童年是从出生跨越到青春期的年龄时间段。童年也可能包括青少年，但无论如何都是在成年之前。童年一般由两个阶段组成：前运算阶段（preoperational stage）和具体运算阶段（concrete operational stage）。在发展心理学中，童年被分为四个发展阶段，即婴儿期（学步期），儿童早期（玩耍期），儿童晚期（学龄期），以及青春期（青春期至后青春期）。各种各样的童年因素会影响一个人人生态度的形成。  

童年是一个让孩子学习、玩耍的时间段，是一个让孩子在家庭的爱和鼓励、及许多成人关心下变得坚强与自信的时间段。这个年龄的孩子，生活没有恐惧，远离暴力、虐待和剥削。正因如此，童年绝非仅是出生与成为成人期间的间隔。它指的是儿童的生活状态和条件，及這些年的生活品質。

童年的年龄跨度 
童年的具体时间并不明确，它可以指人类发展中的一段长时间。以发育和生物学而言，它指的是婴儿期与成年期之间的时期。一般而言，童年从出生开始。也有人认为，童年是玩耍和纯真的代名词。许多国家的法律中规定了着法定成人年龄，即一个人的童年正式结束，而在法律上成为成人的年龄。这一年龄各国有所不同，一般在15到20岁之间，其中以18岁最为普遍。

童年的发育阶段

儿童早期

脚注

扩展阅读 
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外部链接 

世界儿童基金会 
Meeting Early Childhood Needs

青年
青年文化
 
新条目《童年》高尔基