Understanding the Cognitive Development of Children

Understanding your child cognitive development will help you get into the “mind” of your child and help him or her build a greater sense of self. This will translate into more curiosity and love for learning. It will also assist children in feeling more secure and bonded to you.

The cognitive development is listed in “stages.” This would make it appear that development is a step by step, logical progression. In some ways it is…Your child needs to go through each stage in order. They can become stuck at one stage if trauma occurs during a specific stage. They may regress to earlier stages for extra comfort or familiarity (like when a new baby comes into the family and a toddler wants to wear a diaper again or drink from a bottle). These type of regressions need extra patience from you and reassurances that your child is still important and loved as a unique person.

Stages are misleading when they rigidly focus on age. The ages listed below are averages and while one child moves faster through the stages, others may not. This is normal and not a cause for worry unless they stay stuck as we all ready mentioned. It is also normal for a child to be more advanced in one area of development and more immature in other stages. A child may be mature in cognitive development but immature in emotional or vice versa.

The cognitive stages are taken from the work of Jean Piaget, a cognitive researcher and scientist. They are widely used by teachers, day care professional, family therapists, and parents.

* Birth – 2 Years

This is the Sensory-motor stage of cognitive development. During this stage, the child learns primarily from physical contact with his or her surroundings. This is why infants put everything into their mouth — they are trying to understand the world.

The development of “object permanence” is one of the most significant concepts learned during this time. Object permanence refers to the child’s ability to conceive that an object exists when he or she cannot see them. Hide a ball behind your back and very young children think the ball is really gone. Emotionally, when a child understands that objects exist even when he or she cannot see them, they feel more secure. They feel a sense of their own permanence in their world.

* 2 – 7 years

This is the Pre-operational stage of cognitive development. During this stage, the child begins to use language, learns to arrange things in order, and begins to classify things.

The child also feels as if he or she is the “center” of the universe, a concept called egocentrism. During this stage, the child has difficulty separating reality from fantasy and does not fully understand time and sequences. Additionally, the child has difficulty following multiple directions and needs step-by-step instructions.

* 7 -11 Years

This is the stage of Concrete-operational of cognitive development. Children can conserve matter and weight in various ways. For example, cars belong in one classification and red cars belong in a separate classification from other colored cars. A tall glass holds more liquid than a short glasses. And a nickel is worth more that 10 pennies. In the pre-operational period, these concepts are not clearly understood.

A concrete-operations child needs concrete materials to learn and explore. They tend to be very literal. Drawing often include see-through or x-ray diagrams as they require an accurate or concrete description
of the world. Written descriptions and names are also frequently seen in children’s drawing during this stage as well, for the same reasons.

Multiple directions are easier to process and children are beginning to think abstractly.

* 11 – 18 Years

This is the stage of Formal-operations of cognitive development. During this time, a child can begin to reason without concrete objects. He or she is finally able to learn with concepts only. Therefore, time and schedules are better understood. A child
can think about government, the solar system, and scientific theories during this time.

This is also the time that children begin thinking about their own personal identity separate from their parents. Up to this time, children conceive of themselves in relation to their parents. Now, they consider
the values of peers to be more important. They also keep more involved or question their deeply held beliefs, such as family religion. Consequently, it is a difficult time for parents to cope.

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Related Reading:

Life-Span Development

The Anger Trap: Free Yourself from the Frustrations that Sabotage Your Life

Development Through the Lifespan (5th Edition)

The Anger Management Sourcebook

Screamfree Parenting: The Revolutionary Approach to Raising Your Kids by Keeping Your Cool

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