Toddler Cognitive Development Flashcards
How do you support toddler’s cognitive development?
- Engage interactions
- Provide a language rich environment
- Play opportunities that stimulate learning and curiosity
- Nurture relationships that provide security and confidence
What are the central concepts in toddler cognitive development?
- Jean Piaget’s preoperational stage
- Language development
What age is the preoperational stage in Piaget’s cognitive theory?
2 years to 7 years
What occurs during Jean Piaget’s preoperational stage?
Rapid development in language and thinking, but thinking is still intuitive and egocentric. Children engage in pretend play
What is meant by ‘operational’ in Jean Piaget’s cognitive theory?
Logical manipulation of information
What are children’s knowledge based on?
Their own knowledge of the world
What are the two substages of the preoperational stage?
- Symbolic function (2 years to 4 years)
- Intuitive thought (4 years to 7 years)
Explain the first substage of the preoperational stage
The child gains symbolic thinking and can mentally represent an object that isn’t present. They depend on perception in problem solving
Explain the second substage of the preoperational stage
Children depend on intuitive thinking than just perception, implying that children think automatically without evidence. Children ask many questions to understand the world around them
What are the key things about children’s cognitive abilities at the preoperational stage?
- Pretend play
- Symbolic representation
- Egocentrism
- Perceptual salience
- Animism
What is pretend play?
A form of symbolic play where kids use their imagination
What happens to toys in pretend play?
Toys would be used differently than what they were initially intended. Example; a teddy bear becomes a queen in a faraway land or be a baby
What are the benefits of pretend play?
Piaget believed it help children practice and solidify new schemata they were developing cognitively
What is schemata?
A cognitive framework showing how things are processed
What are the benefits of symbolic representation?
- Opens channels of communication with others
- Provides young children words and concepts for their inner experiences (like emotion labels)
- Helps to scaffold the development of memory and allow young children to remember and discuss autobiographical events
What is egocentrism?
The tendency to not be able to take the perspective of others. The child thinks that everyone sees, feels and thinks as they do
What’s an example of egocentrism?
A mother brings her 3 year old son to pick out a birthday present for his older sister. He chooses an Ironman figurine because he believes that if he likes it, his sister will too
What is perceptual salience?
Children reason not based on what they know, but based on what they perceive (see and hear)
What’s an example of perceptual salience?
A family dresses up for halloween and the parents are wearing masks. Even if the preoperational stage child recognises their parents’ voice, they’re overwhelmed by the transformation of their faces that they react as if they’re a stranger
What is animism?
When life-like qualities are attributed to objects; Children think of objects as living beings
What are examples of animism?
- The chair that falls and hits the child’s ankle is mean
- Toys need to stay home because they’re tired
How are words learned?
By making connections between new words and concepts already known
What do children struggle with when first learning langugage?
- Literal meanings
- Overregulisation
Why do children in the preoperational stage struggle with meanings of words?
Children can repeat words after hearing them once or twice, but don’t always understand the meaning of them. This happens with expressions and figures of speech
What are some examples of children taking words literally?
“That was a piece of cake”
“I love you so much it hurts”
What is meant by overregulisation?
Children learn rules of grammar as they learn language but may apply rules inappropriately at first
What is an example of overregulisation?
A child learns to add ‘ed’ at the end of words to indicate past tense. They then form sentences using ‘I goed there’ ‘I doed that’
What are the key influences in early language development?
- Biological factors
- Environmental factors
- Social interactions
How do biological factors affect early language development?
Genetics and brain development play roles in language acquisition. Specific areas of the brain are crucial for producing and understanding languages
What areas of the brain are crucial in producing and understanding language?
Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area
How do environmental factors affect early language development?
- The frequency and variety of words spoken by the caregivers
- The responsive communication from adults
How does social interaction affect early language development?
Children would learn turn-taking, intonation and contextual use of language
How is the transition of word understanding for children aged 1 to 2years?
1) Nouns (dog, bus)
2) Verbs (eat, run)
3) Adjectives (big, blue)
What are the various ways toddlers can use to communicate?
- Meaningful words
- Made-up words
- Sounds and gestures
How’s the language development at 12 months?
Toddlers will understand the names of things they see or use often, but toddlers might use the same word to refer to different things
What are some common things a 12 months old child would understand?
- Common objects like ‘cup’ or ‘ball’
- Body parts like ‘tummy’ or ‘toe’
- Clothes like ‘sock’ or ‘hat’
Give an example of how a child would use the same word to refer to different things
A child calls all animals ‘doggie’
How’s the language development for a child at the age of 15 months?
The toddler will point to things and ask the adult to name them
How’s the language development for a child at the age of 18 months?
The toddler will refer to themselves by name; third person. Understanding to use ‘i’ another few months later
What would a toddler be able to understand after 18 months?
- Familiar phrases “It’s time to eat”
- Simple instructions “Stop that”
- Very simple explanations “The sun is out so we need our hats”
What do toddlers learn to understand by the age of 3 years?
the difference between ‘mine’ and ‘yours’
When does a toddler’s vocabulary expand the quickest?
Between 2 and 3 years of age
How well can unfamiliar people understand 2 years old children?
About half of what the child says
How well can unfamiliar people understand 3 years old children?
About three quarters of what the child says
What is language delay?
When a child has difficulties understanding and/or using spoken language
What to do when a child shows signs of language delay?
See a child and family health nurse or paediatrician
How to generally know when to get help for a toddler’s language development?
When a toddler stops using a language skill they once had
What are red flags in language development for 12 months old child?
- Isn’t interested in sounds
- Doesn’t respond to their name or noises
- Isn’t trying to communicate with babbling, words or gestures
What are red flags in language development for 18 months old child?
- Doesn’t say any single words
- Can’t put 2 words together (eg: Me apple)
- Doesn’t point, wave or use other gestures
- Doesn’t follow simple instructions (eg: Give me the hat)
What are red flags in language development for 2 years old child?
- Isn’t putting 2 or more words together (eg: me go too)
- Can’t follow simple instructions (eg: get your jacket)
- Doesn’t copy actions or words (eg: when singing heads shoulders knees and toes)
What are strategies to support language development?
- Talk often (narrate what you’re doing)
- Read regularly
- Listen and respond to what the child says
- Expand and extend
- Use play
- Sing songs and chants
- Encourage social interaction
