Physical Development

Overview

Physical development does not just take place during infancy and adolescence, but continues to evolve until death. Physical development is the process by which individuals grow and develop throughout time in order to achieve their full potential.

• Prenatal Development

  • Germinal Stage

  • Embryonic Stage

  • Fetal Stage

• Infant and Toddler Development

  • Neural Growth

  • Fine and Gross Motor Development

  • Sensory Development

• Early and Middle Childhood Development

  • Language Development

  • Somatic and Reproductive Growth

• Adolescent Development

  • Puberty

  • Brain Development (frontal lobe)

• Adulthood

  • Physical Changes (skin and bones)

  • Breathing and Cardiovascular Changes

  • Cognitive Changes

  • Sensory Changes

Relating Physical Development

For the most part, I have had a heathy development. I was a low-birth weight baby, however it did not hinder my development. Low-birth weight runs in my family. My height and weight grew at the same time, therefore it was never an issue. I hit puberty at the average age. So far, there has been nothing out of the ordinary about my physical development.

Physical Development in My Future Career

Since I either want to work with special needs children or become a psych nurse, it is crucial to understand typical physical development. If a child’s development is unusual in anyway, I will need to be able to support the parents in navigating their way through this. I will be able to offer the parents advice on how to help their child in overcoming specific developmental challenges. Each child is different, but there are certain milestones that should be hit within a certain age range.

Winsor, D.L., Murrell, V.S., & Magun-Jackson, S. (Eds.) (2017). Lifespan Development: An Educational Psychology Perspective (4th ed.).