Week #8 Terese Cloonan

As our book tells us in chapter 13, "lifespan development began as a field dedicated to the study of developmental psychology. Developmental psychology emerged because people recognized that the mental functions and behaviors that are the focus of traditional psychology exist in different forms and at different times of life." We also learn new definitions one being stakeholder which is an individual who is affected by the actions of a larger group or organization. Also, a change agent, who is someone who helps bring about change to better human lives or conditions. An advocate is to actively work on behalf of a person, cause, or idea.

In my life, I feel as though I didn't fit in with the right ages for lifespan development. I was a very late bloomer my entire life. However, I could relate to all the theories we learned about. During puberty, I was definitely facing all the woman changes mentioned in our book. When we learned about grief, I very much related to the stages of grief and it explained me very well. I enjoy learning about lifespan development. My whole life I have watched babies grow up so I could easily think back to all the changes babies go through and how they grow up. This course made me look back on my own childhood and I loved it. This course also helped me better understand my life. I really enjoyed writing these blogs and telling my own life stories. It helped me work through some personal life situations.

I loved John Dewey's theories on teaching. I related to him so much. I agree with teachers being invested in children's lives and family values. I think that learning goes further beyond a classroom. We learn things about life outside of school more than we do inside a classroom. I wouldn't be the person I am today without my wonderful teachers who taught just like how Dewey explained.

Week #7 Terese Cloonan

Physical development among the elderly can be the loss of hearing and eye sight. All five senses are affected by aging. Arthritis occurs and many elders with start having health issues. Cancer is a huge concern with the older a person is getting. Heart disease and strokes are very common in elderly. Nutrition and staying healthy is very important for elderly.

Death is considered a typical part of life. As our book tells us in chapter 12, on page 281, "Overall, a family may expect to live 20 years without one of its members dying." In chapter 12, it talks about people's fears and one being buried alive. I myself have this fear. I used to freak out when I was a child when someone would put a pillow over my face. I thought it was funny how our book mentioned that being a strong fear in the 19th century. There are four types of death. The first being clinical death, which is an individual is dead when his of her breathing and heartbeat have stopped. Brain death occurs when it fails to receive a sufficient supply of oxygen for a period of time and all electrical activity has stopped, as taught to us on page 281. Biological death occurs when it is no longer possible to discern an electrical charge in the tissues of the heart and lungs, thus signaling the permanent end of all life functions. Social death is the point at which an individual is treated as dead although the person is still biologically alive. The legal definition of death is "unreceptivity and unresponsivity, no movements or breathing, no reflexes, and a flat EEG reading that remains flat for 24 hours." Page 282 in LifeSmart. A persons age has a lot to do with how a person interprets death. I remember when I was a child and my parents would take me to wakes, I had no idea what was going on. I remember seeing all of my cousins and running around the funeral homes as if it was a party. When I was in 8th grade, my best friends dad died. I remember feeling so helpless. My friend needed sympathy but I remember not being able to relate because my father was still alive. That was the first time death was a very hard issue for me. Now, being in my twenties, death is hard. My grandmother died on Christmas morning three years ago and every time the holidays roll around my family is reminded of her passing. We try and celebrate Christmas morning but it is so hard to do. My grandmother was in an old age and we saw it coming, however, the holidays is a very bad timing to loose someone. I thank God that my family is so close and we celebrated my grandmothers life and we still make the best Christmas memories as a family.

Grief is an emotional response to the loss of another person, and includes feelings of anxiety, despair, sadness, and loneliness. (page 284.) Grief and fear have a lot in common. Most grieving people are frightened by their feelings. There are three types of grief reactions, there is delayed reaction, distorted reaction, and complicated grief. For some people, grief can come days, months or years later. Chapter 12 reminds us that dealing with death of a loved one is overcoming the funeral process. I remember being in high school and a friend and classmate of mine had died on New Years Day. Her parents put off the funeral for a couple of days. I remember not being back in school yet, as we were still on Christmas break. The funeral day came and went and we were all helpless. We were 18 years old and just had to bury a friend. The funeral day seemed like a dream, didn't feel real. I remember the death of my friend finally hitting me when we all had to go back to school. We all showed up to school and it hit me that she was no longer in the halls and in her seat. We left her locker exactly how she left it the entire school year. Myself and my friends grieved all year long. We had to graduate without our friend but we never stopped celebrating her life. Even until today, we go out and celebrate her birthday and the anniversary of her death.

Week #6 Terese Cloonan

Adulting is such a powerful time in your life. Adulting is happening and you don't even realize and before long you're no longer a child. Our book tells us in chapter 9, page 208 that some American rites of passage include religious rites of passage, physical changes, educational life graduating from high school, social changes including moving away, and also economic changes like getting your first job. I can remember so vividly my graduation day. Everything about that day reminds me of how I turned into an adult. The second we left my graduation ceremony I instantly felt older. 

Physical developments are still occurring into adulthood. Our book states that "Early adulthood is the life period during which physical changes slow down after the dramatic changes that occur in adolescence." Our book also introduces us to the term organ reserve  which refers to the part of the total capacity of our body's organs that we do not normally need to use. Another physical development in early adulthood is weight gain. You hear a lot of stories about kids going away to college and gaining "the freshman 15." Our book on page 210 explained that the brain continues to increase in weight and reaches its maximum potential by the adult years. In early adulthood people need to be aware of how bad drugs and alcohol can be towards your body. College is all about experiencing and you need to make sure you don't take it to far. Your body needs to stay healthy and workouts need to be put in otherwise your body will suffer. 

On page 214, our book states " in early adulthood, people are able to capitalize on the life experience they've gained prior to a during adolescence, as seen in their ability to focus on a specific area of knowledge and apply information to a specific task." Today there is so much talk about sexual identity. There has been a breakthrough and men and woman can be more open about their sexuality Sexual identity can mean many different things today and I think because of that, the world is becoming a more open place. Gender roles for me has honestly changed. There is no right or wrong way that a man is being a man or a woman being a woman. With that being said, I do however find myself as a woman fall right into the typical gender roles for a 20 something year old female. I love all things fancy and love to dress up, I have an absolute love for children and I have never picked up a tool in my life. However, I understand that not all woman need to be like me and that gender roles really don't have to exist. People are going to like what they like. 

Our book talks a lot about intellectual developments in adulthood. On page 240 we are taught three new definitions. The first being analytic intelligence referring to the ability to break down a problem or situation into the smaller parts of the whole. Creative intelligence refers to the ability to solve problems in unique ways and to feel comfortable with new or different situations and ideas. Practical intelligence refers to the quality people might call "common sense", a simple, logical understanding of a situation and how to work through a problem. Coming into my own adulthood, right around the age of 23, was when I truly started to know myself. I was no longer trying to make everyone around me happy, I was for the first time just focused on myself. I found out what I wanted in life. All the useless partying stopped and I found myself surrounded with the greatest people I know today. For me adulthood was a wonderful breakthrough from an exhausting adolescence. 

Week #5 Terese Cloonan

Some theories mentioned in our "Lifesmart" book chapter 8 about adolescence starting mentions when you being to menstruate, or when you had your first ejaculation. Our book states when you turned 11 years old for a girl, and 12 years old for a boy, however with my experience I was much older. I remember being a lot older when I believe my adolescence kicked in. Some more theories that I read about in our book chapter 8, was when your friends influenced you more than your parents. This theory I really agree with. Being a young girl is such a hard time. Your body is changing and you are trying to fit in with all the other kids. I was a very very late bloomer so I was constantly confused when I was younger on how I was supposed to be looking. I often had that sense on wondering who I was or who I was going to become. I also remember being around the age of 11 and I would be very upset when my birthday came around. I was so sad that I was turning another age older. I think I was upset because my body was not progressing as fast as the other kids. I eventually got over all my insecurities during my adolescence, looking back on it now makes me laugh. Every kid has to suffer these changes and it can be a very long journey.

On page 187, it states, "Change in hormone levels, called hormonal balance, is one of the triggers of puberty, but its beginning is difficult to pinpoint. Measuring skeletal growth, genital growth, pubic hair, breast development, voice change, or a growth spurt requires recording over a period of time." A development in girls that show puberty is in a girls hips. The hips widen. Our book mentions that girls tend to grow faster than most boys. I attended an all girls high school. So from the ages 14-18 I was in classrooms with only females. I believe that because there were no boys around, I coped better with my puberty. I didn't have anyone in school that I was trying to impress. However, being with all girls I did see a lot of eating disorders. Some girls wanted to be skinny and it really took a toll on them. We had great teachers at my school so most cases of eating disorders were caught before they got to bad.

Also in chapter 8, it reminds us that children's brains are also having growth spurts. The parietal and frontal lobes of the brain as well as subcortical regions make changes in a teenagers brain, as it states on page 190. The formal operational stage, which is 11 years old and up is the individuals that can think abstractly, reason logically, exhibit hypothetical thinking, and combine groups of concrete operations. This is a stage from Jean Piaget which our book introduced us to. Culture and gender also influence a child's cognitive development. Being a teenager, your emotions are very up and down. I remember one minute being happy and the next minute I could have started to cry. When you're going through puberty your emotions are very mixed. Just as your body is growing, so is your mind. Looking back, I learned a lot of important life lessons during my own adolescence. I was taught right from wrong. I was also taught that you have to be kind because you never know what someone could be going through. I also learned that life is hard, but you will get through the tough times. There's always tomorrow.

Week #4 Terese Cloonan

I am currently writing blog number four while watching 7 children while their parents are in California. All 7 kids have the same parents and are in the same family. I met this family last year and it has been so much fun being in all the kids lives. The ages range from 2-17. Having spent a lot of time with this family I believe a child acquire a sense of self through their families and their surroundings. The kids dad was a college baseball player years ago. There are five boys and every single boy is obsessed and loves the game of baseball. The kids mother is the kindest, most hilarious person I have ever met and her children all have her sense of humor. My experience with children and gender has been relatively simple. The youngest kid who is 2 (this is baby Beau, the baby from my blog number 3.) is currently being potty trained. Beau understands that he is a boy because he has a penis and his sisters don't. When I asked Beau why I was a girl he said "cause hair". Overall, children are the most pure people in this world. Children can make us laugh and smile even if we are crying on the inside. Children are very smart and keep getting smarter.

In chapter 6, our book tells us that a child's cognitive and emotional development paves the way for greater self-awareness in all aspects of development. Young children are influenced by social interactions and come to recognize that qualities they notice in others reflect aspects of themselves when it comes to identifying their gender. Play is defined in our book as an activity that children engage in because they enjoy it for their own sake. Play helps children learn about objects in their world and how they work. Social skills are learned through play. A child can experience creative interactions without worrying about failure. Major stressors are health and nutrition. When I was in first grade I had to eat fruit everyday in class signed by a doctor because I was so behind on gaining weight for my age. I also had to eat liver to gain more iron. Child abuse is a huge childhood stressor.

WEEK #3 Terese Cloonan

First thing that chapter 3 talks about is DNA and all the things that make a baby. I instantly thought of a baby that I watch who is currently fighting cancer. The cancer is called neuroblastoma which starts out in very early forms of nerve cells found in an embryo or fetus. The baby that I know is only 2 years old and has been fighting his cancer for a year and a couple of months now. When Beau was born his cancer cells were already in his but nobody knew because he was still growing normally. Around the age of 1 Beau began having stomach issues and finally the doctors found an 8 pound tumor in his belly. Beau has survived all of his treatments and is currently at home living the normal life of a 2 year old. We pray every day that he does not relapse. Beau is already low risk for relapse and is beating the odds. I could not help but think of Beau when first reading chapter 3.

The fertilization process starts out with a woman and her menstrual cycle.  A woman needs to ovulating so that the eggs will ripen. Once an egg is released it is passed into one of the fallopian tubes. Fertilization takes place in the first part of the fallopian tube where the sperm and the egg meet. The fertilized egg then travels and attaches itself to the uterine wall for implantation.

The stages of the prenatal period are divided into three stages. The germinal, embryonic, and fetal. The germinal period extends through the first 2 weeks. The embryonic period is cellular differentiation. The fetal period extends from the beginning of the third month to birth. It is very important for woman not to do any drugs or drink alcohol during their pregnancies.

The birth process is such a crazy thing. Normally and naturally the woman's water will break and the birth process will begin. There is no telling how long labor will be. The first stage is called the dilation stage which is the opening of the mothers cervix increasing in diameter so that the baby can pass. The second stage is the expulsion stage. The mothers contractions push the baby through the birth canal. The third stage is the afterbirth. The final stage is the delivery of the placenta the remaining umbilical cord and other membranes. There are many ways to birth a child. Some mothers do in in the comfort of their own home, while others need to have C sections. From the moment of birth until about one month the newborn baby is considered a neonate. A neonate infant has many different reflexes.

Infancy is a time of rapid physical development. Good nutrition is very important for a baby. A huge discussion is whether a baby should be bottle fed through formula, or breast fed. Many woman do not produce enough milk for the baby so they take the bottle formula fed route. Motor development is a huge deal for infants. Being able to lift their heads up and grab their toes. Further more, you have the crawling stage and then not far after the baby is walking. For the past 5 years I have watched a family of 4 children. When the youngest was born, I was his nanny for his first three years of life. I bottle fed him formula. I watched each day as his little body did something new. He was the happiest baby I had ever met, he still is. I remember the first time he rolled over, crawled and walked. I even remember his first word being light and the first time he said my name. Babies are so intelligent. Me and the baby were very attached. There were times only I could make him fall asleep, and I was not his mother. We spent everyday for endless amount of hours together.