• Professionals and researchers usually define the period of early childhood as birth to eight years of age. In addition, stages of childhood are defined culturally by customs, social institutions, and laws that make up a society.

• In the US, however, early childhood might be considered to end at age five since “coincides with entry into the cultural practice of formal schooling.”
• The first five years are especially crucial for intellectual, physical, and social-emotional development.

Overview of Birth to Eighteen Months

• Infants make miraculous progress in the first eighteen months after birth, which is a relatively short time span.
• During this time, the infant sees the world through his/her senses.
• The babies collect information through taste, smell, sight, touch, and sound.
• At this stage, the caregiver should play the important role of stimulating these senses but making sure that they are not overwhelmed.
• The overall goal is to interact and explore the infant’s world with him/her, rather than “teaching” the baby what is right or wrong.
• At this stage, infants take great pleasure in making discoveries with their hands, voice, feet, and toes. It’s during this stage that infants start to practice “practice rolling skills, crawling, walking, and other great physical adventures.”

Additional Findings

• Between birth and three years, a child’s height doubles, while the weight quadruples.  
• The child’s bodily proportions also shift, so that the head, which initially accounted for almost one-fourth of the total body length, now becomes an infant with a more balanced, adult-like appearance.
• A typical three-year-old has mastered skills like sitting, walking, using a spoon, toilet training, scribbling, and “sufficient hand-eye coordination to catch and throw a ball.”