A person will experience a gradual increase in their weight and height as they move from infancy through childhood and into adolescence to adulthood.

Development. Development is different to growth and happens when a person gains new skills, abilities and emotions. Typically, our skills, abilities and emotions become more sophisticated and complex as we progress from childhood through adolescence and to adulthood.

Human growth and development tends to follow a pattern. Growth and development norms, sometimes called milestones, refer to the points in a person's life where particular changes are expected to happen.

Age 3 to 4 months. Infants start on solid foods, develop better head control, can roll from side to side, reach for objects.

Age 6 to 9 months. Teething begins, learns to sit unaided, lift their heads and look around, use thumb and index finger to grasp objects.

Age 9 to 12 months. infants can crawl, chews food, use their hands to explore, can walk holding on to parent or furniture, often called cruising. may say a few words, know their name and start to understand their parents words.

age 12 to 18 months. toddlers learn to feed themselves, walk unaided, can understand simple requests and develops better memory and concentration.

age 18-24 months. toddlers can run, turn pages of a book, use simple sentences, have temper outbursts and know their own name.

age 10 years (girls). age 12 years (boys). puberty begins.

age 45-55 years. menopause occurs.

Infancy. Infancy is the first human life stage that begins at birth and continues until about 2 years of age. during infancy you experience a huge amount of physical, social, emotional and intellectual development.

Physical growth happens very rapidly. a baby is born with a number of reflexes but is very helpless, and dependant on others during their first year of life. REFLEXES are automatic physical movements that a baby makes without intending to. For example, placing. the stimulus is brushing the top of…