Characteristics of the main age periods of child development. Characteristics of each stage of growth and development of the child

Signs of normal development and deviations from the norm in each age period of a child's life. Critical periods in a child's life (bring examples). Age periods development of the child are accompanied by changes in physiology, the acquisition of skills and knowledge, the formation of character. The growing up of a child depends on external and internal circumstances, so the transition to the next stage occurs for each individual. Intrauterine. From the first day of conception to the birth of the baby;

Breast age. Lasts from birth to a year;

Toddler stage of growing up. From the first year to 3 years;

Preschool period. It is considered from 3 to 7 years;

Stage of primary school age. From 7 years to 12;

The period of senior school age. From 12 to 17 years old.

intrauterine period. Age periods of child development. During this time, all organs and systems are formed in the peanut. Even in the tummy, he can respond to changes in the mother's mood. Also hear her voice timbre and external sounds. Breast age. The period after birth and up to one year of age is characterized by the intensity of growth and development of the whole organism. This determines his physiological and mental development in the future. The baby is poorly adapted to the environment, its organs are not yet perfect. A newborn is very vulnerable to all kinds of infections, so it is so necessary to create comfort and maintain cleanliness in the house.

Nursery period. The development of the child during this period occurs in three areas: speech, objective activity and motor skills. Nursery period. The ability to speak and the development of intelligence are interconnected. Communicating with peers and relatives, the baby learns the world, learns to express his thoughts and ask questions of interest to him. While walking, the baby's hands are free and he can take objects and study them. By the age of three, the baby can recite short poems, go to the toilet on his own, use scissors, monitor hand hygiene, draw straight lines, and begins to show independence. From this stage, the personality of the future adult is formed.

Preschool stage.

During this period, the child develops: attention, memory, thinking, demeanor and personal qualities. The kid continues to develop physically and thanks to this he can perform exercises. Children at this age can show perseverance, do one thing for a long time. They copy the behavior of their parents. The child's speech becomes clearer and more connected. The baby copies the pronunciation of phrases from adults, which is why it is so important for close relatives to speak correctly and help the child conduct a dialogue. The baby has an important step in life - school. Preschool education starts at the age of 5. Children of this age become observant, capable of logical thinking and conclusions.

Junior school age.

Coming to school, the child begins to actively develop his intellect. He enters a new society with his own rules, which he must comply with. The student develops responsibility, a sense of duty, perseverance. The school trains systematicity and the need to bring everything to the end.

Stage of senior school age.

There is a transition from childhood to adulthood. At the same time, children are confused and unsure of themselves, they need the support and understanding of their relatives, although they listen to them a little.

Personal development is progressing at a rapid pace. This is due to puberty. The body develops at a rapid pace. Yesterday's children show physical signs of growing up: the growth of body hair in different places, the accumulation of fat in the chest and buttocks in girls, the change in the timbre of the voice in boys, wisdom teeth begin to grow. Body proportions become similar to adults. A teenager studies himself, at this time he overcomes his shortcomings and develops the necessary character traits, forms outlooks on life.

The process of personality formation. the following ages and crises: the crisis of the newborn, the crisis of one year, the crisis of three years, the crisis of seven years, the crisis of thirteen years, the crisis of seventeen years. Crisis of three years first symptom, refusal to fulfill any requirements on the part of an adult, and the child reacts negatively not to the content, but to the request of the adult. Second symptom- this is stubbornness when a child insists on something not because he wants it, but because he demanded it. Third symptom is obstinacy, which, unlike stubbornness, is more generalized, directed against established norms of life and caused by the desire to insist on one's own desire. Fourth symptom- self-will, which is manifested in the fact that the child insists on independence in making decisions. He wants to do everything himself, etc. This is a protest-rebellion, when the child's behavior begins to acquire the features of a protest, as if of a constant conflict. A symptom of devaluation, when children begin to use obscene words. preschool age- an important period of personality formation. It is in preschool childhood that personal mechanisms of behavior are formed. At preschool age, voluntary behavior arises and develops. The preschooler learns ethical norms. He forms moral assessments and ideas, an active attitude to the events of life, sympathy, caring. Crisis of seven years called the immediacy crisis. During the transition to school age, obvious changes occur in the character and behavior of the child, he begins to "manipulate" and "clown around." There is a loss of immediacy of the child, and he may resort to mannerisms as a means of protection. The child begins to understand himself, to navigate in his feelings and experiences, and the very nature of experiences is rebuilt. They begin to take on meaning for the child. Experiences lead to the loss of spontaneity, the child has a new relationship to himself. The positive side of the crisis of seven years is the emergence of such neoplasms as pride and self-esteem.

Lunkina E.N., teacher-speech therapist, kindergarten "Magic Castle", Central Administrative District, Moscow

The concept of "sensitive periods of a child's development" was introduced by an outstanding domestic psychologist, psycholinguist, defectologist, world-famous scientist L.S. Vygotsky (1896-1934). He developed the concept of "psychological systems", which meant integral formations in the form of various forms of interfunctional connections (for example, between thinking and memory, thinking and speech).

The huge contribution of L.S. Vygotsky in child psychology - the introduction of the concept of "zone of proximal development". According to the scientist, this is an area of ​​not mature, but maturing processes, which can be called "buds of development". The "Zone of Proximal Development" poses great challenges for the child, which he is able to solve only with the help of an adult, in the course of their joint activities. L.S. Vygotsky came to the conclusion that a child's education should precede, run ahead of, pull up and lead development. This statement has become an axiom in child psychology and pedagogy.

The next important discovery of a brilliant scientist in child psychology was the age determination of periods in a child's life that are most favorable for the development of certain functions of an individual. This knowledge is necessary for teachers and parents in order not to miss the most favorable period for the child's education, so that those "developing kidneys", which are maturing processes in the "zone of proximal development", can fully develop and enrich the physical, intellectual, emotional , social and cultural opportunities in future life child.

There are no identical children, even twins are very different from each other. Everyone has individual properties of the psyche, abilities and interests.

However, in the life of every baby there are periods in which physiology itself creates the maximum optimal conditions and opportunities for the development in the child of certain properties of the psyche, susceptibility to the acquisition of certain knowledge and skills. These periods are called sensitive.

Sensitivity(from Latin sensitivus - sensitive) - the optimal combination of conditions for the development of mental processes inherent in a certain age period. During sensitive periods, there is a great opportunity to develop the abilities of children to the maximum.

Another definition of a sensitive period can be formulated as follows. A sensitive period is a certain period of a child's life in which optimal conditions are created for the development of certain psychological qualities and types of activities.

These periods are limited in time, therefore, having missed the stages of mental development, in the future it will be necessary to spend a lot of effort and time to fill the gap in the development of certain functions. Some mental functions may never develop. An example of this is the numerous cases of children who grew up in a pack of animals. When they were returned to society, they could not be taught full-fledged speech and adaptation in new conditions for them by any rehabilitation methods. All their behavior copied the life and habits of animals.

Thus, the sensitive period is the time of maximum opportunities for the most effective formation of any property of the psyche, the period of the highest plasticity. He shows his ability to change according to the specifics of external circumstances.

In certain sensitive periods, there is a sharp increase in sensitivity to certain external influences due to high plasticity. nervous system child.

Age sensitivity is a combination of conditions characteristic of a certain age for the formation of specific processes of the psyche. For example, for the development of speech in children, the sensitive period is 1.5 years. It is at this time that you need to pay increased attention to the child from adults, harmoniously educating and developing him. Therefore, the environment, the variety of activities, interests and emotions are extremely important for the formation of a person in the first years of his life. The lack of emotions, knowledge, skills, physical and mental development acquired in childhood will be an irreparable gap in later life.

First you need to figure out how many of these periods the child has, at what age they occur, what kind of knowledge the child easily perceives in each of them.
Periods of maximum opportunities and conditions for the development in children of certain properties of the psyche and susceptibility to the acquisition of knowledge and skills.

1.5-3 years. The period of bright speech perception, vocabulary replenishment. At this age, the child is very receptive to learning. foreign languages. It is also favorable for the development of motor skills, manipulations with objects, perception of order;
3-4 years. This period is most favorable for getting acquainted with the symbolic designation of numbers and letters, preparing for writing. Conscious speech and understanding of one's own thoughts are developing, there is an intensive development of the sense organs;
4-5 years. This period is marked by the development of interest in music and mathematics. The activity of the child in the perception of writing, color, shape, size of objects increases, intensive social development takes place;
5-6 years. The most favorable period for the transition from writing to reading. This period is very important for instilling social skills and behavior in the child;
8-9 years old. During this period, language abilities secondarily reach a peak. He also has great importance for the development of imagination and cultural education.

At different stages of a child's sensitive development, changes in his psyche can take place either gradually and slowly, or quickly and abruptly. Accordingly, stable and crisis stages of development are distinguished. They are also called turning points in development, or crises if they proceed rapidly. During these periods, the child is especially receptive to gaining knowledge and life skills. Changes occur in the child's body, which are manifested by increased sensitivity and vulnerability. We cannot influence the occurrence of these periods, since it is human nature. But parents and educators must (even must) use them in the most productive way for the development of their child.

At a stable stage of development, a child's behavior is characteristic, without sharp shifts and changes. It may not even be noticeable to his environment. But these changes accumulate and at the end of the period give a qualitative leap in development.

Stable stages alternate with crisis ones. Crisis periods do not last long (from several months to 1-2 years, depending on the wisdom of teachers and tact of parents). These are most often brief, but violent stages. During periods of crisis, there are significant changes in the personality of the child. The crisis itself begins and ends imperceptibly, its boundaries are blurred, indistinct. Exacerbation occurs in the middle of the sensitive period. Parents see drastic changes in behavior, interests, the child is out of control of adults.

There are much more individual differences during crises than during stable periods. At this time, contradictions intensify, on the one hand, between the adult needs of the child and his still handicapped, and on the other hand, between new needs and previously established relationships with adults. Modern psychologists consider these contradictions as the driving forces of mental development.

According to L.S. Vygotsky, the most important are three sensitive periods (crisis moments) - 1 year, 3 and 7 years. Educators and parents should be aware of the crisis moments in the life of the child and prepare for them in a timely manner to ensure the greatest satisfaction of the needs of the child in each sensitive period.

Age sensitivity is characteristic of a specific age stage, it is the best combination conditions for the formation of specific properties or processes of the psyche.

Age periodization (according to L.S. Vygotsky)

Neonatal crisis - infancy (from 2 months to 1 year).
At 1.5-2.5 months. formed fine motor skills, the sensory area develops, the child learns the world using auditory and tactile sensations.
. Crisis of 1 year - early childhood (1-3 years).
New types of communication appear, there is a break in the psychological unity of "mother - child", speech and mental abilities develop. The leading type of activity is the emotional and direct communication of an infant with an adult.
From 1 to 3 years is a sensitive period for the development of speech abilities. The child listens, accumulates a passive vocabulary, then speech appears, which is of a substantive nature. The ability to express their desires and feelings develops.
At 2.5-3 years old, the child often talks to himself, which contributes to the development logical thinking, sequences in speech. Over time, he leads such monologues mentally.
. Crisis 3 years - preschool age (from 3 to 7 years).
The leading type of activity is tool-objective. Self-esteem and self-awareness are formed, the formation of personality takes place. From 3 to 7 years old, the child is included in adulthood, in different types activities, he chooses what to play and his role in the game; interested in sounds and letters, ie. their graphic representation in the form of symbols. Imagination and display of impressions about the world around, interaction with others, communication are actively developing. The leading type of activity is a role-playing game.
. Crisis 7 years - school age (from 7 to 13 years).
The leading activity is educational. The psyche, thinking, special abilities, the personality of the child and his interpersonal relationships.
. Crisis 13 years - puberty (13-17 years).
The leading activity is the personal communication of adolescents.
. The crisis of 17 years is adolescence (17-21 years).
The leading type of activity is professional and educational.

According to L.S. Vygotsky, at these moments the child needs to pay increased attention from adults. During periods of crisis, the child becomes receptive to acquiring certain knowledge and skills.

And although the development of human intelligence continues into adulthood, in childhood it happens much easier and more naturally. Parents should pay attention to the onset of each of these periods and prepare the base and environment in a timely manner to best meet the needs of the child at each stage of his development.

Let us recall R. Kipling's fairy tale "The Jungle Book" and its hero - Mowgli, brought up in an animal pack. The author's idea for this book did not come out of nowhere. Currently, there are about 4 thousand official evidence of such cases. "Children of the jungle" found themselves from a very early age in a pack of animals (usually wolves) and had neither verbal nor social experience in behavior and communication. After they were returned to normal living conditions, despite intensive care and special training with them, it was no longer possible to return them to human society. The maximum number of words that could be taught to just a few of these children was no more than 45. And their skills of human existence after the rehabilitation period were more like training, like pets. Children who were in the environment of animals for the first 6 years of life will practically no longer be able to master human speech, meaningfully communicate with other people, walk straight, etc. Rehabilitation was not complete in any case. Animal skills (walking on all fours, raw food, animal sounds and habits) acquired at an early age played a decisive role for these children.

The fact is that the most responsible sensitive periods of the formation of a person's personality were irrevocably missed. It is in the first 5-7 years of life that a child receives 70% of all vital information. And if during this period he finds himself in a wolf pack, then he will grow up as a wolf. Animal skills acquired by children who found themselves among animals from infancy are imprinted in the psyche and physiology, and it is practically impossible to instill human skills, i.e. Such children will never be full-fledged people.

The sages believed that every child would speak the language of his parents, even if no one taught him this. An Indian child will speak Indian, a Nepalese child will speak Nepali, and so on. The padishah doubted this and decided to set up a cruel experiment: several infants were placed in separate rooms, and deaf-mute servants looked after them. Seven years later, the padishah entered with the sages heard incoherent screams, cries, hissing and meowing of young animal-like creatures.

All this once again proves how important the first years of life are for the development of the child and his speech.

The examples given are the best proof of the legitimacy of the existence of sensitive periods in the life of every child. Missed for various reasons, they will be an irreparable gap throughout a person's life.

Modern world famous Japanese teacher-practitioner Masaru Ibuki titled his book on child psychology "It's Too Late After 3". In his work, the scientist writes that the key to the development of a child's mental abilities is his personal experience knowledge in the first three years of life. It all depends on the stimulation and development of the brain during the critical years of a child's life. Here we again see confirmation of the theory of L.S. Vygotsky about the decisive sensitive periods in the life of a child and their significance in the formation of personality.

The plasticity of the brain of a young child (from 0 to 3 years), psychophysiologically optimal conditions (sensitive periods) for the formation of emotions, intellect, speech and personality determine great potentialities. Although the Japanese scientist focuses on two (of the three main, according to L.S. Vygotsky) crisis periods of development - 1 year and 3 years, it is nevertheless clear that without a solid base for the development of an individual's personality in the first two sensitive periods (up to 3 years ) we lose the possibility of a comprehensive development of the mental abilities of the child. Only the realization of all the possibilities of the previous stage ensures a favorable transition to a new stage of development.

L.S. Vygotsky wrote that the new does not fall from the sky, but appears naturally, prepared by the entire course of the previous development. The source of development is the social environment in which the child is located.

Pupils and followers of L.S. Vygotsky (P.Ya. Galperin, L.V. Zankov, A.V. Zaporozhets, A.N. Leontiev, A.R. Luria, D.B. Elkonin, etc.) continue to be guided by his works and, based on his research continues to develop the concept of early development of the child's personality.

So, we can draw the following conclusions. Sensitive periods are an opportunity to develop the abilities of children at a particular age to the maximum, while paying attention to the quality of their development. These are the most critical stages in the development of children.

It is worth noting that these periods occur in each child, but the time of their appearance and duration are individual, neither teachers nor parents can influence their occurrence. With the right approach, they can be productively applied to the further development of certain abilities or types of activities. That is why at certain age stages you should pay more attention to a specific area, while trying to develop the qualitative component of your child's abilities.

We need not to accelerate, but to enrich mental development to expand the possibilities of the child in the types of activities characteristic of his age. It is important to create the necessary conditions under which children can show their abilities. You should not limit the activity of the baby, you need to provide him with the opportunity for free creative manifestation.

Parents and teachers should clearly understand that the larger the circle of interests of the child, the more harmonious it will grow. The peculiarity of the development of the child lies in the fact that all new skills, knowledge, skills are superimposed on those already studied. At these moments, the child needs to pay increased attention from adults.

Literature

Bogdanovich T.G., Kornilova T.V. Diagnostics of the cognitive sphere. M., 1994.
Bozhovich L.I. Personality and its formation in childhood. M., 1968.
Wenger L.A., Wenger A.L. is your child ready for school? M., 1994.
Developmental and educational psychology / Ed. A.V. Petrovsky. M., 1973.
Vygotsky L.S. Collected works: In 6 vols. Vol. 2, 5. M., 1982.
Galperin P.Ya. Methods of teaching and mental development of the child. M., 1985.
Galperin P.Ya. Psychology of thinking and the doctrine of the gradual formation of mental actions. Voronezh, 1998.
Gutkina N.I. Psychological readiness for school. M., 1993.
Mukhina V.S. Age-related psychology. M., 1999.
Elkonin D.B. Diagnostics of educational activity and intellectual development of children. M., 1981.
Elkonin D.B., Bozhovich L.I. The development of learning motives in children 6-7 years old. Volgograd, 1999.

It is good for every mother to know about age, anatomical and physiological characteristics of the child's body and related disease possibilities. Why do infants most often have indigestion, and children of school age - acutely contagious diseases? The nature of childhood diseases depends largely on age characteristics of the body and from the child's environment.

Intrauterine period of child development

Human development goes through two stages: intrauterine and extrauterine. The intrauterine period lasts about 9 months (270 days). The correct development of the fetus depends mainly on the state of health of the mother, the conditions of her work, life. Some maternal illnesses (especially viral infections), malnutrition, and an unhealthy lifestyle can lead to stillbirth, developmental defects, deformities, and diseases in the neonatal period and in the later life of the baby.

Neonatal period

The first period of extrauterine development - the neonatal period - lasts 3-4 weeks from the moment of birth. The newborn enters completely new conditions of life: from the sterile, that is, microbial, uterine period of development, the child passes to life in an external environment inhabited by microbes and rich in various irritants. He must adapt to the new conditions of life, but the immaturity of the organs in the systems of the body of the newborn, including the central nervous system, makes this adaptation rather complicated, so the body of the newborn is especially unstable and vulnerable.

Of the diseases in this period, in addition to birth defects development and congenital infections (malaria, syphilis, less often tuberculosis, etc.), various injuries, diseases of the navel and umbilical wound are noted. At this age, there are often inflammatory processes skin, pustular rashes. High susceptibility to certain microbes with structural features of the skin of newborns often leads, under the influence of a minor infection, to severe general blood poisoning - sepsis.

Physiology of the infant

The next period, infancy, lasts mostly 1 year. (Some consider it big - up to 1.5 years.) At this age, metabolism intensifies, the child grows and develops rapidly. In the first six months of life, he doubles his weight, by the year he triples. The length of the body increases by 20-25 cm. Such increased growth also requires enhanced nutrition. However, the digestive organs of the child are not yet sufficiently adapted to the digestion of food, since during the period of uterine development, nutrition occurred through the mother's body. Minor errors in feeding a child (for example, overfeeding) easily disable the digestive tract, cause indigestion of food, indigestion - dyspepsia (diarrhea). That is why at this age the so-called "acute disorders of digestion and nutrition" are especially often noted, which seriously affect the general condition of children.

Improper feeding, shortcomings in care, regimen and education, infectious diseases also lead to chronic eating disorders (malnutrition). At the same time, the correct development of the child is disturbed: he lags behind in weight and height, the highest nervous activity, the function of the most important organs and systems of the body, resistance to infection decreases.

Among the diseases of infants, rickets is especially common. Rickets is a disease of the whole organism associated with a violation of phosphorus-calcium metabolism. It occurs as a result of a lack of vitamins in food, mainly vitamin D, adverse environmental conditions - insufficient exposure to air, sun, poor child care. With rickets, the nervous system is affected (excitability, anxiety, sweating, poor sleep appear), the skeletal system (there is a softening of the bones of the skull, curvature of long tubular bones, in severe cases, their fractures), the muscular system, the function of other organs and systems of the body is disturbed. Rickets is also dangerous because it retards the mental development of children; such guys begin to sit, stand, walk much later than healthy ones.

Sometimes in the first months of life, manifestations of exudative diathesis are also observed. There are inflammatory lesions of the skin and mucous membranes (seborrhea, eczema, pruritus, urticaria, diaper rash), frequent runny nose, bronchitis.

Protect infants from acute illnesses respiratory tract including pneumonia (inflammation of the lungs). Pulmonary diseases in young children are very difficult and cause complications in the form of suppurative processes (pleurisy, etc.). Complications often lead to inflammation of the middle and inner ear and are accompanied by diarrhea.

Measles, scarlet fever, diphtheria up to six months of life are relatively rare, especially up to three months. This is due to innate immunity - the body's immunity to disease. After birth, the baby receives valuable substances from the mother's milk that increase its resistance to infection.

During the neonatal period and infancy, the highest morbidity and mortality in children is observed. Therefore, parents should especially carefully follow all the instructions of the doctor and nurse on the care, regimen and nutrition of the child.

Preschool and preschool periods of development

The third period - pre-preschool (from 1 to 3 years) and the fourth - preschool (from 3 to 7 years) are characterized by the further growth and development of the child, but the growth rate is much lower compared to infancy. The child's living conditions change dramatically - he begins to walk, get acquainted with the objects around him, with the external environment. Transfer from breastfeeding to a varied diet increases the risk of infection. Therefore, during these periods, especially in preschool, helminthic diseases are often observed. Innate immunity and the resistance to diseases that a child receives with mother's milk weaken after a year. Children at this age are ill with measles, whooping cough, scarlet fever, chickenpox. The danger of the disease is even more enhanced if children are not vaccinated in a timely manner, thanks to which immunity is artificially produced in the body. Repeated vaccinations are also very important - they strengthen the body's immunity to the disease.

During preschool and preschool periods, further development and strengthening the whole body of the child. The digestive organs adapt to a new diet, so gastrointestinal diseases, exudative diathesis in preschool age are less common. The respiratory organs are also strengthened, respiratory diseases are less severe, especially at preschool age, complications such as ear diseases appear less often. Tuberculosis gives a more favorable outcome than in infants. Mortality in children is much lower.

Age periods of child development: Junior school age

The fifth period is the junior school age (from 7 to 12 years). At this age, children's communication with the environment expands. The children go to school and are part of a team. Infectious diseases are especially dangerous for this age. Very often, the disease spreads through the air - a capillary infection. Therefore, it is important to carefully monitor the cleanliness of the premises in schools, and regularly ventilate the classrooms.

Rheumatism is also recognized as a disease of school age. In recent years, some scientists talk about the rejuvenation of this disease, that is, that rheumatism began to appear more often at preschool age and even at preschool age, but still it is mainly a disease of school age, and the disease is severe, leading to deep lesions of the cardiovascular system. system, to early disability of children. The causes of the disease and its causative agent have not yet been established. However, it is indisputable that the general strengthening of the body by hardening, proper nutrition, the mode of employment and rest contributes to the development of aversion to this disease. Curvature of the spine and myopia are recognized as school diseases, which are largely associated with the wrong position of the body during classes at school and at home. With the wrong regimen, insufficient physical education and exposure to fresh air, anemia and diseases of the nervous system develop in children.

Adolescence period of child development

The sixth period is the period of puberty, or adolescence (from 12 to 18 years). Rapid growth at this age leads to diseases associated with a mismatch, a disproportion between the growth and size of some organs (for example, the heart is the so-called "youthful heart"), as well as some functional disorders of the endocrine glands, especially often the thyroid, disorders of the nervous system - neuropathy, etc. During adolescence, a period of rapid growth and transition to maturity, diseases are of an acute nature of outbreaks. In this regard, tuberculosis is especially dangerous.

Thus, the nature of the disease in children is closely related to the characteristics of their body at different age periods and with the conditions surrounding the child. At different periods of childhood, the nature of diseases and their course change.

The main task of health care is not only to treat diseases, but also to prevent their occurrence. And the task of parents is to provide daily assistance in this: to monitor the timely conduct of protective vaccinations, for systematic physical education, sports, for the correct position of the child's body when doing homework, to approach children correctly, taking into account their age and individual characteristics.

The joint care of parents and health officials will help to raise our young generation to be healthy, cheerful, well resistant to infection.

Tags: age periods of child development, physiology of development, diseases of children of different ages, physiological development of a child in different periods of life.

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With the help of age periodization, an attempt is made to highlight common patterns life cycle person. Thanks to the breakdown into periods life path it is easier to see the patterns of personality development due to the specifics of different age stages.
At the 1965 international symposium on developmental physiology, it was agreed to single out 7 periods of development in childhood and adolescence:

1. newborn- the first decade after birth (10 days).
2. Breast age- from 11 days after reaching the year.
3. Early childhood- 1-3 years.
4. First baby period- 3-8 years.
5. Second childhood period- 8-11 and 8-12 years (for girls and boys, respectively).
6. Teenage years- 12-15 years and 13-16 years (for girls and boys, respectively);
7. Youth period- 16-20 years old and 17-21 years old (for girls and boys, respectively).

Depending on the criterion of psychological periodization, different life periods of a person are noted. But regardless of the chosen bases of periodization, most theories converge around the same age stages.

Erickson's stages of development

E. Erickson, a psychologist from the USA, identified several psychosocial stages in personality development that affect life from early childhood to adolescence.

Infancy - from birth to a year

Thanks to the care of the mother at this moment, the foundations of personality are laid, such as confidence, a sense of trust, inner certainty. The baby trusts the society, which is limited for him by the personality of the mother. But if the mother is insolvent, unreliable, rejects the child, then suspiciousness, a feeling of distrust is laid.

Early childhood - 1-3 years

During this period, the baby learns to act independently - crawl, stand, walk, eat, dress, wash, etc. At this stage, his identity can be expressed by the formula "I myself." Reasonable permissiveness contributes to the formation of the independence of the baby. If there is excessive guardianship or, on the contrary, parents expect too much from the child, what is beyond his capabilities, then in these cases he experiences self-doubt, doubts, shame, weakness and humiliation.

Age of games - 3-6 years

At the preschool stage, there is a conflict between guilt and initiative. Children begin to be interested in different professions, they willingly contact their peers, try new things, easily go to education and training, seeing in front of them specific purpose.The main sense of identity at this age becomes "I am what I will be." By encouraging fantasies, independence and undertakings of the child, the development of initiative, creative abilities is strengthened, thus expanding the boundaries of his independence. If you limit the activity of the child and "strangle" him with control, then he will develop a sense of guilt. Children with a sense of guilt are constrained, passive, and will not be able to work productively in the future.

Methods of early development of children

Early development children is a topic of interest to most modern parents who want to give ...

School age - 6-12 years

At this age, the child seriously goes beyond the family circle, the process of systematic learning begins. Schoolchildren are absorbed in the process of cognition: what, how and from what it turns out. Now the identity of the child can be characterized by the words "I am what I could learn." In the process of schooling, children learn the rules of active participation and conscious discipline. This period is dangerous because there may be a feeling of incompetence, inferiority, doubts about the status among peers or about one's abilities.

Youth - 12-19 or 13-20 years old for different sexes

This is the most important of the periods of psychosocial human development. Growing up from a child, but not yet an adult, a teenager at this time is faced with unfamiliar social roles and specific requirements. Adolescents strive to evaluate the world, build their attitude towards it, spontaneously looking for answers to important questions for themselves: “who am I?”, “Who do I want to become?”. They are overwhelmed by a piercing sense of their own uselessness, aimlessness, mental discord, which sometimes throws them into negative self-identification and deviant behavior. Role confusion, identity crisis makes it difficult to choose between continuing education and career search. Sometimes there are doubts about their gender identity. The success of the exit from the crisis of the young period can be expressed in the appearance of a positive quality - fidelity, when a teenager, having made a choice, having found his way in life, remains true to the obligations imposed on himself, he accepts the foundations of society and then adheres to them.

Patterns of child development and its periodization according to Vygotsky

Soviet psychologist L. S. Vygotsky identified 4 main features or patterns child development.
Cyclicity. The development process has a rather complex structure over time, the content and speed of development are constantly changing throughout childhood. So, the growth and intensive development at some point change into attenuation and slowdown. The value of a month in the development of an infant is much greater than the value of a month in a teenager, since in the first case the development cycle is more intense.
Uneven development of different aspects of the personality, for example, mental functions. In some periods, the mental function dominates, develops most intensively, while the development of other functions recedes into the shadows and depends only on the dominant function. In each age period, the restructuring of interfunctional relationships begins, a new function comes to the fore, and new dependencies are established between the remaining functions.
According to Vygotsky, there are two successive types of age periods: stable and critical. Here is his periodization:

1. Crisis of the newborn.
2. Infancy - 2-12 months.
3. Crisis of the first year.
4. Early childhood - 1-3 years.
5. Crisis of three years.
6. Preschool age - 3-7 years.
7. Crisis of seven years.
8. School age - 8-12 years.
9. Crisis 13 years.
10. Pubertal age - 14-17 years.
11. Crisis 17 years.

Periodization and leading activities according to Elkonin

The Soviet psychologist D. B. Elkonin believed that each age has its own system of activities, however, a leading activity occupies a special place in it. At the same time, the leading activity is not necessarily the one that takes the child more time, but the one that is the main one in its significance for the development of the psyche. In accordance with the leading activities, Elkonin also identifies periods of child development:

Features of the development of preschool children

Each age of a person has its own level of mental, physical and social development. ...

1. Infancy when the communication of a child with an adult is of a direct, emotional nature.
2. Early age (1-3 years) with a predominance of objective activity.
3. Preschool age (3-7 years old) with a predominance of role-playing games.
4. Junior school age (8-12 years old) with the dominance of educational activities.
5. Adolescence (11-15 years old) with personal and intimate communication with peers.
6. Youth.

Within the activity itself, psychological neoplasms are distinguished. When one leading activity is replaced by another (for example, instead of a game activity of a preschooler, educational activity arises elementary school student), then a crisis ensues. According to the content, one can distinguish between relationship crises characteristic of 3 and 11 years old and worldview crises that occur at 1 year, 7 and 15 years.

Piaget's stages of cognitive development

The French-Swiss psychologist J. Piaget put at the forefront the stages of cognitive development, in other words, the level of development of the intellect.

Sensorimotor intelligence

It manifests itself from birth to one and a half to two years. During this period, the baby develops motor structures and feelings: sight, hearing, smell, tactile perception, manipulation, all this is done out of curiosity about the environment. For the baby, connections are opened between his actions and the result - pull the diaper over and get to the cherished toy lying on it. He also begins to understand that other objects exist independently of him, and is constantly learning to distinguish himself from the rest of the world.

Representative (concrete-operational) intelligence

It corresponds to the age of specific actions (2-11 years). The mental development of the baby reaches more high level. Here symbolic thinking develops, the internalization of actions begins, semiotic functions (mental image, language) are formed. Visual figurative representations objects that the baby designates no longer with direct actions, but with names.
At first, thinking has an illogical, subjective character, but after 7 years, sprouts of logical thinking are formed. Developmental stages can change faster or slower due to the cultural and social environment, if only in terms of how fully they provide the child with suitable tasks and materials for learning.
The transfer of ready-made knowledge, for example, cramming the correct answers, is ineffective, since development requires the manifestation of one's own activity in the construction and regulation of cognitive processes. The exchange of ideas, arguments and discussions with peers are also important for the development of thinking. In the transition to concrete-operational thinking, all mental processes, the ability to cooperate, moral judgments are restructured. But these logical operations remain concrete and are applied only to real objects and manipulations with them, since the reality of the child is represented by concrete content.

Formal operational intelligence

The period of formal operations, characteristic of formal operational intelligence, falls on the age of 11-15 years, during which abstract thinking is formed. Formal-operational structures can be observed when a child begins to reason hypothetically without any concrete support and regardless of the content of the subject area.
The basis of the logic of adults are formal thought processes, it is on them that the simplest scientific thinking is based, which manipulates hypotheses and uses deduction. With the help of abstract thinking, a person manages to build conclusions using the rules of combinatorics and formal logic. Thanks to this, a teenager can understand the theory, build his own, touch the adult worldview, temporarily leaving the limits of his own experience. With the help of hypothetical reasoning, a teenager enters the realm of the potential, although his idealized ideas can not always be verified, so they remain contrary to the actual state of affairs.

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Naive idealism

Piaget defined the cognitive egocentrism of adolescents as the “naive idealism” of the adolescent, who ascribes unlimited power to thinking, thus striving to make a more perfect world. But when a teenager takes on adult social roles, then he encounters obstacles, he has to take into account external circumstances. This is how the final intellectual decentration takes place in the new sphere.

Pedagogical periodization

Pedagogical periodization is associated with the division educational institutions for preschool ( kindergarten and nursery) and school (all school stages). There are 6 periods here:

1. Infancy - from birth to a year.
2. Early childhood - 1-3 years.
3. Preschool period - 3-6 years.
4. Junior school period - 6-10 years.
5. The average school period is 10-15 years.
6. Senior school period - 15-18 years.

Knowledge of the most important stages of the individual development of children and the problems arising at these stages is the most important condition for effective upbringing and educational work that forms life skills that help strengthen and maintain health.
Since there is no generally accepted definition of adolescence and adolescence, the UN began to consider people 10-19 years old as teenagers, and 15-24 years old as young people, which is used for statistics so as not to confuse the wording of UN member countries. Adolescents and youth are collectively referred to as "young people" with an age range of 10-24 years. In the Convention on the Rights of the Child, all persons under the age of 18 are considered children.

Each child goes through age stages of development, which are accompanied by mental, physical, personal changes. In addition, in the course of the age development of the child, new skills and abilities are mastered, knowledge is acquired and character traits are formed. For education to be effective, it must correspond to the age development of the child. Let's discuss the basic norms of child development.

Stages of age development of the child

• from conception to childbirth - intrauterine age stage;
• from birth to a year - infancy;
• from one to three years - an early age stage;
• from three to 7 years old - preschool age stage;
• from 7 to 12 years old - primary school age;
• from 12 to 16 years old - senior school age.

Child development in infancy

Let's talk a little about intrauterine development baby, since this period is of great importance and leaves an imprint on the whole future life of a person. It is during the prenatal period that the foundations of systems and organs are laid, the baby learns to hear, see and breathe. Already at the 14th week, the child remembers the sound of his mother's voice, hears music. For the proper development of a child in infancy, even during pregnancy, it is important to talk affectionately with him, listen to calm classical music.

The age development of a child in infancy is as follows:

• Physiological parameters at the time of birth: weight 3-4 kg, height 48-55 cm.
• The newborn baby is highly affected environment, vulnerable and unprotected. Therefore, proper care, provision of comfortable and convenient conditions is extremely necessary for him. In the infant period, the baby begins to show interest in the world around him, the environment in the room and in close people, he strives for knowledge. The main source of information for the baby is tactile sensations, he wants to feel and try everything.
• In the second half of the year, the baby pays attention to colors, he is interested in bright objects. Also, the baby perceives space and begins to navigate in it.
• From the age of 7 months, the child is able to shift small objects, and by the year he is already able to use objects for their intended purpose.

Age norms for the development of a child 1-3 years old

In the age period from 1 to 3 years, the child grows by another 25 cm, and adds up to 4 kg in weight. The main thing for the child during this period is social interaction. The kid not only learns to interact with peers and adults, but also masters the ways of acquaintance, the principles of friendship, etc.

By the age of three, the crumbs show a desire for independence, he tries to be independent from his parents. Also, the baby is already aware of himself as a separate person and learns to evaluate his actions and predict situations. Almost every three-year-old kid is a big dreamer.

In accordance with the developmental standards of a child 1-3 years old, he should be able to:

• build a tower of cubes;
• kick the ball;
• put together large, simple puzzles;
• show exploratory interest in objects and the environment (break toys to inspect the contents, etc.);
• fold simple sentences from 5 words;
• perform simple tasks of adults;
• draw a straight line vertically;
• name parts of your body and show them;
• recite quatrains;
• asking to use the toilet on their own;
• undress and dress with some help from parents;
• eat from a plate and drink from a cup;
• cut paper with scissors;
• wash and dry hands.

An indispensable stage in the development and age-related feature of a child of three years is a crisis of 3 years, which in each individual case can proceed according to its own scenario. In most children, the crisis is manifested by stubbornness, negativism and aggression towards others, in some children compliance and compassion prevail.

Three-year-olds are in dire need of adult approval and praise. They actively develop speech and thinking. by the most milestone development and age feature of a child of three years is the game process through which the baby learns the world and assimilates information.

Age norms for the development of a preschool child

TO preschool age covers a period of three to seven years. It is during this period that the laying of the personal qualities of the character of the baby takes place, and the personal mechanisms of behavior are formed. Most often, he tries to be like his own parents. The child is in dire need of communication with peers.

From three to seven years old, the child is actively developing all mental processes: attention, memory, imagination, thinking, etc. The kid is preparing for school, practicing various tasks, learning to take responsibility and perform feasible duties in the family.

Children during this period are able to think logically and make correct conclusions.

An important stage in the development and age peculiarity of a preschool child is the crisis of 6 years. The child is dominated by a demonstrative form of behavior, his mood is unstable, negative and joyful emotions quickly replace each other, the child often behaves and grimaces. Also during this period, the child's rapid growth occurs, it stretches, body proportions change, milk teeth are replaced.

A child at this age knows:

• geometric figures;
• differences in objects in color and shape;
• concepts of length, height and size;
• mathematical signs, numbers and letters;
• count to 10 and back.

Also, the child is able to easily find unnecessary objects, compose a story from a picture, conduct a monologue and dialogue.

Junior school age stage

The age norms for the development of a school-age child are as follows:

• he feels like an "adult" and behaves accordingly;
• the authority of parents is reduced;
• he is able to plan his activities, follow the rules and adopt new social orders.

During the period of the senior school age stage of development, the child is preparing to enter adulthood, however, childish manners and actions are still present in his behavior. Also, this period of age development of the child includes the time of puberty, and multiple changes occur in the body and personality of a teenager, which requires understanding and participation from parents.