Periods of human maturation. Age periodization of human development. Younger age: toddler period

A person goes through different age periods from birth to death.

There are several popular scientific approaches who consider this issue from a social and pedagogical point of view.

Concept

Age periodization is a classification of the level of human development depending on his age, from birth to death.

This indicator has not only social, psychological, but also legal significance.

Thus, at a certain age, criminal liability begins, the right to represent one’s interests, the right to vote, the right to receive a pension, etc. appear.

Any stage of a person’s life has its own characteristics, problems and priorities. Each segment of life corresponds to a certain level of socialization, a specific mental state.

Periodization of mental development

Mental development- this is a person’s state by which one can judge the level of maturity of his personality from a psychological point of view. Psychological age consists of the following components:

In reality, individual components of a person’s psychological age may not coincide at all with each other and with real biological age.

Classification by year

General classification by year in the table:

Principles and approaches

The classification is based on the assessment of the following indicators:

The basis of periodization is determining a person's real age, which is characterized by the above features.

At the same time, additional analysis of the mental and biological state allows for a more individual approach to personality assessment.

Elkonina

D.B. Elkonin was inclined to believe that age gradation has great scientific significance. The construction of a competent classification allows us to determine the driving forces of human development at each stage of his life.

The knowledge obtained as a result contributes to the formation of the most complete pedagogical system, the development of effective rules for educating the younger generation.

The scientist attached particular importance to the early stages of a person’s life, when the basic system of values ​​is laid and a worldview is formed. Standard age phases Elkonin divided into periods:

Each period is assessed according to four indicators:

• social impact— the influence of society on the formation of a child’s personality;
• leading activities- type of activity that has a priority impact on the mental state;
• a crisis— a negative period within each phase that must be overcome in order to move to the next level.
• neoplasms— knowledge, skills and abilities that have emerged at a new stage.

Erickson

E. Erikson identified 8 stages of personality development, each of which corresponds to specific task.

According to the scientist, at each stage when achieving a task, a person exhibits priority strengths and weaknesses.

Vygotsky

L.S. Vygotsky paid special attention to childhood because he believed that understanding the specifics of each stage of a child’s development gives parents the opportunity to adjust their behavior and better understand the child.

Periods identified by Vygotsky:

Vygotsky and his periodization of mental development:

Freud

Z. Freud believed that human behavior is the result of the work of his unconscious. The main driving force is sexual energy.

The scientist identified the following stages of development of sexuality:

Problems of periodization

The actual age of a person does not always coincide with the level of his mental development, with the degree of socialization.

Most of the outlined boundaries can be shifted in any direction, taking into account the characteristics of a particular individual. The most vague boundaries periodization in relation to adolescence.

In any case, one period gives way to another, when qualities and properties appear that were not there before.

Transition to the next stage of development and attitude automatically means a change in life period.

Thus, at every stage of life, a person is characterized by certain features emotional, mental, intellectual development.

The issue of age periodization has worried many famous scientists and continues to arouse interest in modern science.

Based on a number of morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics, the entire life course of a person can be divided into periods or stages. There are no clearly defined boundaries between these periods, and they are largely arbitrary, yet establishing approximate boundaries of these periods based on objective criteria is a very important task. Periodization was based on the maturation of the gonads and the intensity of body growth. Attempts have been made to classify age periods based on dental characteristics.

The degree of development of the central nervous system, in particular the cerebral cortex, was also put forward as a criterion. Based on this trait, the authors tried to move away from a purely biological trait and find a biological-social one. However, despite many approaches to the periodization of individual development, it was not possible to find the optimal general biological or sociobiological criterion on which it is based. Meanwhile, the problem of age periodization is considered one of the most relevant for the entire complex of sciences that study human development.

Age is a period of human development, characterized by a set of specific patterns of formation of the body and personality.

Passport age is the chronological age of an individual from the moment of birth to the end of life.

Biological age is characterized by growth, maturation and aging, as well as other biological indicators, i.e. biological age reflects the biological evolution of a person.

The psychological characteristic of age is a certain qualitatively unique stage of mental development of a person as an individual and as a person.

The age of cultural development is an indicator of cultural self-determination and self-development of an individual at each stage of his development, mastery of cultural rules and norms of behavior and activity relative to chronological age.

The social characteristic of age is a reflection of the child’s inclusion in a certain system of social relations and the degree of his social maturity.

There are many schemes for dividing into age periods.

The classification of ages of life, according to Pythagoras, is as follows:

1. Formation period - 0-20 years (spring).

2. Young man - 20-40 years old (summer).

3. A person in the prime of life - 40-6Q years old (autumn).

4. Old and fading person - 60-80 years old (winter).

From Antiquity, the Middle Ages adopted reasoning about the stages of human life, which was most often divided into seven periods. Their characteristics could be found in Hippocrates, Philo of Judea, Galen and many others. In Orthodox countries, the text about the ages of man first became known through the writings of John Chrysostom. Here is how it is said in one of the books: “The first week is when a person is seven years old from his birth: attack of teeth, gentleness, meekness and lack of understanding, pranks in games and all the thoughts of a child...

The second week is when a person experiences two times seven from his birth, i.e. 14 years old, he comes into disintegration, characteristic of youth, and is overwhelmed, there is carnal lust, emission of semen and absurd violence... The third week is when a person happens three times seven, i.e. 21 years old, then he is a violent and rebellious young man, evil thoughts of fornication and drunkenness, and many other absurd riots often nest in his mind. But then, he begins to lightly listen to the meaning, comes to his senses and follows the teachings of his elders, imitating everything and succeeding in everything...”

Augustine also gives a brief description of the ages (childhood, adolescence, youth, masculinity, old age), but, unlike other authors, he speaks of the existence of “spiritual ages”, characteristic of people growing spiritually and developing their minds. These ages correspond “not to the number of years, but to (internal) success.” There are also divisions into two, three, four, five, six and even nine periods.

In our domestic science, the classification proposed by N.P. has been widespread for a long time. Gundobin.

This classification is based on some biological characteristics of a growing organism and distinguishes the following periods:

1. The period of intrauterine development.

2. Newborn period (2-3 weeks).

3. Infancy - up to 1 year.

4. Pre-school, toddler age - from 1 year to 3 years.

5. Preschool age - from 3 to 7 years.

6. The period of adolescence, or junior school age, is from 7 to 12 years.

7. Adolescence - from 12 to 15 years.

8. Senior school age - from 14 to 18 years for girls and from 15-16 years to 19-20 for boys.

L.S. Vygotsky distinguished three groups of periodization: according to external criteria, according to one and several signs of child development. The first group includes periodizations created according to the biogenetic principle, when the process of a child’s individual development is built in accordance with the main periods of biological evolution and historical development of mankind, or periodizations in which the stages of childhood coincide with the stages of the system of education and upbringing of children.

In the second group of periodizations, an internal criterion is used. This criterion becomes any one aspect of development, for example the development of bone tissue (P.P. Blonsky) or the development of childhood sexuality (Z. Freud). P.P. In his classification, Blonsky distinguished toothless childhood, deciduous childhood, permanently toothed childhood, prepubertal and pubertal periods.

In the third group of periodizations, periods of a child’s mental development are distinguished on the basis of significant and not isolated features of this development. This group includes the periodizations of L.S. Vygotsky and D. B. Elkonin. They use three criteria - the social situation of development, leading activity and central age-related new formation.

To understand the human life cycle, it is necessary to determine the sequential change in developmental states, the unidirectionality and irreversibility of life time, i.e. topological characteristics of this time. At the same time, one should take into account the duration of existence of an individual, determined by the total life expectancy of all individuals of a given species - a metric characteristic of the life cycle and its individual moments.

Both of these characteristics are presented, for example, in the following age periodization scheme:

Newborns 1-10 days

Infant 10 days - 1 year

Early childhood 1-2 years

First period of childhood 3-07 years

Second period of childhood:

8-12 years old for boys

8-11 years old for girls

Adolescence:

13-16 years old for boys

12-15 years old for girls

Youth age:

17-21 years for men

16-20 years for women

Average age:

first period:

22-35 years for men

21-35 years for women

second period:

36-60 years for men

36-55 years for women

Aged people:

61-75 years for men

55-75 years for women

Senile age:

74-90 years for both sexes

Long-Livers:

Over 90 years old

In anthropology and psychophysiology, pediatrics and gerontology, more special classifications of periods of growth and maturation, on the one hand, and involutionary periods, on the other, are more often used. They focus on objective signs of the beginning and end of each age period, the duration of which can vary significantly among different individuals.

In pediatrics, for example, the following periodization of development is widely used:

1) intrauterine period;

2) neonatal period;

3) period of breastfeeding;

4) period of milk teeth;

5) period of adolescence;

6) period of puberty.

When using age periodization in practice, it should be borne in mind that the chronological framework of a person’s age and his morphological and psychophysiological characteristics are largely determined by social factors.

A number of authors consider the classification of D.B. to be more advanced. Bromley (1966, England). She views human life as a set of five cycles: uterine (pregnancy stage), childhood, adolescence, adulthood and aging. Each of these cycles consists of a number of stages, characterized by age dates (taking into account variability) and general developmental features.

The first cycle consists of four stages:

1) zygote (fertilized egg);

2) embryo (early stage of biological development);

3) fetus (late stage of biological development);

4) the moment of birth (change of life in the internal environment of the mother’s body to life in the external environment).

From this moment, development is determined by age (from birth) and is characterized by a change in methods of orientation, behavior and communication in the external environment.

The second cycle - childhood - consists of three stages, covering 11-13 years of life.

The first of these, infancy (from birth to 18 months of life), is characterized by many important developmental features. It is during this period that the child acquires basic skills of movement, perception and manipulation, and he develops a sensorimotor circuit that regulates behavior. Non-verbal communication develops very intensively, with the help of which the initial socialization of the individual is carried out. The child’s complete dependence on adults, especially on the mother, is of particular importance for initial socialization, the formation of communication needs and attachments, and the accumulation of communication experience necessary for further development.

The second stage of childhood (from 18 months to 5 years) - preschool childhood - is characterized by the development of perceptual, mnemonic and elementary thought processes (pre-operational ideas), complex manipulations and actions with things, and the accumulation of experience in behavior in various life situations. This stage is characterized by the intensive development of speech and the formation of verbal connections in the process of communication. However, along with them, earlier, non-verbal means of communication are also used (expressive forms of behavior: facial expressions, gestures, posture, intonation). Family and other social relationships in the immediate environment are gradually strengthened.

The third stage of childhood is early school childhood - from 5 to 11 or 13 years. This stage is characterized by the assimilation of culture through education, the development of the symbolic principle in thinking and behavior, the assimilation of specific grouping operations, etc. In many respects, this stage is crucial for the socialization of the individual, since it is carried out not only empirically, through the accumulation of behavioral experience in social environment, but also rationally, by mastering the foundations of morality and regulating connections on these foundations.

The cycle of adolescence consists of two stages:

1) puberty - high school childhood (early adolescence), lasting from 11-13 to 15 years.

2) late adolescence (15-21 years). Starting from this cycle, Bromley characterizes the development of certain shifts in personality, its status, roles, positions in society. At the same time, she tries to note the most important psychophysiological changes of the individual in different periods of life.

The first stage of adolescence is characterized by the intensive development of secondary sexual characteristics and productive functions, somatic development and neuropsychic maturation. During this period, a system of formal operations and logical structures is formed that increase the level of mental activity. Very significant; changes occur in social development: begins to act; a system of limited legal liability, new social roles and positions are being mastered. Behavior is focused on adult norms of behavior, and claims to adulthood are distinguished by many motives of behavior at this age.

The second stage of adolescence is the completion of the main phase of biological development, further education and vocational training, mastery of certain professional roles, and the beginning of an independent working and economic life. The transition from dependence (economic, legal, moral) to independence from parents is of decisive importance. It is this transition, acutely experienced by individual boys and girls, that, according to Bromley, explains the fact in social statistics that the peak of antisocial behavior occurs precisely in these years.

The cycle of adulthood consists of four stages:

1) early adulthood (21-25 years old);

2) middle adulthood (25-40 years);

3) late adulthood (40-55 years);

4) pre-retirement age (55-65 years), which is transitional to the old age cycle.

Early adulthood is mastery of the role of an adult, legal maturity, voting rights, economic responsibility - in general, full inclusion in all types of social activity of one's country. At this stage, one’s own family is formed and one’s own way of life is built: marriage, the birth of the first child, establishing a circle of acquaintances related to common work. At work, professional roles are mastered, professional training continues, and skill improvement begins.

D. B. Bromley characterizes middle adulthood as follows: years of “peak”, or optimum, intellectual achievements, consolidation of social and professional roles by type of service, accumulation of relatively permanent material resources and social connections, leadership in various types of activities and seniority in age among many employees and acquaintances, a slight decline in some physical and mental functions, manifested at maximum activity.

Late maturity has as its main features the continued establishment of special (by occupation) and social roles with the dominance of some of them and the weakening of others, the departure of children from the family and a change in lifestyle in connection with this, menopause, and a further decline in physical and mental functions. According to many experimental data, the midpoint of this stage of development is between 45-50 years.

Pre-retirement age is characterized by a more obvious decline in physical and mental functions, and a further weakening of sexual functions and interests. At the same time, these are the “peak” years for the most general social achievements - position in society, power and authority, partial exemption from occupations and selection of the most interesting social affairs for the individual. No less significant is the change in overall motivation in connection with preparation for the upcoming retirement lifestyle, anticipation of old age and resistance to its onset.

The aging cycle consists of three stages:

1) “retirement” (“retirement”, 65-70 years);

2) old age (70 years or more);

3) the last stage of decrepitude, painful old age and death (maximum - about 110 years in England and Western Europe).

The first of these stages is characterized by increased impressionability (susceptibility) to violations of the life stereotype, an increasing need for communication, an intensified sense of kinship and attachment to loved ones; release from official roles and public affairs or the continuation of some kind of activity in order to maintain authority and power; adaptation to new living conditions without constant and intense activities; deterioration of physical and mental condition.

Old age: complete unemployment in society, absence of any roles other than family ones, growing social isolation, gradual reduction in the circle of close people, especially among peers, physical and mental insufficiency.

The last stage - decrepitude, painful old age - is characterized by an increase in the phenomena of senility in behavior and the mental sphere, the final violation of biological functions, chronic painful conditions, and death.

The classification of ages according to the psychophysiological characteristics of development thus includes the following chain of phase transformations of the human life cycle: infancy, early childhood, childhood, adolescence, adolescence, youth, middle age, elderly, old, elderly (senility). The identification of adolescence and youth as special periods separated by the period of youth is dictated by the presence of new psychophysiological characteristics for development.

Periodization of childhood V.V. Zenkovsky is based on a philosophical understanding of the totality of various signs of age (psychological, related to socialization, etc.). The author identified three periods: childhood, adolescence and adolescence, and childhood, in turn, divided into early and second.

If in “early” childhood (after 1 year to 5-6.5 years) - the metaphysics of childhood - the foundations of the personal are laid and there is an initial indistinction between the subjective and objective world, then in “second” childhood there is a strict separation of the inner world and the outer world. Adolescence is associated with sexual maturation and with the adolescent’s turn to the inner world. In youth, the basis for the correct relationship between the inner and outer world is formed. Thus, childhood is the thesis, adolescence is the antithesis, and youth is the synthesis.

L.S. Vygotsky believed that the age periodization of a person should be considered in the context of his cultural and historical affiliation.

In his opinion, a child’s development consists of stable critical periods. The basic principles of dividing child development into separate ages are neoplasms, critical ages, etc. Age periodization, according to Vygotsky, is presented as follows: neonatal crisis; infancy (2 months - 1 year); crisis 1 year; early childhood; crisis 3 years; preschool age (3-7 years); crisis 7 years; school age; crisis 13 years; puberty (14-18 years); crisis 17 years.

Vygotsky’s concept became the basis for a number of ideas in which activity is the basis of an independent direction. Thus, the theory of activity arose (A.N. Leontiev and others), which is currently being developed by many authors.

Age periodization within the framework of the activity approach of D. B. Elkonin is expressed in the natural change and dominance of two spheres of activity in the period between birth and adolescence: motivational-need and cognitive functions, as well as operational and technical capabilities.

He identified periods: from 0 to 1 year - direct emotional communication between the baby and adults; from 1 to 3 years - object-manipulative activity, when the child learns how to operate with objects; 3-5 years - role-playing games, typical for preschoolers; 7-11 years old - educational activities of younger schoolchildren; 11-13 years old - socially useful activities for teenagers; 13/14-16/17 years - adolescence, which is characterized by professional and educational activities. Thus, each age has its own social development situation and leading activity.

A.V. Zaporozhets also attached special importance in development to leading activities in which the child’s relationships with people and objective activities typical for a given stage of development are realized: infancy (up to 1 year), early childhood (1-3 years), preschool age (3-7 years ), primary school age (7-12 years), adolescence (11-15 years), early adolescence (14-18 years). At the same time, Zaporozhets pointed out that such a periodization of age is devoid of truly scientific justification, since it is empirical and not conceptual in nature. Thus, in works reflecting the activity principle, the features of biological development are not disclosed.

Age periodization, according to A.V. Petrovsky, correlates with personality development. In the most general form, the development of a person’s personality can be represented as a process of entering a new social environment and integrating into it. Personality is formed in groups hierarchically located at the stages of ontogenesis.

Taking this into account, Petrovsky identified the following age stages of personality functioning: early childhood (preschool) age (0-3 years), kindergarten childhood (3-7 years), junior school age (7-11 years), middle school age (11-15 years), senior school age (15-18 years). The author adheres to the point of view that the unity of ideas about the formation of personality and the fundamental similarity of the variants of the social situation of development in a particular culture determine the typical psychological characteristics of children, adolescents or young men within the framework of school age, i.e. as a kind of standards.

The critical periods of childhood, accepted in modern science, are assessed by the authors differently:

a) as an indicator of the reflection of the body’s adaptation during the period of maturation (meaning puberty crisis), for example, E. Erikson’s idea of ​​a “normal crisis”;

6) as a “disease” of development, deviation from the norm (L.S. Vygotsky, L.I. Bozhovich, G.E. Sukhareva, P.K. Ushakov, V.V. Kovalev, I.Yu. Kulagina, etc. );

c) as an optional symptom of the transition from one stable age to another (A.N. Leontyev).

The main manifestations of any critical period are signs that are opposite to the signs of stable, or stable, age periods, namely: inability to educate, sensitivity (slight vulnerability, vulnerability), imbalance. At the same time, there are signs indicating a combination of creation and destruction, i.e. the coexistence of both positive and negative traits is possible (P.P. Blonsky, L.S. Vygotsky, K.N. Polivanova).

Difficulty in education, which takes on various, sometimes ugly forms, is one of the most important consequences of crisis periods. Children begin to study worse, they lose interest in classes, and conflicts with others are possible. As they say, the child becomes “problematic.” It is this important feature of crisis periods that attracts the attention of teachers, psychologists and psychiatrists and requires special treatment.

In addition to being difficult to educate, a crisis can be indicated by the so-called easy-to-educate (K.N. Polivanova), although such “easy-to-educate” is significant only if it reflects “a change in behavior, its new forms, unusual reactions to educational influences” (K.N. . Polivanova).

The presence of signs indicating combinations of manifestations of creation and destruction is expressed (according to L.S. Vygotsky) in the replacement of the old situation with the development of a new one. Thus, during the transition period among adolescents, there is a clear process of the withering away of children’s interests and the formation of new ones. Since a person’s entire life is a series of intervals where there is a change from one situation to another, in each specific case it is necessary to clearly understand what stage of development we are talking about and how the interests (and, as a consequence, the behavior) of the child change.

Various signs of a crisis are due to the influence of a number of factors, and determining which is more important is difficult, and sometimes simply impossible. Such factors are the biological restructuring of the body, the process of socialization and others, such as illness. Overcoming a crisis means moving development forward to a higher level in the next biological and psychological age.

To denote mental age-related phenomena, different terms are used in the specialized literature: neoplasm, age-related functions, etc. L.S. Vygotsky proposed using the term neoplasm, which is “a new type of personality structure and its activity, those mental and social changes that first arise at a given age stage and which in the most important and fundamental way determine the child’s consciousness, his attitude to the environment, his internal and external life, the entire course of his development in a given period.” In his opinion, neoplasms can be used as a criterion for dividing development into separate ages.

Features of the course of the first age crisis (2-4 years). Vygotsky distinguishes five main psychological signs of the first age crisis: negativism, stubbornness, obstinacy, self-will and a jealous attitude towards other children.

Negativism is a behavior in which a child does not want to do something just because an adult suggested it, i.e. This is the child’s reaction not to the content of the proposal made, but to the proposal itself. According to Vygotsky, “negativism forces the child to act contrary to his affective desire.”

Stubbornness is the behavior of a child in which he insists on something not because he really wants it, but because he demanded it (L.S. Vygotsky).

Obstinacy, unlike negativism, is impersonal and rather directed against the norms of education; is characterized by bias.

Self-will, reflecting a tendency towards independence, is another sign of crisis. Its timely establishment is important, since lack of independence is typical of infantilism.

Features of the course of the second age (childhood) crisis. II age (children's) crisis (6-7 years) - the period of the birth of the social “I” (L.I. Bozhovich) - coincides in time with the beginning of schooling. With the loss of interest in play as an activity, a child at this age begins to form a new activity - educational.

The most important indicator of this crisis period is the child’s readiness or unpreparedness for school, since it is at this age that the formation of the biological basis of such readiness refers, namely: the maturation of the most complex frontal areas (A.R. Luria) and the strengthening of the processes of inhibition of the cerebral cortex over the instinctive and emotional reactions (N.Y. Krasnogorsky).

Features of the course of pubertal crisis. The puberty period occurs at the age of 11-20 years and is characterized by rapid morphofunctional changes, especially pronounced in the genital area (the beginning of the functioning of the gonads). Distinct psychological characteristics of adolescents are often called the “teenage complex.”

It is now generally accepted that the pubertal crisis is heterogeneous in its structure (S. Bühler, O. Cro, M. Tramer, L.S. Vygotsky, A.E. Lichko, E. Kretschmer, etc.). There are different gradations of pubertal age. Usually, two phases of this period are distinguished (S. Bühler, M. Tramer, etc.): negative (11-15 years) and positive (16-20 years), which have both common and distinctive features. In addition, the so-called III phase is distinguished (post-pubertal - E. E. Sukhareva), which is practically devoid of the general features of the critical period and is interpreted as a stable age (post-critical phase - L. S. Vygotsky).

The general features of the pubertal crisis period are conditionally combined into five groups of signs:

a) clearly expressed affective instability, which determines all the behavior of adolescents - “pubertal mood lability” (M. Tramer);

b) the inconsistency of certain aspects of the mental makeup of adolescents;

c) the orientation of mental activity to the outside world, the desire to expand contacts (L.I. Bozhovich and others);

d) signs of maturation of drives;

e) various behavioral disorders (deviant behavior) in the form of anti-disciplinary, antisocial, delinquent (illegal) and auto-aggressive (A.G. Ambrumova, Lya. Zhezlova, V.V. Kovalev, etc.) behavior. This is stated as one or another degree of violation of social adaptation.

Along with the general symptoms, each phase of the pubertal crisis has its own special features. The negative phase (denial phase - V.E. Smirnov; negativistic - V. Vilinger; protest, against fathers - E. Kretschmer, G. Nissen) is characterized by the predominance of unstable mood, increased excitability, the desire for independence, protest against elders (A Vallon and others). The positive phase (philosophical - M. Tramer; leading intellectual excitement - V.E. Smirnov) is characterized by a pronounced desire for creativity, growth of self-awareness, transformation of drives into interests (L.S. Vygotsky).

L.I. Bozhovich, studying the age-related characteristics of personality development together with her colleagues, came to the conclusion that the formation of a child’s personality is determined by the ratio of the place that he occupies in the system of human relationships available to him (hence, the corresponding requirements for him), and those psychological characteristics that he has already formed as a result of his previous experiences.

It is from this relationship that the child’s internal position arises, i.e. that system of needs and aspirations (subjectively represented in the corresponding experiences), which, refracting and mediating the influences of the environment, becomes the direct driving force for the development of new mental qualities. Bozhovich believed that these provisions are valid not only for understanding the conditions for the formation of the individual characteristics of a child’s personality, but also for understanding the driving forces of the age-related development of children and the reasons that determine the typical features of their age-related psychological appearance.

Thus, human development is conditioned (determined):

Internal contradictions and psychophysiological characteristics;

Social development situation;

Type of leading activity;

The measure of his own activity in the process of formation and improvement of personality;

Gender, age and individual characteristics.

The process of human age-related development is associated with sensitive periods - periods of ontogenetic development in which the developing organism is especially sensitive to certain types of environmental influences; periods of optimal combination of conditions for the development of certain mental properties and processes. The onset of the sensitive period is determined by the functional maturation of brain structures and internal connections necessary for the implementation of the mechanisms of certain functions. For example: 1.5-3 years - speech; 3-6 years - perception, thinking, imagination, etc.; 5-6 years - coordination of movements (ballet, figure skating, etc.), reading, etc.

Training has the greatest impact on those mental functions that are just beginning to develop, but training that is premature or delayed in relation to the sensitive period may not be effective enough, which generally has an adverse effect on the development of the psyche. A number of scientists believe that the untapped potential inherent in the body fades away quite quickly. So, for example, there are cases where children who ended up with animals and remained alive, being returned to human society, practically did not recover as representatives of the human race, since those opportunities that were in the corresponding sensitive periods of their development turned out to be irretrievably lost.

Any age periodization is quite arbitrary (a growing organism develops individually, goes through its own unique path), but it is necessary for a comprehensive analysis of the properties of the body changing during the process of ontogenesis, for the development of a scientifically based system for the protection of mental and physical health, for the creation of techniques and methods adequate to each age stage. training and education, optimal development of physical and mental capabilities.

Lesson type- combined

Methods: partially search, problem presentation, reproductive, explanatory and illustrative.

Goals:

Awareness of life as the highest value, the ability to build one’s relationships with nature and society on the basis of respect for life, for all living things as a unique and priceless part of the biosphere;

Diversified development of students’ personality: observation, sustainable cognitive interest, desire for self-education and application of acquired knowledge in practice;

Formation of sanitary and hygienic culture, their environmental thinking and morality.

Tasks:

Educational: to have certain environmental knowledge and hygienic knowledge is an important component of the culture of every person;

Developmental: develop cognitive and practical orientation, freedom and creative thought, general educational skills in working with popular science literature and Internet sources

Educational: educate students using this lesson for the development of a physically and morally healthy human society.

Regulatory: organize your workplace under the guidance of a teacher; determine a plan for completing tasks in the lesson, evaluate the results of your activities.

Communicative: participate in dialogue in class; answer questions from the teacher and classmates; listen and understand the speech of others; work in a small group.

Cognitive: navigate the textbook; find the necessary information in the text of an educational article.

Planned results

Subject

human influence on individual components of nature and the influence of nature on all aspects of human activity;

preparing schoolchildren for practical activities in the field of biology, ecology and medicine;

Establishing harmonious relationships with nature, with all living things, as the main value on Earth.

basic bioecological terminology and symbolism

Personal:

the formation of interest in a global problem called “ecological problem”, which is associated with the deterioration of the quality characteristics of the human environment.

Interdisciplinary: connections with such academic disciplines as biology, chemistry, physics, geography - will contribute to a higher level of skills in this course and the implementation of the tasks of pre-professional training of schoolchildren.

Lesson form- traditional

Technology- problem-based learning

Learning new material

Age periods of human life

The life path of each person; from birth to death is extremely complex. As the body grows and develops, profound changes occur. At the beginning of life in childhood and adolescence, there is rapid growth of the body, development of physiological and intellectual qualities, all vital manifestations of the body are active. In maturity, all physiological and spiritual processes are balanced and stabilized. During this period, a person actively works, gets to know himself and the world around him, his intellectual activity develops and improves. At the end of life, there is a gradual attenuation of all functions of the body, limited mobility of the body, and its aging. Aging is a natural physiological process inherent in all living organisms on Earth.

A person’s life path can be conditionally divided into certain age periods. The convention of separation is determined by the social and natural environment in which the human body grows, forms and lives. For example, the age periods of life of the peoples of the North differ from the age periods of the southerners. The age periods of a person’s life are also determined by the periods of biological and social maturity of the organism. We can conditionally divide childhood and adolescence. It covers the period from a person’s birth to graduation, i.e. up to 17 years. Youth from 17 to 30 years, maturity from 30 to 60 years, old age from 60 years to death. Each age period of a person’s life is accompanied by certain physiological and spiritual changes in the lifestyle that a person leads, in the social sphere in which he is formed, grows and develops.

There are critical periods in the life processes of the human body. The greatest Soviet physiologist N. I. Vvedensky believed that every young organism under normal conditions carries within itself a huge reserve of strength and natural inclinations: During life, only a small part of them is realized, and the rest remain unclaimed. Therefore, the most important task of parents and educators is to identify and reveal in children those gifts, abilities and talents that nature has laid in the human body: It has been established that in human development there are certain critical periods in which the corresponding motor or mental functions develop particularly quickly

So, for example, at the age of up to 5 years, a child especially easily learns language and music, he develops artistic abilities, develops observation and inquisitiveness in knowledge of the world around him. At an older age, these abilities are significantly lost, but at the age of 6-7 years, the child develops speed of movements, i.e., at this time, the parts of the nervous system that ensure the coordination of muscle efforts mature. At 10-14 years of age, a person’s overall endurance intensively increases due to an increase in the volume of the body’s muscle mass and an increase in the ventilation function of the lungs. Muscle strength increases most intensively from 13 to 16 years. At an older age, the most favorable conditions arise for playing sports and developing professional skills that require the greatest coordination of movements, strength, dexterity, endurance and attention.

In the process of life activity of the human body, periods occur biologicalAnd social maturity. The biological maturity of the body is associated with puberty and the ability to procreate. The entire growth process ends for boys by the age of 18-19, and for girls by the age of 16-17. Growth rates for boys and girls are different, since puberty begins in girls about two years earlier than in boys (for girls on average at 11-13 years old, for boys at 13-15 years old). As a result, boys again become taller than girls. During puberty, not only intensive growth of the body occurs, but also the formation of secondary sexual characteristics. The first sign of biological maturity in girls is the development of the mammary glands, then the appearance of pubic hair, then in the armpits and the beginning of menstruation. The uterus and vagina develop simultaneously with the formation of the mammary glands. In boys, in the early period, signs of biological maturity are manifested in the accelerated growth of the testicles and scrotum, in the breaking of the voice, the development of pubic hair, in the armpits and, finally, in the appearance of a mustache and beard. The variability in the onset of puberty is exceptionally great.

Social maturity presupposes such a level of development of the body when a young person is able to actively participate in the life of the social society in which he exists. In our country, social maturity comes with the receipt of a passport by boys and girls, a document confirming that a given person belongs to the social environment , in which he lives and is formed. This happens at age 16. However, this is not yet complete social maturity, but precisely its first stage. Full social maturity occurs at the age of 18, i.e., at a time when each member of a given social system can take an active part in its construction, development and life support. This period is associated with the coming of age of a young man. Moreover, each social system itself determines the period of social/maturation of its members. Thus, in many states, the period of a young person’s coming of age is associated with 20-21 years, when a young man or girl can make decisions independently, submitting to the legislative system of a given social environment.

With the growth of the culture of society and the increase in the well-being of the people, the duration of human life also increases.

Think and answer 1. During what age periods of a person’s life does rapid growth and development of the body occur? 2. What age period of the human body’s life is associated with stabilization processes? 3. What theories are associated with the scientific basis for the aging of the human body? 4. What critical periods in a person’s life can you name? What are their features? 5. What is the biological maturity of an organism? How does it manifest itself? 6. What is a person’s social maturity? What is its peculiarity?

Explain the meaning of the terms: childhood, youth, maturity, old age, critical periods, biological maturity.

Ageperiods

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A life-stage approach

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Resources:

Anastasova L.P. and others. Man and the environment. Textbook for differentiated instruction 9th grade. Moscow "Enlightenment" 1997.320s

Presentation hosting

Human physical development is a complex of morphological and functional properties of the body, which determine the shape, size, weight of the body and its structural and mechanical qualities.

Introduction

Signs of physical development are variable. The physical development of a person is the result of the influence of hereditary factors (genotype) and environmental factors, and for a person - the entire complex of social conditions (phenotype). With age, the importance of heredity decreases, the leading role passes to individually acquired characteristics.
The physical development of children and adolescents is related to growth. Each age period - infancy, childhood, adolescence and youth - is characterized by specific growth characteristics of individual parts of the body. In each age period, the child’s body has a number of characteristic features that are unique to that age. Between the body of a child and an adult there are not only quantitative differences (body size, weight), but also, above all, qualitative ones.
Currently, there is an acceleration in human physical development. This phenomenon is called acceleration.
In my work, I will try to briefly characterize each of the main stages of individual human development.

The main stages of individual human development

When studying human development, his individual and age-related characteristics in anatomy and other disciplines, they are guided by scientifically based data on age periodization. The scheme of age periodization of human development, taking into account anatomical, physiological, and social factors, was adopted at the VII Conference on Problems of Age-Related Morphology, Physiology and Biochemistry (1965). It distinguishes twelve age periods (Table 1). Table 1

Individual development, or development in ontogenesis, occurs during all periods of life - from conception to death. In human ontogenesis, two periods are distinguished: before birth (intrauterine, prenatal - from the Greek natos - born) and after birth (extrauterine, postnatal).

Prenatal ontogeny

To understand the individual characteristics of the structure of the human body, it is necessary to become familiar with the development of the human body in the prenatal period. The fact is that each person has his own individual characteristics of external appearance and internal structure, the presence of which is determined by two factors. This is heredity, traits inherited from parents, as well as the result of the influence of the external environment in which a person grows, develops, learns, and works.
During the prenatal period, from conception to birth, for 280 days (9 calendar months), the embryo (embryo) is located in the mother’s body (from the moment of fertilization to birth). During the first 8 weeks, the main processes of formation of organs and body parts occur. This period is called embryonic (fetal), and the body of the future person is called an embryo (fetus). From 9 weeks of age, when the main external human features begin to appear, the organism is called a fetus, and the period is called fetal (fetal - from the Greek fetus - fruit).
The development of a new organism begins with the process of fertilization (fusion of sperm and egg), which usually occurs in the fallopian tube. The fused germ cells form a qualitatively new one-celled embryo - a zygote, which has all the properties of both sex cells. From this moment the development of a new (daughter) organism begins.
Optimal conditions for the interaction of sperm and egg are usually created within 12 hours after ovulation. The union of the sperm nucleus with the egg nucleus leads to the formation in a single-celled organism (zygote) of a diploid set of chromosomes characteristic of humans (46). The sex of the unborn child is determined by the combination of chromosomes in the zygote and depends on the sex chromosomes of the father. If an egg is fertilized by a sperm with sex chromosome X, then two X chromosomes, characteristic of the female body, appear in the resulting diploid set of chromosomes. When fertilized by a sperm with a Y sex chromosome, a combination of XY sex chromosomes is formed in the zygote, characteristic of the male body.
The first week of embryo development is the period of fragmentation (division) of the zygote into daughter cells (Fig. 1). Immediately after fertilization, during the first 3-4 days, the zygote divides and simultaneously moves along the fallopian tube towards the uterine cavity. As a result of the division of the zygote, a multicellular vesicle is formed - a blastula with a cavity inside (from the Greek blastula - sprout). The walls of this vesicle are formed by two types of cells: large and small. The walls of the vesicle, the trophoblast, are formed from the outer layer of small cells. Subsequently, trophoblast cells form the outer layer of the membranes of the embryo. Larger dark cells (blastomeres) form a cluster - the embryoblast (germinal nodule, embryonic rudiment), which is located medially from the trophoblast. From this accumulation of cells (embryoblast) the embryo and adjacent extra-embryonic structures (except the trophoblast) develop.

Fig.1. A - fertilization: 1 - sperm; 2 - egg; B; B - fragmentation of the zygote, G - morublastula: 1 - embryoblast; 2 - trophoblast; D - blastocyst: 1-embryoblast; 2 - trophoblast; 3 - amnion cavity; E - blastocyst: 1-embryoblast; 2-amnion cavity; 3 - blastocoel; 4 - embryonic endoderm; 5-amnionic epithelium - F - I: 1 - ectoderm; 2 - endoderm; 3 - mesoderm.
A small amount of fluid accumulates between the surface layer (trophoblast) and the germinal nodule. By the end of the 1st week of development (6th - 7th day of pregnancy), the embryo enters the uterus and is introduced (implanted) into its mucous membrane; implantation lasts about 40 hours. The surface cells of the embryo that form the vesicle, the trophoblast (from the Greek trophe - nutrition), secrete an enzyme that loosens the surface layer of the uterine mucosa, which is prepared for the implantation of the embryo into it. The forming villi (outgrowths) of the trophoblast come into direct contact with the blood vessels of the maternal body. Numerous trophoblast villi increase the surface of its contact with the tissues of the uterine mucosa. The trophoblast turns into the nutritious membrane of the embryo, which is called the villous membrane (chorion). At first, the chorion has villi on all sides, then these villi are retained only on the side facing the wall of the uterus. In this place, a new organ develops from the chorion and the adjacent mucous membrane of the uterus - the placenta (baby place). The placenta is an organ that connects the mother’s body with the embryo and provides its nutrition.
The second week of the embryo’s life is the stage when the embryoblast cells are divided into two layers (two plates), from which two vesicles are formed (Fig. 2). An ectoblastic (amniotic) vesicle is formed from the outer layer of cells adjacent to the trophoblast. An endoblastic (yolk) vesicle is formed from the inner layer of cells (embryo rudiment, embryoblast). The anlage ("body") of the embryo is located where the amniotic sac comes into contact with the yolk sac. During this period, the embryo is a two-layer shield, consisting of two layers: the outer germinal layer (ectoderm) and the inner germinal layer (endoderm).

Fig.2. The position of the embryo and germinal membranes at different stages of human development: A - 2-3 weeks; B - 4 weeks: 1 - amnion cavity; 2 - body of the embryo; 3 - yolk sac; 4 - tropholast; B - 6 weeks; G - fetus 4-5 months: 1 - body of the embryo (fetus); 2 - amnion; 3 - yolk sac; 4 - chorion; 5 - umbilical cord.
The ectoderm faces the amniotic sac, and the endoderm is adjacent to the yolk sac. At this stage, the surfaces of the embryo can be determined. The dorsal surface is adjacent to the amniotic sac, and the ventral surface is adjacent to the yolk sac. The trophoblast cavity around the amniotic and vitelline vesicles is loosely filled with strands of extraembryonic mesenchyme cells. By the end of the 2nd week, the length of the embryo is only 1.5 mm. During this period, the embryonic shield thickens in its posterior (caudal) part. Here, the axial organs (notochord, neural tube) subsequently begin to develop.
The third week of the embryo’s life is the period of formation of a three-layer shield (embryo). The cells of the outer, ectodermal plate of the germinal shield are displaced towards its posterior end. As a result, a cell ridge (primary streak) is formed, elongated in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the embryo. In the head (anterior) part of the primary streak, cells grow and multiply faster, resulting in the formation of a small elevation - the primary nodule (Hensen's node). The location of the primary node indicates the cranial (head end) of the embryonic body.
Rapidly multiplying, the cells of the primary streak and primary node grow laterally between the ectoderm and endoderm, thus forming the median germ layer - mesoderm. The mesoderm cells located between the sheets of the scutellum are called intraembryonic mesoderm, and those that migrate beyond its boundaries are called extraembryonic mesoderm.
Part of the mesoderm cells within the primary node grows especially actively forward from the head and tail ends of the embryo, penetrates between the outer and inner layers and forms a cellular cord - the dorsal string (notochord). At the end of the 3rd week of development, active cell growth occurs in the anterior part of the outer germ layer - the neural plate is formed. This plate soon bends, forming a longitudinal groove - the neural groove. The edges of the groove thicken, come closer and grow together, closing the neural groove into the neural tube. Subsequently, the entire nervous system develops from the neural tube. The ectoderm closes over the formed neural tube and loses connection with it.
During the same period, a finger-like outgrowth, the allantois, penetrates from the posterior part of the endodermal plate of the embryonic shield into the extra-embryonic mesenchyme (into the so-called amniotic leg), which does not perform certain functions in humans. Along the allantois, blood umbilical (placental) vessels grow from the embryo to the chorionic villi. A cord containing blood vessels that connects the embryo with the extraembryonic membranes (placenta) forms the abdominal stalk.
Thus, by the end of the 3rd week of development, the human embryo has the appearance of a three-layer plate, or a three-layer shield. In the region of the outer germ layer the neural tube is visible, and deeper - the dorsal chord, i.e. the axial organs of the human embryo appear. By the end of the third week of development, the length of the embryo is 2-3 mm.
The fourth week of life - the embryo, which looks like a three-layer shield, begins to bend in the transverse and longitudinal directions. The embryonic shield becomes convex, and its edges are delimited from the amnion surrounding the embryo by a deep groove - the trunk fold. The body of the embryo turns from a flat shield into a three-dimensional one; the ectoderm covers the body of the embryo on all sides.
From the ectoderm, the nervous system, the epidermis of the skin and its derivatives, the epithelial lining of the oral cavity, anal rectum, and vagina are subsequently formed. The mesoderm gives rise to internal organs (except for derivatives of the endoderm), the cardiovascular system, organs of the musculoskeletal system (bones, joints, muscles), and the skin itself.
The endoderm, once inside the body of the human embryo, curls up into a tube and forms the embryonic rudiment of the future intestine. The narrow opening connecting the embryonic intestine with the yolk sac later turns into the umbilical ring. The epithelium and all glands of the digestive system and respiratory tract are formed from the endoderm.
The embryonic (primary) gut is initially closed in front and behind. At the anterior and posterior ends of the body of the embryo, invaginations of the ectoderm appear - the oral fossa (future oral cavity) and the anal (anal) fossa. Between the cavity of the primary intestine and the oral fossa there is a two-layer (ectoderm and endoderm) anterior (oropharyngeal) plate (membrane). Between the intestine and the anal fossa there is a cloacal (anal) plate (membrane), also two-layered. The anterior (oropharyngeal) membrane breaks through in the 4th week of development. At the 3rd month, the posterior (anal) membrane breaks through.
As a result of bending, the body of the embryo is surrounded by the contents of the amnion - amniotic fluid, which acts as a protective environment that protects the embryo from damage, primarily mechanical (concussion).
The yolk sac lags in growth and in the 2nd month of intrauterine development it looks like a small sac, and then is completely reduced (disappears). The abdominal stalk lengthens, becomes relatively thin and later receives the name umbilical cord.
During the 4th week of embryo development, differentiation of its mesoderm, which began in the 3rd week, continues. The dorsal part of the mesoderm, located on the sides of the notochord, forms paired thickened projections - somites. Somites are segmented, i.e. are divided into metameric regions. Therefore, the dorsal part of the mesoderm is called segmented. Segmentation of somites occurs gradually in the direction from front to back. On the 20th day of development, the 3rd pair of somites is formed, by the 30th day there are already 30 of them, and on the 35th day - 43-44 pairs. The ventral part of the mesoderm is not divided into segments. It forms two plates on each side (the unsegmented part of the mesoderm). The medial (visceral) plate is adjacent to the endoderm (primary gut) and is called the splanchnopleura. The lateral (outer) plate is adjacent to the wall of the body of the embryo, to the ectoderm, and is called the somatopleura.
From the splanchno- and somatopleura the epithelial cover of the serous membranes (mesothelium), as well as the lamina propria of the serous membranes and the subserosal base develop. The mesenchyme of the splanchnopleura also goes to the construction of all layers of the digestive tube, except for the epithelium and glands, which are formed from the endoderm. The space between the plates of the unsegmented part of the mesoderm turns into the body cavity of the embryo, which is divided into the peritoneal, pleural and pericardial cavities.

Fig.3. Cross section through the body of the embryo (diagram): 1 - neural tube; 2 - chord; 3 - aorta; 4 - sclerotome; 5 - myotome; 6 - dermatome; 7 - primary gut; 8 - body cavity (whole); 9 - somatopleura; 10 - splanchnopleura.
The mesoderm at the border between the somites and the splanchnopleura forms nephrotomes (segmental legs), from which the tubules of the primary kidney and gonads develop. Three primordia are formed from the dorsal part of the mesoderm - somites. The anteromedial portion of the somites (sclerotome) is used to build skeletal tissue, which gives rise to the cartilage and bones of the axial skeleton - the spine. Lateral to it lies the myotome, from which skeletal muscles develop. In the posterolateral part of the somite there is an area - the dermatome, from the tissue of which the connective tissue base of the skin - the dermis - is formed.
In the head section, on each side of the embryo, from the ectoderm in the 4th week, the rudiments of the inner ear (first the auditory pits, then the auditory vesicles) and the future lens of the eye are formed. At the same time, the visceral parts of the head are reconstructed, which form the frontal and maxillary processes around the oral bay. Posteriorly (caudally) of these processes, the contours of the mandibular and sublingual (hyoid) visceral arches are visible.
On the anterior surface of the embryo’s body, elevations are visible: the cardiac and behind them the hepatic tubercles. The depression between these tubercles indicates the place of formation of the transverse septum - one of the rudiments of the diaphragm. Caudal to the hepatic tubercle is the abdominal stalk, which contains large blood vessels and connects the embryo to the placenta (umbilical cord). The length of the embryo by the end of the 4th week is 4-5 mm.

Fifth to eighth weeks

During the period from the 5th to the 8th week of the embryo’s life, the formation of organs (organogenesis) and tissues (histogenesis) continues. This is the time of early development of the heart and lungs, the complication of the structure of the intestinal tube, the formation of visceral arches, and the formation of capsules of the sensory organs. The neural tube closes completely and expands in the cerebrum (the future brain). At the age of about 31-32 days (5th week), the length of the embryo is 7.5 mm. At the level of the lower cervical and 1st thoracic segments of the body, fin-like rudiments (buds) of the arms appear. By the 40th day, the rudiments of the legs are formed.
At the 6th week (the parietal-coccygeal length of the embryo is 12 - 13 mm), the outer ear buds are noticeable, from the end of the 6-7th week - the buds of the fingers and then the toes.
By the end of the 7th week (embryo length is 19-20 mm), eyelids begin to form. Thanks to this, the eyes are outlined more clearly. At the 8th week (embryo length 28-30 mm), the formation of embryonic organs ends. From the 9th week, i.e. from the beginning of the 3rd month, the embryo (parietal-coccygeal length 39-41 mm) takes on the appearance of a person and is called a fetus.

Third to ninth months

Starting from three months and throughout the entire fetal period, further growth and development of the resulting organs and body parts occurs. At the same time, differentiation of the external genitalia begins. The nails on the fingers are laid. From the end of the 5th month (length 24.3 cm), eyebrows and eyelashes become noticeable. At the 7th month (length 37.1 cm), the eyelids open and fat begins to accumulate in the subcutaneous tissue. In the 10th month (length 51 cm) the fetus is born.

Critical periods of ontogenesis

In the process of individual development, there are critical periods when the sensitivity of the developing organism to the effects of damaging factors of the external and internal environment is increased. There are several critical periods of development. These most dangerous periods are:
1) time of development of germ cells - oogenesis and spermatogenesis;
2) the moment of fusion of germ cells - fertilization;
3) implantation of the embryo (4-8 days of embryogenesis);
4) the formation of the rudiments of the axial organs (brain and spinal cord, spinal column, primary intestine) and the formation of the placenta (3-8th week of development);
5) stage of increased brain growth (15-20th week);
6) formation of functional systems of the body and differentiation of the genitourinary apparatus (20-24th week of the prenatal period);
7) the moment of birth of a child and the neonatal period - the transition to extrauterine life; metabolic and functional adaptation;
8) the period of early and first childhood (2 years - 7 years), when the formation of relationships between organs, systems and organ apparatuses ends;
9) adolescence (puberty - for boys from 13 to 16 years, for girls - from 12 to 15 years).
Simultaneously with the rapid growth of the organs of the reproductive system, emotional activity intensifies.

Postnatal ontogeny. Newborn period

Immediately after birth, there begins a period called the newborn period. The basis for this allocation is the fact that at this time the baby is fed with colostrum for 8-10 days. Newborns in the initial period of adaptation to the conditions of extrauterine life are divided according to the level of maturity into full-term and premature. Intrauterine development of full-term babies lasts 39-40 weeks, premature babies - 28-38 weeks. When determining maturity, not only these terms are taken into account, but also body mass (weight) at birth.
Newborns with a body weight of at least 2500 g (with a body length of at least 45 cm) are considered full-term, and newborns weighing less than 2500 g are considered premature. In addition to weight and length, other dimensions are also taken into account, for example, chest circumference in relation to body length and head circumference in relation to chest circumference. It is believed that the chest girth at nipple level should be 9-10 cm greater than 0.5 body length, and the head girth should be no more than 1-2 cm greater than the chest girth.

Breast period

The next period - the infancy - lasts up to a year. The beginning of this period is associated with the transition to feeding on “mature” milk. During the breast period, the greatest intensity of growth is observed, compared to all other periods of extrauterine life. Body length increases from birth to one year by 1.5 times, and body weight triples. From 6 months baby teeth begin to emerge. In infancy, unevenness in body growth is pronounced. In the first half of the year, infants grow faster than in the second. In each month of the first year of life, new development indicators appear. In the first month, the child begins to smile in response to adults addressing him, at 4 months. persistently tries to stand on her feet (with support), at 6 months. tries to crawl on all fours, at 8 he tries to walk, by the age of one year the child usually walks.

Early childhood period

The period of early childhood lasts from 1 year to 4 years. At the end of the second year of life, teething ends. After 2 years, the absolute and relative values ​​of annual increases in body size quickly decrease.

First childhood period

At the age of 4, the period of first childhood begins, which ends at the age of 7. Starting at the age of 6, the first permanent teeth appear: the first molar (large molar) and the medial incisor on the lower jaw.
The age from 1 to 7 years is also called the period of neutral childhood, since boys and girls are almost the same in size and body shape.

Second childhood period

The period of second childhood lasts for boys from 8 to 12 years, for girls - from 8 to 11 years. During this period, gender differences in body size and shape are revealed, and increased body length growth begins. Girls' growth rates are higher than those of boys, since puberty begins on average two years earlier in girls. Increased secretion of sex hormones (especially in girls) causes the development of secondary sexual characteristics. The sequence of appearance of secondary sexual characteristics is fairly constant. In girls, mammary glands first form, then pubic hair appears, then in the armpits. The uterus and vagina develop simultaneously with the formation of the mammary glands. The process of puberty is expressed to a much lesser extent in boys. Only towards the end of this period do they begin to experience accelerated growth of the testicles, scrotum, and then the penis.

Teenage years

The next period - adolescence - is also called puberty, or puberty. It lasts for boys from 13 to 16 years, for girls - from 12 to 15 years. At this time, there is a further increase in growth rates - a pubertal leap, which affects all body sizes. The greatest increases in body length in girls occur between 11 and 12 years, and in body weight - between 12 and 13 years. In boys, an increase in length is observed between 13 and 14 years, and an increase in body weight between 14 and 15 years. The growth rate of body length in boys is especially high, as a result of which at 13.5-14 years old they overtake girls in body length. Due to increased activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary system, secondary sexual characteristics are formed. In girls, the development of the mammary glands continues, and hair growth is observed on the pubis and in the armpits. The clearest indicator of puberty in the female body is the first menstruation.
During adolescence, boys undergo intense puberty. By the age of 13, their voice changes (mutates) and pubic hair appears, and at the age of 14, hair appears in the armpits. At the age of 14-15, boys experience their first emissions (involuntary eruptions of sperm).
Boys, compared to girls, have a longer pubertal period and a more pronounced pubertal growth spurt.

Adolescence

Adolescence lasts for boys from 18 to 21 years, and for girls from 17 to 20 years. During this period, the process of growth and formation of the organism basically ends and all the main dimensional characteristics of the body reach their definitive (final) size.
In adolescence, the formation of the reproductive system and the maturation of the reproductive function are completed. The ovulatory cycles in a woman, the rhythm of testosterone secretion and the production of mature sperm in a man are finally established.

Mature, elderly, senile age

In adulthood, the shape and structure of the body changes little. Between 30 and 50 years, body length remains constant and then begins to decrease. In old age and senility, gradual involutive changes in the body occur.

Individual differences in growth and development

Individual differences in the process of growth and development can vary widely. The existence of individual fluctuations in the processes of growth and development served as the basis for the introduction of such a concept as biological age, or developmental age (as opposed to passport age).
The main criteria for biological age are:
1) skeletal maturity - (the order and timing of skeletal ossification);
2) dental maturity - (timing of eruption of milk and permanent teeth);
3) the degree of development of secondary sexual characteristics. For each of these criteria of biological age - “external” (skin), “dental” and “bone” - rating scales and normative tables have been developed that make it possible to determine the chronological (passport) age based on morphological features.

Factors influencing individual development

Factors influencing individual development (ontogenesis) are divided into hereditary and environmental (influence of the external environment).
The degree of hereditary (genetic) influence varies at different stages of growth and development. The impact of hereditary factors on total body size increases from the newborn period (tm) to the second childhood, with subsequent weakening by 12-15 years.
The influence of environmental factors on the processes of morphofunctional maturation of the body can be clearly seen in the example of the timing of menarche (menstruation). Studies of growth processes in children and adolescents in various geographical zones have shown that climatic factors have almost no effect on growth and development if living conditions are not extreme. Adaptation to extreme conditions causes such a profound restructuring of the functioning of the entire organism that it cannot but affect growth processes.

Sizes and proportions, body weight

Among the body sizes, total (from the French total - whole) and partial (from the Latin pars - part) are distinguished. Total (general) body dimensions are the main indicators of human physical development. These include body length and weight, as well as chest girth. Partial (partial) body sizes are components of the total size and characterize the size of individual parts of the body.
Body sizes are determined through anthropometric surveys of various populations.
Most anthropometric indicators have significant individual variations. Table 2 shows some average anthropometric indicators in postnatal ontogenesis.
Body proportions depend on the age and gender of the person (Fig. 4). Body length and its age-related changes, as a rule, vary from person to person. For example, differences in the body length of newborns during a normal pregnancy range from 49-54 cm. The greatest increase in the body length of children is observed in the first year of life and averages 23.5 cm. In the period from 1 to 10 years, this indicator gradually decreases by an average of 10.5 - 5 cm per year. From the age of 9, sex differences in growth rate begin to appear. Body weight gradually increases in most people from the first days of life until about 25 years of age, and then remains unchanged.

Fig. 4 Changes in the proportions of body parts during human growth.
KM - middle line. The numbers on the right show the ratio of body parts in children and adults, the numbers below show age.
table 2
Length, weight and body surface area in post-natal orthogynesis



Table 2
After 60 years, body weight, as a rule, begins to gradually decrease, mainly as a result of atrophic changes in tissues and a decrease in their water content. Total body weight is made up of a number of components: skeletal mass, muscle mass, fatty tissue, internal organs and skin. For men, the average body weight is 52-75 kg, for women - 47-70 kg.
In old and senile age, characteristic changes can be observed not only in body size and weight, but also in its structure; These changes are studied by the special science of gerontology (gerontos - old man). It should be especially emphasized that an active lifestyle and regular physical education slow down the aging process.

Acceleration

It should be noted that over the past 100-150 years there has been a noticeable acceleration in the somatic development and physiological maturation of children and adolescents - acceleration (from the Latin acceleratio - acceleration). Another term for the same trend is "epochal shift." Acceleration is characterized by a complex set of interrelated morphological, physiological and mental phenomena. To date, morphological indicators of acceleration have been determined.
Thus, the body length of children at birth over the past 100-150 years has increased by an average of 0.5-1 cm, and their weight has increased by 100-300 g. During this time, the weight of the mother’s placenta has also increased. An earlier equalization of the ratios of chest and head circumferences is also noted (between the 2nd and 3rd month of life). Modern one-year-old children are 5 cm longer and 1.5-2 kg heavier than their peers in the 19th century.
Over the past 100 years, the body length of preschool children has increased by 10-12 cm, and for schoolchildren - by 10-15 cm.
In addition to an increase in body length and weight, acceleration is characterized by an increase in the size of individual parts of the body (segments of limbs, thickness of skin-fat folds, etc.). Thus, the increase in chest girth in relation to the increase in body length was small. The onset of puberty in modern adolescents occurs approximately two years earlier. The acceleration of development also affected motor functions. Modern teenagers run faster, jump farther from a standing position, and do more pull-ups on the horizontal bar.
The epochal shift (acceleration) affects all stages of human life, from birth to death. For example, the body length of adults also increases, but to a lesser extent than in children and adolescents. Thus, at the age of 20-25 years, the body length of men increased by an average of 8 cm.
Acceleration covers the entire body, affecting the size of the body, the growth of organs and bones, and the maturation of the gonads and skeleton. In men, changes in the acceleration process are more pronounced than in women.
Men and women are distinguished by sexual characteristics. These are primary signs (genital organs) and secondary ones (for example, development of pubic hair, development of mammary glands, change in voice, etc.), as well as body features, proportions of body parts.
The proportions of the human body are calculated as a percentage based on measurements of longitudinal and transverse dimensions between boundary points established on various protrusions of the skeleton.
The harmony of body proportions is one of the criteria when assessing a person’s health status. If there is a disproportion in the structure of the body, one can think about a violation of growth processes and the causes that determined it (endocrine, chromosomal, etc.). Based on the calculation of body proportions in anatomy, three main types of human physique are distinguished: mesomorphic, brachymorphic, dolichomorphic. The mesomorphic body type (normosthenics) includes people whose anatomical features are close to the average normal parameters (taking into account age, gender, etc.). People with a brachymorphic body type (hypersthenics) have predominantly transverse dimensions, well-developed muscles, and are not very tall. The heart is positioned transversely due to the high-standing diaphragm. In hypersthenics, the lungs are shorter and wider, the loops of the small intestine are located predominantly horizontally. Persons with a dolichomorphic body type (asthenics) are distinguished by a predominance of longitudinal dimensions, have relatively longer limbs, poorly developed muscles and a thin layer of subcutaneous fat, and narrow bones. Their diaphragm is located lower, so the lungs are longer, and the heart is located almost vertically. Table 3 shows the relative sizes of body parts for people of different body types.
Table 3.

Conclusion

What conclusion can be drawn from the above?
Human growth is uneven. Each part of the body, each organ develops according to its own program. If we compare the growth and development of each of them with a long-distance runner, it is not difficult to discover that during this multi-year “run” the leader of the competition is constantly changing. In the first month of embryonic development, the head is in the lead. In a two-month fetus, the head is larger than the body. This is understandable: the brain is located in the head, and it is the most important organ that coordinates and organizes the complex work of organs and systems. The development of the heart, blood vessels and liver also begins early.
In a newborn baby, the head reaches half its final size. Until 5-7 years of age, there is a rapid increase in body weight and length. In this case, the arms, legs and torso grow alternately: first - the arms, then the legs, then the torso. The size of the head increases slowly during this period.
In primary school age from 7 to 10 years, growth is slower. If earlier the arms and legs grew more quickly, now the torso becomes the leader. It grows evenly, so that the proportions of the body are not disturbed.
During adolescence, hands grow so rapidly that the body does not have time to adapt to their new sizes, hence some clumsiness and sweeping movements. After this, the legs begin to grow. Only when they reach their final size is the body included in growth. First it grows in height, and only then begins to grow in width. During this period, the human physique is finally formed.
If you compare the body parts of a newborn and an adult, it turns out that the size of the head has only doubled, the torso and arms have become three times larger, and the length of the legs has increased five times.
An important indicator of the development of the body is the appearance of menstruation in girls and wet dreams in boys; it indicates the onset of biological maturity.
Along with the growth of the body comes its development. Human growth and development in different people occurs at different times, so anatomists, doctors, and physiologists distinguish between calendar age and biological age. Calendar age is calculated from the date of birth, biological age reflects the degree of physical development of the subject. The latter is different for each person. It may happen that people who are at the same biological age may differ by 2-3 years in calendar terms, and this is completely normal. Girls tend to develop faster.

Literature

1. Medical scientific and educational journal No. 28 [October 2005]. Section - Lectures. The title of the work is PERIODS OF CHILDHOOD. Author - P.D. Vaganov
2. Vygotsky L.S. Collected works in 6 volumes. Volume 4.
3. Vygotsky L.S. article "Problems of age periodization of child development"
4. Obukhova L.F. textbook "Children's (age) psychology". Fundamental and clinical physiology / Edited by A.G. Kamkin and A.A. Kamensky. - M.: "Academy", 2004.
5. Schmidt R., Tevs G. Human physiology: Transl. from English - M.: Mir, 1996.
6. Dragomilov A.G., Mash R.D. Biology: Human. - 2nd ed., revised. - M.: Ventana-Graf, 2004.
7. Sapin. M.R., Bryksina Z.G. Anatomy and physiology of children and adolescents: Textbook. aid for students ped. Universities. - M.: Publishing center "Academy", 2002.
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9. Encyclopedia "Around the World"
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11. Encyclopedia "Wikipedia"

The following age periods of a person are distinguished:

1. Childhood- from birth to the beginning of the period (12-13 years).

2. Adolescence(puberty) - from 12-13 to 16 years for girls and from 13-14 to 17-18 years for boys. This age is characterized by a sharp increase in body length with an annual increase of 5-6 cm. By the age of 15 (compared to a newborn), it triples and reaches an average of 158 cm in boys and 156 cm in girls. Body weight is 48 and 49 kg, respectively. By the age of 14-15, all permanent teeth appear, except wisdom teeth. During this period, one of the most important age-related crises occurs - puberty, which is based on a change in the function of the body's endocrine system, which leads to the appearance of secondary ones, the onset of menstruation in girls and the appearance of menstruation in boys. The general metabolism in the body becomes intense, but unstable and labile. The mental life of a teenager is very complex and unstable and requires great tact and restraint from teachers, doctors and parents.

3. Adolescence- from 16 to 25 years for women and from 17 to 26 years for men. Characterized by slow growth, the average annual gain is 0.5 cm. At this age, wisdom teeth usually appear.

4. Adulthood- from 25 to 40 years for women and from 26 to 45 years for men. A period of relative stabilization of morphological and metabolic processes.

5. Mature age- from 40 to 55 years for women and from 45 to 60 years for men. During this period, the second most important age crisis begins - which is especially pronounced in women. Menopause is associated with the extinction of the functions of the gonads and the restructuring of a number of hormonal systems of the body. The mental sphere and metabolism are characterized by significant lability.

6. Elderly age- from 55 to 75 years for women and from 60 to 75 years for men.

7. Senile age- over 75 years for women and men. The general involution of the body begins to develop.

Sometimes it is proposed to allocate a special age of centenarians for people 90 years and older.

Accurate determination of age is important in clinical and forensic practice. Age can be judged based on data on height, body weight, number of teeth, and skin condition. With age, wrinkles appear on a person's face. By the age of 20 - frontal and nasolabial, by 25 years at the outer edges behind the ears, by 30 years - infraorbital, by 40 years - cervical, by 55 years - on the earlobes, hands, chin. However, all these criteria are very relative.

A more accurate method of determining age is to determine (radiologically) the so-called. Its definition is based on patterns in ossification associated with age periods. For example, ossification points in the distal epiphysis of the radius appear at 12-14 months. in girls and at 16-18 months. in boys. in the distal epiphysis of the ulna at 19 and 20 years old, respectively. As a rule, to determine bone age, an image of the hand and distal bones is used. Knowing the time of appearance of ossification points and synostoses, it is possible to determine a person’s age with a high degree of accuracy.

Age periods in children. The period of childhood is characterized by constant development and growth of the child’s body. There is no strict line between the individual stages of development.

Childhood is preceded by a period in which a distinction is made between the stage of embryonic development (the first 3 months) and the stage of placental development (from the 3rd to the 9th month).

The extrauterine period of development is divided into several periods: 1) newborns, lasting up to 4 weeks of life; 2) infancy, lasting from 4 weeks to 1 year; 3) pre-preschool, or nursery, - from 1 year to 3 years; 4) preschool (kindergarten period) - from 3 to 7 years; 5) junior school - from 7 to 12 years; 6) senior school (adolescence, or puberty) - from 12 to 18 years (see above).

The neonatal period is characterized by incomplete development of all organs and systems. During this period, the child’s body adapts to environmental conditions. Insufficient functional capacity of various organs is the cause of the development of a number of disorders in which it is difficult to draw the line between physiological and pathological conditions (physiological and physiological weight loss and others). A newborn is extremely susceptible to coccal infection, which requires maximum care for a child of this age (see).

Infancy. The period of infancy is characterized by the intensity of growth and development of the child’s body, which determines a relatively greater need for high-calorie food and requires proper nutrition. If the quality and quantity of food is violated, eating disorders and... Due to the relative functional weakness of the digestive organs, the child eats mainly dairy foods. During this period, the child is also helpless and requires special care.

In an infant, the first signaling system is formed. Children begin to recognize objects and faces in their environment.

Rapid exhaustion of the central nervous system. requires a large number of hours of sleep and proper alternation of sleep and wakefulness.

The weakness of immunobiological defense mechanisms makes children in the first months of life more susceptible to septic processes. At 2-5 months. the child is most defenseless to infections due to a decrease in passive and insufficient production of active acquired immunity. In infancy, the manifestation of constitutional abnormalities is characteristic, most often exudative-catarrhal diathesis (see).

Pre-school age in its biological characteristics it has common features with infancy and preschool age. By the end of the first year, especially after two years, it develops intensively. At this age, appropriate organizational measures are required to ensure the correct regime, education, sufficient rest and further development of the child. In preschool age, acute infections become more frequent mainly due to insufficient development of active immunity. This requires timely treatment of the child, as well as measures to protect the child from infection.

Preschool age characterized by the child’s great mobility and activity. Children are much more involved in sports activities.

In this period of childhood, it is especially important to properly organize outdoor games, manual labor, etc. When developing a daily routine, especially organizing walks, one must remember that the child gets tired very quickly when walking slowly and non-stop. In preschool age, household and street injuries become more frequent; The incidence of acute infections increases significantly.

Junior school age characterized by increased muscle development, but the child’s growth slows down somewhat. The child develops in the school community and lives by its interests. Physical education classes should be organized so that they do not tire the child, but help improve metabolic processes and the functions of all body systems.

With a significant school load, improper organization of sleep and rest, the development of neurotic reactions is possible. Primary school age is characterized by a high incidence of acute infections, and diseases that are rare in pre-preschool age appear (functional cardiovascular disorders and others).

Senior school age. Physiologically, it is characterized by the maturation of the gonads. gonads dramatically change the course of all life processes and affect the functional state of the nervous system. In adolescents, a number of changes occur (pulse instability, etc.).

Uneven mood, increased irritability, and fatigue are also noted. During adolescence, the morphological and physiological features that distinguish a child from an adult gradually smooth out and disappear. The course of the disease acquires clinical features characteristic of adults. See also .