Each child in his life overcomes several stages of development. In our article, we will figure out what these stages are, how they pass and how to help the child more easily cope with the difficulties that arise.
The life of a baby begins long before his birth and birth. The body of a newborn has different physiological characteristics, they depend on how it develops while still in the womb.
Scientists have established that all age periods can be considered mature and passed, if the body functions correspond to the age of the baby and the conditions in which he developed.
Education is based on several age stages of a child's development. We will consider each stage and talk about how to harmoniously bring up children for prosperous relationships in the family and in life.
There are the following main stages of mental and physical development child:
- Intrauterine. This is the period from conception to childbirth and takes approximately 280 days or 38-40 weeks. During intrauterine development, the human body is fully formed, all organs are laid, and the formation of future preferences and character can also occur.
- Neonatal. This is the period when the baby has just been born and until he is a month or 4 weeks old. During this period, your baby is extremely vulnerable, he needs full care and attention. He learns to eat, poop, sleep correctly, and makes some first involuntary movements. During this period, it is important to maintain the most comfortable environment for the child.
- Breastfeeding. This is the period from a month to a year of a baby's life. At this time, he learns to control his body, learns to sit, stand up, crawl, walk and much more, he also actively learns the world and studies the environment. The fastest growing baby is in the first year of life. He has his first teeth and closer to the year he becomes more independent and partially separates from his mother. During this period, you need to carefully monitor the development and condition of the child, undergo all examinations on time and visit doctors.
- Nursery. This is the period from one year to three years. During this period, the child improves his skills, he learns to run, talk, make decisions and becomes even more independent. Speech and thinking get better, the child continues to actively grow and develop. At this time, many children are already starting to walk in kindergarten and there is a more complete separation from mom. For most babies, this is a huge stress. And it is important to properly prepare the child for the trip to the child care facility. The main occupation for children of this age is play. They learn to interact with each other, communicate, make decisions on their own.
When children begin to actively communicate with each other, attend kindergarten, there is a great risk that they will become infected with various childhood infectious diseases.
- Preschool. This is a period of 3 to 7 years. At this time, your child is developing a character and is becoming his personality. He develops a demeanor and speech, he copies a lot from his parents, so it is very important to set a good example for the child. Speech is developing very actively, the child continues to learn to get along and communicate with peers. He also develops all psychological and physical processes. It grows rapidly, there is another age-related development of the child, a change of teeth, the constitution and structure of the body change, he becomes independent. Knows how to draw logical conclusions and make decisions, can stand up for himself.
- Junior school age. This is a period from 7 to 12 years, that is primary School... The child becomes more attentive, responsible and more and more begins to realize that he is a person and can boldly make decisions on his own. Children learn to plan their future activities, they are actively developing intellectual skills. There is a complete change of milk teeth to molars.
- Senior school age. This is puberty from 13 to 17 years old. This is a huge leap forward in the growth and development of a child. He often becomes unruly, disobedient and believes that he is already an adult and can make decisions on his own and do whatever he wants. At this age stage, the child's inner world is discovered, and his own views are formed. The child becomes quite an adult and begins a more independent life.
The main stage of the child's development can be called the nursery, since it is during this year that the child grows at a tremendous speed, and learns to walk. As parents, it is important for you to understand that each child is very individual and all stages can pass with their own characteristics.
During growth, the human body undergoes many changes, at certain periods - crisis. The meaning of the word "crisis" from a medical point of view differs from that generally accepted in society. This is an extremely unfavorable time for the economy, after which it is difficult to expect immediate positive shifts. In medicine, the original meaning of the Greek word "krinein" - "share" is used. That is, a crisis is a sharp transition from one state to another, qualitatively changed. In pediatrics, the stages of child development are separated by critical periods. This is the most vulnerable time for the body, but after the crisis the body acquires new qualities, goes to a completely different level of existence. Anatomical and physiological indicators change, the child grows and approaches the adult standard of living.
There are various classifications that try to reflect the stages of a child's development in relation to their industry:
- Pedagogical;
- Legal;
- Psychological;
- Medical.
Teachers determine the age-related opportunities for teaching children, the degree of their intellectual development. The stages of development of the child's speech as the second signaling system of higher nervous activity are of great importance.
Legal classification determines the degree of responsibility before the law and ensures property and other rights of minors.
Psychology examines the stages of a child's development in terms of personality formation, taking into account hereditary and acquired communication skills in society.
Medical classification considers the period of childhood as the initial segment of life in which children of certain age groups have their own anatomical and physiological characteristics. From the point of view of genetics, the stages of a child's development include the very initial period of existence, from the moment the zygote is formed. This is the first crisis in a person's life. The end of childhood from the point of view of medicine ends with puberty.
Age stages of child development
According to the age of a person, the childhood years of life are divided into certain periods of time. Medical classification takes into account the anatomical and physiological characteristics of the body, as applied to medical methods of diagnosis and treatment. Many sections seem unacceptable for society, pedagogy, jurisdiction, but the age stages of a child's development, one way or another, begin from the first minute after conception and are subdivided into the following periods:
- Embryonic;
- Perinatal;
- Chest;
- Preschool;
- Preschool;
- School: junior and senior (pubertal).
The intrauterine stage of a child's development lasts 280 days, which is 10 lunar months. During this period of life, three crisis points of fetal development are determined:
- Zygote formation;
- Placenta formation;
- Childbirth.
At each segment of a person's intrauterine life, the processes of laying and forming internal organs occur. This is of great importance for the prevention of congenital diseases. Harmful factors are excluded, necessary and safe medicines for the expectant mother are selected.
The neonatal stage of a child's development covers the first four weeks of a person's life. This is the neonatal period, which is characterized by adaptation to life after intrauterine stay. At this time, the child's body is in a continuous struggle with aggressive environmental factors.
Further adaptation takes place in infancy. Breastfed babies are more resistant to infections because they are protected by the mother's immunity. Nevertheless, many processes in the baby's body at this time are prone to generalization. So, a febrile reaction in almost all children is accompanied by a convulsive syndrome. By one year of life, the breast stage of the child's development ends. The child fully adapts to the environment.
The preschool period of development lasts from one to three years. Children are susceptible to age-related infections through increased contact with peers. In such a short period of time, all stages of the development of a child's speech go through, therefore, children are subject to mandatory examination by a speech therapist. This is the time of childhood infections: chickenpox, measles, scarlet fever, mumps, etc.
The preschool stage of a child's development lasts from three to seven years. There is a noticeable decrease in body weight growth, but limb growth continues. At the age of six, the replacement of milk teeth with permanent ones begins. Pathological processes lose their systemic character, and diseases are limited to the defeat of individual organs.
In the elementary school period of childhood, the skeletal system is exposed to the greatest stress, prevention of curvature of the spine is carried out. A change in nutrition at this stage of the child's development provokes the development of the pathology of the gastrointestinal tract. Children suffer from non-observance of hygiene rules, which is manifested by diseases of "dirty hands": intestinal infections, helminthiasis, acute hepatitis.
The puberty period, that is, the final stage of the child's development, is characterized by the development of secondary genital organs, starting at the age of 12. By the age of 16, the clinical manifestations of all diseases in adolescents are the same as in adults.
The main stages of child development
Critical periods determine the transitions from one state of the child's body to another. Therefore, the main stages of a child's development are separated by the following crises:
- Newborns;
- First year of life;
- Three years of age;
- Seven years of age;
- Seventeen years old.
In some countries, the age of majority is legally determined at 21 years, based on the level of development of higher nervous activity. From the point of view of physiology, the final formation of the personality is completed by the age of 25.
The physiological immaturity of an infant is characterized not only by a lag in the development of physiological functions that have arisen in him already in the prenatal period, but also by a later weakening of their intensity in comparison with a physiologically mature newborn.
In the first 7 years of life, a child goes through a gigantic path of development, the determining factors of which are environment and education. Any educational process begins with respect for the child as an individual. It should be noted that human individuality is not only formed in childhood, but already exists at this age. Many foundations of individuality are determined by the characteristics of the nervous system, congenital and inherited, age and acquired. It has been established that the properties of the nervous system play a huge role in the development of the child. The age-related evolution of a child's brain is a complex and multifaceted process. L. S. Vygotsky wrote that the development of a child is a single, but not homogeneous, integral, but not a homogeneous process.
The totality of the child's individual characteristics constitutes the "biological framework of the personality", which not only acquires social skills in the process of education, but also undergoes changes.
The development of motor functions greatly influences the development of the child and his nervous processes. Their maturation is associated with the activity of the motor analyzer. Its development. It occurs on the basis of distant receptors - vision and hearing, as well as a tactile-muscle analyzer and plays an important role in psychophysical development child.
At birth, a person has fewer "automatic" actions than animals, but he is characterized by the greatest ability to learn. The specificity of the human brain consists in the unlimited possibility of assimilating new knowledge, the greatest susceptibility not to biological heredity, but to "social inheritance", i.e. to the assimilation of various kinds of social traditions.
The development of the child's central nervous system occurs on the basis of congenital unconditioned reflexes... In physiologically mature newborns, evoked reflexes appear in response to irritation of various areas of the skin surface. First of all, this is a grasping reflex (for example, a newborn who has grabbed the fingers of an adult can be lifted, his grip is able to withstand body weight). The plantar reflex, which is caused by streaked irritation of the skin surface of the inner edge of the sole, is characterized by extension thumb and flexing the rest. The heel reflex, known as the reflex of I.N. Arshavsky, is caused by moderate pressure on the calcaneus and is expressed in generalized motor activity, combined with a crying grimace, a cry. A newborn child also has walking, crawling reflexes. They gradually curl up and re-form under the influence of education. The development of the nervous system occurs on the basis of other innate reflexes: food, orientational, defensive, protective.
From the first weeks of a child's life, conditioned reflexes to a variety of stimuli (visual, auditory, etc.) appear.
Long-term use of any external stimuli in a certain sequence contributes to the formation of an integral system of responses - a dynamic stereotype.
The formation of conditioned reflexes in a child occurs in the interconnection of the first and second signal systems.
The central nervous system of a child keeps traces of a long evolution of the animal world. Thus, the regulation of the work of the heart, kidneys and other internal organs, automatic reactions to painful, temperature stimuli are carried out by approximately the same nerve centers as in many animals. In the child's nervous system, some groups of centers, evolutionarily more ancient, perform relatively primitive functions. Evolutionarily newer centers unite various systems of the body and perform multifaceted complex actions. Thus, the center of the spinal cord regulates the work of organs within individual sections of body segments. The centers of the medulla oblongata control respiration and heart activity. The centers of the midbrain carry out a complex response of the whole organism in response to visual and auditory stimuli. In the diencephalon and in the subcortical nodes, all signals from the external and internal environment are integrated. Experiments show that an emotional state is formed here - a feeling of fear, tension, joy, aggressiveness. Physiologists have proven the presence of areas in the subcortical centers, the irritation of which causes various emotional states: anger, bliss, fear, indifference.
A complex system of deep centers is governed by the cerebral cortex. On the one hand, it cannot function without these structures, and on the other hand, it compares the signals received from them with individual experience and directs the activation or inhibition of individual nerve centers.
Thus, the function of the cerebral cortex is the ability to subtly analyze the situation, acquire and, if necessary, use individual experience. Some reactions are rigidly programmed in the nervous system and are triggered as an automatic sequence of actions, while others are fickle and change in the course of their implementation.
Age development of the child. Early age
Characteristic early age
Early age covers the period from 1 to 3 years. During this period, the social situation of the child's development changes. By the beginning of an early age, the child, acquiring the desire for independence and independence from the adult, remains connected with the adult, because he needs his practical help, assessment and attention. This contradiction is resolved in a new social situation child development, which is cooperation or joint activities child and adult.
The child's leading activity also changes. If the infant does not yet single out the method of action with the object and its purpose, then already in the second year of life, the content of the child's object cooperation with the adult becomes the assimilation of socially developed ways of using objects. An adult not only gives the child an object, but together with the object "conveys" a method of action with it.
In such cooperation, communication ceases to be a leading activity, it becomes a means of mastering social methods of using objects.
At an early age, intensive mental development occurs, the main components of which are:
Subject activity and business conversation with an adult;
Active speech;
Arbitrary behavior;
Formation of the need for communication with peers;
The beginning of a symbolic game;
Self-awareness and independence
At an early age, a very special attitude of the child to reality is observed; this feature is usually called situational. Situationalism is the dependence of the child's behavior and psyche on the perceived situation. Perception and feeling are not yet separated from each other and represent an indissoluble unity that causes direct action in a situation. Things have a special attraction for a child. The child perceives the thing directly here and now, without bringing his own design and knowledge about other things into the situation.
Communication with peers
In infancy, the manifestation of one child's interest in another is dictated by the need for new impressions, interest in a living object.
At an early age, the peer acts as an interaction partner. The development of the need for communication with peers goes through a number of stages:
Attention and interest in a peer (second year of life);
The desire to attract the attention of a peer and demonstrate their success (end of the second year of life);
The emergence of sensitivity to the attitude of a peer and its influences (third year of life).
Communication of children with each other at an early age has the form of emotional and practical impact, the characteristic features of which are immediacy, lack of subject content, irregularity, mirroring of the partner's actions and movements. Through a peer, the child identifies himself, realizes his individual characteristics. At the same time, adults play a decisive role in organizing interaction between children.
Three Years Crisis
By the age of three, the child has own desires, which often do not coincide with the wishes of an adult, a tendency towards independence is growing, a desire to act independently of adults and without them. Towards the end of an early age, the famous "I myself" formula appears.
The sharply increased desire for independence and independence leads to significant changes in the relationship between the child and the adult. This period in psychology is called the crisis of three years. This age is critical because within just a few months the child's behavior and relations with the people around him change significantly.
Symptoms of a three-year crisis:
Negativism (disobedience, unwillingness to follow the instructions of an adult, the desire to do everything in reverse);
Stubbornness (the child insists on his own not because he really wants something, but because he demanded it); obstinacy (the child's protest is directed not against a specific adult, but against a way of life; this is a rebellion against everything he has dealt with before);
Self-will (the child wants to do everything himself and achieves independence where he knows little).
Not all children exhibit such harsh negative forms of behavior or quickly overcome them. At the same time their personal development happens normally. A distinction should be made between objective and subjective crises.
An objective crisis is an obligatory and natural stage in the development of a child's personality, at which it is always accompanied by negative behavior.
The most important personal education is the child's self-discovery. From then on, he begins to call himself not in the third person ("Masha wants to go home"), but consciously pronounces the pronoun "I". The formed "I system" marks the transition from self-knowledge to self-awareness. The emergence of the "I system" gives rise to a powerful need for independent activity. Along with this, a child from a world limited by objects goes to the world of people, where his “I” takes a new place.
Separated from the adult, he enters into a new relationship with him. A peculiar complex of behavior is clearly manifested, which includes:
Striving to achieve the result of their activities;
Desire to demonstrate success to an adult, get approval;
A heightened sense of self-esteem, which manifests itself in increased resentment and sensitivity to recognition of achievements, emotional outbursts, bragging.
This complex has been called “pride of achievement”. It simultaneously covers three main spheres of the child's relationship - to the objective world, to other persons and to himself.
The essence of this neoplasm, which is a behavioral correlate of the three-year crisis, is that the child begins to see himself through the prism of his achievements, recognized and appreciated by other people.
Preschool Age
Characteristics of preschool childhood
Preschool childhood is the period of the initial formation of the personality, the development of personal mechanisms of behavior. According to A. N. Leont'ev, personal development at this age is associated, first of all, with the development of subordination or hierarchy of motives. The activity of the child, as a rule, is stimulated and directed not by separated motives, which are replaced or come into conflict with each other, but by a certain subordination of motives. If the connection between the motives and the result of the action is clear to the child, then, even before the start of the action, he anticipates the meaning of the future product and is emotionally tuned in to the process of its production. It is noteworthy that emotions can appear before the performance of the action in the form of emotional anticipation.
The separation of the child from the adult towards the end of an early age leads to a new relationship between them and to a new developmental situation for the child. Communication with an adult acquires an extra-situational character and is carried out in two different forms - extra-situational-cognitive and extra-situational-personal.
An image of an ideal adult appears in the child's mind, which becomes an example for his behavior and mediates his actions. The contradiction in the social situation of a preschool child lies precisely in the gap between his desire to “be like an adult” and the impossibility of realizing this desire in practice. The only activity that can resolve this contradiction is role-playing game.
Communication of preschoolers with peers
In preschool age, other children begin to take an increasing place in a child's life. By about age 4, a peer is a more preferred social partner than an adult. Communication with an adult has a number of specific features, including:
Wealth and variety of communicative actions;
Extreme emotional saturation;
Non-standard and unregulated;
The predominance of proactive over retaliatory actions;
Slight sensitivity to peer influences.
The development of communication with peers in preschool age goes through a number of stages. At the first stage (2-4 years), the peer is a partner in emotional and practical interaction, an “invisible mirror” in which the child sees, mainly, himself. At the second stage (4-6 years old), there is a need for situational-business cooperation with a peer; joint play becomes the content of communication; in parallel, there is a need for peer recognition and respect. At the third stage (6-7 years), communication with peers acquires out-of-situational features; stable electoral preferences are formed. By the age of 6, the child begins to perceive both himself and the other as an integral personality, not reducible to separate qualities, due to which a personal relationship to a peer becomes possible.
Six Years Crisis
The end of preschool age is marked by a crisis. By this time, there are sharp changes at the physical level: rapid growth in length, change in body proportions, breakdown in coordination of movements, the appearance of the first permanent teeth. However, the main changes are not in changing the child's appearance, but in changing his behavior.
The external manifestations of this crisis are manners, antics, demonstrative forms of behavior. The child becomes difficult to educate, ceases to follow the usual norms of behavior. Behind these symptoms is a loss of immediacy. The pretentious, artificial, strained behavior of a 6-7-year-old child, which is striking and seems very strange, is precisely one of the most obvious manifestations of the loss of immediacy. The mechanism of this phenomenon lies in the fact that an intellectual moment "wedges in" between the experience and the act - the child wants to show something with his behavior, comes up with new image, wants to portray what is not in reality.
Junior Schoolboy
Characteristics of a younger student
From 7 to 10 years old, a child begins a new activity - educational. It is the very fact that he becomes a student, a student, that leaves a completely new imprint on his psychological appearance and behavior. The child does not just master a certain circle of knowledge. He learns to learn. Under the influence of new, educational activity, the character of the child's thinking, his attention and memory, change.
Now his position in society is the position of a person who is engaged in important and socially valued work. This entails changes in relationships with other people, in the assessment of oneself and others.
The child learns new rules of behavior, which are socially oriented in their content. By following the rules, the student expresses his attitude to the class, teacher. It is no coincidence that first graders, especially in the first days and weeks of school, are extremely diligent in following these rules.
At school, a child first meets a new way of interacting with an adult. The teacher is not a temporary “substitute for parents”, but a representative of society with a certain status, and the child has to master the system of business relations.
With admission to school, it becomes necessary to comprehend not only the purpose of objects and phenomena, but also their essence. From his own idea of \u200b\u200bthe object, he goes to the scientific idea of \u200b\u200bit.
Features of communication with peers and adults
When a child begins to learn, his communication becomes more purposeful, since there is a constant and active influence of the teacher, on the one hand, and classmates, on the other. The attitude of the child towards his comrades is very often determined by the attitude towards them of adults, first of all - of the teacher. The teacher's assessment is accepted by students as the main characteristic of a classmate's personal qualities. The personality of the teacher is especially important for the establishment of interpersonal relations in first-graders, since children still do not know each other well, do not know how to determine the capabilities, advantages and disadvantages of both their own and their comrades.
Interpersonal relationships are built on an emotional basis; boys and girls, as a rule, represent two independent substructures. By the end of the initial training, direct emotional connections and relationships begin to be supported by the moral assessment of each of the children, one or another personality traits are more deeply realized.
Communication of a younger student with people around him outside school also has its own characteristics, due to his new social role. He seeks to clearly define his rights and responsibilities and expects the trust of his elders in his new skills.
Teenager
Characteristics of adolescence
The topic of adolescence occupies a special place in developmental psychology. Its importance is determined, firstly, by its great practical significance (out of ten classes high school at least five are teenagers); secondly, it is at this age that the problem of the relationship between the biological and the social in a person is most clearly manifested; thirdly, the adolescent obviously illustrates the versatility and complexity of the very concept of “age”.
When a child becomes a teenager, a teenager a boy, a boy an adult? At the “poles” the question is more or less clear: no one will call a 12-year-old boy, and a 20-year-old a teenager. But in relation to 14-18-year-olds, both of these terms are used, and this is not accidental. The boundaries of the transition from childhood to maturity are rather arbitrary. Age categories always denote not only and not so much age and level of biological development as social status, social status of a person. In our time, the adolescent period is considered to be the age from I to 15-16 years. The transitional age includes two series of processes:
Natural - the processes of biological maturation of the body, including puberty; social - the processes of communication, education, socialization in the broad sense of the word. These processes are always interconnected, but not synchronous:
The rates of physical and mental development in different children are different (one boy at the age of 14-15 looks like an adult, the other - a child); there are internal imbalances in the maturation of individual biological systems and psyche; social maturation in time is not identical to physical maturation (physical maturation occurs much faster than social maturation - completion of education, acquisition of a profession, economic independence, civic self-determination, etc.).
Adolescence is a transitional age, primarily in a biological sense. The social status of a teenager is not much different from that of a child. Teenagers are still schoolchildren and are dependent on parents and the state. Their main activity is study. Biological factors include puberty, as well as the rapid development and restructuring of all organs, tissues and body systems. You should not explain the behavior of children at this age only on the basis of the changes occurring in the body of a teenager. Puberty as the most important biological factor affects behavior not directly, but indirectly.
The main psychological "mechanism" of a sharp change in behavior in adolescence can be schematically represented as follows. The onset of puberty, associated with the appearance of new hormones in the blood and their effect on the central nervous system, as well as with rapid physical development, increases the activity, physical and mental capabilities of children and creates favorable conditions for the appearance of a sense of adulthood and independence in them.
Adolescent crisis
The teenage crisis has always been of particular interest to scientists. This crisis is characterized by mood swings without sufficient reasons, increased sensitivity to the assessment of outsiders' appearance, abilities and skills. At the same time, outwardly, adolescents look self-confident, peremptory in their judgments. Sentimentality sometimes coexists with callousness, and painful shyness - with swagger, ostentatious independence, rejection of authorities and generally accepted rules, adoration of random idols.
The theoretical development of this problem began at the turn of the 20th century. At this time, the prevailing idea was that the source of the crisis and the specific characteristics of the adolescent were biological moments, genetically predetermined changes. The emergence of new psychological characteristics was considered as an inevitable and universal phenomenon, that is, inherent in all adolescents. From this the conclusion followed: difficulties must be endured, intervention with the aim of changing something is inexpedient and useless.
However, science gradually accumulated facts indicating that the peculiarities of adolescence are determined by the specific social circumstances of the life and development of a teenager, his social position in the world of adults. Especially violently in a teenager transition periodif in childhood he learned what was not useful to him as an adult, and does not learn what is necessary for the future. In this case, he is not prepared for the future upon reaching "formal" maturity.
German psychologist K. Levin stated that in modern society there are two independent groups - adults and children. Each has privileges that the other does not. The specificity of the adolescent's position is that he is between these two groups: he no longer wants to belong to the group of children and seeks to move to the group of adults, but they do not yet accept him. In this position of restlessness, K. Levin saw the source of the specific characteristics of the adolescent. He believed that the larger the gap between the two groups and, accordingly, the longer the period of restlessness of the adolescent, the more difficulties the adolescence progresses.
LS Vygotsky believed that the transitional age crisis is associated with two factors: the emergence of a neoplasm in the mind of a teenager and the restructuring of the relationship between the child and the environment: this restructuring is the main content of the crisis.
According to L.I.Bozhovich, the adolescent crisis is associated with the emergence of a new level of self-awareness, a characteristic feature of which is the emergence of adolescents' ability and need to know themselves as a person possessing only her inherent qualities. This gives the teenager a desire for self-affirmation, self-expression and self-education.
Many authors associate the concept of crisis development with the problem of “character accentuations”. In adolescence, the majority of characterological types are formed, their features are not yet smoothed out and are not compensated by subsequent life experience, as is often the case in adults. It is in adolescence that various typological variants of the norm appear most clearly as “character accentuations”. In a teenager, a lot depends on the type of character accentuation: the very passage of the pubertal crisis, the manifestation of acute affective reactions, neuroses, the general background of behavior.
AE Lichko distinguishes the following types of adolescent accentuation: hyperthymic, cycloid, labile, asthenoneurotic, sensitive, psychasthenic, epileptoid, hysteroid, unstable, conformal.
Knowledge of character accentuations is necessary for building relationships with a teenager in the family, class, and out-of-school groups.
High school student
Characteristics of early adolescence
The age of early adolescence - 15-17 years old - was not always recognized as a special stage in personality development. It is no coincidence that some scholars consider youth a rather late acquisition of mankind.
With the development of society, production, culture, the role of adolescence increases, because social life becomes more complicated, the terms of education grow, the age when people are allowed to participate in active social life increases. However, it would be a mistake to regard adolescence only as a period of preparation for adulthood. Each age is important in and of itself, regardless of the relationship with subsequent age periods.
When using the concept of "early adolescence", one must distinguish between:
Chronological age - the number of years lived by a person;
Physiological age - the degree of physical development of a person;
Psychological age - the degree of personal development;
Social age is the degree of civic maturity.
These ages may not coincide in the same person: there is a law of uneven maturation and development. This unevenness is both intrapersonal (heterochronism of the development of one and the same individual) and interpersonal (chronological peers may actually be at different stages of their individual development). Therefore, when meeting with a high school student, the question often arises: who are we actually dealing with - a teenager, a young man or already an adult? As a rule, it is decided in relation to a specific field of activity.
In addition to heterochronism and uneven development, it is necessary to take into account the existence of a fundamentally different types development:
Stormy and crisis, characterized by severe behavioral and emotional difficulties, conflict;
Calm and smooth, but to some extent passive with pronounced problems with the formation of independence;
A type of rapid, abrupt changes that do not cause sudden emotional outbursts.
Speaking about adolescence, it is necessary to keep in mind not just age, but gender and age characteristics, because gender differences are very significant and are manifested in the specifics of emotional reactions, in the structure of communication, in self-assessment criteria, in psychosexual development, in the ratio of stages and age characteristics of vocational and marriage and family self-determination.
And, finally, when characterizing early adolescence, it is necessary to take into account that each generation of young men has characteristics that are inherent in the principle of adolescence itself, but the proportion of these characteristics in different generations may not coincide. In addition, there are characteristics that are characteristic only of one or another generation of young people and are due to external factors of development.
Personal development of senior students
The main psychological acquisition of early adolescence is the discovery of one's inner world.
For a child, the only conscious reality is the external world onto which he projects his fantasy. On the contrary, for a young man, the external, physical world is only one of the possibilities of subjective experience, the focus of which is himself. "Opening" your inner world is an important, joyful and exciting event, but it causes many disturbing, dramatic experiences. The inner "I" may not coincide with the external behavior, actualizing the problem of self-control. It is no coincidence that complaints of weakness are the most common form of youthful self-criticism.
For adolescence, the processes of the development of self-awareness, the dynamics of the independent regulation of the "I" images are especially important. Based on the available data, all adolescents begin with a period of relatively diffuse, vague self. Then they go through the stage of "role moratorium", which can be different for different people and in different activities. The socio-psychological and personal self-determination ends already outside school age, on average between 18 and 21 years old.
The level of development of "I" is closely related to the development of other personal characteristics. Senior school age is a time for developing views and beliefs, forming a worldview, maturing its cognitive and emotional-personal prerequisites. During this period, there is not only an increase in the volume of knowledge, but also a significant expansion of the horizons of the high school student. He has a need to reduce the diversity of facts to a few principles. The specific level of knowledge and theoretical abilities, as well as the breadth of interests, are very different for the children, but certain changes in this direction are observed in everyone - they give impetus to youthful "philosophizing". Hence - a steady need to find the meaning of life, to determine the prospects for their existence and development of all mankind.
A characteristic feature of early adolescence is the formation of life plans. The life plan arises, on the one hand, as a result of the generalization of the goals that the individual sets for himself, and on the other hand, it is the result of the concretization of goals and motives. The life plan in the exact sense of the word arises when not only the final result, but also the ways of achieving it, becomes the subject of reflection.
Unlike a dream, which can be both active and contemplative, a life plan is a plan of action. High school students' professional plans are often not specific enough. Assessing quite realistically the sequence of their future life achievements (promotion, increase in wages, purchase of an apartment, car, etc.), high school students are overly optimistic in determining the possible timing of their implementation. Professional orientation is a complex psychological problem, connected also with social and economic problems.
It is pleasant to note that today professional counseling of schoolchildren and their parents on the problems of choosing a profession is being actively carried out. Solving the problems of self-affirmation and self-determination in adolescence largely depends on the need for achievement. The need for achievement is understood by a number of researchers as an inherent desire for success in activities, in competition with an orientation towards a certain standard of high quality performance. In early adolescence, there is an intensified development of the need for achievement. It is implemented in different ways: some in the field cognitive activities, for others - in various hobbies, among others - in sports, etc. There is reason to believe that those senior pupils who have a particularly developed need for achievement have a weaker need for communication. At the same time, it is in adolescence that the need for achievement can be directed towards achieving success in the sphere of communication.
The need for communication
Senior school age is the age of forming one's own views and relationships, seeking self-determination. It is in this that the independence of young men is now expressed. If adolescents see a manifestation of their independence in deeds and actions, then older schoolchildren consider their own views, assessments, and opinions to be the most important area for manifesting independence.
One of the peaks in the development of a person's need for communication is early adolescence. There are several reasons that explain the growing interest in expanding the scope of contacts.
The most obvious of them is the constant physical and mental development of the student and, associated with this, the deepening of his interests. The need for activity is also an important factor. She finds expression in many ways in communication. In adolescence, the need especially increases, on the one hand, for new experience, and on the other, for recognition, protection and empathy. This determines the growth of the need for communication and contributes to solving the problems of self-awareness, self-determination, and self-affirmation. With age (from 15 to 17 years), the need for understanding increases markedly, and it is stronger for girls than for boys.
Studying the peculiarities of communication among high school students, researchers pay special attention to the diversity of its functions. First, a high school student's communication is a very important "channel of information." Secondly, it is a type of activity that has a significant impact on personality development. And thirdly, it is a type of emotional contact that contributes to the development emotional sphere and building self-esteem, which is so important at this age. In this regard, the need for understanding does not imply special rationality: understanding should be in the character of emotional sympathy, empathy. Naturally, such a person is primarily thought of as a peer who is tormented by the same problems and the same experiences.
Boys and girls are in constant expectation of communication - each new person is important to them. Communication in adolescence is distinguished by special confidentiality, confessionality, which leaves an imprint of intimacy and passion on the relationships that connect high school students with loved ones. Because of this, in early adolescence, communication failures are experienced so quickly. At this age, in comparison with adolescence, there is also a need for communication with Adults, especially in a situation of uncertainty, difficulty in making an independent decision, that is, in some kind of problem situation. And trust is more connected not with the intimacy or secrecy of the transmitted information, but with the significance of the very problem with which a high school student addresses an adult. At the same time, it is very important how a young man evaluates an adult.
Relationships with teachers are a good example. The peculiarities of these relationships are determined primarily by the individual qualities of teachers. The most rigorous assessment by high school students is subject to such qualities as fairness, the ability to understand, emotional response, as well as the teacher's level of knowledge and the quality of teaching. Along with the need for communication in adolescence, the need for isolation is clearly manifested. This may be the isolation of the spheres of communication, or it may be the desire for solitude.
The need for solitude fulfills various functions in the development of a high school student. It can be viewed both as a reflection of a certain stage of personality development, and as one of the conditions for such development. Cognition of the beautiful, comprehension of oneself and others can be effective only in solitude. Fantasies and dreams, in which roles and situations are played, make it possible to compensate for certain difficulties in real communication. The basic principle of communication and mental life in general in adolescence is a pronounced search for ways to peace through finding a way to oneself.
The age periodization of the development of children has several classifications, each of which aims to highlight certain patterns of physical and psychological maturation. Such a division of the life of children and adolescents into certain stages helps to understand the characteristics of development and correct the specific manifestations of their negative sides.
Some pedagogues consider the process of growing up to be a continuous action that has no boundaries, arguing this with the fluidity and changeability of life. However, modern pedagogy, through numerous studies, has proved the need to distinguish age stages, since each of them is qualitatively different.
Despite the unevenness of each stage, the boundaries of which depend on the individual characteristics of children, each child lives through all the periods of growing up sequentially.
Some definitions
The age periodization of childhood still does not have a clear definition.
So, there is a division into the development of physiological, social and psychological signs of growing up. However, to date, there are no criteria that can combine social and biological indicators.
Moreover, there are two approaches to any classifications: spontaneous and normative.
Followers of the spontaneous approach believe that the periodization of childhood and developmental features 
are formed unconsciously under the influence of many random factors that cannot be foreseen.
The normative approach provides for the organization of such an educational process that can take into account all random circumstances and provide optimal conditions for the development of the child at each age stage.
It is believed that the optimal classification of different age groups will be the one that will maximally take into account not only the factors of physiology and psychology, but also the conditions and characteristics of the upbringing, education and social adaptation of the child.
Periodization types
Despite the wide variety of periodization options, it is customary to distinguish 2 types of classification: physiological and psychological.
As for physiological periodization, it was adopted back in 1965 during the International Symposium, which discussed issues of developmental physiology. It was decided to allocate only 7 periods of development of children and adolescents:
- The neonatal stage, which lasts only 10 days from birth;
- The period of breastfeeding, which ends at 1 year;
- Early age provides for the development of a child from one year to three years;
- The beginning of childhood lasts from 3 to 8 years;
- The end of childhood is marked for boys at 12, and for girls at 11;
- The adolescent period ends in girls by 15, and in boys by 16;
- The stage of adolescence lasts from 17 to 21 years for boys, whereas for girls it ends by 20 years.
There are several psychological periodizations, however, despite their different criteria, most of them are based on the same age stages. Let's consider the features of some of them.
Erickson. Stages
Eric Erickson, a famous American psychologist, believes that the stages of a child's development are associated with psychosocial aspects. He developed a periodization based on this principle.
E. Erickson believes that the correct psychosocial development of a child should be provided by the family and educational institutions.
The patterns of growing up according to Vygotsky.
The well-known Soviet psychologist L. Vygotsky not only proposed his own classification of the stages of age development, but also identified special patterns that accompany the growing up of children and adolescents.
- The presence of cyclicality. Each stage is characterized by individual time boundaries, a special pace and content, which have the ability to change during the entire period of growing up. Some periods are intense and pronounced, while others can appear quite imperceptibly.
- The abruptness of development proves the uneven development of psychological functions. During each age stage, a new function of psychological consciousness comes to the fore. Thus, a constant restructuring of connections between functions takes place in the child's mind.
- The metamorphoses of growing up are manifested due to a chain of qualitative transformations in the child's psyche. Moreover, their quantitative component fades into the background. The mental state of the baby is completely different at all age stages.
- A regular combination of evolution and involution, which, interacting, take the child to a new level of psychological and social development.
Vygotsky believed that the only driving force behind the development of any child is learning. In order for training to be able to fulfill the function assigned to it, it must be focused not on those stages of development that are coming to an end, but on those that have not yet begun. Thus, the orientation of learning should be forward-looking.
The psychologist used the term "near development". Its essence boils down to a competent definition of those mental abilities of the child, which are at the moment, and those of which he is capable. Thus, the possible level of complexity of the tasks offered to the student is determined: they should allow the development of abilities, and not demonstrate the already acquired knowledge.
An equally important place in the zone of proximal development is occupied by psychological interaction with adults, which should become a guide to the world of further independent growing up.
Psychological age as defined by Vygotsky
The psychologist based his age periodization on the psychological age of children, which reveals social adaptation at one stage or another of growing up.
As the child grows up, the old prerequisites for development come into conflict with new, more important factors that break the already established attitude to the world and lead to a new stage of growing up. Thus, the psychological age changes.
The psychologist believed that the types of age-related transformations are of two types: stable and crisis. Based on this definition, he distinguished the following age periodization:
- Newborn baby crisis;
- Infant age up to 1 year;
- First year crisis;
- The beginning of the period of childhood, which lasts up to three years;
- The crisis of three years;
- Age to school up to 7 years;
- Seven-year crisis;
- Schooling time includes ages up to 11-12 years;
- The crisis period of thirteen-year-olds;
- Sexually mature years, which last up to 17 years;
- Identity crisis at seventeen.
In addition, Vygotsky believed that the periodization of childhood should be based on three factors:
- External manifestations of growing up (for example, by the presence or absence of teeth, their change from milk to permanent);
- Characterization of any criterion (for example, the periodization of J. Piaget, which is based on mental development);
- Essential factors of psychomotor development (as an example, we can cite the classification of L. Slobodchikov).
Modern psychology and pedagogy adheres to D. Elkonin's periodization, which is based on 
conclusions of L. Vygotsky. A distinctive feature of this classification is in highlighting the basic patterns of activity in a growing person. That is, the psychologist assumed that the mental development of children is due to the continuous change of activity.
Properties of crisis periods
The periods of crises that were first identified by Vygotsky are interpreted differently by psychologists. Some consider them to be natural indicators of adaptations to new conditions, during which the child develops and moves to a new stage of development. Others are deviations from normal development. Still others consider crises to be an optional manifestation, that is, optional in the development of the child.
In any case, it would be pointless to deny the existence of crisis periods in the lives of children. At this time, the formation of new properties of the psyche, the establishment of norms and foundations, a change in the general worldview.
Despite the fact that each crisis stage is characterized by an individual manifestation, there are a number of signs that unite all the critical periods in the life of children.
- Refusal to cooperate with adults;
- Light vulnerability, resentment, which are manifested in self-isolation or aggression;
- Inability to cope with negative emotions;
- The desire to achieve complete independence, with which, as a rule, they do not know what to do.
During a crisis, children lose interest in learning, their interests change radically, conflict situations with the people around them are possible.
The emergence of the crisis, as well as the severity of its course, is associated with many factors. At the same time, it is sometimes not possible to determine which of them played the main role.
At the moment of overcoming the crisis period, the personality transitions to a new stage of physical, psychological and social development.
Let us consider using the table the main manifestations of crisis periods at different age stages.
During the flow of all age periods the main recommendations for parents are as follows:
- Keep calm;
- Learn to listen;
- Give valuable advice;
- Don't impose your society;
- Respect your child's choice;
- Give him reasonable leeway, age appropriate;
- Love your child;
- Talk to him about your love as often as possible.
Observing these simple rules, adults will not only be able to more easily survive these difficult times, but will also help their children in this difficult task.
Let's sum up
Any age classification very conditional, just as its boundaries are vague. It is impossible to assess the degree of development of your child with dry average data.
However, knowing the main periods of development of children, parents will be able to prepare for the upcoming changes in the behavior and attitude of their heirs and avoid very serious mistakes in the process of their upbringing.
Every parent wants to see their child as an intelligent, beautiful, happy and well-developed person. Therefore, no one would like to let the process take its course: we all strive to somehow help the child develop.
We tell him poems, sing songs with him, come up with different games, communicate, teach him to read and write. However, in this matter, it is very important to act competently and consistently. It would be unwise to demand from a child what he is not yet able to do by virtue of his own.
And it would be very right to develop in him those abilities to which it is high time to pay attention. And in order to properly educate your young children, it is very important to know what features and abilities they possess at certain age stages of development.
During this period, the most important thing your child needs is care, attention and affection. This is a period when parents fulfill all the desires of their children and do not think much about teaching them anything. The main task of parents is to provide the most comfortable, loving and cheerful atmosphere in the house. But this does not mean that the development of children should not be given attention.
The fact is that a person from his very birth begins the process of knowing the world around him. The ability to hear sounds and to separate one sound from another is formed. Also, the child's brain learns to divide the incoming visual image into various objects, focus on one of them and remember it.
By the age of six months, children show a special interest in colors and the process of developing the perception of space begins to form. After only a month, the baby begins to interact with objects with pleasure: he puts them in boxes, opens the lids and distinguishes small objects from large ones.
The very first stage in the formation of a person's personality. It is at this age that the deepest, most durable and indestructible properties of a person's personality are laid. It is believed that those character traits and personality traits that were acquired at this age are practically not amenable to correction throughout life. Therefore, it is important for parents to understand that a very crucial stage has come when the full-fledged upbringing of children begins.
Early age can be conditionally divided into three additional periods, each of which has its own age characteristics of development:
From one to one and a half years. The period of formation of children's independence. Now the child does not wait for the parents to fulfill all his requests. He is already trying to do a lot on his own. He crawls around the house a lot to get to objects of interest to him. He often falls, stuffs himself with bumps, but continues to diligently explore the living quarters.
The first sounds or even words full of meaning, the child usually begins to pronounce during this period of his development. And although the child is not yet able to correctly pronounce the whole word or phrase, the parents are already beginning to understand what he means. An active phase of memorizing words is in progress. The child listens carefully to what the parents say. And, despite the fact that he does not even try to pronounce most of the words he heard, they are still deposited in his memory.
Despite the fact that the child is not yet capable of responding to his parents and talking to them fully, it is very important to devote a lot of time to communication with him during this period. Because right now, his vocabulary is beginning to be actively replenished. Parents can name the objects surrounding the child, tell what they are for.
From one and a half to two years. He continues to develop the skills acquired earlier, begins to realize his place in the world around him, and the first traits of his character emerge. That is, it is already becoming obvious which personality traits are likely to prevail in his character throughout his life. This is the period when parents, figuratively speaking, begin to get acquainted with their child. By this time, most children begin to actively participate in the process of their own dressing.
It is important that the parents are patient and give him the opportunity. You should not forbid your child to try to put on something on their own just because you are in a hurry somewhere. It is a great relief for parents that children are starting to potty. Sometimes during the game, being carried away, the baby can still go "for himself", but such cases occur less and less.
You should never forbid children to pick up objects of interest to them and examine them. If an object poses a danger to the baby, then the best solution is to make it so that he does not come across his eyes at all. Otherwise, by numerous prohibitions, parents can instill in children the fear of learning something new, develop complexes in him that interfere with his learning in adolescence and throughout his life. Do not forbid your child to delve into the closets. He really likes to open various drawers and take out all objects and all clothes from them.
This is an important feature useful for the development of children. Thus, the baby shows a natural need for knowledge of the world and ordinary curiosity. Do not forbid him to do this.
Two to three years. The child has already learned to walk, interact with objects, his vision and other senses are fully developed. The turn of the most active phase of mental development has come. Now the baby is showing a little less physical activity than he did before. But he becomes the most sociable. He likes to talk to adults, and you need to give him that opportunity. It is important to remember the rule: the more communication, the better mental development.
During this period, endless questions begin. It is very important to respond patiently to each of them. In no case do not dismiss the child by saying "leave me alone!" At this age, a love of music begins to instill. When the child is at home, let the music always sound. And let this music be varied. Music has a beneficial effect on the composure of the baby, because the rhythm is taken as its basis. Rhythm is at the heart of all life's affairs.
Junior preschool age (3-4 years)
This age is difficult for parents and their baby. Because during this period the first crisis of a person's personality occurs. Parents are witnessing a dramatic change in the character and personality of the child. This period is called by some as the "I myself" period. What should parents be prepared for?
Age personal stages of children during this period: negativism, stubbornness, obstinacy, self-will, devaluation, rebellion, despotism. All these negative manifestations of personality ultimately give birth to the child in the realization that he is a separate independent person with his own views and desires. In order to avoid many sharp corners and allow the child to develop harmoniously, it is important to support his initiative to be independent. Interest in activities such as construction, modeling and painting is growing. The child begins to independently assess the events and behavior of people. He himself tries to distinguish good from bad.
During this period of development, it is important to realize that the stages in the manifestation of negative personality traits of a child does not mean that he becomes bad and ill-mannered. You should not severely punish him every time for incorrect behavior. It is now much more important to avoid situations that would form a permanent feeling of guilt and associated complexes. Parents are expected to be proficient in helping to discourage bad behavior, but at the same time will not disturb the psyche of the baby.
Middle preschool age (4-5 years old)
During this period, there is a significant change in relationships with peers. They become more and more attractive to the child and begin to take up a lot of place in his life. Now the child consciously prefers to play not with adults, but with children of his own age. And if earlier the children were just next to each other, but everyone was minding their own business and playing their own game, now they begin to interact with each other and play together.
Thus, the skills of cooperation between people are formed. Age stages of the development of communication with peers intensively follow one after another. During the game, children begin to coordinate their actions and achieve one common goal. At this age, the child begins to understand well the non-verbal signs of attitudes towards himself.
The kid is in dire need of recognition and respect from the people around him. He understands very well whether they are pleased with him or not, paid attention to him or turned out to be indifferent. Against this background, resentments often appear that the child openly demonstrates. The preschooler begins to compare himself with others and forms an opinion about himself. And if earlier the child observed other people in order to find something in common with them, now he opposes himself to them.
The task of parents is to help form a positive self-esteem, but at the same time adequate. Now is the time for active role-playing games... It is necessary to teach children to independently invent an interesting plot, to distribute roles and maintain constructive relationships with the participants in the game process.
Senior preschool age (5-6 years old)
Significant development of relationships with peers and adults occurs during this time period. Children are able to communicate at the adult level. If earlier all communication was built around events taking place at the moment, for example, around the game process, now children are developing the ability for out-of-situational communication.
For example, they talk about what happened to them during the day, talk about their preferences, or discuss the actions and qualities of other people. Communication takes place separately from the game. It may happen that the children just talk to each other and are no longer doing anything at that moment. A period of resentment and negativism is passing.
The time comes to be friendly with others and emotionally attached to them. Now children know how to empathize with people. Vivid rivalry is replaced by a desire to help friends, even if it is contrary to the rules of the game. Interest in others is also manifested in the fact that children now not only talk about themselves and share their stories, but begin to ask questions, are sincerely interested in how others are doing, what they like and what they would like to do. Closer to six years old, there is a desire to share and give gifts.
It is important that parents support these right initiatives and set a good example for their children.
Age stages the development of a social personality in a child is manifested especially intensively at this age. Interest groups begin to appear in the kindergarten. Children begin to treat different peers differently, distinguishing among them those who are closest to them in character. There are often disagreements about who is friends with whom or who hangs around. If a child is not accepted into the campaign where he would like, he can be very worried about this.
It is important for parents to learn to identify this and help emotionally experience this problem. Right now the time has come for the child to become someone to whom you can tell about your experiences and get sympathy.
Of course, every child is an individual person. And not all children develop equally quickly and equally well. Some personality traits may begin to manifest earlier, some later. However, a general understanding of what stages of development are inherent in a child
