growth and development
Naturally, growth and development happen to all organisms that have life. For human beings, the stages of growth are divided into two: the life of children and adults. It is common knowledge that an entity has to pass through childhood then mature into adulthood; hence drastic differences are typical, while similarities are regarded as very strange. There has been much debate concerning the acceptable age of maturity into adulthood, whereby the range is 15 to 21 years and most common being 18 years. This debate concerning the ‘age of majority’ is based on the aspects of biological, legal, religious, and social adulthood. In my opinion, adulthood is contrasted with childhood based on physical, mental, and social development.
First, a child is physically different from an adult. Through observation, it is easy to know a child and adult apart by their height and weight unless the person suffers any disease that causes physical retarding. Also, children breathe more air per kilogram of body weight, have thinner and more skin in terms of surface-to-mass ratio, and fewer body fluids. Children are physiologically and anatomically different and require several years to develop to maturity. For instance, children have large, heavy heads relative to the body, smaller undeveloped brains, faster heartbeats (higher blood pressure), and a spine that develops for over eight years.1 Papalia, Olds, and Feldman give a detailed explanation of every aspect of development, including physical changes, in human lifespan from birth to death.2
Secondly, an adult has more cognitive abilities compared to a child. A child’s brain weighs 25% of the adult size hence expected to be less developed for mental processes. As the child grows, it perceives more situation challenges and builds upon their experiences and memories. Adults have higher thinking and imagination capacities due to larger well-developed brains.3 Adults have longer concentration spans that can be elongated further by incentives while children are easily distracted since they want to participate in more activities. Most education systems are based on the mental development of the child towards adulthood due to the need for children to build upon simple concepts to more complex ideas.
Thirdly, a child faces social changes during development to an adult. While a child has little foreknowledge, an adult has an archive of experiences concerning various situations and occasions that reduces uncertainty. Adults are more equipped to speak in public since they are under pressure to control their feelings, conform to rules, and consider diverse views or opinions4. In contrast, children are very self-centered such that they act impulsively, think only about themselves, and rarely follow the rules. As a child develops into an adult, there is more understanding of the social environment, which is the basis of sexual education, religion, and political views. Social development insists on adults voting, choosing marriage partners, and career paths.
In conclusion, growth and development are mandatory for all unless the child is ill or underwent some health problems. This development has to be all-rounded in terms of physical, mental, and social progress. The psychological and social differences between adults and children are often affected by a variety of living conditions such as social environment, type of education, and personal experience. The world has accepted that a person should not be categorized as an adult only based on age or biological processes such as menstruation. The study of human development can be applied in many fields of study for advancement in disaster management and nutrition, among other aspects.