Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. Chapter 1 Learning About Children 9 Figure 1.2 Child Development Stages Prenatal Begins at conception and ends about 9 months later at birth. The rate of growth at this stage is the fastest it will be in life. In this stage, a child grows from a single cell to a complete organism. Even before birth, babies can move, recognize the mother’s voice patterns, and react to some strong stimuli. Neonatal Extends from birth to 1 month. During this period, the baby physically adapts to life outside the mother’s body. Begins at 1 month and continues to 12 months. The infant develops the foundation for motor, thinking, language, and social skills. Infancy Preschool Begins at 3 years and ends at 6 years. During this stage, the child becomes more self-sufficient, spends many hours in play exploring the physical and social world, and begins to develop knowledge of self. School-age (middle childhood) Begins at 6 years and ends at 12 years. This stage corresponds to the typical ages of children in the elementary school years. Achievement is the central goal of these years. School-age children master the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic. They are exposed to many other learning opportunities, too. In school, children interact with peers more and learn by group instruction. This makes it important for them to learn self-control. Before the end of this stage, children have rather stable feelings about self and know how others feel about them. Begins at 12 months and ends at 36 months (the child’s third birthday). In the toddler stage, the child makes great strides in motor, thinking, and language skills and begins to test his or her dependence on adults. Toddler