# Why age 2 is not considered a baby and age 3 is not the best age to begin chilhood?



## karlpalaka (Sep 11, 2019)

I notice that a lot of people on this forum begin childhood at age 3 just because that is the age their earliest memories were. I dont consider age 2 as a baby, cause just like 3 or 4-year old, they could walk on both legs on their own and be in preschool, but were not in K-12. Also, they could be out of diapers and feed themselves, while many 4-year olds are not. A person can develop memories as early as age 2, so really, this is how I break it down. I consider either age 2 or age 5 to be the best age to start childhood. 

Babyhood/Infancy: 0-23 months of age
Preschooler: 2-4
Core: 5-7
Peak: 8-10
Preteen: 11-12
Teenager: 13-19
Full adulthood: 20 onwards


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## Handsome Dyke (Oct 4, 2012)

karlpalaka said:


> I notice that a lot of people on this forum begin childhood at age 3 just because that is the age their earliest memories were. I dont consider age 2 as a baby


Are you assuming that these people consider a two-year-old to be a baby just because they think of childhood as beginning as 3? Everyone I've ever heard talk about two-year-olds considers them to be toddlers, not babies. I thought three-year-olds were generally considered toddlers as well, at least in the United States.


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## Willtip98 (Jul 11, 2019)

Saiyed En Sabah Nur said:


> Are you assuming that these people consider a two-year-old to be a baby just because they think of childhood as beginning as 3? Everyone I've ever heard talk about two-year-olds considers them to be toddlers, not babies. I thought three-year-olds were generally considered toddlers as well, at least in the United States.


3 and 4-year olds in the US are considered preschoolers, but not toddlers. Children in this group begin to explore their world more, start attending school for the first time (preschool/Pre-K), become more independent (Able to do more things on their own such as dress and undress), and are able to run and jump much more easily, like any normal kid does. Many people start to form childhood memories around this time, too. I consider it part of early childhood for that reason.

https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/positiveparenting/preschoolers.html


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## karlpalaka (Sep 11, 2019)

Saiyed En Sabah Nur said:


> karlpalaka said:
> 
> 
> > I notice that a lot of people on this forum begin childhood at age 3 just because that is the age their earliest memories were. I dont consider age 2 as a baby
> ...


I think 3-4 year olds are considered toddlers too. I dont see many of them walk any better than 2-year olds. In facf, some 4-year olds are still in diapers. All my younger cousins were still in diapers when they were four, well, I dont know about my youngest one though, but I visited her when she was three, and she was still in diapers and nowhere near being potty trained.


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## karlpalaka (Sep 11, 2019)

Willtip98 said:


> Saiyed En Sabah Nur said:
> 
> 
> > Are you assuming that these people consider a two-year-old to be a baby just because they think of childhood as beginning as 3? Everyone I've ever heard talk about two-year-olds considers them to be toddlers, not babies. I thought three-year-olds were generally considered toddlers as well, at least in the United States.
> ...


You see, my friend, a 2 year old is considered a preschooler in the US too. Many people can form lifelong memories at the age of two itself, even if they may not be as vivid as you want them to be. Yeah, two year olds can run and jump too. I remember running in my grandma’s house when I was two imagining it was a labrynth, and it was at two, since the second time I went to that house was when I was seven, and I remember being surprised that it was small and not the labrynth I thought it was as a preschooler. I guess its cause the apartment I lived in was really small at the time, and it was, cause the first time we had a home with space for a computer was when I was five.


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## karlpalaka (Sep 11, 2019)

Two year olds can feed themselves and dress themselves. I mean they may eat a little sloppily until they are like five, but still small snacks, they can eat in a decent manner. To me, childhood starts either at age 2 or age 5, as I see 2-4 year olds as almost the same. Two year olds begin to explore the world too. You guys probably did when you were two. You just dont remember doing it.


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## Willtip98 (Jul 11, 2019)

karlpalaka said:


> Two year olds can feed themselves and dress themselves. I mean they may eat a little sloppily until they are like five, but still small snacks, they can eat in a decent manner. To me, childhood starts either at age 2 or age 5, as I see 2-4 year olds as almost the same. Two year olds begin to explore the world too. You guys probably did when you were two. *You just dont remember doing it.*


Bingo. That's why I've considered age 3 to be the start of childhood. Many people (Including me) can remember things they did at age 3, but not very many remember things beforehand.


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## karlpalaka (Sep 11, 2019)

Willtip98 said:


> karlpalaka said:
> 
> 
> > Two year olds can feed themselves and dress themselves. I mean they may eat a little sloppily until they are like five, but still small snacks, they can eat in a decent manner. To me, childhood starts either at age 2 or age 5, as I see 2-4 year olds as almost the same. Two year olds begin to explore the world too. You guys probably did when you were two. *You just dont remember doing it.*
> ...


So I think we came to a censensus. My childhood began when I was 2 in 1999, and your childhood began when you were 3 in 2001. I think we can agree that childhood does not start for everyone at the same age.


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## karlpalaka (Sep 11, 2019)

Believe it or not, I remember more things from age 2 in 1999 than from the years 2000-2002 until i turned 5. I was not in preschool during 2002 at all. All I know is I was in preschool sometime from fall 1999 onwards but before 9/11. Dont remember when exactly, but during that time range. I do remember stuff from preschool though, and I remember there were 2-4 year olds there.


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## Gmkl (Jan 19, 2019)

karlpalaka said:


> I think 3-4 year olds are considered toddlers too. I dont see many of them walk any better than 2-year olds. In facf, some 4-year olds are still in diapers. All my younger cousins were still in diapers when they were four, well, I dont know about my youngest one though, but I visited her when she was three, and she was still in diapers and nowhere near being potty trained.


if your kid is still trying to figure out how to walk at age 4 its slow in development, its certainly not the norm

and by the way the set standard is that 1-2 year olds are toddlers, i dont know why people just cant run with that?


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## q543frodomar (May 15, 2018)

2 isn't really childhood, I have been around 2 year olds in real life so I know.


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## Gmkl (Jan 19, 2019)

q543frodomar said:


> 2 isn't really childhood


just lol


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## fendertele (Dec 7, 2015)

Age shouldn't be the measuring post on how to decide where someone is in life.... we cant drink alcohol when were not 18 because we are deemed not mature enough to handle the effects... yet someone that turns 18 overnight is suddenly a different person ? everyone matures at different speeds, I know guys in their 20s with a better handle on life than me.... yet im able to do things that legally they cant.

But as there is no quick and easy way to judge someones mental age in a split second... looking at an I.D and age restrictions is what has been deemed the next best thing./


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## Handsome Dyke (Oct 4, 2012)

Willtip98 said:


> 3 and 4-year olds in the US are considered preschoolers, but not toddlers.


 You are wrong. I am a USian, I think of three-year-olds to be toddlers, and I'm sure that I'm not the only one who does. These categories are somewhat flexible and arbitrary (a three-year-old can be both a toddler *and* a pre-schooler, and not all three- and four-year-olds even attend pre-school), and people have different ideas about it.


> Children in this group begin to explore their world more, start attending school for the first time (preschool/Pre-K), become more independent (Able to do more things on their own such as dress and undress), and are able to run and jump much more easily, like any normal kid does. Many people start to form childhood memories around this time, too. I consider it part of early childhood for that reason. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/positiveparenting/preschoolers.html


 This description means nothing to me. Is this supposed to explain why three-year-olds are pre-schoolers and not toddlers? It doesn't. It just describes developmental milestones that can be categorized in several different ways.


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## exodus08 (May 22, 2018)

2-3 year olds can't do things on their own at least when it comes to certain things they can't. I don't believe childhood beings when you're 2-3 but I believe it begins around 4-5 because your brain starts to devolpe around 3.


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## karlpalaka (Sep 11, 2019)

exodus08 said:


> 2-3 year olds can't do things on their own at least when it comes to certain things they can't. I don't believe childhood beings when you're 2-3 but I believe it begins around 4-5 because your brain starts to devolpe around 3.


First of all, the brain starts developing at birth itself. By age 2, your brain is already at 70-80% of adult size, and by age 6, your brain is over 90% but not fully developed. Your brain is only fully developed at the age of 25, which is why it is not a good idea to get married before that age, let alone have kids before that age. 2-3 year olds can do things on their own. Stop trying to sound as if a 2-year old is an incapable being.


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## karlpalaka (Sep 11, 2019)

q543frodomar said:


> 2 isn't really childhood, I have been around 2 year olds in real life so I know.


So have I, and tbh, I cant really tell the difference between a 2-year old and 4-year old except that when standing together, a 4-year old might be a little taller and speak only slightly better.


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## karlpalaka (Sep 11, 2019)

Gmkl said:


> karlpalaka said:
> 
> 
> > I think 3-4 year olds are considered toddlers too. I dont see many of them walk any better than 2-year olds. In facf, some 4-year olds are still in diapers. All my younger cousins were still in diapers when they were four, well, I dont know about my youngest one though, but I visited her when she was three, and she was still in diapers and nowhere near being potty trained.
> ...


Its cause 2-4 year olds are preschoolers, and those under 2 are infants. It would be sad actually if a 1-year old does not figure out how to walk before turning 2.


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## karlpalaka (Sep 11, 2019)

q543frodomar said:


> 2 isn't really childhood, I have been around 2 year olds in real life so I know.


Neither would 3 or 4. I have been around kids of all three ages, and they dont walk or talk sophisticately. Also, many 4-year olds are still in diapers while many 2-year olds are not. Age 5 would be the ideal age to begin childhood making age 12 the final age.


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## karlpalaka (Sep 11, 2019)

fendertele said:


> Age shouldn't be the measuring post on how to decide where someone is in life.... we cant drink alcohol when were not 18 because we are deemed not mature enough to handle the effects... yet someone that turns 18 overnight is suddenly a different person ? everyone matures at different speeds, I know guys in their 20s with a better handle on life than me.... yet im able to do things that legally they cant.
> 
> But as there is no quick and easy way to judge someones mental age in a split second... looking at an I.D and age restrictions is what has been deemed the next best thing./


Exactly. I mean there are 17-year olds entering college just cause they turned 18 at the end of the year that they graduated college. Also, people tend to form lifelong memories at different ages. Its not like everyone forms it at age 3 or even age 4. I know many people who dont 
even remember being 5,6, or 7. It depends on the person. I do know many who remember being two.


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