Human development is a process that starts from fertilization and continues until the end of life. Ages in developmental periods vary according to different sources. In general, the first 2 years after birth are considered as infancy, 3-6 years as first childhood (play), 7-11 years including primary school years as second childhood and 12-18 years as adolescence.
* Infancy period (0-2 years)
* Early childhood (play) period (3-6 years)
* Second childhood (primary school) period (7-11 years)
* Adolescence (12-18 years)
4.1. Infancy Period (0-2 Years)
Infancy is the period when children grow and develop the fastest. The healthy growth of the child in every aspect depends on the care to be taken in these early years. As an extension of their physical (muscle and bone) development, children in this period need to be able to move on their own and learn to walk. In this way, the baby is no longer dependent on the mother and can explore the world. Learning to walk starts around 9 months of age with standing exercises, and becomes mastery of walking around the age of 2 years. Bones develop most rapidly in the first year of life. Thereafter, the rate of development slows down until adolescence. The baby begins to develop mentally and spiritually as soon as it is born. It is receptive during this period. It receives sensations from everything it hears, sees and touches. It acquires perceptions and accumulates them and places them in its memory. When the time comes, it starts to use this information. In the first months of life, the baby is dependent on its mother in every aspect. When the baby is born, it has no teeth, so it is breastfed. During the first year, as the baby's teeth begin to erupt, it learns to eat solid foods. Thus, other foods begin to replace breast milk.
Infancy is the period when children grow and develop the fastest
Another behavior that the baby has to acquire is speaking. The baby, who at birth can only communicate with his/her gaze, can transform his/her language development, which starts with agulamma, into 3-word sentences within two years. At the age of 3, they can use language for communication in a very skillful way.
Another behavior that babies have to acquire is stool control through toilet training. When a baby is born, he/she cannot control his/her bodily wastes; in fact, in the first year, the ease with which he/she defecates is considered an indicator of his/her mental health. However, by the age of 2, in parallel with biological development, he/she can control his/her muscles and is expected to control his/her stool. The child should be able to hold his/her stool when he/she wants and release it when he/she wants. There is a problem when he/she cannot hold it, when he/she cannot release it.
The child learns his/her gender around the age of 3. He understands what the words boy and girl mean. This perception is that girls have long hair and boys have a mustache. The progress seen in the child's physical development and behavior is the best indicator of mental development. The foundations of concept development are laid in this period. The child must interact with the outside world and acquire definitions and concepts related to it. Mental development is directly proportional to education. The attention shown by the mother, the toys she uses to play, the various stimuli in the environment she lives in greatly affect the child's mental development.
For all these reasons, adults have a great responsibility during infancy. The more positive sensations the child receives from adults during this period and the richer the stimuli he/she encounters, the more he/she can establish positive relationships with his/her environment and show a healthy development.
4.2. Early Childhood - Play Period (3-6 years old)
The first childhood period, which includes the preschool years, is a period in which the child is actively oriented towards his/her environment, tries to explore the external world full of stimuli, and acquires the most basic skills of human life.
In this period, the child has learned to use his/her body, which has completed a certain structuring, effectively and to use his/her body skillfully in games. At the same time, the child continues to grow. On the one hand, while continuing to grow, on the other hand, he started to realize himself and his body. The child also started to socialize during this period. He/she discovers others and tries to get together with them within the framework of certain rules. The child is egocentric (self-centered) in his/her behavior. He/she goes to pre-school education institutions and meets his/her classmates. They engage in joint activities with their peers on the street and ride the swings together in the park. The skills the child gains in this period will be used as the basic building blocks of social relations in the following years.
The child gradually leaves the family environment and encounters others. In this period, the rate of physical development slows down compared to infancy. Changes in body proportions are also noticeable, and the development of muscles in this period attracts attention.
The child can run and jump easily; however, he/she has difficulty in balancing on a narrow board and performing movements that require higher levels of motor coordination. The child, who realized his/her gender in the previous period, learns to behave in accordance with his/her gender. In this period, behavior appropriate to gender is predominant. Gender differences are discovered in this period. They start to ask questions about this. Scolding the child for the questions he/she asks, preventing research attempts, causes the child to develop a sense of guilt. Boys/girls use sentences starting with the expressions “Boys/girls do this”.
The foundations of conscience development and moral judgments are laid in this period. It is seen that they are blamed when they lie and understand when they commit a wrong behavior. This acquisition is carried over to later periods. Like the development in every field, it continues in later periods by changing its shape a little. Play is the most important activity for the child in this period. The child, who spends most of his/her time playing, mostly plays games based on his/her imagination. The identification the child establishes with his/her parents is also reflected in his/her games. Pre-school education institutions are very important for children as they provide a new circle of friends, a rich play environment and a place where they can gain various experiences. The child becomes ready for school in pre-school education institutions.
Second childhood (primary school) period (7-11 years)
It is the period when the child leaves the family environment and becomes more involved with the outside world. The beginning of this period is extremely important in terms of starting primary school and the last years are extremely important in terms of the child's beginning to enter adolescence. In this period in the child:
- [ ] Logical thinking begins.
- [ ] Self-centeredness decreases.
- [ ] Peers gain importance.
- [ ] Memory and language skills increase.
- [ ] Cognitive skills increase.
- [ ] Physical development stagnates.
- [ ] Self-concept development improves self-construct.
- [ ] Strength and athletic skills increase.
At school, the child begins to acquire the literacy and numeracy skills he/she will need throughout his/her life. Based on these skills, the child will be able to solve complex problems at a later age. The child becomes interested in what is happening in everyday life. They begin to express opinions about what is happening in their country and the world.
The child's mental development begins to prepare for abstract operations. The beginning of the development of conscience, the foundations of which are laid in the pre-school period, continues in this period in the form of the crystallization of values, preferences and attitudes.
The child's speaking ability and vocabulary are well developed. During this period, boys and girls prefer to play in groups. On the one hand, they enjoy being together with their friends; on the other hand, they strive to excel in the group and prove their superiority.
The slowdown in growth seen in the first years of primary school accelerates towards the age of 10 due to the differentiation in body biochemistry. In girls, a sudden increase in height is accompanied by the emergence of secondary sex characteristics. While boys are slightly taller and larger than girls until the age of 9-10, by the age of 10-11 they look smaller than girls. Children are generally in good health during this period. Those who had been very sick before improve their health during this period.
Adolescence (12-18 years)
Adolescence is a period of physical changes. Physical growth and development, which partially slowed down during childhood, accelerates again during adolescence and reaches the structure of adulthood at the end of this period. The body proportions of the young person begin to change. Because of this change, the young person may be a little clumsy and needs some time to adapt to these changing proportions. Generally, adolescence and youth is the healthiest period of life. Childhood diseases are left behind and adult diseases are far away. Perhaps the only disease that can be called specific to adolescence is puberty acne (acne). The secretions of sweat and sebaceous glands increase and accumulate. This is thought to be due to an imbalance between male and female hormones (androgen and estrogen).
Adolescents in this period:
- [ ] Physical change is rapid.
- [ ] Reproductive maturity begins to form.
- [ ] He/she is focused on the search for identity.
- [ ] Peers help him/her to develop and test his/her self.
- [ ] Abstract thinking and scientific inquiry develop.
- [ ] The adolescent maintains self-centeredness in some behaviors.
Young people have difficulties in adapting to this transition period in which they are accepted as neither adults nor children. In this period, the young person who is in search of identity comes out either with an established identity or with identity confusion. Again in this period, the young person has to make determinations for his/her future job.
What kind of work does he/she hope to do throughout his/her life? In a sense, this decision stage will also determine the future of the young person. In other words, it means determining which school he/she will attend.
The development of conscience takes the form of the development of certain basic value judgments in this period. The adolescent determines what he or she values in life and is therefore often subjected to ideological abuse. The intensification of ideological thoughts is a manifestation of this period of development. In connection with the development of a value system and social development, the adolescent now wants to enter the adult social order and assume responsibility. This is one meaning of social and ideological movements during adolescence. In other words, adolescents want to assume responsibility.
In short, this is a very stormy period. The young person is in a constant battle with himself/herself and his/her environment. Some adolescents may experience this period as quite noisy, while others may experience it as less turbulent. During this period when the adolescent is in conflict with adult authority, the adult must accept him/her and offer unconditional respect and understanding. Parents should take care to ensure that the adolescent behaves independently, makes decisions on his/her own and has experiences that will enable him/her to be self-confident.
