Pronunciation: [t͡ʃˈa͡ɪldhʊd] (IPA) 
Childhood is a period of one's life that refers to the time when a person is a child. The spelling of this word can be explained using IPA phonetic transcription as /ˈtʃaɪldhʊd/. The /ch/ sound is pronounced like "ch" in "chin". The /yl/ sound is pronounced like "yell". The /d/ sound is pronounced like "d" in "dog", and the /hʊd/ sound is pronounced similar to the word "hood". Together, these sounds create the word "childhood".
Childhood is the initial phase of human life, filled with learning, growth, and development, typically spanning from birth to adolescence. It encompasses the period where an individual undergoes significant cognitive, physical, emotional, and social transformations. This stage is characterized by a sense of innocence, curiosity, and dependency upon adults for care and protection.
During childhood, children develop important foundations for future learning and behavior, acquiring essential skills and knowledge. They explore the world around them, formulating their understanding through play, observation, and interactions with their environment. Cognitive abilities such as language acquisition, problem-solving, and memory consolidate during this period, laying the groundwork for education and intellectual growth.
Physically, childhood is marked by rapid growth and maturation of the body. Children experience various milestones such as crawling, walking, and gaining control over their motor skills. Their senses become refined, leading to increased sensory perception and motor coordination.
Emotionally, childhood encompasses a myriad of experiences as children navigate their feelings and relationships. They develop emotional intelligence, understanding and expressing emotions, and learning how to manage them. Socially, they begin building crucial social skills, forming attachments with family members, making friends, and engaging in basic social interactions.
Childhood is believed to play a pivotal role in shaping an individual's identity, characteristics, and overall development. Factors such as family, culture, environment, and educational experiences significantly influence a child's formative years. Furthermore, positive childhood experiences can lay the groundwork for a healthy and successful adulthood.
1. The period of life between infancy and puberty. 2. In dentistry the period between the first appearance of the milk teeth and the complete formation of the roots of all the permanent teeth except the third molars; the childhood period of the permanent teeth is the time between their first appearance and the complete formation of all the roots except those of the third molars.
A practical medical dictionary. By Stedman, Thomas Lathrop. Published 1920.
The time in which persons are children.
Etymological and pronouncing dictionary of the English language. By Stormonth, James, Phelp, P. H. Published 1874.
* The statistics data for these misspellings percentages are collected from over 15,411,110 spell check sessions on www.spellchecker.net from Jan 2010 - Jun 2012.
The word "childhood" can be traced back to Middle English, where it was written as "childhede". The term consists of two main elements: "child" and "hede".
The word "child" originates from Old English "cild", which in turn derives from the Germanic word "kildaz". This term referred to a young person, specifically an infant or a young child. It is thought to have Indo-European roots, with variations found in other languages such as German ("Kind") and Dutch ("kind").
The second element, "hede", was a suffix used to form abstract nouns from adjectives or other nouns. It can be traced back to Old English "hād", which signified a condition or state of being. Its origins can be found in Proto-Germanic and ultimately in Proto-Indo-European.
