Prospective and retrospective studies showed that headaches (migraine and tension-type) with childhood or adolescent onset have age-related characteristics and change over time, with high rate of type changing, remission or improvement. The reasons are unknown. On the other hand, several studies focused on factors that may be precursors of childhood headaches. All these factors may allow a developmental arc to be outlined, defining the natural history of headache from birth to adulthood. Familial (genetic?) influence, hyperreactivity, periodic syndromes and anxiety in childhood are factors that may predict headache onset, against the background of developmental modulation of pain. Biological and psychological factors are probably reciprocally involved, although the link is unclear. The identification of prognostic factors could allow a better framing of headaches and, from an integrated perspective, have important implications as regards clarifying the "nature" of headache.