Sheona Thomas
P1 - describe physical, intellectual, emotional and social development for each life
stage of an individual
There are 5 stages which are reached by a person. It is based on the age of an
individual to work out exactly what stage they are in. Everybody goes through some
of the life stages in their life, it makes it easier to assess the individual’s progress and
what their targets are during development. The five life stages are:
Infancy 0 – 3 years
This begins at birth and is therefore the first human life stage, a new born baby is
likely to experience a dramatic amount of improvement in relation to physical,
intellectual, emotional and social development. These are known as PIES. The baby
will also experience a huge amount of physical growth in this time as this life stage
carries on until they reach the age of three.
Physical development
New-borns have very little control over their bodies and their hands would be tightly
fixed into a fist shape if their palms are touched which disappears in around two to
three months and this is known as the Darwinian reflex. Also without any awareness
of what they are doing, infants usually grab objects with their hands, which leads to
their hand muscles needing to relax resulting in them dropping the object but
sometimes they are not aware of actually letting the object. Usually by eight weeks,
babies start to notice and use their hands a lot more, first it is by touch, but then at
about three months, by sight. However their deliberate grasp is still mostly
undeveloped. Around this time babies are also very likely to be able to hold their
heads upright as well as being able to lift their chest and head towards the person
who is speaking. After this the baby is likely to be able to crawl and walk unaided,
they may also try to run as well as get themselves up and down the stairs.
Intellectual development
During infancy this part of a child’s development is known as the most difficult. There
are ways to developing intelligence, some people observe babies and look out for
interest in different sounds as well as looking around. People are often able to tell
whether an infant has sight or hearing impairments due to taking tests. During this
life stage a baby usually says its first word and will continuously say it if praised, a
P1 - describe physical, intellectual, emotional and social development for each life
stage of an individual
There are 5 stages which are reached by a person. It is based on the age of an
individual to work out exactly what stage they are in. Everybody goes through some
of the life stages in their life, it makes it easier to assess the individual’s progress and
what their targets are during development. The five life stages are:
Infancy 0 – 3 years
This begins at birth and is therefore the first human life stage, a new born baby is
likely to experience a dramatic amount of improvement in relation to physical,
intellectual, emotional and social development. These are known as PIES. The baby
will also experience a huge amount of physical growth in this time as this life stage
carries on until they reach the age of three.
Physical development
New-borns have very little control over their bodies and their hands would be tightly
fixed into a fist shape if their palms are touched which disappears in around two to
three months and this is known as the Darwinian reflex. Also without any awareness
of what they are doing, infants usually grab objects with their hands, which leads to
their hand muscles needing to relax resulting in them dropping the object but
sometimes they are not aware of actually letting the object. Usually by eight weeks,
babies start to notice and use their hands a lot more, first it is by touch, but then at
about three months, by sight. However their deliberate grasp is still mostly
undeveloped. Around this time babies are also very likely to be able to hold their
heads upright as well as being able to lift their chest and head towards the person
who is speaking. After this the baby is likely to be able to crawl and walk unaided,
they may also try to run as well as get themselves up and down the stairs.
Intellectual development
During infancy this part of a child’s development is known as the most difficult. There
are ways to developing intelligence, some people observe babies and look out for
interest in different sounds as well as looking around. People are often able to tell
whether an infant has sight or hearing impairments due to taking tests. During this
life stage a baby usually says its first word and will continuously say it if praised, a
