The concepts of front, back, and side may be easily understood in relation to an intrinsically fronted item, but with a nonfronted object they depend on situational or psychological cues. A study investigated a child's awareness of the front, back, and side of his own body and of fronted and nonfronted objects. Researchers hypothesized that a child would first know the front, then the back and side of his own body; that a child's egocentrism would affect ability to place objects in relation to other objects; that ability to generalize about front, back, and sides of an unfamiliar item would appear last. Forty-five children aged 2 1/2 to 4 years were tested to assess ability to recognize front, back, and sides of familiar and unfamiliar, fronted and nonfronted objects. Findings contradicted some of the hypotheses. It appears that concepts of back and front are acquired simultaneously. Nonfronted objects taking front and back only in relation to the self are the most difficult to respond to correctly. Aside from the self, front and back seem to be understood simultaneously for a variety of objects. The data outline a progression of six stages in acquiring firm knowledge of these locational concepts. (CK)