Of all the objects studied by science, the most mysterious is man himself. Having managed to achieve a fairly high level in such fields of knowledge as physics, astronomy and biology, people, however, know very little about themselves and about what are the characteristics of human life. One thing is certain - it is divided into stages that no human being can escape.
Classification of life stages from birth to adolescence
The stages at which a person’s life is divided were considered by physiologists of the Soviet Union. Scientists have created a grouping of ages that covers almost all of life. This group is relevant now. The period of the newborn is considered the period from birth to 10 days. The next stage is the thoracic, it includes a period from 10 days to 1 year. The next step is early childhood, spanning a period of one to three. The first childhood is from 4 to 7 years. What follows is the second - 8-12 years. Adolescence is considered the age from 13 to 16 years; youthful - from 17 to 21 years.
What are the stages of human life from adulthood to long-livers?
What follows is a mature age. For men, the first period of this age is from 22 to 35 years, and for women from 21 to 35 years. What follows is the second period of adulthood. It covers the following time periods: for men - 36-60 years; for women - 36-55 years. Old age is 61-74 years for men and 56-74 years for women. This is followed by a step of senile age - 75-90 years for both men and women. Centenarians are all those over 90 years old.
Children's age and schoolchildren
What are the stages of human life in childhood? Most psychologists broke this period into additional steps. For example, L.S. Vygotsky, in his classification, laid the distribution of stages in accordance with the leading activities of the child. Such an activity should have a certain meaning for him. For example, at three years old, children begin to play. For them, the surrounding objects make sense in a game context. Thus, at this age, the game takes the place of leading activity.
Leading activity is one of the most important indicators for each age, not only for childhood. The remaining activities do not disappear, they only begin to play a smaller role in the development of the individual. It should be noted that the game is not available for children in all societies. If historical events are such that children have to work on an equal footing with adults, then there is no game in their behavior. Children in their games display adult life that is inaccessible to them so far.
Features of the perception of the world by children
Childhood is a very special time in a person’s life. The perception of the world at this age is very different from what the adults see it. This must be taken into account in relationships with children. For example, in England there was an interesting, but a little sad case. One of the elementary school teachers was fired for telling the terrible truth to six-year-old children: Santa Claus does not exist. The whole class came home in tears, and this prompted the parents to write a complaint to the imprudent teacher.
What stages a person’s life is divided into is particularly clearly visible at younger ages. For example, when a child crosses the threshold of early childhood and becomes a schoolboy, the place of leading activity immediately takes training. But here, not only schooling plays the main role. At the same time, schooling and teaching as such do not always coincide. Leading activities, including teaching, is an activity that the child wants to do, he does it for the activity itself.
Features of adolescence and youth
What are the stages of human life? Social studies and psychology are the two main disciplines that address this issue. In accordance with them, the next stage in human life is adolescence. His criterion is also leading activities - in this case, communication with peers. At the next stage of development - youth - the leading activity is represented by professional self-determination. Young people are beginning to show interest in a particular area of human knowledge.
Maturity and old age
What are the stages of human life? The answer lies in the plane of knowledge about what type of activity takes the first place for a person in a given period of his life. Crossing the threshold of adulthood, a person finds a new leading activity for himself - this is labor. The period of maturity, or adulthood, is characterized by self-realization, revealing oneself in a professional activity. In advanced or old age, leading activities can be aimed at both physiological survival and the preservation of self. An important role is played by the transfer of life experience to younger generations.
Maturity Pros
Despite the generally accepted opinion that old age is the most difficult period of life, this is not entirely true. Scientists conducted a study, as a result they found out: the most unhappy people can feel themselves in the interval between 30 and 40 years. And the peak of sensation of subjective happiness falls on the number 60. Such satisfaction with life often depends on those people who surround an elderly person. Communicating with grandchildren or great-grandchildren often brings great joy.
In addition, the researchers found out other pluses of mature and old age. It is becoming easier for people in these stages of life to manage their inner experiences. And also they can make much more rational decisions in the financial sphere.
Another significant advantage of old age is a large amount of free time. Finally, you can spend it on your favorite hobby.