WJEC GCSE Health and Social Care, and Childcare

1. List three ways in which Owen has changed physically during childhood. 2. Describe a different activity for each age shown in the photo that could help Owen to develop physically. 3. What kinds of physical changes is Owen likely to experience in his next life stage? Physical growth across the life cycle Every person will experience physical growth and changes in their body in each life stage. What happens when we ‘grow’, and the pattern of human growth in each life stage, is our focus here. Physical growth in infancy Physical growth happens very quickly during infancy. As a result of rapid physical growth, infants quickly change from being small, light-weight, dependent babies into much larger, heavier and stronger ‘toddlers’ in the second year of their life. An infant is first able to hold their head up without help before they are able to use their body to sit up. Following this, an infant is able to use their legs to crawl. An infant’s bones gradually grow and get harder and their muscles get stronger in the same head-downwards, middle-outwards pattern during infancy. Within 18 months, many infants are quite robust, active ‘toddlers’. Think about it 2 Understanding physical growth Health Visitor A qualified and registered nurse or midwife with additional training who assesses the health needs of individuals, children and their families. Percentile chart A way of monitoring and recording a child’s growth by comparing it to a certain percentage of the population. Key terms Did you know? Physical change in a young infant’s body occurs from the head downwards and from the middle of the body outwards. Owen aged 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 years. A Health Visitor will usually monitor and measure an infant’s physical growth in the first few years of their life. The Health Visitor will weigh the infant and measure the length of their body from the top of their head to their toes. These details are recorded on a percentile chart (see chart on the right). This allows the Health Visitor to compare the infant’s growth pattern to average and expected patterns for all infants of the same age. A percentile chart for monitoring the growth of girls 0–6 months. Source: WHO Physical change is rapid and quite dramatic during infancy. 3 months 6 months 7 months 9 months 12 months 15 2 Understanding physical growth