Life stages

Infancy (first year of life)

Childhood - early childhood (end of 1st year-2 ½) - preschool age (2 ½ -6) - school age (6-12)

Adolescence (12-19/20)

Adulthood (>20)

Old age (>60)

Infancy

Needs mostly physical (air, warmth and food)

Sleeps most of the time

Later, noises, lights, movements get through

Much later, people begin to have meaning

Mouth is very important, as it is the channel of gratification

Mother, food, comfort, warmth, mouth and love are all closely related

Early childhood

After 1 y , the child comes more into contact with the environment

Gets around and explores

Must learn to adjust and live with others in accordance with set of rules and values which all share.

Difficulties: - Must endure postponement of the satisfaction of his needs. - The mother can’t come every time she is called - Must get used to being without her while she is at work. - Must learn to control his own urges to defecate or urinate.

Early childhood

What can go wrong?

- Overprotecting and overindulging the child may lead to aggression and undisciplined behaviour.

- If mum is very dominant, child may become very submissive and over dependant for his age

Toilet training:

- To be done in an atmosphere of kindness, patience and praise

- Not in an atmosphere of strictness, distaste and control

Pre-school child

2 ½ -5/6 years

Relationships other than with Mum comes to the fore. Especially with father, brother, sister and friends.

Rivalry and jealousy arise.

Sharing love and attention become important

Two major events: new arrival and discipline

New arrival

If there is going to be one; preparation is important so that he does not feel neglected

Sometimes the stress is too great and problems arise.

Start to wet his bed again and develop temper-tantrums.

What do you do?

Discipline

Should only be enforced to help the child to grow out of less mature forms of behavior and to guide him to recognize and adjust to the rights and needs of others.

Should consist of teaching and guidance rather than punishment.

The child should never be disciplined by threatening to withdraw love or unfairly persuaded to obey “because you love me”.

School age

The foundations of personality have been laid,

School is a big step forward. It’s main function is to transmit information.

Relationships become more diverse with a wider circle of people. They forms new relationships with individuals and groups.

They identify and model themselves on older boys and girls or teachers

Exercise

Adolescence

12 to 19-20 years

Period of rebirth.

Heralded by puberty.

Sec sexual characteristics appear, he/she get concerned about his/her body and any real or imagined defects.

Acne is common in this age.

What else?

Sexual feelings occur, causing emotional conflict.

Mental functions develop. Intelligence reaches its zenith

Not yet a man and no longer a boy.

Sudden changes of mood occur.

His knowledge of people increase, realises that parents and teachers are not infallible.

Adulthood

The time when marriage, childbearing, parenthood, making a career and earning a living become important.

Parental support diminishes and responsibilities abound

Physical maturity is complete but sometimes emotional maturity is not.

Adulthood

Emotional maturity:

- Able to love and be loved in return.

- Independent

- Tolerates supervision

- Trusts others

- Not paranoid

- Flexible

- Realistic

Major events of adulthood: marriage, pregnancy and parenthood

Marriage

Good and close emotional relationships bet the child and his parents

Happy childhood with mild or infrequent punishment

Happy parental marriage

Reasonable ability to make and maintain good human relationships

Similarity of interest, attitudes and backgrounds

Parents frank about sex matters

Pregnancy

The women longs for a child but she is worried about the pain of childbirth, distorting her figure, and inability to deal with the rearing of the child.

Childhood

Mother: There is relief that the birth is all over. She experiences a

sudden access of love, tenderness and blooms with happiness.

Father:

- Does not get the same satisfaction

- His routine is disturbed

- Suppress his own needs as his wife needs his help

Parenthood

How parents bring up their children will depend on their own upbringing and emotional maturity.

e.g. the father whose own parents were unable to give him more than a primary school education, will put great efforts to give his children a higher education in the best schools

Questions?