Humans go through the different steps throughout their life; they will change and develop. These development changes can be organized into 4 sections: physical, intellectual, emotional and social. Throughout my work I will be showing the differences between each life stage.
Infant
0-2 Months
They wouldn't be able to lift their own head. They can respond to sounds by moving their head to the direction of the sound. They cannot see clearly yet. As well as that their only way of communicating is by crying, when they do this, it usually means they want something. As well as that they can only see black and white. They will be very emotional at this point, which is why they usually smile so much and cry so much. They wouldn't be very smart which is the reason why parents are so important. For example, you need to make sure that they don't have any sharp objects nearby. They will not be very clever; this is due to their brain not being fully developed and they haven't really learned anything. This is why for parents looking after their children they can have maternity leave because it is very stressful.
6-7 Months
At this point they can rollover, sit up, reach for objects, see color and respond to their own name. At this stage they are a lot more active and can move more freely for example they are able might be able to crawl. They are more independent. They will still cry when they want something they might be happy when engaging in social interaction. They will be a bit smarter for example understand games like peek-a-boo. They will also be happy to communicate with people more, for example, if you are playing a game, they will smile a lot. They will want more attention as well. At this stage you will noticeably see the excitement in which they get from seeing parents.
8-12 Months
Throughout this age range the child can usually crawl, pull himself up to stand, walk holding onto furniture and maybe say ‘dadda’ and ‘momma’, also they will start teething. They will become a lot more independent and will become taller and have growth spurts regularly. They will become less emotional as they are not as dependent on parents, this is due to being more mobile. However, they will mumble a lot to try to figure out how to talk.
They will be fast learning for example learning how to open a drink due to mimicking parents. They will however not be very safe as they are not very aware of danger yet. This shows that in some areas you could class them as being quite clever however in other areas they are not clever. They will constantly babble and crawl to parents so they wont to be social. They will cry if not picked up because they want to be close to parents.
1-2 Years
While at this stage the infant can walk independently, jump, carry toys while walking. They can also run, kick a ball, climb on/off furniture, walk up/down stairs using support. Furthermore, they can scribble, form basic sentences, recognize shapes and colors also they are usually more dependent. They will be quite challenging as they are becoming more defiant. They will also smart to smile at familiar faces. When strangers make contact with them, they will usually be quite shy. Start forming basic sentences. They will be able to develop fine motor skills and problem solving to a higher degree.
Early Childhood
Years 3-4
To start with at this stage, they are a lot more independent. The reason being that they can go to the toilet/ potty by their self. As well as that they are at school, this means that they are not with the parents. You can see the difference at this point with their height as they will be a lot taller. They will have better coordination at this age for example riding a bike with stabilizers. They will start to form friendships. Also, they will be able to control emotions more. They will be more open with their wants. As they're at school they can start to solve problems easier and will start to learn to write and use a pencil. As well as that they will start drawing more. They will form friendships at school due to playing with them. Could start to form relationships with activities outside of school as well.
Years 5-6
At this age they will be quite confident in active movements. They should be able to write and draw in a controlled manner. Also, they should be learning to color in within the lines and catch a medium sized balls. The child will have a much better control over displaying emotions. You will see less outburst of anger, there is an increase in patience. Being more involved with the world might lead to more fears. A vast improvement in hand and eye coordination and they will start with things like puzzles. They will also be more imaginative with play. They would be better at the subjects they are learning at school. A wider circle of friends would be clear to see they may start to go to things like youth clubs.
Years 7-10
At this point they will be a lot more independent as they will start to have found an interest for example football. They will be doing a lot more work at school as well. As well as that they will be significantly taller as the months go by. They will also be more emotionally attached with friends. More emotional over school work preparing for SATS. As well as that will start to form better motor skills for example better handwriting. Also they will have a lot of skills in which they will work on and develop. Also, they will start to apply logic and reasoning to events. They will also have many friends and will not be as shy meeting someone new.
Adolescence
Years 12-15
At this point they will be in full time school. While at school they will usually try to push the boundaries and rules. They will be strongly influenced by friends and will probably be going through puberty. Their height will rocket up. Throughout this stage you may see a lot of emotions displayed by the adolescent, they will have mood swings, they may also be quite depressed. They will be going through a lot of changes in their body, for example the start of periods and the growth of pubic hair. Their work will be a lot more difficult so they will develop skills more. This will usually be the time in which they mature as they don't have as much time to play around. At this point they have a set friend group. They may start to develop a sexual orientation. They may have relationships as well.
Years 16-17
Most of the physical changes have taken place so now they will have a fixed height for a while. There will be a lot of stress due to work and start of adulthood. Have a good grip on their emotions and when to display them. May become more emotional due to pressure from parents. A big development on previous skills will be made. They may know the course of their life in more depth. Social groups may decline in numbers as people advance in different pathways. They may go out more as there is more social opportunities.
Adulthood
Early Adulthood (Years 18-29)
Their physical body is fully developed, however new things like grey hairs will start to develop. There is usually a gain/loss of weight. There facial hair may also start thickening. Emotions will fluctuate for example starting first job would be a happy event, on the other hand, breaking up with long term relationships would be a depressing time. If having a baby, the emotions would most likely change rapidly. They may learn new things through their life but not as rapidly as school. They will gain new colleagues due to job, however may lose connections will older friends.
Middle Adulthood (Years 30-60)
Through this life stage wrinkles will be more prominent and skin will start to lose elasticity. They may start to lose hair and remaining hair turning grey. Women may go through the menopause and men will start to feel less sexually aroused due to hormones changing. They are more emotionally stable due to permanent income of job. Women may have mood swings due to the menopause. No significant learning would take place at this age (usually). However, some people at this age may still read so may learn little things. Also, they usually have established friends. May have more of a social life due to no longer looking after children. They may have more friends due to this.
Later Adulthood (Years 60+)
They may have lost all or mostly all hair. They will start to have growth of hair in nostrils and ears. Many people will have physical disabilities, also the skeleton may start to shrink in size. There is a roller coaster of emotions. For example, loss of partner causing depression and sadness, on the other hand relaxation due to retirement. Also, they may become grandparents. At this age things like dementia and Alzheimer's are more prominent, which causes the loss of intellect. Social circle may decrease as times goes by due to friends passing away. But may meet new people due to going to a day centre or care home. As you will see at this age whether that be at a care home the people within this age range may be more understanding of the process of dying due to being older. You will see emotions like depression due to this, however you may also see them being happy due to using money to have fun. They will usually spend a lot of money, because of the savings over the years. Also, they will usually reflect on their life at this stage so they may try to put things right.
So, as we can see, people go through various stages of development and undergo various changes throughout their lives.