Health and social care UNIT 4 M1 free essay sample

Stereotyping is when a judgement is made on a group of people because of the actions of a few. Stereotyping happens because of misinformation and other people’s opinions. There are many stereotypical perceptions of life stages and their possible effect on development. Each of the six life stages will be explained with the expected norms and how this affects the development. Foetal development There are many stereotypical views of foetal development. A pregnant woman is expected to have a healthy diet, exercise, take vitamin supplements, and have regular visits to the doctor to benefit herself and her baby. The NHS website also informs why mothers should eat healthily so this is a reason why mothers feel pressurised to keep a good diet. In fact this is not always the case; some pregnant women carry on drinking alcohol and smoking cigarettes even though they know that it can harm their selves and damage the health of the unborn baby. Researchers from Deakin University in Australia, alongside researchers from Norway, have found out that mothers who eat unhealthy food while they are pregnant, have more of a chance to have children with mental health problems. Pregnant women should have a healthy diet because this will keep the baby healthy. Also, they should exercise regularly for example going to yoga and aquanatal classes, as this helps the baby’s physical development and its intake of oxygen as well as helping women cope through labour. Women who are pregnant should also take vitamin supplements as this may benefit herself and her unborn child. Studies have also shown that Vitamin D helps reduce the risk of Type 1 diabetes for the baby. Mothers may be stressed because they have to keep a stable partnership with their partner but they may argue because of the anxiety about being pregnant. Sometimes mothers have to cope by their selves because they may be single parents, this can also cause a lot of stress. Stressed mothers are shown to have more of a difficult time producing milk and eating proper foods. They should try cutting down on the stress by relaxing, going to bed early and doing fewer chores. Also, stress can affect the foetus’s emotional development and when they are born they may cry a lot. Women who smoke or drink whilst they are pregnant can affect the baby’s brain and organ development. This could also make the woman deliver a premature or stillborn baby and could also cause Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). Smoking can weaken the immune system of the baby and when the baby is born it may be underweight. Drinking alcohol may cause foetal alcohol syndrome, body malformations, and mental retardation. Consuming drugs also causes devastating consequences to the foetus. Infancy (0-3 years) The stereotypical views on infants are that they are vulnerable as they can get hurt easily and if asked questions they will normally always tell the truth. Also, we expect infants to not be as intelligent as children but there are rare cases when child prodigies are discovered such as Terence Tao, an Australian mathematician who could accomplish basic arithmetic by the age of two. Another expected norm is that they are emotionally attached to their parents so this is why they normally want attention from them, and can sometimes act mischievous. Also, Infants are expected to be able to walk and talk and go to nursery to help them with education in the near future. When we are around children we find that they will always need help as they can’t do everything by their selves. For example; reaching high places to get something they need, and using the toilet in a proper manner. This stereotype is accurate because infants do need support from their family or guardians. Jean Piaget, a psychologist who made a theory of cognitive child development, showed that young children think in a very different way compared to adults. Before his work, psychologists assumed that children were not as skilled at thinking than adults are. Children need to be educated so they can mentally construct a model of the world and enhance their knowledge. Childhood (4-9 years) The stereotypical view of this stage of life is that people think all children start to learn new things, as this is the first step to education. This is also the time when they discover how to make new friends and can keep these good relationships until the end of their lives. However, some children do not get a chance to be educated for example; children who live in poverty are not as educated as others. There was also a BBC news report about Daniel Pelka, a four-year-old child who had been beaten and starved for months by his parents before his death in March 2012. He had not learned English, as it was not his first language so this lack of language and low confidence made it almost impossible for him to confess the suffering he had gone through. This shows that children need to be nurtured well and be given a variety of foods in order to have a balanced diet. Children should also be given a good education and extra help if needed, as this will help their intellectual development. Another stereotypical view on children is that this is the age when they are influenced by their family and what they watch on television. For example, a TV show like Horrid Henry may make the child want to be disobedient, behave badly, and throw temper tantrums. This stereotype is accurate because children like to copy what they see. Also, children are egocentric, as they do not yet understand anybody’s feelings or thoughts. Adolescence (10-18 years) The stereotypical view on adolescents are that they are always moody or frequently changing their mood. This happens because as they go through puberty they are very hormonal. Most mothers say that their teenage girls are harder to raise than their teenage boys. This may be because girls are more insecure than boys because they want to look attractive but at this age acne and spots start forming so this could lower their self-esteem. One in 20 mothers said their teenage child even missed their school prom because of skin issues. Adolescents are going through the stage of life where they want to stay with their friends more than being with their family. Also, they may want to have relationships with the opposite sex as they feel attracted towards them. On the other hand, some teenagers will not go into these relationships because they have other things to worry about studying for their exams and doing work experience. These experiences they go through may affect their emotional development because they will be going through stress and hormonal problems. Teenagers might start to become rebellious and disrespectful because they start to not always agree with whatever their parents say. This shows that they are maturing because their brains are developing and they have different ideas which makes them an individual. Media also views teenagers as lazy and rebellious so this can influence teens to be how they are, for example reality TV shows such as Super Nanny show adolescents in this manner. This is also the age when they start to develop their intellectual development more and widen their vocabulary but there are some cases when children are neglected so they have no contact with other humans. One of these cases is about a young girl called Genie, born in 1957, who was extremely abused and neglected. For the first thirteen years in her life, she was isolated in a locked room, usually tied to a childs toilet or bound in a crib with her arms and legs crippled. During this time she did not learn a language as she was rarely spoken to. After she was discovered, she was given help to learn so she gradually started to acquire language skills, but she will never be able to become perfectly normal again. Adulthood (19-65 years) This is normally the age when you start to become a mature, independent adult. However, there are emotionally immature adults who haven’t moved onto adult ways of thinking and behaving. This could happen due to low self-esteem or low confidence and affect their emotional and social development. Sometimes, adults are unconfident because they have had traumatising experiences in the past that they can never forget and stay unsociable for the rest of their lives. This can also be because they were very ill and did not have a chance to socialise with others or this can be due to developmental problems. An expected norm at this life stage is to get married but this does not always happen. Also, adults normally have a job or changing jobs and there are even others who are just looking for a job. It can be difficult for people to find a good job and adults feel pressurised to find one because they may have a family to care for or pay for bills. Older adulthood (65+) The stereotypical views on the elderly are that they are weak, forgetful, passive, lonely, nostalgic, and have many illnesses. However, they can be strong and healthy if they exercise regularly, and they may not be lonely if they have family or friends with them and this can affect their emotional and social development. Some older adults enjoy taking challenges by continuing their study in higher education and others like to retire for relaxation. Some adults may be forgetful which can affect their intellectual development but they enjoy remembering their old memories and sharing their experiences with others. Other adults have many illnesses that can affect their physical development for example, hearing problems and problems with their sight. Also, an expected norm at this age for women is to go through menopause. This is accurate but not all women go through the same symptoms of menopause. At this age, they may have a stable partnership with their husband or wife but others do not marry so they either stay with their family or get taken care of in a care home. In conclusion, most people conform to these expected norms, which may be because of media and social pressures. Some people may conform because of self-fulfilling prophecies but other individuals do not as they may have different opinions about this. Others may be forced to conform due to illnesses so they cannot attend school and when they are older they can disengage from society.