When does a spirit attach to the human life?

I've always thought that a spirit attached to a human life before birth. In the Invisible Choir, Amelia suggests that is not the case. Were you given more specific details?

​Yes. Amelia later explained that it is possible for a spirit to attach prior to birth, but that that is rare. And, it does not commonly happen at the moment of birth or shortly after. She said what is almost always the case is that a spirit will attach to the human life between, approximately, the ages of two and four. Before that time, a spirit will come close to the child and its family to observe them and let its presence be known, to communicate with their spirits and, in the case of a more mature spirit, to exert some  degree of influence.

I have known infants and young children who seem to be intently aware of "something," even smile and communicate with what I believed to be a spiritual essence. I have wondered if the spirit of a passed loved one was present. It may, instead, have been their own spirit, making their acquaintance. With my daughters, I was often aware of a special spiritual closeness when they were young, what I realize now was the presence of their two spirits drawing close to mine. That experience, over several years time, encouraged me to begin a more serious spiritual practice. 

​But, at the time, I first found it is difficult to believe Amelia. I thought of newborns and young children, my own and others, and it was inconceivable to me that they as yet had no spirit residing within them. I thought of how I  had been told that one task of a spirit is to protect the human life--how was a young child to be protected then? Amelia had an answer. She first explained that spirits can, in a limited sense, be in more than one place at once; a portion of their energy can be temporarily detached. This is one such time--a portion of the mother's spirit stays with the child until their spirit is ready to inhabit their body.

​Despite my initial reaction, when I heard Amelia's explanation it made perfect sense. There is little for a spirit to do in the life of a very small child. It is not until their cognitive abilities begin to develop, and they acquire a greater ability to act of their own volition, that the spirit's presence is required. Until then, their time is better spent in observing, coming close, and preparing for their eventual role. They will also continue to learn in the spirit world in preparation for taking a new lifetime. It is one of many instances in which I have realized the perfection of the Creator's plan.

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