Introduction Adult development study is concerned with the changes that take place during the growth of an individual. The development entails the changes that are experienced at the various levels of growth from childhood to adulthood. These changes are experienced at different times and usually vary from one person to the other. Studies have been done and different groups of adult development have been arrived at. These groups are young adulthood (18-25), early adulthood (25-40), middle adulthood (40-65), late adulthood (65-75), and late, late adulthood (75 +) (Bjorklund and Bee 5). Below is a graph showing potency or the degree of influence as compared to age. Fig. 1: Degree of influence or potency compared to age (Bjorklund and Bee 5). Parenting in middle age Parenting refers to the bringing up of children. This comprises giving birth and the care given to the baby until he/she is of age. Parenting is usually faced with many challenges. Such challenges usually originate from socioeconomic, cultural, or gender dimensions. Economic challenges are such as funds required when raising a child, provision of health care, quality education, and housing. In the case of financial constraints, the family may undergo some rough times and may end up breaking if enough measures are not taken. One of the cultural challenges facing parenting in middle age includes the problem of resistance posed by adolescents. Parents have a moral obligation to teach the children the ways of society and bring up a morally acceptable being. Fundamentally, parenting is a challenging task that requires cooperation from both parents. Physical changes With aging, come many physical changes in an adult. These may include whitening of the hair, disability, and development of wrinkles. Whitening of the hair comes at different stages of development for different people but is mostly associated with early adulthood. Another change that is experienced is the inability to use the body parts as effectively as during the early growth stages. This comes in late adulthood and becomes more and more severe in late, late adulthood. In most severe cases, loss of sight, hearing, and inability to use the limbs may be experienced. In middle adulthood, many adults develop wrinkles. This is a result of the body’s shedding of some of its flesh. The shrinks in the interior of the body are reflected on the exterior through skin shrinkage. Cognitive abilities The cognitive ability of an individual is the capacity to recall issues. This ability increases with age up to a certain limit and then starts decreasing. Across the gender, the cognitive ability does not vary widely. However, in some cultures, cognitive abilities may be affected by the emphasis that is placed on the education of the boy child as opposed to equal learning opportunities for the girl child. The socioeconomic ability of the family set up may also affect the ability to have a better cognitive ability. Better information may be accessed by the wealthy as opposed to the poor in the community hence bring a difference. In old age, short memory is usually experienced. This may lead to an individual lacking any recollections of things that happened in their life. They