Early childhood

Early childhood is a stage in human development. It generally includes toddlerhood and some time afterwards. Play age is an unspecific designation approximately within the scope of early childhood. Some age-related development periods and examples of defined intervals are: newborn (ages 0–5 weeks); infant (ages 5 weeks – 1 year); toddler (ages 1–3 years); preschooler (ages 3–5 years); school-aged child (ages 5–12 years); adolescent (ages 13–19).

Psychology

In psychology the term, early childhood is usually defined as the time period from the age of two until the age of six or seven years. There are three simultaneous development stages:

Physical growth and development

In this phase there is significant synaptic growth and myelination of neural fibers in the brain, especially within the frontal lobes. For example, between the ages 2 and 6, the brain increases from 70% of its adult weight to 90%. The growth of the brain is followed by a surge in cognitive abilities. Around the age of five, children start speaking properly and master their hand to eye coordination.