U2 : Developmental Transitions

• Milestones

  A significant skill or event occurring in a person's life (learning to walk, getting a job, having a child.
• Prenatal

  • From fertilisation until birth
  • Development of the bodily organs and structures
  • Substantial growth
• Fertilisation

  When a sperm penetrates an egg and they form one complete cell, called a zygote which is a combination of the father and mother's chromosomes.
• Infany

  • Birth - 2nd Birthday
  • Rapid growth
  • Motor skills
• Early Childhood

  • 2nd - 6th Birthday
  • Slow and steady growth
  • Accomplishment of many new skills
  • Learns social skills and will make new friends
• Late Childhood

  • 6th - 12th Birthday
  • Slow and steady growth
  • Many physical, social, emotional and intellectual changes (refining readings & writing skills, honing motor skills, develop LTM)
• Youth

  • 12th - 18th Birthday
  • Rapid growth
  • Increased independence & more complex relationships
  • Sexual Maturity
  • Life goals development
• Early Adulthood

  • 18th - 40th Birthday
  • Deciding on a career
  • Choose life partner, get married, have children
  • Body reaches physical peak around 25-30, followed by a steady decline thereafter
  • Period of maintenance and repair
• Middle Adulthood

  • 40th - 65th Birthday
  • Stability in work & relationships
  • Further development of identity
  • Financial security
  • Physical signs of aging and menopause
  • 'Empty Nest Syndrome'
• Late Adulthood

  • 65 until Death
  • Change in lifestyle due to retirement and financial security
  • Greater participation in voluntary work and leisure activities
  • Reflection on life and achievements
  • Grief associated with death of friends/spouse
• Perceptions

  Beliefs or opinions based on how things seem.
• Youth Perceptions

  (-) Youth are frightening, lazy or selfish

  (-) Youth lack the maturity of past generations

  (-) Youth are narcissistic

  (+) Youth are positive, ambitious, hard working and happy

  (+) Youth have many opportunities and are fortunate to live at this time and in this society
• Adulthood Perceptions

  • Early - Peak physically, contributing to society by being productively employed and being responsible citizens.
  • Middle - Out of touch with society.
  • Late - Wise and experienced seen as a source of information and expertise.
• Development

  Refers to the orderly, predictable and sequential changes that occur in individuals from conception to death (PIES)
• Physical Development (MCG)

  Changes that occur to the body and its systems. It includes external changes that you can see, such as changes in height, and internal changes you cannot see, such as the increasing size of the heart.

  (Motor skill development, Changes to body systems, Growth)
• Intellectual Development (CAPTLMK)

  The increase in complexity of processes in the brain, such as thought, knowledge and memory. Occurs as a result of the changing processes that occur within the brain and the increasing complexity of the brain.

  (Creativity, Attention, Problem solving, Thought patterns, Language, Memory, Knowledge)
• Emotional Development (BLED)

  Experiencing the full range of emotions and being able to appropriately express them. Resilience develops as individuals experience negative emotions, and is a key component of emotional development.

  (Building resilience, Learning appropriate ways of expressing & communicating emotions, Experiencing the full range of emotions, Developing self concept)
• Social Development (CRBS)

  Refers to the increasing complexity of behaviour patterns used in relationships with other people.

  (Communication skills, Relationship skills, Behaviours, Social roles)
• Relationship

  A connection between two or more people or groups of people.
• Gross Motor Skills

  Learning to control body movements that involve the coordination of large muscle groups such as walking, throwing, skipping, kicking
• Fine Motor Skills

  Learning to control body movements that involve the coordination of small muscle groups such as writing, sewing, turning a page.
• Primary Sex Characteristics

  Those parts of the body directly involved in reproduction (penis enlargement, first ejaculation, first ovulation, first menstruation)
• Secondary Sex Characteristics

  Changes that occur to both females and males and are not directly related to production & not present at birth (skin becomes oily, body hair, voice lowers, fat to muscle ratio)
• Authoritarian

  Rules set & children expected to follow without question or else  they are punished. Often results in children with lower levels of emotional and mental H&W.
• Authoritative

  Have rules but allow some exceptions. Use consequences rather than punishment & include positive rewards. Children with these types of parents usually develop good decision making skills.
• Permissive

  No discipline and take on the role of friend more than parent. Rarely discourage bad behaviour. Children often have issues with authority & rules, causing difficulties at school. Often report sadness and poor mental health.
• Uninvolved

  No interest and do not meet child's basic needs. Often parents are affected by mental health or substance abuse problems. Children feel rejected and have poor self esteem.
• Parenting

  Broadly refers to the activity of raising a child. It includes a set of behaviours that characterise how parents interact on a daily basis to meet the needs of their child
• Placenta

  An organ that connects the developing foetus to the uterine wall to allow nutrient uptake, waste elimination, and gas exchange via the mother's blood supply.
• Maternal Diet

  PROTECTIVE FACTOR

  • Ensuring a healthy balanced diet. Important that women have folate, iodine & iron prior to and during pregnancy.

  RISK FACTOR

  • Undernourished women will have an underdeveloped foetus and risk of low birthweight when born.
  • Bacteria listeria monocytogenes can increase risk of miscarriage, stillbirth or premature labour.
• Folate

  •Required for DNA synthesis, formation of red blood cells & development of the NS of the foetus.

  •Reduces risk of neural tube defects (neural tube houses the brain & spinal cord of the embryo)

  •Spina bifida is most common NTD and occurs when the neural tube fails to close during the development of embryo (involves walking difficulties, incontinence, deformities)
• Iodine

  •Promotes optimal brain and NS development

  •Iodine added to food items (salt) but many people are reducing salt intake to lower rates of CVD so therefore becoming iodine deficient
• Iron

  •Iron required due to the increased demand for oxygen for the foetus as well as increased energy needs of mother.

  •Iron helps carry oxygen around body.

  •Iron deficiency during pregnancy can lead to a premature birth and low birthweight baby.
• Alcohol use during Pregnancy

  •Can cause infertility (limit alcohol consumption even when trying to conceive)

  •Alcohol crosses placenta to baby’s blood

  •Restricts blood supply to foetus

  •Foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD)
• Parental Smoking & Tobacco Smoke

  •Chemicals from cigarettes reduce oxygen flow to placenta and exposes foetus to toxins

  •Increases risk of spontaneous abortion, LBW, birth defects, mortality)

  •Passive smoking can lead to the same H&W impacts as maternal smoking
• Teratogen

  Substances in the environment o the embryo that can cause defects in development (tobacco, alcohol, shellfish)
• Low Birth Weight (LBW)

  Low birth weight may indicate that the body's systems are underdeveloped, which means the risk of developing a range of health and development problem increases.

  • reduced coordination
  • impaired motor skill development
  • greater likelihood of impaired learning capabilities
• Obesity

  •Overconsumption of CHO, saturated fats, increased screen time, busy lifestyles and lack of outdoor space make it easy for young children to overeat and harder for them to be active.

  •A child is more likely to make healthy food choices and be active if they see caregivers eating healthily and being active.
• Proximodistal Development

  The spinal cord develops before outer parts of the body (torso develops first)
• Cephalocaudal Development

  Growth & development follow a pattern that starts wit the head then proceeds to the rest of the body (head to toe)