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Sometimes the most complex issue can be answered by the most obvious answer.
The crucial years of development in a child are between the time they are born to the time they die. Yes, that sounds simplistic, and on many levels it is. The need for parenting however, never ceases in a child's life and the more relevant question is not "what are the crucial years" as much as "what are the crucial issues".

Children's behavioral development progresses and develops as they mature, and the crucial needs are, of course, dictated by their age, experience and how the previous development stage was addressed;one crucial development stage builds upon the stage preceding it. Again to state the obvious: a 40 year old child has different development issues than a 5 year old. However,the 40 year old will make life decisions based on their crucial development stages "experience" since birth.
In a perfect world, each behavioral development need will be met right on cue and appropriate for the age, but that seldom happens.
Parents are not always the ideal examples for their children, and they do not always sort out their child's immediate present "behavioral development" need.
The crucial years in a child's behavioral development are initially dictated in the orderly arrangement of growing up, one development stage hopefully navigates through a relatively safe course of parental trial and error to the next stage. Yet, certain crucial issues in development are missed, ignored or abused, and the damage of those will remain till they are properly addressed. The big nut to be cracked is: how that issue is addressed when it surfaces clamoring for healing. The issue missed at the age of 4 cannot be resolved in the same manner as when it comes to light at the age of 25 or 51. The crucial time for behavioral development is at the time of need. As stated before: ideally, in a perfect world, the needs in an individual are addressed in the orderly appropriate time of growing up, but the crucial time is always when the "felt need" comes to surface. It then becomes more of an issue of how the need is to be addressed. For instance:the behavioral cue the parent missed on the child's fourth year may re appear at the age of 30. Obviously a thirty year old will not respond to the approach given to a four year old, but the need missed at four has now become a crucial development issue at 30. The proper approach,love and attention can now resolve the long neglected matter. The crucial years in a child's development are when the child's behavioral needs come to surface.

Learn more about this author, George Willeboordse.
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