photo credit: Velo Steve

While there are many ways to define childhood development, most recognize the following general phases or stages of development:

Newborn to infancy:

Here, the child is completely dependent and yet is growing faster than it ever will in its entire lifetime.  Infants sleep much of the time but will increasingly become more aware of their surroundings and sleep time will decrease as they become more and more mature.

Toddlerhood:

The toddler is the child who can walk to get around.  Your toddler will be curious and will investigate and try your boundaries.  Allowing them to experiment under your guidance will make for a well adjusted child.

School age:

Once your child reaches 5 or 6, they’re off to school and embarking in new territories, new authorities and new associations.  This bigger taste of freedom is a bit scary, so it’s important for you to be there when the world they “bump into” hurts them.

Preteen:

Rounding out their childhood and verging on adolescence, this child is still enjoying Mom and Dad.  They like to hang around you and cuddle, but be allowed to “grow up” too.  They are becoming less and less dependent on you yet aren’t willing to let go.

Adolescent:

This phase is often feared by parents, when really it can be exciting as you watch your youngster begin to taste adulthood while under your firm, but caring supervision.  They appear to need you less but really need to know that you’re ready to be there if their tentative voyages into adulthood fail.

Enjoy each stage as it comes along and be prepared for each phase as you are called on to let go of them more and more.

What stage is your child in? What do you love about it? What is the worst part of it?

Preparing for Pre-School or Kindergarten