Human beings need care at every point in their lives. How much care will you need at different stages of life? let’s find out.
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Life is wonderful, and it is a blessing given by God. This life becomes more beautiful when it gets its share of happiness and care.
There are many stages of life, and people who cross these stages have to face happiness and sorrow. It is known to all. But let us know today how people should be taken care of at every stage to improve their lives.
Many developmentalists divide life stages into nine parts. On the other hand, some divide it into twelve or thirteen parts. But we have based this guide on the standard nine-stage model of life.
- Prenatal Development (Pre Birth)
- Infancy and Toddlerhood (Ages 0-3)
- Early Childhood ( Ages 3-7)
- Middle Childhood (Ages 6/7-8)
- Adolescence (Ages 12-20)
- Early Adulthood (Ages 20-36)
- Middle Adulthood ( 35/36- 50)
- Mature Adulthood (50 – 80)
- Late Adulthood or life’s stage of death or dying(78+)
Different Stages of life
Our life is never the same. Everyone has to face sorrow- happiness and good-bad, so let’s understand all stages of life below-
Prenatal Development
This is the first stage in a person’s life when they are in the form of a fetus inside their mother’s womb. This is when the baby’s body undergoes maximum changes and needs maximum nutrition for better growth.
Infancy and Toddlerhood
People often consider infancy a stage of dramatic changes where maximum growth occurs in a child. After one month of the birth, the baby is called a newborn baby, and after that, within one year, the baby becomes an infant.
An infant has very poor vision and does not know how to walk, and this is the time when a child needs a lot of love, attention, and care. That is why it is your biggest responsibility to take care of their needs at every step and understand what they need or feelings at that time.
Early Childhood
This is the stage of life when children learn to speak. At this stage, children are 3 to 5 years old. They learn about physical independence in this stage where they start doing many daily chores by themselves such as eating, using the toilet, etc.
This is a transformative phase in which the child’s desire to learn and do something new arises. This life stage is referred to as the preschool years, which follows toddlerhood. There are many other physical, social, emotional, language, and cognitive changes in a child during this stage.
Middle Childhood (Ages 6-8)
This is the stage when a child has stepped into the physical world. Seeing new things, many questions keep coming to his mind, and he keeps asking different types of questions to his parents. At the same time, this habit is right for him to move forward.
Children see things and make different images and stories inside themselves, which can help expand their minds. They do many things that can be good for them and harmful. That is why their parents should take great care of them in their middle stage.
Late Childhood (Ages 9-11):
When children reach the 9-11 years of their life, they start to understand many things. They automatically start doing many things very intelligently, which is good for their growth and learning. They learn to do small things on their own and do not feel the need to take the help of their parents for it.
Children develop ingenuity. They also undergo tremendous physical change during this period. They experience a gradual increase in large muscle development, coordination, and balance, and fine motor skills.
Adolescence (Ages 12-20)
This is the most beautiful and energetic stage of our life. This stage of life represents a touchstone for those who seek to reconnect with their highest inner enthusiasm for life.
In this stage, a person is very passionate. He starts working hard to fulfill his aim, which is very important in building his future.
Early Adulthood (Ages 20-35)
After reaching this age, you keep trying to find a good job, a good life partner, and a good lifestyle, and in this journey. You also meet many good and new people at this age. At this stage, a person’s physical abilities are at their peak, including sensory abilities, muscle strength, reaction time, and cardiac functioning. Also, this is the stage when the aging process begins. You can see changes in the skin, vision, and reproductive capability.
Midlife or middle adulthood (35-50) and Mature Adulthood (50-80):
Aging speeds up during middle adulthood. You can see a decline in vision, hearing, and functioning of the immune system. Also, the period marks the end of reproductive capability for women, known as menopause.
By the time you reach mature adulthood, you have done many such things that you should have done. But during this stage, many diseases creep in and become a permanent tenant in our body, such as diabetes, glaucoma, etc.
Late Adulthood (Age 78+) or Life’s stage of death & dying
Wisdom is considered very useful in this stage. People use their intelligence to guide others, and this process of guiding is always proven to be worthy. The ideas and guidance given by the elderly are so pure and genuine that everyone can move forward in their lives by using them.
This is the most sensitive stage, which tells us that never take your life lightly but live your life happily. One should learn to be happy with what he has got and must also use his intelligence at every step. The knowledge given at this stage by elders is very invaluable.
What Is Health Care?
Health care is the improvement of health to the best extent possible through diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and care of mental or physical impairments. Maintenance is necessary for everyone, and allied health fields or professionals are involved in health maintenance.
When a person has any discomfort or problem in his body, he gets the diagnosis done. Through this, they get to know about how their body is performing and whether there are any diseases or conditions that they need to worry about. If the problem needs immediate care, they should get its treatment at the right time.
There are a total of eight healthcare services for covering emergencies,
rehabilitative, long-term hospital, diagnostic, primary, home care, and palliative.
Primary care, secondary care, tertiary care, and public health, such as nursing, audiology, Medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, optometry, occupational therapy, physical therapy, athletic training, psychology, and other health professions, etc., are all part of allied health care.
How Much Care Will You Need At Different Stages Of Life?
How much care will you need at prenatal Development?
This is perhaps the most important stage in the life of a person. Good nutrition and proper care at this time will stand you in good stead throughout your life.
A pregnant woman needs a lot of care at this time so that the formation of the baby happens appropriately inside her womb. During pregnancy, she should take good care of things from food to walking, sitting, and sleeping.
This gives her baby a chance to become capable of living a good life. If you’re pregnant, you can start to talk with your baby to start the bonding process between you two.
Besides this, If there is any possibility of complicated pregnancies, then a parent should expect to see their physician every three and a half or four weeks through the pregnancy period for the first 28 weeks. Between Weeks 27 to 35, you should see your doctor every two weeks, or as frequently as the gynecologist recommends.
How much care will you need at infancy (Ages 0 to 3)
Show love to an infant as it needs it the most at that time. An infant needs care, support, cuddling, and security from his parents. In their first year, the love shown to them will make a huge impact on his life. Breastfeed the baby for at least the first six months since breast milk is considered the best for the baby. You also need to make sure that the baby gets all its vaccinations on time and gets a regular examination from the pediatrician.
When the time comes for the child to start learning to walk and sit a little, it becomes essential to take care of every little thing around them to make them secure. Baby proofing your house is essential at the time because children are inquisitive and tend to crawl and walk even in those corners of the house where you would never imagine.
You have to take care of their sleeping, eating and drinking, and also their vaccines. Taking care of the baby’s time to sleep is also very important.
Overall an infant needs a lot of care. If a mother is breastfeeding her infant, her baby has lower chances of facing such issues, allergic conditions (asthma and eczema), diarrhea, respiratory problems, ear infections. Besides these, talking to a baby or infant can help him grow good communication skills.
How much care will you need at early Childhood (Ages 3-6)
Children in the early childhood stage need emotional and behavioral support and stability from their family, friends and school. When children start going out of their homes to play, they learn many activities.
In such a situation, they do not understand many things, and the parents must explain to them well what they should do and should not do. Also, this is the time to get your child vaccinated with a combined DTaP/IPV vaccine.
If kids get good family support, love, care, and affection, their minds will also grow properly in a good way. At this time, children’s bodies are very delicate and sensitive, and they are also at risk of getting diseases or infections.
That is why, take good care of their health from time to time care about the things they are playing with, where they are going, and what they are doing. Keep an eye on all these activities and mostly understand them.
How much care will you need in Middle childhood (Ages 6-8)
Middle childhood is a special stage to learn something new and start knowing this physical world. It brings so many positive and negative changes in a child’s life.
By this time, kids can change uniforms or clothes themselves, lift small boxes more easily with their hands, and brush their teeth. So this time, they need their parent’s attention and love more than physical support.
When the children achieve something, whether it’s small or big, their parents should appreciate it. This fills them with enthusiasm and increases their desire to do that work even better.
Take care of their health, keep in mind their playing time, give them at least 1 hour for playing each day. Also, take good care of his food and drink so that they may stay fit and feel energetic for their aim.
How much care will you need at adolescence (Ages 12-20)
You should be physically active (minimum 50 minutes) every day if you are a teenager. Bathe properly, eat healthy foods, fruits because it’s an excellent way to boost your energy and immunity.
For every teen, healthy eating is compulsory, so drink plenty of water, eat more vegetables, nutritious grains, protein-rich foods, and dairy products for a healthy lifestyle.
Teens like privacy and seek someone who understands them. They want independence or freedom and mingling with their friends more than anything else. They meet people and have a lot of experiences, which is necessary for them also.
Independence does not mean that you leave your kids free and let them do whatever they want. Instead, it means that you should behave like a friend to them and try to take part in their lives and their interests.
How much care will you need in early adulthood (Ages 20-36)
The care needs of early adulthood are not simple for parents as it’s a changing stage and requires lots of mental support from them. But there are many ways to take care of yourself (if you are 25 or 35 years old).
So in midlife, you need to manage and maintain nutrition, start to maintain your own home environment and your own personal hygiene.
This is also the time for most people to find love and a special someone, and you expect good emotional and mental support from this relationship. The most important care at this time will be good emotional support.
How much care will you need at Middle Adulthood (35/36- 50) and Mature Adulthood (age 50-80)
Middle adulthood occupies the periods between the mid-’30s and ’50s. It is a phase where the “mid-life crisis” often can occur. You need good health care, emotional support also.
Slowly, when we reach this stage, we need to focus more on our health and diet. This is the stage of life when we have achieved many things in our lives, and many things remain to be achieved.
If you are in your mature adulthood, you need emotional support from your family. If your loved ones live their mature adulthood, you must visit them often and care for their small things.
So, what you should do for your loved ones to care for them is as follows.
- Checking their medications and giving them at the correct time is an excellent way to care
- You must hire help or professional caregivers if you cannot manage things alone.
- Go for modifications in their home or apartment when they complete their 70’s.
- Discuss their finances to know the medical expenses and all.
- You must have an idea about their Important Paperwork.
- You must keep them busy in positive activities to keep them active.
How much care will you need in late Adulthood or (78+)
In Late Adulthood, elders expect emotional support, physical support, and respect from their known ones. If all this is not given to them at that time, their minds will be filled with despair and negative thoughts.
They need a lot of positive encouragement or environment and mental and physical support. There are some vaccines that are very crucial for elders. Vaccines for late adulthood are also available, and you must go for them after consulting your physician.
Prepare your loved ones early for things to come in a positive way. Some spiritual things and views should also be kept in front of them to know better what their life means and see the end of life in a better way.
Because at this time, they have to make frequent trips to the hospital, they start to appreciate their own home and family a lot more. They want to spend the last time of their life in their own home with their grandchildren, life partner, daughters, and sons.
This stage is the most vulnerable time in one’s life physically, so regular health examinations and frequent trips to the doctor are very important
Wrap Up
All human beings have many basic needs such as health, power, respect, enjoyment, and independence. And from this nature of humans, we can figure out that every human being has some expectations and thoughts at every stage of life.
We can’t ignore each need and especially when the need is regarding health. At some stage, love is needed, and at some stage, a loving person is needed. So, different stages of life have new lessons and different ways of caring.
We hope that this guide was able to explain to you the stages of life, and the major types of care that a person needs at each stage. Look around you at your family members and friends, and try to recognize which stage of life they are in and what kind of support they might need. You will see them in a whole new light!
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