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Catechumens (OSV Encyc. 1997)
Baptism is the sacrament by which one becomes a Christian - a son or daughter of God, a brother or sister to Jesus Christ, and a member of God's Church. Nothing more important can occur in a person's life than to receive Baptism. It is a "second birth", a birth to a new and higher life - the life of God himself.
Getting baptized in the case of an adult must be a free act, one that is consciously wanted and accompanied by at least a basic understanding of its implications. It is obviously not something to be "taken lightly": to be done without thought or preparation. The Church does not permit this, nor would the person to be baptized want it. Therefore if an adult decides to become a Christian, Baptism logically calls for a period of preparation and instruction. This period is called the catechumenate; and the person receiving the instruction with the intention of being baptized, is a catechumen.
Since Baptism confers such incalculable benefits and gives such strength for the whole of life, christian parents will naturally want their children to receive Baptism as soon as possible; and this is both their duty and their right according to the law of the Church (cf. c. 867). While no pre-Baptism instruction of an infant is possible or needed, a follow-up naturally is. The Catechism insists that "by its very nature infant Baptism requires a post-baptismal catechumenate" (no. 1231). This is naturally first given by the parents themselves.