THE STA GE S OF

D EVELOP MEN T A ND
D EVELOP M ENTA L
TAS K S
Introduction
For every developmental stage, there is an expected
developmental task. What happens when the expected
developmental tasks are not achieved at the corresponding
developmental stage? How can you help children achieve these
developmental tasks?

Developmental stage
The eight (8) development stage cited by Santrock are the same
with Havighurts’s six (6) development stage only that Havighurts
did not include prenatal period. Havighurts combined infancy and
early childhood while Santrock mention them
as two (2) separate stage.
 STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT
• Pre-natal Period
-Development happens quickly during
the Prenatal Period, which is the time
between conception and birth. This period is
generally divided into three stages: the
germinal stage, the embryonic stage, and the
fetal stage.
Stage 1: The Germinal Stage The two-week
period after conception.
Stage 2: The Embryonic Stage
- lasts from the end of the germinal stage to
two months after conception.
Stage 3: The Fetal Stage
The last stage of prenatal development is
the Fetal Stage, which lasts from two months
after conception until birth.
• Infancy (from birth to 2 years)
-extreme dependence on adults
-uncoordinated movements
-toothless
-poor vision
-usually eats every 2 to 3 hours
-slept a lot
(1 year old)
-begins to walk and talk
-determined explorer
-ability for passive language
-temporary feeling of being
independent
(2 YEARS OLD)
-will play side by side other children, but
does not actively play with them
-begins to communicate verbally
-great imitators

• Early Childhood (3 to 5 years)

-vocabulary and pronunciation continue to
expand
-socialize with other children their age
-may begin to read and draw
• Middle and Late Childhood (6-12 years)
-It is the wisdom of human
development that at no other time we are
more ready to learn than at the end of
early childhood’s period of expansive
imagination.

• Adolescence (13-18 years)

-We clothed ourselves with rainbows
-We wanted our parent to understand us
-We tried on one face after another
• Early adulthood (19-29 years)
-physical development complete
-emotional maturation continues to
develop
-is a time for work and a time for love
-finding our place in adult society and
committing to a more stable life take
longer than we imagine.
• Middle adulthood (30-60 years)
-love and acceptance still take a major
role
-we compare our life with what we
vowed to make it.
-main concern: children, health, job
security, aging parents and fear of aging
• Late adulthood (61 years and above)
-very concerned with health and finances
-some memory problems
-We learn that life
is lived forward but understood backward
-We trace the connection between the end
and the beginning of life and try to figure out
what this whole show is about before it is
over ultimately we come to know that we are
what survives of us.
 Developmental Tasks

The development tasks (Santrock, 2002)

Let’s describe the development task as described by Santrock and compare

them to those listed by Havighurts himself.
1. Prenatal period (from conception to birth) – It involves tremendous growth- from
a single cell to an organism complete with brain and behavioral capabilities.

2. Infancy (from birth to 18-24 months) – A time of extreme dependence on adults.

Many psychological activities are just beginning – language, symbol thought, sensorimotor
coordination and social learning.

3. Early childhood (end of infancy to 5-6 years (Grade I) – these are the preschool
years. Young children learn to become more self-sufficient and to care for
themselves, develop school readiness skill and spend many hours in play with peers.
4. Middle and late childhood (6- 11 years of Age, the elementary school years) –the
fundamental skill of reading, writing and arithmetic are mastered. The child is formally
exposed to the larger world and its culture. Achievement become a more central theme of
the child world and self control increases.

5. Adolescence – (10 – 12 years of age, ending up to 18-12 years of age) Begin

with rapid physical changes – dramatic gains in height and weight, changes in
body contour, and the development of sexual characteristic such as enlargement
of the breasts, development of public and facial hair, and deepening of the voice.
Pursuit of independence and identity are prominent. Thought is more logical, abstract
and idealistic. More time is spent outside
of the family.

6. Early adulthood (form late teens or early 20s lasting through the 30s – It is a time
of establishing personal and economic independence. Career development,
selecting a mate, learning to live with someone in an intimate way, starting a
family and rearing children.
7. Middle adulthood (40 to 60 years of age) – It is a time
of expanding personal and
social involvement and responsibility; of assisting the
next generation on becoming competent and mature
individuals; and of reaching and maintaining
satisfaction in a career.

8. Late adulthood (60s and above) It is a time for

adjustment to decreasing strength and health, life
review, retirement, and adjustment to new social role.

-THE END-