Childhood definition

Stages of human growth

The first stage of human development begins with the fertilization process that results from the fertilization of the male gamete to the female gamet. The fetus then develops during the stage of pregnancy that continues until birth. As for the subsequent stages of development, there are scientific divisions that are based on the needs and requirements of each stage, and the extent of the individual's dependence on himself in performing his own tasks; Such as biological, behavioral, social, or mental needs, and it is necessary to know the types of stages that a person goes through during his development. Because that includes an analysis of the needs and requirements of each stage and the building of individuals during it, and it is natural for these stages to be sequenced by the beginning of a person's life and ending with his death, but most researchers have indicated the first stage in which the formation of the fetus beginsIn his mother's womb, through the process of fertilization and meeting of gametes; Because the formation of that stage is the first stage of the fetus’s growth due to the internal formation of its main organs, then a clear growth of its features to complete its body during pregnancy, and then it appears when it is born with its complete human form. ^[1]

Considering the first stage of a child's development as the stage of pregnancy, the divisions of the following stages appear throughout the life of a person beginning at birth with a clear difference in what scientists see as appropriate for the age or temporal and stage periods of his life, and in what follows a presentation of the stages of a person's life and development based on his age stages: ^[2] The stages can be summarized Human development includes the following: ^[3]

• The stage of embryos: Scientists have agreed to consider the first stage in the development of the fetus and its formation during pregnancy as a fetus in the womb of its mother, to be the first stage of its development.
• The first childhood stage : It is the first of two stages in which a person lives as a child, starting from being thrown outside the womb, and this stage extends to the seventh year of the child's life.
• The second childhood stage: The second part of childhood, which begins at the seventh year of the child's life and ends at the age of twelve years.
• The stage of adolescence: The most prominent characteristic of this stage is the child's reaching the end of his childhood and the beginning of his youth, and the starting age in it is the thirteenth age of the human life, and this stage ends when he reaches the twenty-first year of his life.
• Stage of maturity : This stage begins at the end of adolescence twenty - first year of human life, and extends to his old age.

Childhood definition

Childhood is of great importance, as it is one of the most important stages of a person’s life, which is characterized by continuous growth and remarkable development, both physically and mentally, and the child lives this stage totally or relative dependent on his parents, siblings or the rest of his surrounding family, as it is difficult for him to independently perform the various tasks independently. In the early stages of his childhood, many meanings and definitions of childhood emerged, including:

Childhood is a language

Language dictionaries seem to agree in their definition of the concept of childhood, as they mostly refer to a common definition that symbolizes a time stage in a person’s life. In their definition of childhood, they affirmed that it is a period or stage between a person’s birth and his maturity. ^[4]

Defining childhood idiomatically

The linguistic and idiomatic meanings of childhood share a reference to it being a period of time in a person’s life that begins with his birth and in which certain characteristics appear that extend for a period of time, and then the human being enters another phase. Childhood and idiomatically is the time stage of the child 's age , which extends from birth until he reaches, ^[5] and is considered childhood the first stages of human life after birth, the origination physical stage personal composition, but different final borders of the stage, there is no agreement framed end clearly. ^[6]

The period of time or the age stage that defines the stage of childhood can be inferred through the definition of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child, which defined the child as (every human being under the age of eighteen unless he reached the age of majority before that according to the law applied to him), and this definition determines the end of childhood a reality. By reaching adulthood, and this may extend until the eighteenth year of life as suggested by the agreement. ^[7]

Some believe that childhood may extend beyond the twentieth year of life. As it is the age at which physical development is complete for most individuals to reach their maturity, and the age of childhood may vary from generation to generation or from one people to another; It is associated with physical maturity and self-reliance in performing tasks, independently of the individual from his own environment. ^[8]

Childhood in the dictionary of sociology

The definition of childhood in the dictionary of sociology refers to the possibility of determining the age of childhood as a stage of a person’s life according to societal agreement and convention, as there is no cultural agreement defined by peoples and cultures for this stage. In it, adulthood or adulthood, and the sociology dictionary defines childhood as: (the period of time of a person’s life that begins with his birth and extends to his adulthood, with its difference from one culture to another). ^[9]

Childhood stages

The human childhood stage can be divided into several sections based on the characteristics and stages that the individual goes through during this stage, and the human childhood stage is relatively long. It is the longest stage between childhood stages for different organisms, and some studies classify childhood into two parts, followed by the stage of adolescence that may be attributed to childhood: ^[10]

• Early childhood stage : extends to the fifth year of the child's life , during which the child's basic skills and behavioral formation are developed, such as learning to walk and acquiring language, and the child creates his own world in which he can primarily rely on himself.
• Late childhood stage : This stage extends from the sixth year of the child's life and continues until his twelfth year.
• The stage of adolescence : This stage begins and ends when the child reaches his arrival in the case of majority.

References

1. ↑ Amal Sadiq, Fouad Abu Hatab, “Human Growth from the Fetal Stage to the Elderly Stage” Egypt: The Egyptian Anglo Library, pages 4-6, part 1
2. ↑ Abdul Rahman Al-Zaid (1416/1417 AH), “Islamic guidance for human development among students of higher education,” Madinah: The Islamic University of Madinah, pages 505-511, Part 1.
3. ↑ Abbas Mahjoub (1987), the assets of educational thought in Islam , Beirut-Lebanon: Dar Ibn Kathir, page 221-234.
4. ↑ “Definition and Meaning of Childhood” , Dictionary of Meanings .
5. ↑ “Defining Childhood” , Islamweb .
6. ↑ “The concept of childhood” , the Fiqh Forum .
7. ↑ “The Convention on the Rights of the Child” , UNICEF , accessed on 2/21/2017.
8. ↑ Tariq Al-Bakri (1999), “Children's magazines and their role in building the Islamic personality,” Kuwait, page 27.
9. ↑ A group of professors on meeting at Alexandria University, “The Reference in the Terms of Social Sciences”, Alexandria: University Knowledge House, page 59.
10. ↑ “Childhood, definitions and characteristics” , Alukah network .