A Take-home Discussion On The Different Human Development Stages (Coursework Sample)

Human Development Stages Name Institution Human Development Stages The Adolescent Stage Adolescence is a stage in human development commonly known as the teens’ age, and it starts at nine years in girls and eleven for boys. It is characterized by the adolescent growth spurt which is a rapid growth of the human body (WHO, 2017). Boys start this period a bit late than girls because the hormonal changes occur earlier in girls than in boys, so the growth spurt in boys begins at 11 years and peaks at the age of 14 years. This paper aims to discuss the adolescent stage and the changes involved. Adolescent involves the rapid growth of different body parts at different rates, and the extremities increase in size faster than the trunk areas. Boys gain muscles while girls gain more fat around the body extremes like the bursts, hips, and buttocks and thus gaining more weight. In an article published in the Independent newspaper, a girl was sent out of class as the teacher claimed that she wore “too tight” clothes which breached the dress code of the school (Baynes, 2017). The teacher claimed the top she wore was too tight and was inappropriate. In girls, the first observable sign of sex maturation is the accumulation of fat and fatty tissue around the nipples leading to small breast buds forming at around 11 years. During the initial stages of breast development in the adolescent stage, breast buds develop around the nipple and the areola. These changes are as a result of hormonal changes which lead to the formation of mammary glands. Breast development starts as a result of estrogen secretion by the ovaries in the growing body of a girl and the accumulation of fat in the tissues surrounding the nipple region (Johns Hopkins Medicine, n.d.). After the formation of breasts, ovulation and menarche then follow which marks the beginning of maturation of the breasts which is as a result of the growth of secretory glands at the tips of milk ducts. As the breast, ducts, and development of other glands and lobules continue to grow the breasts enlarge in size leading to a “busty” appearance. The breast development and maturation are seen as the first indicator of sexual maturation in girls. This change is often too rapid and in most cases, the adolescent girl will not be aware of how their changes in appearance around the breast region affect the way people perceive them. The rapid breast development coupled with the psychological changes during adolescent, for instance, could have led to the dress code of the girl which the teacher termed as inappropriate. References ADDIN Mendeley Bibliography CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Baynes, C. (2017, September 18). School accused of body-shaming after kicking pupil out of class for being “too busty” for dress code . Independent. Retrieved from /news/world/americas/school-body-shaming-plus-size-pupil-kelsey-anderson-17-year-old-too-busty-joplin-high-school-a7953766.html Johns Hopkins Medicine. (n.d.). Normal Breast Development and Changes. Retrieved December 13, 2017, from /healthlibrary/conditions/breast_health/normal_breast_development_and_changes_85,P00151 WHO. (2017). Adolescent development. WHO. Retrieved from /maternal_child_adolescent/topics/adolescence/development/en/ The Infancy/Childhood Stage Infancy and childhood are critical stages of human development. Infancy starts at zero to two years while childhood begins from ages 3-11 years (Science NetLinks, 2017). These two stages involve adaptation to the external environment outside the mother’s womb. The initial phase of infancy is majorly adaptation which includes the change of diet, learning to walk, and initial stages of body development. This paper will discuss the changes involved in the infancy/childhood stage. Cognitive development is one of the significant characteristics of this stage and involves changes in mental processes used in perception, language use, learning and though. Brain development especially during zero to three years is very crucial for the future development of a child. Developmental psychologists urge parents to make sure that they understand well the different stages of child development to help them guide thei...