Balzac, describing the appearance of the heroine of his novel The Thirty-Year-Old Woman, spoke of "the skin of the face that turned yellow with age." This is thirty years old! Even if we make allowances for some credulity of the writer, who actually accepted for truth the figures that the young secular ladies considered possible to voice, it is still obvious: in the old days, people began to feel old much earlier. Hippocrates numbered ten periods of human life, which he associated with the restructuring of the body. He combined these periods into four phases: childhood (up to 14 years); maturity (15-42 years); old age (43-63 years); longevity (over 63 years). In ancient Rome, apparently, they lived longer. The periods of life there were distinguished in accordance with the change in the social status of the individual: adolescence (up to 17 years old, receiving an adult toga); youth (up to 46 years old, dismissal from military service and the transition to the senior rank of centurii); advanced age (up to 60 years, cessation of social activities); old age. But even at the beginning of the last century, life was considered practically finished at the age of forty. In Gorky's novel Mother, a forty-year-old woman is called an old woman.

Not those times now. The world is changing very quickly. Back in 2005, the majority of respondents considered 50 years old as the time of old age. Literally over the past seven years, there have been changes in the definition of biological age. World Organization health care has developed a new age classification: from 25 to 44 years old - young age, 44 - 60 years old - average age, 60 - 75 years old - old age, 75 - 90 years old - senile age, after 90 - centenarians. Maybe it's the rapid aging of the planet's population that is forcing artificially increase the limits of working capacity?

No. For new age limits fit into the worldview modern man. According to a sociological survey conducted this year, every fourth European is sure that old age comes at 64 years old, almost every fifth - that at 74 years old. Sociological surveys were conducted in 31 countries, more than 40 thousand people were interviewed, the results were summarized by British professor Dominic Abrams. It turned out that in the West, 80-year-old people feel the departure of youth at 52 years old, and the advent of old age - at 69 years old. Women push back the beginning of their decline even further. Changed age limits and midlife crisis. Fifty years ago, he attacked at 36 years old, today - at 55.

Some scientists are convinced that the evolution of mankind has taken this path, at the present stage it is no longer interested only in the quantitative increase in the population, as it was before, but in the development of intellectual properties, the self-improvement of people. Today, nature slows down biological aging, the death of an organism is slower, because now the progress of mankind requires a developed brain and experience inherent in representatives of the older age group. People reach the highest intellectual development after 40 years, then wisdom comes. By the age of seventy, the vital, professional and intellectual base is fully formed, which can be used for the further development of mankind in the biosphere. The population from 60 to 90 years of age is increasing four to five times faster than the total population.

The voice of the people

Do Dzerzhinsk residents fit into the world statistics? How old do you feel? Here are the answers of some residents of our city.

Nadezhda Fedorovna, 60 years old:

For 60 years and I feel. Up to 55, I felt younger than my age, but as my health deteriorated, everything became equal. And that now people age later - both physically and psychologically, I think it's true.

Pavel Nikolaevich Chernenko:

At sixty, I regret that I'm not twenty-five. The soul, unlike the body, can remain young for a long time. My soul, probably, is twenty-five years old. This is because I always saw the future, led an active lifestyle. He worked for 37 years in tunneling, sixteen of them after retirement, and at the same time he kept a farm. You have to live tomorrow, as soon as you start living today one day, life will stop.

Nadezhda Emelyanovna:

I am 59, my health is failing, and there is no time to grow old - my husband is sick, my mother is old. She is already ninety, but she knows better than me that the feeling of her age does not have to coincide with her passport data: she worked until the age of 78, now she is trying to be in good shape, doing what she can.

Maria Yakovlevna, 69 years old:

Well, I feel like I'm 65 years old. Younger feel the disease do not give. They piled on as soon as she quit her job. And she worked for 52 years as a cutter in KBO. She loved her work and was happy to interact with people. Work activity makes you feel younger and prolongs life.

Determine your chances

This test, developed by foreign scientists, will help you determine with statistical certainty how great your chances of living a long time are.

1. Cardiological diseases.

a) Which of your parents, grandparents suffered a premature heart attack or heart attack (up to 60 years old): none - 10 points; one or two - 5 points; three or more - 0 points.

b) C last time my cholesterol level was (if this is not known, probably will have to be guided by eating habits): excellent (less than 200 mg) - 10 points; medium (220 mg) - 5 points; bad (over 240 mg) - 0 points.

c) The last time I had blood pressure:

excellent (120/70) - 10 points; good (130/90) - 5 points; bad (140/95) - 0 points. (For greater accuracy, the pressure must be measured three times during the day)

2. Job satisfaction.

Going to work in the morning, I feel: ready for new exploits - 10 points; ready to work, but without much enthusiasm - 5 points; not interested - after all, it's just a job - 0 points.

3. Smoking.

Over the past five years I have: not smoked at all - 10 points; smoked from time to time - 5 points; smoked constantly - 0 points

4. Physical condition.

To determine the physical condition, there are many indicators, such as coordination of movements, the effectiveness of respiratory functions, the speed of reactions, the activity of the circulatory system, etc. For self-assessment, compare your current physical form with the one you had 10 years ago.

I feel: almost the same - 10 points; something worsened - 5 points; I had a need to resort to treatment - 0 points.

5. Satisfaction with life.

In general, lately my life has been developing: very successfully - 10 points; not bad - 5 points; no better than others - 0 points.

6. Self-assessment of the state of health.

This year my state of health: excellent - 10 points; good - 5 points; average or bad - 0 points.

7. The level of intelligence.

In my opinion, intelligence has not changed over the past year - 10 points; changed slightly - 5 points; memory and intelligence have become worse - 0 points.

Let's summarize:

An "excellent" score (90 points) indicates that you will live longer than any average citizen (approximately 78 years for women and 72 years for men).

An above average score (65 to 90 points) indicates that you can live 3 years longer than the average statistical figure or more if you took the test at an older age.

The average score (45-65 points) indicates the average life expectancy.

A score below average (40 points) indicates that you need to pay more attention to your health.

In order to get a more accurate health assessment, you need to take into account the following factors:

Age. Your age should be taken into account when taking the test. If you are over 50 years old, then an indicator of 75-90 points indicates a very high probability that you are a long-liver. The same figure at age 30 is less significant.

Your lifestyle and habits. Ceteris paribus, a regular lifestyle correlates with longevity. It's about about regular three meals a day, about eight hours of sleep every day - at the same time, etc. Married people, as a rule, live longer than single people. Alcohol consumption should be minimal, if not zero - alcoholism shortens life span.

AGE CLASSIFICATION, age grouping, the distribution of the ages of people into more or less large groups that unite them on the basis of the similarity of any social or demographic functions. It is usually applied to the entire population or large populations of people. Age classification is based on the idea of ​​age periodization. Age classification allows you to separate certain age contingents. Age classification criteria depend on the purpose of the study. In demography, the preferred classification of age into 1-year or 5-year groups, in last case often (for example, when calculating short tables of mortality), the first 5-year group, due to its particular importance, is divided into 1-year groups. When studying marriage and fertility, marriageable ages and the reproductive age of women are distinguished. From an economic point of view, ages are divided into 3 groups - pre-working, working and post-working (pre-working able-bodied and post-working), the boundaries of which are different. years and older or 0-14, 15-64, 65 years and older). This classification of age is accepted in international practice. In the USSR, in planning practice, the grouping is used 0-15, 16-54, 55 years and older - for women 0-15, 16-59, 60 years and older - for men. The classification of age, which is important for the analysis of the structure of labor resources, was developed by B. Ts. Urlanis. At the same time, the population is divided into groups: working - up to 15 years (including toddlers - up to 2, school-3-6 and school - 7-15 years) working - 16-59 years (including youth - 16-24, maturity - 25-44 and late maturity - 45-59 years), post-working - 60 years and older (including old age - 60-69, early old age - 70-79, deep old age - 80 years and more).

Based on the analysis of age-related changes in various organs and tissues, as well as an assessment of the body's performance, the decision of the Leningrad Conference on Gerontology (1962) and the WHO seminar on social and clinical problems in the USSR adopted the so-called working classification of the age limits of the second half of a person's life. The age of 45-59 is defined as middle, 60-74 - elderly, over 75 years old - senile, in which centenarians stand out - people aged 90 years and older.

Attempts to propose a universal classification of age have been made for a long time. So the Russian statistician and demographer of the 1st half of the 19th century A.P. Roschavsky-Petrovsky singled out the younger generation - up to 15 years old (including minors - up to 5 years old and children - 5-15), the flowering generation - 16-60 years (including young - 16-30, mature - 30-45, elderly - 45-60 years), fading generation - 61-100 years and older (including old - 61 - 75, durable - 75-100 and older). The age classification proposed in 1939 by the Demographic Statistics Section of the American Health Association is consistent with the classifications accepted in modern international comparisons. It has 8 periods: infancy - up to 1 year, before school age- from 1 to 4 years, school years- 5-14, youth - 15-24, most active years - 15-44, average age - 45-64, early period old age - 65-74, old age - from 75 years. Other universal classifications of age are known, but none of them has now become generally accepted (see also Age).

I.V. Kalinyuk.

Demographic encyclopedic dictionary. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. Chief editor D.I. Valentey. 1985.

Developmental psychology studies the facts and patterns of the mental development of a healthy person. Traditionally, it is customary to divide its life cycle into the following periods:

1. prenatal (intrauterine);
2. childhood;
3. adolescence;
4. maturity (adult state);
5. advanced age, old age.

In turn, each of the periods consists of several stages that have a number of characteristic features.

All these stages have their own specifics associated with the level of physiological functioning, the degree of mental development of a person, his psychological qualities and prevailing desires, prevailing forms of behavior and activity.

prenatal period divided into 3 stages:

• pre-embryonic;
• germinal(embryonic);
• fetal stage.

The first stage lasts 2 weeks and corresponds to the development of a fertilized egg before its introduction into the wall of the uterus and the formation of the umbilical cord. The second - from the beginning of the third week after fertilization until the end of the second month of development. At this stage, anatomical and physiological differentiation of various organs occurs. The third begins from the third month of development and ends by the time of birth. At this time, the formation of body systems that allow it to survive after birth takes place. The fetus acquires the ability to survive in the air at the beginning of the seventh month, and from that time it is already called a child.

Childhood period includes stages:

• birth and infancy(from birth to 1 year);
• early childhood (or "first childhood" - from 1 year to 3 years) - the period of development of functional independence and speech;
• preschool age(or "second childhood" - from 3 to 6 years), is characterized by the development of the child's personality and cognitive processes;
• primary school age(or "third childhood" - from 6 to 11-12 years old) corresponds to the inclusion of the child in a social group and the development of intellectual skills and knowledge.

Adolescence is divided into two periods:

• teenage (or puberty);
• youthful (juvenile).

The first period corresponds to puberty and lasts from 11-12 to 14-15 years. At this time, under the influence of constitutional changes, a new idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthemselves is formed in a teenager. The second period lasts from 16 to 20-23 years and represents the transition to maturity. From a biological point of view, the young man is already an adult, but has not yet reached social maturity: youth is characterized by a sense of psychological independence, although a person has not yet assumed any social obligations. Youth acts as a period of making responsible decisions that determine the entire future life of a person: the choice of a profession and one's place in life, the search for the meaning of life, the formation of one's worldview and self-awareness, and the choice of a life partner.

During the transition from one age stage to another, critical periods, or crises, are distinguished, when the former form of a person’s relationship with the outside world is destroyed and a new one is formed, which is accompanied by significant psychological difficulties for the person himself and his social environment. Allocate small crises(crisis of the first year, crisis of 7 years, crisis of 17/18 years) and big crises(birth crisis, 3 years, teen crisis 13-14 years old). In the case of the latter, the relationship between the child and society is rebuilt. Minor crises are outwardly calmer, they are associated with an increase in the skills and independence of a person. During periods of the critical phase, children are difficult to educate, stubborn, show negativism, obstinacy, and disobedience.

Maturity. It is divided into a number of stages and crises. Stage early maturity, or youth(from 20-23 to 30-33 years), corresponds to the entry of a person into an intense personal life and professional activity. This is the period of "becoming", self-assertion in love, sex, career, family, society.

In mature years, their crisis periods stand out. One of them is the crisis of 33-35 years, when, having reached a certain social and family status, a person begins to think with anxiety: “Is this all that life can give me? Is there really nothing better? And some begin to frantically change jobs, spouses, places of residence, hobbies, etc. Then comes short stabilization period from 35 to 40-43 years old, when a person consolidates everything that he has achieved, is confident in his professional skills, authority, has an acceptable level of career success and material prosperity, his health, marital status and sexual relations are normalized.

After a period of stability comes critical decade 45-55 years. A person begins to feel the approach of middle age: health is deteriorating, signs of loss of beauty and physical form, alienation sets in in the family and in relations with grown-up children, there comes a fear that you will not get anything better either in life, or in a career, or in love. As a result of this, there is a feeling of fatigue from reality, depressive moods, from which a person hides either in dreams of new love victories, or in real attempts to “prove his youth” in love affairs, or a career takes off. The final period of maturity lasts from 55 to 65 years. This is a period of physiological and psychological balance, a decrease in sexual tension, a gradual withdrawal of a person from active labor and social life. The age from 65 to 75 is referred to as the first old age. After 75 years, age is considered advanced: a person rethinks his whole life, realizes his Self in spiritual thoughts about the years he has lived - and either accepts his life as a unique destiny that does not need to be redone, or understands that life was in vain.

AT old age(old age) a person has to overcome three sub-crises. The first of them is a reassessment of one's self, which is not related to the professional role, which for many people remains the main one until retirement. The second sub-crisis is associated with the awareness of the deterioration of health and aging of the body, which makes it possible for a person to develop the necessary indifference to this.

As a result of the third sub-crisis, self-concern disappears, and now one can accept the thought of death without horror.

Faced with its inevitability, a person goes through a series of stages. The first of them - denial. The thought “No, not me!” - the usual and normal reaction of a person to the announcement of a fatal diagnosis. Then comes the stage of anger. It embraces the patient when asked “Why me?”, pours out on other people who care about this person and, in general, on any healthy person. For this stage to come to an end, the dying person must pour out his feelings.

Next stage - "bargaining". The patient is trying to prolong his life, promising to be an obedient patient or an exemplary believer, trying to prolong his life with the help of medical achievements and repentance before God for his sins and mistakes.

All these three phases constitute a period of crisis and develop in the order described, there are returns to the previous stage.

After the resolution of this crisis, the dying person enters the stage depression. He realizes: "Yes, this time it is I who will die." He withdraws into himself, often feels the need to cry at the thought of those whom he is forced to leave. This is the stage of preparatory sadness, in which the dying person renounces life and prepares to meet death, accepting it as his last life stage. He is further and further separated from living people, withdrawing into himself, - the state “ social death”(from society, from people, a person has already moved away, as if he died in a social sense).

Fifth stage - "acceptance of death". A person realizes and agrees, resigns himself to the inevitability of imminent death and humbly awaits his end. This state "mental death"(Psychologically, a person has already, as it were, abandoned life). clinical death occurs from the moment the heart stops working and breathing stops, but within 10-20 minutes it is still possible to bring a person back to life with medical efforts.

Brain death means the complete cessation of brain activity and its control over various functions of the body, resulting in the death of brain cells. Physiological death corresponds to the extinction of the last functions of the body and the death of all its cells. According to some religious views and the opinion of a number of scientists, with the death of the body, the soul, the human psyche, does not die. There is a hypothesis that it continues to exist in the form of an information clot after the death of a person and connects with the global information field. The traditional materialistic understanding denies the possibility of preserving the soul, the psyche of a person after his death, although the latest studies of physicists, doctors, and psychologists are no longer so categorical.

Age as a category serves to designate the temporal characteristics of individual development. In other words, it is a cycle (stage, period) of development. The division of a person's life cycle into periods allows us to better understand the patterns of its development, the specifics of age-related changes in the psyche.

There is a division of a person's age into chronological, social and psychological. Let's characterize them.

Chronological age indicates the level of biological development of a person from the moment of birth. Most often, it is understood as the physiological existence of the individual. This age is also defined as the passport age. Its main criteria are the height and weight of a person, skeletal maturity, the timing of the appearance of milk and permanent teeth, the timing of the onset of secondary sexual characteristics, etc.

Psychological age characterizes the level of ontogenetic development, determined by the laws of psychophysical maturation of the organism. It is determined by the degree of development of mental processes and personality traits. From the point of view of L.S. Vygotsky, psychological (conditional) age is a qualitatively peculiar period of mental development, characterized, first of all, by the appearance of a neoplasm (in the psyche or behavior), which is prepared by the entire course of previous development.

Social age includes the level of social maturity of a person, his adaptability in society. Main criteria given age may be the assimilation of the moral and legal level and social roles, the development of a professional orientation, etc. The gradations of social age are the following: school, student, retirement age and etc.

Psychological age, as well as social age, in most cases do not coincide with each other and with chronological age, which depends on socio-cultural, economic, natural and other factors.

In addition, there is also a subjectively experienced age, which has an internal frame of reference. We are talking about age-related self-awareness, which depends on tension, the eventful fullness of life and the subjectively perceived degree of self-realization of the individual.

The concept of age as a unit of mental development was introduced by L.S. Vygotsky, who believed that age has its own structure and dynamics. Taking into account this understanding, he developed the periodization of childhood. It is based on two criteria - dynamic and meaningful. Guided by the dynamics of development, he singled out critical and lytic (calm, stable) stages in childhood. In terms of content, L. S. Vygotsky divided childhood into periods, based on the neoplasms of each stage. Thus, he obtained the following periodization of childhood.

Neonatal crisis.

Infant age (2 months - 1 year).

Crisis of one year.

Early age (1 - 3 years).

Crisis of three years.

Preschool age (3 - 7 years).

Crisis of seven years.

School age (8 - 12 years).

Crisis 13 years.

Pubertal age (13 - 17 years).

Crisis 17 years.

At the present stage of development psychological science The full human life cycle is divided into the following age stages:

Infancy (from birth to a year), early childhood (from 1 year to 3 years), preschool childhood(from 3 to 7 years old), primary school age (from 7 to 11 years old), adolescence(from 11 to 16 years old), adolescence(from 16 to 21 years old), youth (from 21 to 35 years old), maturity (from 35 to 60 years old), old age (from 60 to 75 years old), old age (from 75 to 90 years old), centenarians (90 years or more). Such a definition of the boundaries of age is conditional and is given for orientation of psychological age.

The definition of "age features" should be given. They represent the specific properties of the personality of the individual, his psyche, naturally changing in the process of changing the age stages of development. They reflect such transformations that occur in the psyche of the majority of representatives of a given culture. Age features form a complex of diverse properties of cognitive, motivational, emotional and other spheres that form the basis of development indicators at a certain age stage.

The concept of age introduced into psychology gave rise to an understanding of the age norm, which denotes the range of fluctuations in the system of psychological indicators of a certain population, within which there is a variety of individual development options.

To understand the age norm, the following approaches are distinguished.

The statistical approach is based on changing individual differences in certain indicators (height or weight, memory or attention span, intelligence quotient, etc.). The normal value of the attribute is considered to be within the average, and indicators that go beyond the established limits are considered deviant from the norm.

Within the framework of this approach, the age norm is expressed as an average quantitative indicator.

The functional-system approach considers the norm not as a set standard criteria, but as a process that determines the functional optimum of the activity of a living organism. The physical and mental norm is understood through the interval of optimal functioning of the organism, within which the connection with the environment is maintained. The age norm is defined as the biological optimum for the functioning of a living system, providing an adaptive response to environmental factors.

The biomedical approach is based on empirical experience that underlies the assessment of the functional state of the body. The age norm is judged by indicators such as body structure, work internal organs at rest and in interaction with the environment, mental reactions, etc.

Taking into account the approaches, the types of norms can be distinguished:

Statistical (characterizes the statistical majority of the described indicators);

Physiological (includes average indicators of the processes and states of a living organism);

Mental (determined by the indicators of most individual manifestations of the psyche);

Individual (includes indicators of the functioning of the body of a particular person without focusing on middle age criteria).

It should be noted that they speak of a mental norm when the functions of the body, mainly the brain, are within the physiological norm, and the mental components are within the statistical norm.

Currently, there are several levels of mental norm (according to S. B. Semichev).

I. Ideal norm. This means a standard, a hypothetical mental state, characterized by the harmonious integration of theoretical norms, creating conditions for complete psychosocial adaptation and mental comfort. This level corresponds to zero probability of mental illness or mental instability.

II. Average standard. It is a derivative of the average psychological characteristics selected and studied population. At this level, the risk of mental disorder is assumed.

III. Constitutional norm. That is, the indicator obtained as a result of the correlation of certain types mental states healthy people with a particular type of bodily constitution.

IV. Accentuation of development. As a variant of the mental norm, it is characterized by a special severity and disproportion of some character traits, leading to a disharmonious personality.

V. Predisease. Another level of mental norm, including indicators of the first signs of mental abnormalities (pathologies, dysfunctions, etc.).

The establishment of the age developmental norm in psychology makes it possible to generalize the features of individual development, to differentiate between normative and deviant development, to create periodizations and diagnostic criteria, and to introduce group and individual guidelines in psychosocial development.

5. PERIODS OF CHILDHOOD AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS

The entire stage of human maturation is divided into several age periods.

The age period covers a period of time during which the processes of growth, development and functional characteristics of the body are the same. At the same time, the age period is the length of time necessary to complete a certain stage in the development of the organism and achieve its readiness for the corresponding activity at this stage.

This pattern formed the basis of age periodization - the association of children by age in the organization of scientifically based processes of nutrition, education and study, the regime of mental and physical activity.

The first periodization of human growth and development was proposed by the Russian pediatrician N.P. Gundobin (1906).

In 1965, a biological age periodization scheme was adopted, proposed by the Institute of Physiology of Children and Adolescents (Moscow). Identification of 7 periods of maturation of the organism was based on an assessment of the characteristics of individual development, including a set of characteristics considered as an indicator of biological age - body and organ size, body weight, ossification of the skeleton, teething, and the degree of puberty.

Modern physiology, considering the period of maturation of the child's body from the moment of fertilization of the egg, divides it into 2 stages.

The intrauterine stage includes: 1) the phase of embryonic development (0-2 months); 2) the phase of fetal development (3-9 months).

The extrauterine stage includes:

1) neonatal period, or neonatal (0-1 month); 2) breast (postnatal) period (1 month - 1 year); 3) early childhood period (1-3 years); 4) preschool period (3-6 years); 5) school period, which, in turn, is divided into junior school (6-9 years old), middle school (10-14 years old) and senior school (15-17 years old) (E.P. Sushko et al., 2000 ).

Age periodization is a conventional designation of age, taking into account the properties of the organism of children that change in the process of development. Developed for the scientific substantiation of the health protection system and the development of the physical and mental capabilities of children, methods of education and training. In these processes, it is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of the development of a single individual, who has certain differences in the genetic code and a complex mosaic of human life conditions. That is why the calendar (passport) age of children does not always correspond to their biological maturity. The difference between the calendar and biological age in pathology can reach 5 years (GN Serdyukovskaya, 1989). Reasons for lagging retardation(from lat. retardation - slowdown) of individual development may be prematurity of the child, birth trauma, intoxication, rickets, as well as the influence of adverse social conditions (drunkenness of parents, neglect of children, etc.). Children who are ahead of biological age are less common. Most of them are girls. Characteristic for such children are overweight, chronic tonsillitis, vegetovascular dystonia.

In 1935, E. Koch proposed the term acceleration(from lat. acceleratio - acceleration) to denote changes in the growth and development of children in the 20th century. compared with the pace of these processes in the XIX century.

In the modern generation, the stage of biological maturation ends really earlier. Acceleration of development comes from an early age: the body weight of newborns increased by 100-300 g, body length - by 1.2-1.5 cm (Yu.A. Yampolskaya, 1980). Doubling the weight occurs already in the 4-5th month, and not in six months. A year earlier, the change of milk teeth is completed (V.N. Kordashenko, 1980). Acceleration shifts are most pronounced in adolescence.

The acceleration phenomenon is explained by the influence of a wide range of factors on the biology of a modern person (ionizing and radioactive radiation; heterosis associated with the migration of the modern population: urbanization, chemicalization, etc.) and does not always have a positive effect on the body of children. Modern experts believe that the pace of acceleration has noticeably decreased in recent years.

The division of children into age groups in kindergarten. For more successful work with children, it is considered appropriate to divide into age groups. This takes into account the totality of the anatomical and physiological characteristics of children, living conditions, upbringing and education of children. Each age group should correspond to optimal conditions that ensure the normal development of the child's body and the formation of his personality.

In preschool institutions, groups are completed taking into account the age of children (Table 1.1).

At the present stage, due to the long maternity leave of women (from 2 months to 3 years), the number nursery groups in ordinary kindergartens has significantly decreased, but they are in children's homes.

* The composition and area of ​​the premises of the kindergarten. Guide to the construction standards of the Republic of Belarus; 3.02.01-96 to SNiP 2.08.02.89. 1996. S. 7.

In the existing age periodization, insufficient attention is paid to the period of intrauterine development - the life of the embryo and fetus in a different environment, where part of onto- and phylogenesis takes place. However, the further growth, development and health of the unborn child largely depends on this period.

Table 1.1

Groups in preschool institutions corresponding to age periods

The period of intrauterine development of the body lasts from the moment of fertilization of the egg until the moment of birth of a person and is 9 calendar months, or, on average, 280 days. In the first three months, the formation of the fetus occurs. This period was called the phase, or stage, of embryonic development. In this phase, the internal environment of the mother's body is the environment of the fetus.

At the stage of embryonic development (from the 8th day to the 10th week), organogenesis is carried out - the formation of all internal organs and systems of the unborn child. Various chronic infections and intoxications, harmful professional factors can affect the development of the embryo, in addition, embryonic cells are very sensitive to various stimuli. Exposure to harmful factors causes embryopathies - diseases of the prenatal period, leading to malformations in children. This period is considered a critical period of development.

From the beginning of the 3rd month, the phase of placental development begins (from the 12th week to birth), in which further development of the internal organs occurs. The early placental period is an important stage in the development of the fetus, since the correct formation of the placenta, and hence the placental circulation, ensures further normal growth and development of the fetus. Various diseases of the mother, toxicosis (as a result of smoking, alcohol, drugs) lead to impaired placental circulation.

The characteristic features of this period are: the rapid growth of the fetus, further differentiation of organs, the formation of the main structural and functional features of the unborn child. Various adverse factors (endo- and exogenous) in this period cause growth retardation, differentiation of organs and tissues and lead to the birth of a premature baby. Many diseases of the fetus, which are often associated with early infections (infection occurs transplacental), such as AIDS, rubella, influenza, listeriosis, toxicoplasmosis, yersiniosis, brucellosis, syphilis, as well as various toxicoses, including medication, also have a negative effect.

The later (fetal) stage is characterized by the accumulation of microelements, some vitamins in the fetal body, and the maturation of enzyme systems. Damage to the fetus during this period can cause intrauterine malnutrition, functional failure of systems and organs, premature birth, and congenital infections.

The neonatal period lasts from the moment of birth and up to 28 days of life. This period is divided into early (0-6 days) and late (7-28 days). The neonatal period is the most responsible and critical, accompanied by great stress for the child. Severe stress reaction of the body is confirmed by deep morphological and functional changes in the endocrine, nervous and other systems of internal organs. Changing living conditions - existence outside the mother's body - forces the newborn to adapt to new environmental factors.

The main changes taking place in the child's body are adaptation to new living conditions, the emergence of pulmonary respiration, the restructuring of the circulatory apparatus, the gastrointestinal tract, and changes in metabolism.

During intrauterine development, gas exchange occurs through the placenta, after childbirth, the lungs straighten out, and pulmonary respiration occurs. "Started" constant large and small circles of blood circulation. The type of digestion completely changes due to a change in the child's diet, in the first 24-48 hours the intestines are populated by various bacteria.

During this period, a condition may develop that indicates a violation of the adaptive capabilities of the child's body in environmental conditions. This condition is observed in violation of hygienic nutritional standards, care regimen and is called transient (transitional). All this is reflected in the functions of the organs and systems of the newborn, often causing their violation.

There is a transient loss of the initial body weight on the 3rd-4th day of life (by 5-6% of birth weight) as a result of starvation and loss of water during the onset of autonomous processes of respiration, urination, etc. Prevention of this disorder is early attachment of the child to the breast . With a sharp change in ambient temperature, such children easily overheat or cool down as a result of the imperfection of the body's thermoregulation processes. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain an adequate temperature regime (using incubators for premature babies, etc.), which is determined by the degree of maturity of the child and the ambient temperature.

In the first days of life, newborns develop an increased concentration of bilirubin, which in 60-70% of cases is accompanied by icteric coloration of the skin and mucous membranes; this is due to the accelerated hemolysis of erythrocytes containing hemoglobin F, and the low activity of liver enzymes that bind bilirubin to glucuronic acid.

Newborns develop a hormonal imbalance, or crisis, due to an increase in the blood of maternal hormones - estrogens, coming through mother's milk. Possible engorgement of the mammary glands, spotting in girls from the vagina, rash, pigmentation of the skin around the nipples and genitals, on the face, etc.

Significant transient shifts are noted in the function of the kidneys, the cardiovascular system, and in metabolic processes.

In a later, neonatal period (end of the 1st - beginning of the 2nd week), under normal conditions of nutrition, implementation of the regimen and care of newborns, most disorders almost completely disappear. But there are limits of adaptation, beyond which, under the influence of negative factors, the disease develops. Diseases of children of this period are different. Some are associated with impaired intrauterine development (prematurity, developmental anomalies), others with birth trauma (intracranial hemorrhage, bone fractures, asphyxia), and others with heredity (hemophilia, mental retardation). Viral and bacterial infections often result in stillborn babies or babies unable to survive outside the mother's body.

Newborns are very sensitive to pyogenic infection, which can cause sepsis, penetrating most often through the umbilical wound, damaged skin, etc.

Infancy (postnatal period) lasts from 1 month to 1 year. This period is characterized by a rapid increase in height, body weight, intensive metabolism, development of statics and motor skills.

In order to ensure enhanced growth and development of children of the 1st year, more food per 1 kg of body weight is needed than older children. But the digestive tract at this age is not sufficiently developed, and even with a slight violation of nutrition, quality and quantity of food in children, both acute and chronic disorders of digestion and nutrition, beriberi can occur.

Insufficient development of the digestive organs and their limited function (breast milk is the main food up to 5-6 months of life) can cause diseases of the gastrointestinal tract (gastrointestinal tract).

Acute childhood infections (measles, rubella, scarlet fever, etc.) infancy rarely observed, and in cases of infection, the disease is more severe; they differ in their prevalence common features and low expressiveness of specific local symptoms. The skin and tissues of infants are delicate and easily damaged. However, due to the presence in the tissues of a large number of capillaries and young cellular elements, when damaged, healing occurs faster than in adults.

The relative rarity of infectious diseases in children of this age is due to the immunity that they received from the mother through the placenta, and reinforced during the year with antibodies contained in mother's milk.

The pre-preschool (nursery) period lasts from 1 to 3 years. In this period, the growth and development of the child is already at a slower pace. The increase in height is 8-10 cm, weight - 4-6 kg per year. The proportions of the body change significantly, the size of the head decreases relatively from 1/4 of the body length in a newborn to 1/5 in a 3-year-old child (Fig. 1.1). The complication of the function of the gastrointestinal tract, the presence of teeth (there should be 8 by the end of the year) are the basis for starting artificial feeding of the child.

In the 2nd year of life, intensive growth and formation of the musculoskeletal system takes place. Improvement of the central nervous system and knowledge of the environment contribute to the development of motor skills, active participation in games. Children can sit, walk and run on their own. The vocabulary increases significantly (200-300 words); They can pronounce both single words and whole phrases well.

newborn 2 years 6 years 20 years

Rice. 1.1. Change in body proportions with age

Wider contacts with the environment, with children, adults create a threat of infection with infectious diseases. At this time, passive immunity received from the mother is weakened, and the possibility of infectious diseases (measles, chicken pox, whooping cough, scarlet fever, dysentery, digestive disorders, respiratory diseases) increases.

The skin and tissues remain tender, easily injured, which requires careful care and appropriate hygiene practices.

Preschool age lasts from 3 to 7 years. This period is characterized by an even greater slowdown in the growth rate of the child. The annual increase in height is on average 5-8 cm, body weight - about 2 kg. The proportions of the body also change significantly - by the age of 6-7 years, the length of the head is 1/6 of the length of the body, and the growth of the limbs accelerates (see Fig. 1.1). There is a further improvement of the central and peripheral nervous system, the development of muscle tissue, which enables children to perform various physical exercises that require precise coordination of movements. This contributes to the development of movements and skills - children run a lot and quickly, walk on tiptoe, play musical instruments, draw, cut paper crafts, etc.

Due to further neuropsychic development, the strengthening of negative induction in the cerebral cortex, the functional ability of nerve cells increases, so children can engage in any kind of concentrated activity for a longer time. The stock of words is significantly replenished, speech signals play an increasingly important role in the child's behavior. The development of speech is facilitated by various games, activities, learning poems, songs, relationships between children and adults. Mastering speech, pronunciation of individual words and phrases, the child learns through adoption, so the formation of correct speech depends on the people around him. To prevent speech delay, adults need to be attentive to the child, monitor their own and his speech.

Children aged 3-5 years have insufficiently developed motor skills of speech, as a result of which they are characterized by physiological shortcomings in the pronunciation of certain sounds: a violation of the pronunciation of hissing and whistling sounds, as well as "p", "l", "k", etc. With proper learning of sound culture of speech, these shortcomings quickly pass. In cases of delay in the development of speech motor skills in children in preschool institutions and schools, its setting is carried out by speech therapists.

At preschool age, the proportion of acute viral infections - influenza, acute respiratory infections - increases. Respiratory diseases take the first place. Inflammation of the lungs is more often observed at 2-4 years of age, and by the 7th year it occurs most often as a complication of viral diseases.

Until the end of preschool age, the number of cases of chronic tonsillitis, a tendency to rheumatism increases, the number of visual impairments, allergic diseases, neurotic disorders almost doubles.

At the end of the preschool period, the structure of chronic diseases in children is distributed as follows: diseases of the digestive system are in the first place; on the second - diseases of the respiratory organs (primarily the nasopharynx); on the third - diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue (flat feet, scoliosis, etc.); on the fourth - diseases of the nervous system and sensory organs (neurosis, myopia, enuresis, otitis media, etc.); on the fifth - skin diseases (diathesis, etc.). Consequently, the main attention of educators, teachers, doctors should be directed to the timely prevention of health disorders in children, the identification of existing deviations and the adoption of appropriate measures for their treatment.

School age starts from 6-7 years old and lasts until 17 years old. A normally developed 6-7-year-old child is morphologically and functionally ready for schooling.

The child's nervous system, analyzers, endocrine and other systems have acquired sufficient functional maturity. The replacement of milk teeth by permanent ones ends. Purposeful studies at school are not only feasible, but also useful for children, they improve the central nervous system, in particular the cerebral cortex, innate reactions and abilities, create conditions for the development of new connections and reactions, and contribute to faster development.