Studying life span development is important because it helps us understand not only ourselves but also the people around us. Studying the different stages of development helps us learn more about the development of our children, and how to interact with them. We also learn what normal and abnormal behavior is within each of the different stages of life. This helps us detect mental and physical issues that might develop during each stage and how to deal with them. Prenatal development takes place within the womb of women. This process determines gender, and involves the development of major internal organs such as the brain, spinal cord, and heart as well as external organs such as the skin. Learning about the prenatal period can help future parents avoid harming their baby with side effects that can come from doing certain psychoactive drugs like caffeine, alcohol, nicotine heroin, and marijuana (Santrock PowerPoint, Chapter 2, slide 41). The next stage is infancy, which last from birth to two years of age. During this stage children develop memory, language, social and emotional attachment, as well as learning how to crawl and walk. Early and late childhood follow this stage; early childhood last till the age of three to eight years old and late childhood last from age nine to eleven. During these stages physical, cognitive, and social development advance. For example, children go from learning how to think intuitively to performing concrete operations in their mind. Adolescence is the stage I am currently in and last from around age twelve to nineteen. Adolescents begin to mature sexually and physically and start to learn who they are and how they fit into the world. Dramatic changes in this stage create pressure for adolescents to engage in high-risk behaviors such as early pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and unintentional injuries.
