CHILDHOOD AND ADOLESCENCE

Childhood and Adolescence

Childhood and Adolescence

Introduction

There are five developmental stages in a growing child?s life. It all starts at birth, which is known as infancy, it lasts until age 2. Then there is early childhood which is from ages 2-6, and then comes middle childhood which is from 6-10 years old. Early adolescence is the next stage which spans from 10-14 years old and then late adolescence which is from 14-18 years old. The two stages that stand out most in development to some researchers are middle childhood and late adolescence. From the earliest age in middle childhood to the oldest age in late adolescence, there is an eight year gap. There is so much growing done in between these two stages that the transition is truly remarkable. There will be a comparison and overview of each one of the developmental characteristics which will explain the profile for each stage. (Paikoff 2005)Middle childhood starts at the early age of 6 years old, when most children this age are missing a few teeth and are making way for their adult ones. In this developmental stage middle children do not have big growth spurts, they will gain weight and grow taller very steadily, and it is not until puberty where they have their bigger growth spurts. When this child was younger they would run and giggle just for the fun of it, and now they are much more coordinated. They will run when playing organized sports and games with their friends. Physical features become concerns of even children as young as 6 years old and continue to be on their mind all throughout middle school, and high-school. They will notice that their teeth are not straight enough, or that they do not have pretty hair like the other children.

Adolescence is a difficult stage in the growth process. It is a time in life when the transition from childhood to adulthood takes place. The period during adolescence is the most common time for an individual to commit criminal acts. What makes a child who will soon be an adult take the path toward delinquency? Erik Erikson describes the stage of ego identity vs. role diffusion. This is the struggle of having a firm sense of identity and the sense of personal uncertainty.

Deviant behavior is to be expected out of a teenager. Teenagers can be mischievous and feel the need to experiment with things they know they shouldn't be doing. After all, drinking alcohol isn't as fun or seems as big of a deal as it did when you were underage. The term deviant refers to behavior that defies social norms that is also considered negative.

Our textbook says that a delinquent is a “juvenile who has been adjudicated by a judicial officer of a juvenile court as having committed a delinquent act.” Basically, a delinquent is an individual between certain ages who has committed a crime. The juvenile and adult court have different languages to describe different ...