童年

童年是從出生跨越到青春期的年齡時間段。童年也可能包括青少年，但無論如何都是在成年之前。童年一般由兩個階段組成：前運算階段（preoperational stage）和具體運算階段（concrete operational stage）。在發展心理學中，童年被分為四個發展階段，即嬰兒期（學步期），兒童早期（玩耍期），兒童晚期（學齡期），以及青春期（青春期至後青春期）。各種各樣的童年因素會影響一個人人生態度的形成。

童年是一個讓孩子學習、玩耍的時間段，是一個讓孩子在家庭的愛和鼓勵、及許多成人關心下變得堅強與自信的時間段。這個年齡的孩子，生活沒有恐懼，遠離暴力、虐待和剝削。正因如此，童年絕非僅是出生與成為成人期間的間隔。它指的是兒童的生活狀態和條件，及這些年的生活品質。

## 童年的年齡跨度

童年的具體時間並不明確，它可以指人類發展中的一段長時間。以發育和生物學而言，它指的是嬰兒期與成年期之間的時期。一般而言，童年從出生開始。也有人認為，童年是玩耍和純真的代名詞。許多國家的法律中規定了著法定成人年齡，即一個人的童年正式結束，而在法律上成為成人的年齡。這一年齡各國有所不同，一般在15到20歲之間，其中以18歲最為普遍。

## 擴展閱讀

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## 外部連結

- Childhood
- 世界兒童基金會
- Meeting Early Childhood Needs

新條目《童年》高爾基