What is "second childhood"

Childhood \Child"hood\ (ch[imac]ld"h[oo^]d), n. [AS. cildh[=a]d; cild child + -h[=a]d. See Child, and -hood.]

1. The state of being a child; the time in which persons are children; the condition or time from infancy to puberty.

   I have walked before you from my childhood.
   --1. Sam. xii.

2. 2. Children, taken collectively. [R.]

   The well-governed childhood of this realm.
   --Sir. W. Scott.

3. The commencement; the first period.

   The childhood of our joy.
   --Shak.

   Second childhood, the state of being feeble and incapable from old age.

n. 1 (context idiomatic English) The period or state of cognitive decline of an elderly person, characterized by childlike judgment and behavior. 2 (context idiomatic English) A childlike state in any adult, resulting from mental illness, trauma, or other conditions.

n. mental infirmity as a consequence of old age; sometimes shown by foolish infatuations [syn: dotage, senility]

Second childhood is an informal phrase used to describe adults whose declining mental capabilities mean they need care similar to that of children. It is an unscientific term, similar in meaning to the old terms dotage or senility. The current scientific term is senile dementia. Second childhood may also refer to:

• Second Childhood, a 1976 album
• Second Childhood (film), a 1936 film in the Our Gang series
• A Second Childhood, a 2010 film starring Francesca Neri

Second Childhood is a 1936 Our Gang short comedy film directed by Gus Meins. It was the 144th Our Gang short that was released.

Second Childhood may refer to:

• Second Childhood (film), 1936 Our Gang short
• Edmund Burke (1729–1797), English statesman and philosopher who used this pen-name
• Second Childhood, the second album by singer-songwriter Phoebe Snow, released in 1976