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Stereotypes Of Life Stages

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Stereotypes of life stages 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 …show more content…

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.

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