Ages 0–24

Spring

Spring awakens the world with fresh colour and new beginnings. This is the season of growth, of learning, of laying the foundations upon which everything else will rest.

"Every expert was once a beginner. Every building was once a blueprint."

The Season of Life Begins

About Spring

From the first breath to the first real choice about who you want to become, Spring spans 24 years of the most dramatic transformation any human being undergoes. No other season packs this much change into this little time.

Explosive Brain Growth

The brain reaches 90% of its adult size by age 5, yet continues developing well into the 20s, particularly the prefrontal cortex responsible for judgement and planning.

Foundation Building

Attachment styles, core beliefs, relationship patterns, academic foundations: everything built in Spring influences how life unfolds in every season that follows.

Identity Formation

Who am I? What do I believe? Where do I belong? These questions dominate Spring, particularly in adolescence and emerging adulthood, and deserve patient, gentle exploration.

Seven Stages

The Blobs of Spring

Spring contains seven six-year Blobs, from the first weeks of life through to the emergence of adulthood around age 24.

Toddler
0 – 6 years

Toddler

From newborn reflexes to first words, first steps, and first "No!" Four mini-blobs, one continuous arc of becoming.

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Child
7 – 12 years

Child

Logical thinking emerges. Peer friendships begin. Academic foundations set. Right-brain gives way to left.

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Adolescent
13 – 18 years

Adolescent

Puberty, identity, peer pressure, and the urgent desire to be seen and understood.

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Emerging Adult
19 – 24 years

Emerging Adult

Exploration rather than settlement. The space between grown up and not quite yet.

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Key Themes of Spring

The Primacy of Attachment

Every psychological framework confirms it: the quality of early attachment, the security a child feels with primary caregivers, shapes emotional regulation, relationship patterns, and self-worth throughout life. Spring is where this foundation is laid.

Technology's Growing Role

Adolescents now spend an average of 8.5 hours per day engaged with screens. The impact is varied and complex: connection and isolation, inspiration and anxiety, all at once. Parents and educators are still working out how to navigate it.

Delayed Milestones

Across OECD nations, the traditional milestones of adulthood, financial independence, leaving home, marriage, parenthood, are occurring later and later. Young adults in Europe leave home between ages 22 and 32 depending on region. This is not failure. It is a new pattern.

The Gradual Brain

The prefrontal cortex, responsible for planning, impulse control, and long-term decision-making, does not fully mature until the mid-to-late 20s. Understanding this can transform how we relate to young people's choices and challenges.

Ready for Summer?

As Spring ends around age 24, a new season begins: building, committing, and finding your place in the adult world.

Explore Summer →