formative years
Early developmental phase
Formative years are the period of childhood and adolescence when character, abilities, and beliefs take shape.
The phrase emphasizes how experiences during this time have lasting influence: Her formative years were spent on a farm in Iowa.
Sometimes used more loosely for any period of significant development: the formative years of the republic.
- toddlerhoodStage of learning walking
- tender ageEarly, impressionable life stage
- infancyEarliest period of life
- first stepsInitial actions taken
- adolescenceTeenage developmental stage
early childhood education · blank slate · attachment theory · socialization · building blocks · puberty · coming-of-age · finding yourself · resilience · neuroplasticity · language acquisition · family dynamics · personality traits · inner child · socioeconomic status · self-esteem · childhood memories · parental guidance
- childhoodchildhood, baby, child, kid, toys
- youthchild, adolescents, kid, coming-of-age, teenagers
- adolescencepuberty, teenager, coming-of-age, growing up, teen
- age stagesinfant, toddler, child, teen, teenage
- autobiographymemoir, life story, diary, journal, personal narrative
- backstoryorigin story, origin, past, background, history
formative yearsadulthood
State of being grown
old age · twilight years · middle age · golden years · declining years