Childhood and Adulthood

Individuals go through numerous transformations in their lives, the most notable of which is the transition from childhood to adulthood. It is the stage at which a person begins to explore and comprehend both themselves and their surroundings. This stage has a significant impact on a person’s personality. As a result, it shapes one’s overall actions and personality. Childhood is also thought of as a time of youth with little obligations (Kail and Cavanaugh 38). A child would not be able to take responsibility for their acts because of their inability to distinguish between good and evil, as well as their lack of experience. It is commonly assumed that as people get older, they will become more conscious of themselves and their surroundings. Hence , they bear the consequences of their deeds. This paper undertakes to explore the period of childhood to adulthood through analyzing the underlying differences and similarities.
Comparison
In many countries the period of childhood begins at infancy to the age of 18-21 years and adulthood begin there to the death. Even though during childhood, individuals experience tremendous physical development. They also undergo it, especially during early adulthood. In both stages of upbringing, they experience bodily and mental growth although in different dimensions. Besides, in both stages, individuals have various needs ranging from basic needs, auxiliary and emotional needs. Every individual requires food and clothes, and emotional satisfaction irrespective of their stage of human development (Kail and Cavanaugh 32). Although the auxiliary needs differ, children will need toys and other gadgets to play with. In comparison, adults will need among other things, cars to satisfy their auxiliary needs.
In addition, both children and adults have and will need a family. Every individual has a family in which they can identify themselves with. It satisfies an individual’s sense of belonging. Every individual needs a family not only to identify themselves with but also to provide physical and emotional support in the course of life. It is the family that shape-up a person’s character and behaviors in both childhood and adulthood, especially during the early adulthood. Lastly, both children and adults interact with the environment which partly influences their personality. The latter enhances an individual’s knowledge and their understanding as well as neighbors (Valentine 43).
Contrast
Although persons in both stages of development undergo cognitive development, they have different cognitive abilities. One cannot assign similar tasks to children and adults. Adults have more developed mental abilities which enable them to communicate effectively and think critically. Hence they can be trusted in performing tasks that require the ability to think and reason. Children can only undertake lighten tasks with the guidance of an adult due to their limited mental capacity. Secondly, during adulthood individuals are able to align their concentration. Adults are able to learn and engage in a constructive conservation because they can remain focus without distraction from minor events. Children are easily distracted by anything thereby losing their focus and concentration effortlessly (Kail and Cavanaugh 42).
Even though in both childhood and adulthood, individuals experience social development, it is more pronounced in adults. Adults can form social bonds since they can clearly acknowledge their social needs and responsibilities more than children. Adults can make a long-term friendship through their augmented mental capacities. Whereas children make friends, mostly it is not as it may pretend to be. It is then meant to serve a certain need at that specific moment. Life experience is another distinctive factor in both stages of development. Children are less inexperienced about life because they are mostly not aware of themselves and their surroundings (Kail and Cavanaugh 50). They easily forget everything they encounter in their daily lives. For adults, every occurrence bears a life lesson which accumulates to life experience. It is this experience that informs their decisions in various circumstances.
During childhood, children are regarded as innocent and are exempted from taking responsibilities for their actions. It is assumed that they do everything out of innocence. However, in adulthood individuals are expected to take responsibility for their acts. Every action has an element of consequence. Consequently, adults have a responsibility for every action because their mental capacities are well-developed to understand and distinguish good and bad. Lastly, responsibility comes with freedom. Adults have a greater degree of freedom since they have more responsibilities than children. Whereas children cannot do certain things or go to some places without the consent of their parents or guardians, adults can go out to see their friends without permission of parents (Valentine 50). They can make their independent decisions.
Conclusion
To sum up, various stages of human development have different experiences and challenges. Even though childhood and adulthood possess definite differences, they are not that sharp. Every individual has their own experience of being a child as well as being an adult (Kail and Cavanaugh 34). Depending on their individual experiences, they can define those stages differently. hence, the above discussion explores key differences and similarities encountered in childhood and adulthood. These differences and similarities are not only shaped by the mental and physical development but also by the interaction with the environment.

Works Cited
Kail, Robert V., and John C. Cavanaugh. Human Development: A Life-Span View. Cengage Learning, 2015.
Valentine, Gill. “Boundary Crossings: Transitions from Childhood to Adulthood.” Children’s Geographies, vol. 1, no. 1, Mar. 2003, pp. 37-52, http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14733280302186. Accessed 28 Jun. 2010.