Back to: Childhood and Growing Up – Unit 3,4
Childhood is the state of being a child which usually refers to the period between infancy and adolescence. The Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act, 1986 states, “a child is a person who has not completed 14 years of age.”
Characteristics of Childhood
- During childhood, there is slow physical growth as compared to the infancy period. However, in girls, it is relatively faster.
- During the childhood stage, the child’s audio and visual senses develop completely by the age of 8 and 9.
- This is also the period when children tend to develop various interests but they do not necessarily have to be permanent interests.
- Childhood is also the period when children witness some rapid changes in their social behavior.
- According to Piaget, childhood is a period when children also develop the sense of what is right and what is wrong through adults.
- Childhood is the stage when there is a rapid development of memory and imagination as well.
- During the childhood stage, children start differentiating between males and females. Boys start playing together and girls start playing together.
- In this stage, children try to imitate their elders and develop interest in collecting things.
- During childhood, children are curious and therefore, they ask a lot of questions and feel satisfied once they receive an answer.
- A child’s vocabulary increases during 8-12 years. Their speech gets fluent and thus, there is improvement in language.
