HS1005 - HOW OLD AM I?

I am only very small. I weigh about 500 grams and measure about 30cm. I am quite active - kicking, stretching and squirming. My mother may tell you that she has started to feel me move. My sweat glands are functioning although my respiratory system is not. I have fine hair covering my body. I may not survive if I was born today.

Fetus: 5 months

I am in Piaget's sensorimotor stage. I have a strong grasp reflex. My visual acuity is poor although I can see objects at close range. I have excellent hearing. I can turn my head form side to side. I am strongly controlled by primitive reflexes.

0 - 4 weeks

I am in Piaget's sensorimotor stage and I know that objects exist even if they are out of sight. I am Erikson's autonomy vs. shame and doubt stage and Freud's anal stage. I can walk steadily and run, although I still fall occasionally. I can walk up stairs with help, jump in place and climb ladders. I can build a tower of 3 blocks and eat with a spoon. I love using fat crayons for scribbling, although I hold my crayon in a full-hand grasp. I can utter a number of words such as "mummy".

15 - 24 months

I am in Piaget's pre-operational stage. I can pour my own cereal into a bowl, eat with cutlery and use the toilet on my own. I can draw a person but this person is often without a body and only has rudimentary additions, mostly to the head. I can ascend and descend the stairs on my own. I can ride a three-wheeler scooter and pedal a tricycle. I like to play dress ups and pretends being animals. My preference to a particular hand is apparent and I like to draw shapes.

3 years

I am in Piaget's sensorimotor stage substage 3 and Freud's oral stage. I can roll front to back and back to front. Some infants of my age can commando crawl. I can reach for objects and hold them, transferring them from one hand to another. I can't sit up on my own but I can sit with support. I particularly like to smile and vocalise with my mother more then anyone else and I show distress at separation.

4 - 7 months

I am in Piaget's preoperational stage and Freud's phallic stage. I can draw a person with arms ad legs, head and body but I ma not yet adding finer details. I can hold my pencil in the mature adult grip. I can ride a two-wheeler bicycle and love the shiny 2-wheeled scooter. I can skip and hop on either foot and I enjoy the company of other children with whom I play at kindy. I can use over 1600 words and enjoy conversation with adults. I often talk loud to myself when I play.

4 years

I am in Erikson's initiative vs. guilt stage and I understand that other children need verbal reassurance when they hurt themselves. I am afraid of the dark and sometimes confuse reality with fantasy. I can "stat" turn and stop effectively in games that I love to play with other children. I can dress myself without help. I can copy a square or triangle and draw a person with fine detail, including earrings, fingernails and eyelashes.

5 years

I am in Piaget's sensorimotor stage. I have just learnt to smile. I can lift my head off the mat and hold it steady. I still have the tonic neck reflex but the stepping reflex is no longer present.

6 - 10 weeks

I am Erikson's industry vs. inferior stage and Piaget's concrete operational stage. If I am a girl I am usually taller and heavier than boys of the same age. I am also superior in movement accuracy but boys are superior in forceful less complex tasks. I am at school and learning to read and write. The development of a positive self-esteem is very important during this period.

7 - 11 years

I am in Erikson's basic trust vs. mistrust stage. I can crawl; pull myself up on furniture sand cruise holding on to furniture. I cannot walk alone. I can pick up small objects using a pincer grasp and eat solid food using my fingers. I respond to my own name and don't really like being left with strangers. I like dropping objects and seeing them fall, especially form a high chair.

9 - 10 months