HUMAN LIFE CYCLE

INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN LIFE CYCLE

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The development of human beings follows a progressive pattern through a number f stages. The development Starts from the stage of conception, from the process of fertilization, through birth and the various stages of human development till death.

The human life span covers the following stages with specific characteristics and behavior peculiarities. The stages are:

1. Prenatal Stage
2. Infancy stage
3. Childhood stage
4. Adolescence stage
5. Adulthood stage
6. Old age.

All human process from one stage to the other, though the stages do not occur at the same age for all individuals. There is the likelihood of one reaching a stage earlier or later than others of same age.
I will attempt to present the various stages in the human life cycle.

1. Prenatal stage : CONCEPTION

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Conception takes place when a sperm from man fuses with egg (ovum) from a female in a process called fertilization. This forms the beginning of human development. The prenatal stage spans a period of nine months of pregnancy. The development at this stage is rapid and it covers the following phases:

I. The germinal stage ( 0-2 weeks)
II. The embryonic stage ( 2 weeks – 2 months)
III. The foetal stage ( 2 months – birth)

1. INFACY STAGE

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This is the first two years of life of the child. The child at birth is helpless, but quickly adjusts to its environment partly because all the organs he need to adapt to his new environment have been put in place. The average weight of the child is about 3.4kg and about 50 centimeters long. The muscles and bones are soft, and flexible, the child cannot control his body. Babies are born with the ability to suck and swallow. The major forms of responses at this stage is in form of reflexes. The reflexes are crucial for survival. The head bones becomes hardened by two year.

CHILDHOOD STAGE:-

The childhood stage begins at about 2 years and stretches to 11 or 12 years. The childhood stage can be divided into 2 periods early childhood and late childhood. Early childhood is between 2-6 years while late childhood is from 6-12 years.

a. Early childhood (2-6years)
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The physical growth at thus stage slows down as compared with that of infancy period. During this period the different aspects of the body grows at different rates including the tissues such as the bones, lungs and kidney

b. Physical development in later childhood (6- 12years)image source
At about six years, an average boy weighs 22.2kg, while girls are slightly smaller and lighter than boys. As they continue to grow to 7 years, there is noticeable slowing down in height but the body weight continues to increase at about 2-3kg yearly. At the middle and late childhood, from 6-11 years, the growth becomes slow and consistent which us term period of calm before the rapid growth spurt of adolescence. At about 8 years, there is weight increase in size of the skeletal and muscular system as well as the size of some body organs. In addition, waist circumference, head circumference, and leg length decrease in relation to body weight and bones continue to harden.

1. Adolescence stage (12- 20years)image source

   This is the period between childhood and adulthood. The transitory period is unique as it is a period of rapid changes. The changes are physical, emotional mental and social in nature. Period of adolescence can be roughly placed in teen years from puberty to the point when the individual begins to engage in adult responsibility. Adolescence is also the transitional period between childhood and adulthood. The classification of adolescence stage can be made in terms of physiological changes rather than in age.

1. Adulthood stage (21 – 65 years)image source

There is no clear cut specification as to when an individual becomes an adult. However, adulthood varies from one person to another. The physical development is believed to have completed at the beginning of adulthood. During early adulthood, an individual reaches the weight of his stamina, his values and interests deepen. He begins to think about deep intimacy and thought about stable job fill his heart.

1. Old Age (65 years and above)image source

The last stage is the old age from 65 years to death. The Period is known as senescence. Aging sets in at this stage and all the body system are affected by aging process. The output of the heart decreases, blood vessels undergo degenerative changes greatly. At this stage, death us envisaged as the body features and processes decline dramatically with age.

Summarily, this write up focused on the human life cycle. It elucidates on the various stages of human development, prenatal stage, infancy stage, childhood stage, adolescent, adulthood and old age.

References

O. A OYINLOYE, Ph.D.
C. B OBASORO, Ph. D.
Department of Educational Foundations and counseling, Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo.