Aspects of human development essay

Domains to Consider in the Design of a Preschool Plan

In the design of a plan for a pre-school, the following domains must be considered; physical, intellectual, social and emotional development. This is essential for the young children to have a holistic approach to life. Physical development can be defined as the “ is the development of a child’s mobility, thought processes and sexual characteristics.” This includes motor skill development and physical growth. As far as physical development is concerned, pre-schools should have enough space to ensure that children can freely develop more complex motor skills. In addition to this, the school instructional method should include a lot of physical education that is complemented by a balanced dietary input to spur physical growth in the children.

Intellectual development generally refers to language and cognitive development. Cognitive development encompasses problem solving capabilities, cause and effect analysis, perception about various basic aspects of life, simple arithmetic, symbolizing, concept of time, space and mass to mention but a few. To achieve cognitive development all preschools must have play activities designed to illicit mental performance such include both free and structured routines which include block construction, counting shapes and letters, dramatic play, introducing the study of animals and nature and encouraging the children to bring them up whenever they can amongst other things.

The purpose of social development in a pre-school set-up is to ensure that children associate with groups and embrace group work. This can be achieved through teaching the young ones how to accept not only their errors but also those of their colleagues, cultivating a sense of leadership and responsibility within the children, teaching them to follow and abide by rules and regulations and encouraging the capacity to empathize with others and treat all fairly and justly. The easiest way to achieve this is to ensure that the children play in groups of course under the supervision of their tutor whose main responsibility is to cultivate social skills within the young ones.

Periods of human development

Life begins at conception. Therefore the periods of human development can be traced back to when a baby is conceived. The periods can be broadly categorized into prenatal, infancy, early and middle childhood, adolescence, early and middle adulthood, and finally old age. The infancy stage of human development describes the period between birth and two years. At the infancy stage, a child can make crude locomotive movements that advance in complexity as they grow older; the infant also exponentially grows in height and weight. In addition to this, the infants have rudimentary emotional expressions which are limited to anger, happiness and fear. The infant can also distinguish between familiar and strange faces and objects in addition to communicating through gestures and monosyllable sentences. They can also remember select experiences, faces and objects.

Adolescence is best described as the transition stage from childhood to adulthood and thus one of the most significant periods of human development. Puberty ushers in the period of sexual and reproductive maturity. Hormonal secretions during this period are responsible for the development of both primary and secondary characteristics which include ovulation, menstruation, and semen secretion to mention but a few. In addition, the period is characterized by rapid physical growth; the males gain approximated 36 cm and 25kgs in height and weight respectively while the female gain 24 cm and 21kgs. Confusion and rebellion are the key psychosocial characteristics of this stage of human development. Finally, adolescence is the most unstable period of human development.

Old age refers to the period past 60 years of age stretching through death. This period of human development is characterized by failing, physical, psychosocial and cognitive health. The human body declines in immunity and hence is more vulnerable to diseases. Most old people are lonely during this period as a result of either loss of loved ones to various processes of life (maturity, marriage and death). Finally, old age is more often than not characterized with apprehension of one’s entire lifetime achievements or failures.

Human development is influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Genetic (hereditary) factors refer to those inherited from an individual’s parents whilst environmental factors refer to the acquired traits as result of the interaction with the various aspects of the surrounding. In most cases, genetic factors are responsible for physical and cognitive aspects of human development while environmental aspects shape psychosocial aspects of development. Therefore, environmental factors are responsible for shaping genetic factors of human development. For example if a child is born with artistic talent for instance music, the parents can choose to develop or suppress this talent by either exposing their child to more or less music.

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is the name given to infant mortality cases occurring in children younger than 1 year old. The United States of America has one of the highest SIDS rates in the world with over 3000 infants dying each year as a result SIDS related cases. Most of SIDS is more common amongst the American Indians, Alaskan Natives, and African Americans and less amongst the Asians, Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics. Sleep patterns and fetal development disorders are the leading risk factors that predispose infants to SIDS. It has been determined that infants who sleep on their stomachs rather than their backs are more susceptible to SIDS. This is because when babies sleep on their stomach they rebreathe the toxic air that they have exhaled and thus is trapped by their beddings or that is in their environment.

Most infants who have succumbed to SIDS have been found to have respiratory disorders and brain related disorders. Specifically, the arcuate nucleus portion of the brain is responsible for regulating breathing in infants especially while they sleep. Basically, the arcuate nucleus senses inadequate breathing and triggers the baby to wake up and cry. In cases where the arcuate nucleus is faulty, such infants choke in their sleep. Respiratory disorders amongst infants are triggered by toxic environment especially during fetal development. This ranges from lack of oxygen at birth and excessive carbon dioxide, to the presence of an infection in the respiratory organs amongst other factors.

Low birth-weight babies are at a higher risk of facing health complications compared to other infants. These babies are at risk of developing neurological as well as intellectual complications at later stages of development. Some of these complications include mental retardation, cerebral palsy, intraventricular hemorrhage, blindness and deafness. In addition to this, such infants experience respiratory disorders that predispose them to SIDS. Some of these respiratory disorders include respiratory distress syndrome that is caused by under-developed lungs. Finally, underweight infants experience eating complications related to gastrointestinal problems which include necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).

Works Cited

Berk, Laura E. Development Through The Lifespan, 4th Edition. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 2007.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome . 5 May 2010. 27 June 2012 .
Stankovic, Danica, Aleksandar Milojkovic and Milan Tanic. ” Physical Environment Factors And Their Impact On The Cognitive Process And Social Behavior Of Children In The Preschool Facilities.” Architecture and Civil Engineering Vol. 4, No 1, 2006 (2006): 51 – 57.
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Very Low Birthweight. 24 March 2011. 27 June 2012 .