Are any other species as vulnerable and dependent as humans are after birth? We really can’t take care of ourselves for at bare minimum 10 years. Why the difference between us and the animals?
Look at marsupials - they’re not even fully formed when they’re born. But I think you’re asking about time periods - why it takes us so long to grow up.
The main reason is that we have so much to learn from our parents - far more than any other animal. There’s a very general trend in the animal kingdom (with lots and lots of exceptions) from lots of kids and no parental care to fewer kids and more parental care. The rationale, if you want to anthropomorphize that far, is a) spend my time and resources making lots of kids and hope that some survive or b) spend my time and resources making sure that the fewer kids I have do survive. Both are valid strategies.
Humans are pretty much the extreme of the latter strategy. There are other animals that have childhood times of years, but I think none are as long as humans’. IIRC, elephants and other apes are examples of this.
humans are born while still in a fetal stage. marsupials are good for comparison, but in a different class altogether. the reason that humans are born so early is that our cranial size would be too large to pass through the birth canal if we were to be born at ‘regular’ time. most animals are born at a stage that would correspond to 2 or 3 in our timetables.
jb
Ugh! Born right into the terrible twos! :D:D