Stage Ages Developmental Task Examples

Pre-natal
Germinal
Embryonic
Fetal
9 calendar months
Begins with conception, when the
sperm and egg cell unite in one
of the two fallopian tubes. The
fertilized egg, known as a zygote,
then moves toward the uterus, a
journey that can take up to a
week to complete.24 to 36 hours
after conception.
g. conception until implantation
-from 8-14 days (conception -
8th week)
the beginning of the third week
to the end of the eighth week(9th
- 24th week)
-period of the fetus. until the
baby is born3rd Trimester (25th
week - birth)
-Primitive reflexes
foundation of an infant's
sensorimotor development
-voice recognition
e. all major
organs are formed and the heart
begins to beat
Face, eyes, ears, limbs & bones
formed
Internal organs & systems
develop, but not function
Foundation
Heart, lungs, bones & muscles
formed
Neural tube closes, brain &
spinal cord forming
Critical stage for brain
development

f. major organ systems begin to
function and the growth of the
organism is
quite rapid
1st time a mother feels movement
5 senses start to work
Cough, sneeze, cry, hiccup, kick
can already identify his
mother's voice and long for
it more than the other
voices surrounding him
Post-natal (Infancy) from birth to two years
ontogenetic skills emerge
s breathing, sucking and
swallowing, and
discharging bodily
waste
- responds to pressure or
touch on the cheek by
/ba/ and /ga/ sounds
- the trunk and shoulders
compared to the outward
extremities like hands and
figures
turning the head towards
the touch and opening the
mouth
- automatic and
involuntary, rooting reflex
- swimming
reflex keeps the infant
floating in water
- discriminate between
different sounds of
language
- physical and motor
development is quite rapid
- raise
their head by about 2
months
- sit with support by 4
months
- walk with support by 9
Months
- walk on their own by 10-
12 months
- development proceeds in
a cephalocaudal direction
- motor activities
involving upper
extremities - the head and
neck regions - develop
earlier than those
involving
legs and lower extremities
- proximodistal
pattern according to which
development is faster in
the region closer to the
centre of the
bodies
- a baby develops control
over arms much before
developing control over
finger movements
are able to form
permanent image of
objects in their mind
able to remember their
experiences, movements
and information about
objects and
people.
are able to differentiate
between familiar people
and strangers
express various
emotions such as
happiness, anger and
fear.
able to communicate
with gestures and verbal
expressions using single
words and
two-word utterances
- 3 months Infants can sit with
their head held steady for a few
seconds, if supported 6 months
Infants have more strength and
muscle control. They can lift their
heads , sit without support, and
turn their head to look around.
They can pull themselves up
when their hands are grasped 9
months Infants can sit
unsupported for ten minutes.
They are starting to move
independently by rolling or
squirming. They can pull
themselves to stand, and can
stand holding onto soemthing for
a few moments 12 months
Infants can get from a lying to a
sitting position without help.
They crawl rapidly. They can
walk by holding onto furniture
and stand alone for a few
monments. 15 months Infants
can get on their feet alone. They
can walk and crawl upstairs. 18
months Infants can run, walk
upstairs and crawl downstairs . 2
years Infants can walk
downstairs. 3 years Infants can
climb on play equipment, ride a
tricycle and throw and catch a
ball.


Early Childhood period from 2 to 6 years of age - learns the rules of appropriate
social behaviour and develops
mental
abilities which prepare him/her

for formal education and
schooling
- they begin widening their
social environment
- start socializing with
children of their own age
- becoming more impulsive,
adventurous, and curious
- ate of growth decreases or
slows down; growth is slowest
by the 3rd year, but stable and
consistently increasing - learning
ability which was launched in the
1st year becomes faster as the
child is exposed to new
environment - all the
psychomotor skills are
enhancing; muscle coordination
allows the child to run, climb,
move freely - speech is learned;
child recognizes letters and
some words - teeth erupt - short
attention span
- locomotion
skills become refined and
graceful
- can run in a straight line and
can jump smoothly without
falling
Down
- can skip, jump on one foot and
catch a large ball thrown from a
Distance
- age six, the child is physically
quite capable of coordinated
actions which
require maintaining body
balance. Small muscles
coordination required for fine
motor
activities such as putting in shirt
buttons or copying a simple
figure
- A 3-year-old child may persist
on
a task such as colouring with
crayons, playing with toys or
watching TV for no more than
15-20 minutes at a stretch. By
contrast, a 6-year-old can be
found to be working on an
interesting task for an hour or
more. Such improvements in
attention may be, at least
partly, due to maturational
changes in the central nervous
system. An area of the brain
called reticular formation (which
is responsible for regulation of
attention) continues to
develop until puberty. Children
also become more selective in
their attention. They are
able to concentrate and focus on
relevant aspects of the total
stimulation ignoring irrelevant
or distracting stimuli. As children
become more attentive, their
perceptual skills or ability
to identify finer aspects of
objects also improves
exploring the world outside
his home through his peers
in school. They start
learning different things,
experimenting on tools, and
obtaining abilities that
would enable them to
become good workers and
possible providers. They are
now more aware of the
comments they receive from
other people. If they will
learn how to gain
satisfaction from
intellectual stimulation and
success, they will grow into
more competent human
beings. If they fail to
appreciate success, they
might feel inferior and
inadequate over others.
Middle Childhood 7-10 YEARS - most stable period of childhood
- all changes are consolidated
because of differential rate of
growth - by the 9th year, body
proportion of the growing child
changes - growth of brain is
almost 95% - replacement of
milk teeth by permanent teeth is
almost complete, with the
exception of the 2nd molars.
- Physical activities become
more vigorous; children can
run faster and jump higher and
their reaction time
- makes them more proficient at
action games
- hinking becomes more logical
and systematic particularly in
respect of concrete
objects, events and experiences.
the time they need to respond to
a
stimulus) becomes quicker
But given abstract situations
their thinking fails to follow
logical principles
Late Childhood 10TH YEAR PUBERTY phase influenced by growth of
sex hormones - development of
reproductive system and
secondary sexual dimensions
occur - linear growth under the
influence of these hormones /
systems is fast - there is a
sudden increase in the linear
dimension, which is known as
ADOLESCENCE SPURT -
complex motor-sensory
coordination - understanding of
abstract concepts, enhanced
reading, writing and speech
skills - visual acuity is at its best
- can engage in simple arithmetic
operations
and draw some inferences in
concrete situations, but they
cannot think of different
hypothetical outcomes in
situations which require abstract
thinking
- Middle childhood years
are also the time for quest for
knowledge and mastery.
Memory and conceptual
knowledge
improve facilitating logical
thinking beyond the immediate
situation. Children can also
engage
in aesthetic activities such as
music, art and dance and
develop hobbies of their own.

School age children have
learned most of the social
standards regarding sex-roles
and
accept their gender as an
unchanging aspect of
themselves and their personality
Adolescent commitment to fulfill an
adult social function. This is
when a person starts
developing his personal and
social identity. He is also
now aware of his moral
responsibility. He
demonstrates intelligence
by reasoning out. The
egocentric thought, which
diminishes sometimes in
childhood, shows up again
at this stage. A meager 35%
of adolescents are able to
acquire logical reasoning
ability. An adolescent starts
exploring different aspects
of his personality and how
he envisions himself in the
future. It is normal for an
adolescent to explore,
expand his boundaries,
become independent, and
develop his own
personality.
- beginning of sexual
maturity and reproductive
capacity of
an individual

- rapid biological and
physical change and
these changes are
associated with many
psychological challenge
- puberty is associated with
release of sex hormones by
the pituitary gland -
estrogens or the female sex
hormones and androgens or
male sex hormones. These
hormones and other
biological factors are
responsible for a growth
spurt or rapid
physiological changes as
well as beginning of
primary and secondary
sexual characteristics.
The primary characteristics,
such as ovulation and
menstruation among the
girls and production of
semen among the boys, are
directly related to
reproduction and primary
sex
organs. The secondary
sexual characteristics are
associated changes visible
on the body
such as development of
breast among the girls,
beard among the boys and
growth of
underarm and pubic hair
among the boys as well as
girls.
Early Adulthood stage reached in 18 years in
females, and 20 years in males -
period of child-bearing age - long
bones stop growing; linear
growth stops; terminal stage for
linear dimension - bones and
muscular completed in this stage
development
- At one point in a person's
life, he is able to establish
intimate relationships. He
gain friends and develop
love relationships. To be
able to get to this stage
successfully, his earlier
developments must also be
carried out properly.
Intimacy might become
elusive if his sense of self is
not well-established. If he
fails to develop this skill, he
will become isolated and
will develop fear in
committing to a
relationship. In addition, he
will likely develop distrust
in other people.
- At one point in a person's
life, he is able to establish
intimate relationships. He
gain friends and develop
love relationships. To be
able to get to this stage

successfully, his earlier
developments must also be
carried out properly.
Intimacy might become
elusive if his sense of self is
not well-established. If he
fails to develop this skill, he
will become isolated and
will develop fear in
committing to a
relationship. In addition, he
will likely develop distrust
in other people.
Middle Adulthood
- Middle age starts at the
age of 40-60. Most middle
age people are caught
between being productive
and being stagnant. It's
either they would feel that
they have accomplished
their purpose and have
become an important figure
for the next generation to
follow or they would
develop a sense of
purposelessness.
Their physical aspect at this
stage also starts to decline.

They will lose some of their
muscular strength, agility,
and sensory keenness.
Women will also get to a
menopausal stage and their
estrogen starts dropping
rapidly. Men will also
undergo their own version
of menopause, which is the
Andropause. The effects of
Andropause are like that of
menopause, where
the hormones fluctuate and
manifest in their physical
and psychological state.
Men's testosterone levels
will also go down, resulting
in mood swings, lesser
sperm count, and lesser
ability to ejaculate and get
an erection. However, both
sexes are still able to
experience sexual
satisfaction past this age.
- muscle tone decreases - hair
greys, skin wrinkles - hearing
loss, visual acuity loss - weight
gain
- The period of life from about
thirty five years of age to sixty is
viewed as the mid-life during
which people become aware of
some decline in their
physiological functions. Muscular
strength and performance of
major organ systems such as
digestive and circulatory
systems
deteriorate. Middle adulthood is
characterised by some dramatic
changes in the
functioningDevelopment and Its
Stages :: 115
of reproductive system and
sexual activity. Such changes
are called climacteric. During the
climacteric period, women
experience menopause or
cessation of menstrual cycle
during
the late forties or early fifties. For
males, climacteric involves
reduction in sex hormones
and reduced functioning of the
prostrate gland all of which may
result in reduced sexual
drive.
There are also some cognitive
changes during the adulthood.
Short-term memory does
not decline with age, but recall of
information from long-term
memory somewhat declines.
Changes in intelligence are
minimal, but they are
compensated for by increase in
wisdom
and creativity. Midlife adults
become more proficient in
solving real life problems
Old Age
- The period of life from the
sixties till death is the period of
old age. However, with
increasing
life expectancy and longer work
period there is a delayed onset
of the actual feeling of old
age. Besides retirement from
active work life, the old people
have to cope with many
other challenges such as their
own declining physical fitness, ill
health, death of near ones in
the family including possible loss
of spouse and loneliness. As
people grow old, body
metabolism changes and there
are wear-and-tear of the body
parts and cells. There are

also genetically determined
changes in the biological clock in
the body that limit the length
of our lives. As individuals
approach the closing phase of
life, there is also an appraisal of
the extent to which their lives
have become meaningful and
worthwhile. According to
Erickson, those who evaluate
their life positively attain a sense
of integrity and do not
usually have much anxiety over
death. Otherwise, old people
may experience a sense of
despair over not having been
able to contribute much to the
society and the limited time
that is left for them to do
something. Erickson
characterises this crisis as one
of integrity
and despair. There are wide
individual variations in the way
old people prepare to face
death and other challenges of
old age.
- This stage starts when a
person reaches the age of
60-80. Aged people are torn
between integrity and
hopelessness. When they
take a look at the years that
passed, they will either feel
proud or feel like a failure.
Old people experience more
decline in their physical
state. They have lesser
stamina and their sense of
hearing and smell are less
perceptive. They are also
more prone to sickness
because their immune
system is weaker. Their
mental ability also gets
affected. However, it is not
yet known whether their
intellectual powers
experience deterioration or
improvement.
- also known as declining stage
(negative growth) - at the age of
60+ there is a decrease in
stature because of compression
of vertebral disc - memory loss
can occur and reasoning ability
can diminish - mineralization
increases; bones become brittle
and more susceptible to fracture
- decrease in functional ability -
teeth loosen - decrease in water
content - immune system
becomes weaker - muscles
deteriorate