This paper focuses on the critical stages of development of a child while referring to various theories of human growth and development. A child's experiences during the first five years are quite crucial in shaping his or her future. Most people do not realize it, but an infant learns quite very quickly. During the first few months, the infant struggles to adapt to a new environment. The infant also gets to know the people around her. Brain development occurs at the early stages of development, often within the first three years. The learning theories such as the classical conditioning theory try to explain how a child learns and what factors influence the learning development of a child. Piaget's cognitive development theory breaks down human growth and development into four stages. The first two stages, going all the way to the seventh year of a child, are said to be critical in a child's intellectual development. During these stages, the brain is designed and set according to what an individual will be able to operate or take interest on, in the latter stages of life. These first two stages of human/child development are the critical stages of life that shape a person's future.
Introduction
Growth and development begin as soon as the baby is born. The changes that occur to a child as he or she grows and develop make up to child development. These changes occur in relation to children’s mental alertness, physical health, social competence, emotional soundness, and readiness to learn. After birth and during the first few months, the new-born struggles to get used to his or her new, vast environment. The first few years are the most critical for a child's development. It is believed that the first five years shape a child's future health, growth, happiness, and development ( McDevitt & Ormrod, 2010) . Some of the empirical psychological theories that explain growth and development from the time of birth include the learning theories and the cognitive development theory. Brain development, which starts as early as the first year, is the focus of most of the psychologists while explaining the growth and development in infants or humans in general. This aims to describe the growth and development of an infant over a lifetime with the illustration of various growth and development theories such as the learning theories.
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Growth and Development of a Newborn over a Lifetime
A newborn faces the direct challenge of having to adapt to new environment. The environment, as pointed out by various psychologists influences greatly, a child’s development. The people around the newborn and how they handle the newborn also influences how this baby grows and develops. A child learns quite fast during the early stages. However, the environment must be set in a way that favors their positive growth and development. The environment here refers to the surroundings of the child, where he or she is taken and the people around the child. At the early stages of growth and development, a child needs love and proper nurturing. Nurturing infants and showing them love helps develop the sense of security and trust. These two aspects (security and trust) later turn into confidence which children need growing up. Most of the children raised with single parents, who are also faced with the challenge of having to go to work, often grow up devoid of confidence.
The brain, which is a critical organ in growth and development is said to develop at quite a high rate during the first three to five years after a child is born. Scientific research has it that almost everything has an effect on the development of a child's brain during this period. These include what a child hears, what he sees, touches, tastes or smells. All the senses provide a pathway to the brain and help the brain to develop. This way, the child’s brain is stimulated and designed in a way that corresponds to what the child gathers from his or her environment. The lifetime foundations for learning, behavior, and health are all laid down at this point. This is why it is very much essential to provide an infant with the correct care and environment ( James & Prout, 2015) .
Relationships is another factor, apart from the environment, which also affects a lot of areas and stages of a child' development. A child's learning based on the kind of relationships around him or her forms the basis for social, communication and behavioral development of a child among other skills. Relationships exist between a child and the parents, a child and other people around her or between the people around the child such as the couple. At a later age, there is also the relationship between the preschool child and the teacher which is also very important in developing learning skills ( Hamre et al., 2014) . The infant observes these forms of relations and learns from them. For instance, a child learns a lot from the relationship of the parents and how they treat each other. The child also learns a lot from the way parents respond to his or her behaviors or actions. She learns about how the people react as a result of her cries or laughs. As mentioned earlier, as a newborn, the world is a strange place. The kind of relationships in the house proves to the child whether the world is safe or not. Through the relationships, she also learns whether she is loved and most importantly, who loves her. Those who love her will always be his or her favorites going forward.
As the infant begins to walk and talk, other factors such as play become very critical in the child's life. At this stage, the infant has adapted to her or his environment ( Baltes et al., 2014) . Play becomes a significant component of the child's growth and development at this stage. Development and learning begin to take place through play. While playing, a child has the opportunity to explore, experiment, experience, observe, solve problems and learn from his or her mistakes ( Van Hoorn et al., 2014) . The people whom the child interacts with while she carries out her experiments or plays around with various objects also help her learn better and faster. Other than playing, other factors such as physical activity, healthy eating, and the neighborhood also help shape the development of a child at this stage. Healthy eating is essential for infants and children below the age of five. They need the correct amounts of nutrient required for their rapid growth and development at this stage. Those who lack proper diet may show slower growth and development rates and poor health. However, development is often unique for every child. Even with all the factors similar, children may have their teeth appearing at different times or start walking at different ages.
The learning Theories
Of the learning theories, the classical conditioning theory stands out as the most influential in the field of psychology. The learning theories try to provide an insight into the development of a child through in relation to learning. Ivan Pavlov, the pioneer of the theory, noted that learning occurs when an association between a previously neutral stimulus and a naturally existing stimulus is formed ( Henton & Iversen, 2012) . For example, if the ringing of a bell is associated with food, then dogs would automatically salivate to the sound of the bell. The operant conditioning theory, on the other hand, focuses on the consequences of actions. According to this theory, learning occurs if the results of an action are desirable, and therefore, such results influence the behavior of the child. The other learning theory, learning through observation, has it that learning majorly takes place, simply through observations. This theory insists that children learn mostly from caregivers and siblings and try to imitate what they observe.
The learning theories try to explain how children develop in relation to learning. These theories have been proven through multiple experiments and studies and have been found to bear a lot of facts in relation to child development. According to the classical conditioning theory, children (particularly those below the age of five), learn through associations. For instance, setting the table would mean it is time for dinner. For kids below the age of five, when a parent comes back home from work, especially in the evening, there must be gifts such as sweets. According to the operant conditioning theory, the consequence of an action determines whether a child gets to emulate or adopt a specific behavior. For instance, if a child does something which makes people around her laugh or happy, she would continue do the same thing as asserted by Isaacs et al. (2013) . Through observation too, children get to learn a lot from the people around them.
Cognitive Development Theory
The cognitive development theory, developed by Jean Piaget, compressively talks about the development of human knowledge or intelligence. The theory describes the stage of development of humans and how people gradually acquire and apply knowledge. The theory focuses on the cognitive or brain development of children and how they acquire and construct knowledge. According to Piaget, a person's intelligence develops throughout his or her life stages. The first stage of cognitive or intelligence development occurs between the age of zero and two. This stage is referred to as the sensor motor stage, and at the end of this stage, a child should have learned and acquired language ( Pinker, 2009) . At this stage, the infant relies greatly on his or her senses and learns from what he or she sees or hears.
The preoperational stage, the second stage, is the stage in which play is the order of the day and is the period between age two and age seven. At this stage, the child builds his or her reasoning and learns from explorations, experiments, experiences, and mistakes. When the child starts to use logic appropriately, the child shall have reached the concrete operational stage (between seven to eleven years). Here a child is able to classify items, sort items and solve simple problems. The last stage occurs from age eleven onwards and is referred to as the formal operational stage. At this stage, an individual has adequately equipped to deal with more complex problems in life. A child is able to look into various problems, test several solutions and come up with the correct solutions. As one grows older, however, he or she gets to deal with more complex situations and problems in life ( Piaget, 1970) .
Key Development Times
Infantry is a key development period for an individual. The brain development which is critical in child's development occurs below the age of three. It is important, therefore, for parents to be aware of this and ensure that their kids undergo a proper infantry. Parents must provide the infants with the most appropriate environment for the proper development of their brains. The stage after the child learns how to walk and talk is also crucial for their development and shapes their future life. Some of the factors which help shape a child and who he or she becomes in future include health and healthy eating, play, love, and care. These factors, at the stage before five years, are important for a child's health, emotional development, confidence and the ability to communicate and socialize in future. Therefore, the most critical stages of an individual's development are the infantry stage before two years and the stage between two to five years ( Smith et al., 2015) .
Conclusion
A child's first five years are quite important in relation to their development and growth. A child's experience during these first five years, as discussed above, shapes his or her future and greatly determines who he or she becomes. The brain development which covers most aspects of human development takes place at this stage. A child's brain is designed and developed in accordance with what goes around the child. As Piaget puts it, the sensory-motor and the preoperational stages of human development are the most critical stages of life as they control what a person becomes in the future. Parents, therefore, should ensure that their child is brought in a proper environment which will result in positive growth and development of the child.
References
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