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Abstract THE YOUNG CHILD; DEFINITION. CHARACTERISTICS AND HEALTH PROBLEMS j Children under five,constitute an important segment of the population as they are highly vulnerable to different health problems. Moreover, they account for f -1 Q \ 18-22% of the total population in developing countries. *• In Egypt according to the last census made, 13.7755 of the population are under five. ^ Setting a term to define these young children con¬tinued to be a controversial issue. Educators first developed the term ”preschool child” or”preschool period” to set limits between pre-primary and primary education. However statisticians, health workers, legislators and educators themselves do not fully agree upon its lower and upper limits. In most countries, school entry is set at the age of six years. In some others, this primary level of formal education may start at five years as in the United Kingdom,or at the age of seven as in Russia. Moreover, a large number of children may never get the opportunity to enter school, while others, may go to a nursery or a kinder¬garten at the age of four. |