Psychology

As long as the world history is concerned in the old days many individuals never concentrated on childs development process as a factor that creates a greater impact on an individuals social characteristics and relations. Once a baby was born, the changes between adulthood and birth were ignored. Their physical growth and cognitive abilities were not very important. Currently we find that a childs development matters are dealt with much emphasis put on abnormal behavior, therefore this paper is going to focus on the growth and development of an individual as from the period of conception to his or her old age.

Prenatal Development
From my studies I find that life normally starts from conception through which we find that children are normally faced with various factors that affect their growth and development, for instance during the gestation period we find that a child is normally formed in the mother womb and actually this is the stage where human growth begins. The factors affecting the fetus at this stage are usually dependant on the mothers behaviour during her gestation period or the environment around the mother. The mother may engage in activities that may harm the fetus or not, apart from the mothers activities I also find that there are also environmental factors that may actually affect the fetus, this activities or environment are usually referred to as Teratogens. (Santrock, 1999)

Teratogens in Prenatal Development
From this study I find that Teratogens may be classified as drugs, pollutants and even conditions accompanied by stress and malnutrition, these factors normally increase the chances of a child being born with abnormalities that may include lack of limbs or even brain damage which may be noticed later in early schooling age of the child. I find that these Teratogens may cause three types of damages on the fetus and this include damages on the bodily structure, the rate of growth and also damages on the neurological system of the fetus. I find that each type of damage has its effect on the child for instance those affect the neurological system of a child may make the child to become agitated, rebellious and impairment on the childs growth, these types of Teratogens are normally referred to as behavioral Teratogens and their effects can be totally damaging to the life of the child. (Santrock, 1999)

Types of Teratogens
Chemical Toxins
Under chemicals we find there are various toxins that may harm the fetus, for instance research indicates that there are higher chances of chromosomal disabilities born of fathers who are usually exposed to environments of high radiations at their work place, among the toxins there may be carbon monoxide, mercury and lead, apart the above mentioned I find that there are other hazards emanating from the environment referred to as toxoplasmosis which is an infection that is mild that carry signs of cold, causing no effect on the adult but actually result to be defecting the eyes, brain and even cause premature delivery of the fetus. (Laura, 2009)

Drugs
I also find out that alcohol and drug abuse also carry a number of effects on the fetus, the substances are also found to be having a number of effects on the child and they are as follows a mother who takes alcohol heavily during her pregnancy, is most likely to bear a child with defections on either the limbs, face and even the heart and incase this children survive they are always poor intellectually, for those women who consume less alcohol they are meant to bear children who are pay less attention and are not always alert.

I also find that for cigarette smoking pregnant women their fate lies towards them having fetal or neonatal deaths, some children may be accompanied with respiration diseases, lower birth weights and sudden death of the infant (Santrock,1999)

Nutrition
Research indicates that the fetus totally depends on the type of food the mother takes mostly I find that expectant mothers are usually advised to eat a balanced diet, the reason for this is that children born of malnourished mothers are normally born with disabilities.

Diseases and Infections
Research indicates that infections in a mother are more likely to pass through the placenta and this will actually affect the fetus. The best example is the syphilis infection which is regarded as the most damaging infection during gestation period of four months and above after conceiving, the reason for this is that it affects the fetuses organs after they are formed

Mothers Age
Looking at the age of the mother I find out that researchers indicate that children born of mothers who are at their adolescence stage are always born prematurely and the that the rate of the death of this babies are higher than of that mother who is in her twenties, the babies are normally affected by the down syndrome disease. I also find out that women who are above thirty years are more likely faced with the problem of conceiving a baby. From this research I find out that pregnant mothers are also held responsible of the problems occurs to fetuses during the gestation period. These factors have been actually been found to be the children born with such problems socially and even academically, this has turned out to be a hindrance in their success generally. Mothers are therefore advised to seek for better environment for the better development of their unborn children. (Laura, 2009)

Growth and Development at Infant Age
Human growth and development entails the examination of the behavior of human beings from a bio-psychosocial point of view. From this study I find out that the psychological development of a person is usually described in terms of age, personality, behavior, or psychological maturity and with specific regard to biological processes that take place in the life cycle of a man. I also find out that there is also an assumption that human growth and development is strategically entrenched within the context of the social setting with which a person is brought up in. Since every stage of human development is influenced primarily by external factors, it is paramount that we understand the social, political, cultural or societal backgrounds of each and every person. (Santrock, 1999)

From this study I find out that many psychologists assume that human beings grow stage by stage and it spreads throughout their lives (infant stage to old age) i.e. people dont stop growing until they die. Since not all changes that take place in human lives are considered to be a development, it must be able to have a permanent feature in order for it to be considered an element of development. Each stage of development is therefore influenced by variables within the environment such that every stage of development becomes the base for the series of the next stage. Some developmental changes are also transactional and interpersonal in nature.

Human growth and development process is crucial to each and every human being and its commencement occurs immediately after conception. From this case I find out that people take various steps to grow and develop physically and psychologically. As a child grows he or she has the ability to learn and become knowledgeable and in the process develops future ideals. It is evident that the growth of a child takes one step at a time and one step leads to another. Although it is believed that every child has its own way of growing and developing, the scientists claim that the stages for child growth are usually the same. (Laura, 2009)

It therefore requires one to know each and every development step and its distinction from others, and this should be done relying on the characteristics of the childs age and its behavior. According to research I find that some children are said to be more dynamic than others but this cannot be used to measure the intelligence of a particular child the reason for this is that according to psychology, there are situations where some childrens social and expressive development grows at a higher rate than the intellectual development and of course this does not indicate that as the child grows, he or she will turn out to be of less intelligence.

In addition, I have noticed that psychology indicates various principles that are meant to describe the growth and development stages of a human being. Some of the principles are as follows the first principle is the Cephalocaudle theory which states that an individuals development starts from the head downwards. It is actually meant to indicate the course of growth and development, through which I find that children normally start their growth by first gaining the control of their heads and face movements in the early months of their birth, and after some months they develop the ability of lifting themselves up by the use of their arms and lastly the legs. As they approach the age of six months to twelve months the children start controlling their legs and some of them start crawling, standing or even walking.

The second principle is the proximodistal development theory which defines the physical development of a child, in this principle it is believed that the first body feature to develop is the spinal cord it also indicates that the arms develop before the hands while the hands and legs develop before the childs fingers and toes whose muscles are found to be the last feature to develop in the childs physical development.

The other principle of child development I found out is that the development of children usually depends on maturation and learning, where maturation is defined as chronological traits of growth and development biologically which comes in an organized manner giving the children a variety of abilities. This entails the brain and nervous system changes which cater for the maturation thus enhancing the cognitive and physical proficiency of the child. In this theory I find that the children are usually required to mature up to a particular stage for them to acquire new skills for development this case indicates that the maturation stage of a child is usually inborn.

The fourth principle shows me that the development of a child usually continues from an easy development to a complex development stage. Research indicates that children apply their learning and language skills to handle issues surrounding them, the best example for this is that of realizing the differences between a number of objects and how similar they appear to be which may commence by simple thinking of describing the two objects.

There are many models that have been developed to explain the biological structure of human beings that identifies the impact of ecological, cultural and social aspects. I have been able to find out that developmental psychologists over the past have observed diverse dimensions of individuals development and growth they comprise ecological, cognitive process, religious, sexual, ethical and poignant pressures. Further studies have revealed to me that the series of standard development, character and conduct is habitually structured as nurture v nature pattern such patterns examine expansion and development of human beings which are said to be influenced by ancestral, learning, diet, heredity factors and lack of basic needs among other several inconsistencies in a broad point of view.

I find out that the most important stage of human growth and development is the cognitive stage. This is the stage where learning processes are concentrated and it starts at the childhood stage where children start to describe objects, situations and environment in accordance to their properties. Children begin to understand the complex relationships between things that surround them and their use in day to day living. This cognitive stage of living helps me to outline the significance of instilling good behavior to children right at a tender age for their future application.

Developmental Growth Theories
Ericksons Model of Development
Life is a series of challenges which helps us to develop each stage in our life presents us with a challenge to face and a lesson to learn. Failing to overcome any challenge in one stage of life dearly affects as in next stage or later stages of life as we would have missed out on an important lesson. I therefore focus on the Ericksons model of development which offers a wonderful way of explaining our development stages. I find out that this theory outlines eight major developmental stages that a person undergoes in hisher life. Different terms are used to explain Eriksons model, for instance bio-psychological or bio-psychosocial. All this terms refer to the identical eight stages of Erikson psychosocial model. This model is one of Eriksons most distinctive works. (Roazen, 1976)

Erikson Eight Stages In Life
From research conducted I find out that the Erikssons concept is simple and neat, however, it is very sophisticated, and the concept is a base for extensive or complex discussion and examination of personality and behavior. The concept is also important for understanding and also for facilitating personal development of oneself and others. (Crain, 1985) The main elements in the concept are
Stage One Birth to 12 to 18 Months the Oral Stage Trust vs. Mistrust

I find out that this is the infant stage through which the infant is basically feed and comforted by the mother through teething and sleeping. This stage is characterized by the infant developing trust or mistrust towards people according to how it will be treated especially by the mother. (Crain, 1985)
In this stage I find that Long ago, people never used to pay much attention to a childs development process. Once a baby was born, the changes between adulthood and birth were ignored. Their physical growth and cognitive abilities were not very important. From the 20th century childs development matters were dealt with seriousness. During this time, much emphasis was put on abnormal behavior. Generally when a child is born the parents expect him or her to develop normally into a mature human being. A child is expected to go through infancy, early childhood then middle childhood but is state that the development of a child is naturally continuous and gradual. This includes socially, emotionally and physically. Though this is expected, a childs growth and development may sometimes be slower or faster than normal. Many people know that a childs development is simply biological. Child development can also be affected by environmental factors. The people around a child will influence the childs growth and development. Children learn by imitating and they will only imitate the people who are in contact with them early in life.

Stage Two 18 Months to 3 Yrs Old Muscular Anal Stage Autonomy vs. ShameDoubt
Under this stage I find out that the child starts learning and being able to undertake simple activities like controlling bodily parts and walking. At this stage the child is taught toilet manners and walking. The toddle has self doubt and should be guided well. (Crain, 1985) this developmental stage actually involves the exploration of the childs physical activities, under this I find that the childs motor is being developed, whereby the child Starts learning and being able to undertake simple activities like controlling bodily parts and walking. At this stage the child gets to know more about play thus some of them start playing with toys, identifying colors textures and even walking. Here the child is said to have self doubt and therefore he or she should be guided well by the parents or the caretaker.

Stage Three 3-6yrs Old Locomotor Stage Imitative Vs. Guilt
The child has reached a level of discovering and exploring new things, the child plays a lot and takes a lot of adventure. I am actually informed that this stage is regarded as a level of discovering and exploring new things, the child plays a lot and takes a lot of adventure. However, this stage is characterized by the child being imitative and feeling guilty, therefore this child has reached a stage where the parent should therefore come with a way of satisfy his or her child, though this job of parenting itself is found to be a challenge through which trusting each other while playing, this forms a good relationship of the child with others. The child is therefore, expected to broadened her social perspectives and become more involved with those around her. (Crain, 1985)

Stage Four 6-12 Years Old Latency stage Industry vs. Inferiority
This stage of development sees the child going to school where heshe starts to learn a lot from teachers, friends and neighbors. The child achieves and accomplishes some activities. Psychological the child will be industrious or become inferior. (Crain, 1985) at this stage I find that this theory says that the immediate environment that the child lives in shapes his or her development, learning and behavior. The reaction to surroundings is what fosters the learning of the child. This is where teachers create the teacher initiated learning activities that children learn from teachers and also other adults around them in the school set up. When the child follows the teachers instructions the learning is very successful. In the classroom set up, the students just sit and listen to their teacher attentively. Children can be given workbooks that include coloring and tracing when they are still at home by the parents to help them learn.

Stage Five 12-18 Years Old Identity Vs Role Confusion Peer Relationships
Stage five is reached when in adolescent stage, the adolescent forms association with peer groups and heshe is influenced by this peer groups. The person also has a challenge resolving hisher identity and getting direction in his her life, the person in this stage is becoming an adult and undergoes role confusion. (Crain, 1985)

Stage Six 19-40 Year Old Intimacy vs. Isolation Love Relationships
The person is in young adulthood and forms intimate relations and gets into love relations, start a family life by marrying. The person also in this stage is employed or has other professional activities heshe is involve in such as business. Here, an individual has a social life that heshe is involved in.  (Roazen, 1976)

Stage Seven 40-65 Years Old Generativity vs. Stagnation Parenting
The stage is reached in mid adult and the person have children to take care of and the community to contribute to. The individual is a parent and undergoes Generativity against stagnation. The individual is challenged by finding a way of satisfying others. (Crain, 1985)

Stage eight 65-80 Years Old Wisdom and Renunciation
According to Erikson, this stage is reached by adults in their late years, a person reflects on the purpose of life and the achievement heshe has made. The person is concerned about the welfare of the community and of the world as a whole. The person is either wise or suffer from renunciation. (Crain, 1985)

From this study I therefore find out that this Erikson theory of Human growth and development involves the examination of the behavior of human beings from a bio-psychosocial point of view. Under this theory I find that the psychological development of a person is usually described in terms of age, personality, behavior, or psychological maturity and with specific regard to biological processes that take place in the life cycle of a man. There is also an assumption that human growth and development is strategically entrenched within the context of the social setting with which a person is brought up in. Since every stage of human development is influenced primarily by external factors, it is paramount that we understand the social, political, cultural or societal backgrounds of each and every person. (Roazen, 1976)

This theory indicates that human beings grow stage by stage and it spreads throughout their lives (infant stage to old age) i.e. people dont stop growing until they die. Since not all change that takes place in human lives is considered development, it must be able to have a permanent feature in order for it to be considered an element of development. Eriksons theory indicates that each stage of development is therefore influenced by variables within the environment such that every stage of development becomes the base for the series of the next stage. I can therefore say that some developmental changes are also transactional and interpersonal in nature.

The Neo-Vygotskian Approach to Child Development
In this approach I find Vygotsky saying that the first years of an infant affect child development. The people the child interacts with will affect what the child does. People like caregivers give emotional interactions to the child. As the child grows, the activities he does with adults also affect his development. When children aged two to three years carry out joint activities with the adults, they learn a lot which enhances their development. The three to six year olds learn so much as they play and interact with their peers. The Neo-Vygotskian approach encourages creating the right learning environment for children and one that encourages interactions. It is based on the Lev Vygotskyas Social development theory. (Elardo and Caldwell 2002)

I therefore find that this is where cognitive development of a child is influenced by social interaction she says that while biological factors highly influence development, they just dont occur in isolation. (Driscoll, 1994) Vygotsky sees development differently from Piaget. Piaget states that child development comes in four stages which include formal operations, concrete, preoperational, and sensorimotor in periods of cognitive growth. While Vygotsky says that child development cannot just be narrowed down to stages. Piaget says that the social environment in childs life matters a lot in his development.

Piaget reasons that adult guidance and childs problem solving early in life are things that affect cognitive growth I find that refers this as the proximal development zone. He says that this is the zone where learning takes place. This is also where the child learns from the peers. Children learn speech and writing from their immediate social environment. These are tools that develop from culture and they help children to communicate their needs. Piaget observed children in preoperational stage and noticed that they had egocentric speech. He noticed that this speech was no longer there in the concrete operations stage. Vygotsky saw it as changing to internalized thoughts from social speech. He reasoned that language and thought co exist, none can happen without the other. (Vygotsky and Vygotsky, 1980)

I find that the Neo Vygotskian approach to child development is more effective than the radical approach. I have learnt that Schools in the past didnt provide students with an environment that encouraged learning. Children play an active role in their learning and education. Through this they also influence their peers education. Both the teacher and students play untraditional roles together to enhance learning. Collaboration between the teacher and students in learning is better than where the teacher dictates to the students what to do. The students then just do the recitation, which is not good learning. Education or learning where the students and teachers share ideas to enhance learning is the best. (Elliott and Gresham, 2000)

According to Vygotsky I find that a classroom arrangement should enhance small groups of the students to discuss. Creating more workspace by having tables where the tables are clustered through which the students can easily interact. In such a case communal learning is encouraged in the class. Teachers develop an instruction set up that is above the students development level to help them develop to the next level. It is quite ineffective to enhance learning in a level that the child has already attained. It makes development lax behind. Helping the child reach the next level of development is the best. Cognitive development in proximal development needs appropriation to be encompassed. When children share their problems and find solutions together, there is emotional interchange between them. Children in their higher development levels help the ones in the lower development levels advance. For this interaction to be successful, none of the partners should dominate. There is normally good dialogue between teachers and students where reciprocal teaching is allowed. The students dont just answer the questions but they get involved in the discourse. I can say that this approach is very effective in the education set up and in child upbringing. It makes the children easily remember what they have learnt because they are actively involved. (Vygotsky and Vygotsky, 1980)

Radical Approach to Child Development
This approach was developed by A.S. Neill through which he states that the child is taught without the use of force. This is where there is no authority exercised on the child, in this case freedom is encouraged and through this I find that self-determination is the basic principle. To enable the child get interested in his immediate environment, his spontaneous needs are appealed. The child through his interest and curiosity gets to learn more. When this approach was used, the results were not encouraging at all. This approach is therefore not encouraged. Research shows that when authoritarianism is used, it gives to better results in knowledge.

Through the research conducted I found that many learning institutions used the approach where the child is given his freedom and very minimal educational success was achieved. Many organizations were formed campaigning for use of more physical force and discipline in schools. The idea of giving freedom to children in itself was not bad but learning institutions perverted it. Educators didnt understand that there are different natures of freedom. I found out that there are different types of authority in this case that is the overt and anonymous authority. Anonymous authority tends to hide the authority in itself. Overt authority is explicit or direct. It is not hidden. When overt authority is used, a teacher tells the child Sarah, you have to pick that rubbish or else I will punish you. In twentieth century, the authority shifted from overt to anonymous. When anonymous authority is used it produces people who are responsible but still free and independent. Research shows me that the radical approach to child development is not more effective. Authority must be exercised but with limits and some freedom. Anonymous authority produces better results in this case. This approach is based on the Maturationist theory which states that learning is automatic, sequential and predictable, claiming that as long as the child is healthy he will just learn automatically, this clearly states that learning is a natural process (Elardo and Caldwell, 1979)

I also find that many psychologists argue that this approach carries a number of disadvantages whereby I find that when a child is given the freedom to learn by himself or herself he is found to be engaging in a number of devices such as being addicted to the existing pornographic materials since a childs sexual identity develops during both the adolescence and the childhood stage. A childs natural sexual capacity develops between the age of ten and twelve years. They are quite vulnerable to external factors that may affect development. Sex information given by educators in schools and in homes is given according to the age of the child. This however is not considered when a child accesses internet pornography. It simply distorts the childs normal personality and developmental process. It greatly misinforms the child which damages, changes and also confuses the child. It prematurely introduces children to sexual sensations of which they are not fully developed or prepared to take in. Such awareness in sensations concerning sex is over stimulating and very confusing to young minds.

I can state that there are differences in the radical approach and the Neo Vygotskian approach to child development. In the radical approach, the child is given maximum freedom so that he or she can learn. In this approach poor results are experienced especially in the education sectors. Children performed poorly when the approach was incorporated. This is because children are so young and therefore they misuse the freedom. The Neo Vygotskian approach is the more efficient. The children are provided with the right learning environment to help in their cognitive development. The child is actively involved in the learning process this approach when used in learning institutions produces the best results. The students get high scores so it is more effective than the radical approach. (Elardo and Caldwell, 2002)

Other Theories Related To Child Development
Records inform me that when a child is born the parents expect him or her to develop normally into a mature human being. Therefore the child is expected to go through infancy, early childhood then middle childhood. Development of a child is naturally continuous and gradual. This includes socially, emotionally and physically. Though this is expected, a childs growth and development may sometimes be slower or faster than normal many people know that a childs development is simply biological. I therefore deduce that all this brings in the idea of nature vs. nurture as it relates to child development, under this I find that child development is normally affected by environmental factors. The people around a child will influence the childs growth and development. Children learn by imitating and they will only imitate the people who are in contact with them early in life. (Cullinan and Nieminen, 2001)

I find out that there are many theories that explain child development. Such theories help in understanding the different approaches to child rearing.

The Maturationist Theory
In this theory I find that it is stated that child development is all about biological process that is predictable, automatic and sequential. It leads to many assumptions in child growth. Educators and parents assume that children acquire knowledge automatically and naturally during growth. This theory says that so long as the child is healthy, he learns as he grows. This is the advancement of Arnold Gessells work. Maturationist says that a child is ready for school when he is able to recite the alphabet. It encourages parents to teach their children recitation on topics like alphabet before they join kindergarten. Children who are developmentally unready are held out of school to give them more time to develop. (Cullinan and Nieminen, 2001)

Environmentalist Theory
This theory was developed by Albert Bandura, B. F. Skinner and John Watson. I found out that this theory states that the immediate environment that a child lives in shapes his or her development, learning and behavior. The reaction to surroundings is what fosters the learning of a child. This is where teachers create the teacher initiated learning activities where children learn from teachers and also other adults around them in the school set up. When the child follows the teachers instructions the learning is very successful. In the classroom set up, the students just sit and listen to their teacher attentively. Children can be given workbooks that include coloring and tracing when they are still at home by the parents to help them learn. (DeRosier, 1977)

Constructivist Theory
Research indicates that this theory was developed by Jean Piaget Maria Montessori and Lev Vygotsky.This theory encourages children to be viewed as participants who are active in the learning process. I therefore say that children should initiate the activities required for learning process. When they show that they can initiate such activities then they are ready for school. Children do learn from environment and the people around them. Physical environment has to be very much considered by the educators in this case. The classroom set up should have playing materials for the children. Childrens experiences are also incorporated into the curriculum to enhance learning. Any child with learning problems is not labeled in this case. He or she is just given individualized attention.

Conclusion
I can therefore conclude that child development is an issue that should be taken with seriousness. There are many theories that explain what happens as the child grows. From the Erickson theory of human development I can therefore conclude that human growth and development process is crucial to each and every human being and its commencement occurs immediately after conception. People take various steps to grow and develop physically and psychologically. This theory shows that as a child grows he or she has the ability to learn and become knowledgeable and in the process develops future ideals. It is evident that the growth of a child takes one step at a time and one step leads to another. Although it is believed that every child has its own way of growing and developing, the scientists claim that the stages for child growth are usually the same.

Looking at the Neo-Vygotskian approach I find that it involves giving the children the right learning environment, I find that when this approach used in learning institutions it produces high performances thus child initiated learning is encouraged. However, it should be noted that further research on human growth and development need to be undertaken especially psychological issues which may recognize configuration and further important phases in life. Such issues to be considered can include kin structures, parenting and maturity progression with particular regard on how these issues influences human development and growth. (Vygotsky and Vygotsky, 1980) from this study I can therefore conclude that all these developmental factors and theories have a major contribution to the success or the failure of an individual especially those I am dealing with in area of specialization.