WJEC GCSE Health and Social Care, and Childcare

1. List three ways a baby changes in the first two years of its life. 2. Which life stages do you think the people in the picture on the right are in at this point in their lives? 3. Describe three non-physical ways in which the baby in the picture on the right will change over the next five years. Life stages, growth and development Just over 3 million people (3113200) were living in Wales in 2016. During this year, life began for 32936 babies and ended for the 33066 people who died (StatsWales, 2018 and Office for National Statistics, 2018). Studying human physical growth and development helps us understand the changes that happen to people between the beginning and end of their lives. Human growth and development happen in stages. The five main life stages we will focus on are: • infancy (0–2 years) • childhood (3–12 years) • adolescence (13–19 years) • adulthood (20–64 years) • later adulthood (over 65 years). These life stages cover the whole of the human life span . On average, this is approximately 78 years for men and 82 years for women living in Wales today. What is physical growth? Physical growth involves changes in the human body. Typically, a person will experience a gradual increase in their height and weight as they move from infancy through childhood and into adolescence and early adulthood. At this point, when they are ‘grown up’, the person reaches physical maturity and will not grow any taller. They may still grow heavier, putting on weight, due to lifestyle and health factors. What is human development? As well as experiencing physical growth and change during each life stage, a person will also experience physical, intellectual, emotional and social (P.I.E.S) development . When a person develops, their skills, abilities and emotions change, becoming more sophisticated and complex at first and then declining as a result of ageing. Developmental change is a continuous, lifelong process which follows a pattern. This makes it possible to predict how a person will grow and develop, how they will change and when this will happen during their infancy, childhood and adolescence. This is summed up in the idea of developmental norms . Think about it 1 Human growth and development Physical growth An increase in physical size (mass and height). Life stages A stage, phase or period of the human life cycle. Life span The time between a person’s birth and their death. Maturity The state of being fully developed or adult. Development The emergence (appearance) and increase in sophistication of skills, abilities and emotions. Developmental norms Standards by which the progress of a child’s development can be measured. Key terms Did you know? A person will have reached their maximum height and completed most of their natural body-building processes by early adulthood. Human growth and development are continuous processes that happens to all people. 1.1 HUMAN DEVELOPMENT ACROSS THE LIFE CYCLE 13 1 Human growth and development