In this course students will explore the biological, psychological, intellectual, physical, and socio-cultural aspects of growth and development of a child from birth, through late adolescence. The course will be divided into distinct stages: infancy and toddlerhood years, preschool years, elementary school years, middle school years, and adolescence. The backbone of this course will be the introduction and explanation of various theoretical frameworks in developmental psychology and child development. Some of the theories that will be addressed are as follows: The Maturational Theories, Psychological Theories, Psycho-Social Theories, Social Learning Theories, Behavioral Theories, Cognitive Developmental Theories, Language Acquisition Theories, Bronfenbrenner’s Theory of Human Ecology, and Humanistic Theories, as they pertain to different topics and concepts that are investigated in the life span human development course. Significant milestones that children achieve at different developmental stages will be emphasized. The influence of culture, religion, parenting practices, cultural norms, superstitions, cultural traditions, rites-of-passage, cultural expectations regarding breast-feeding, potty training, illnesses, communication, loyalty to kinship group, school, work, family, caring for siblings, filial piety for the elderly will be highlighted from a cross-cultural perspective.