Page 12 - LESSION 8.pmd

Stages of Child Development : –Prenatal; and –Birth to Three Years

8.4.3 Cognitive Development

Toddlers begin making sense of their environment rather haphazardly but soon
Notes they learn to coordinate sensory information more effectively.

As Piaget believes, toddlers show first intellectual behaviour and are capable
of independent thinking by this age. They begin deliberately and purposefully
experimenting on their environment. They try out new activities through trial-
and-error and mentally represent and anticipate events. However, their attention
is bound by what is concretely present in their environment. They cannot think
in abstract terms. Toddlers at this age are able to think about doing something
before actually doing it.
At this age, children mostly engage in parallel play where they play near other
children but they do not play together. They are curious, can follow simple
directions but have short attention spans. They imitate others in their environment
and begin to include a second person in pretend play.

Some of the milestones of cognitive achievements of toddlers are:

• Name familiar people and objects
• Find objects when hidden i.e. object permanence develops

• Capable of differed imitation

• Understand and respond properly to words and commands
• Distinguish between “you” and “me” and use pronouns “me” and “mine”

• May begin to match similar objects

• Show goal directed behaviour

8.4.5 Language Development, Communication and Emergent Literacy

Language is the most important tool for communication and thus, understanding
the development of language among young children becomes essential. The
period between one to three years of age is when toddler’s understanding and
use of words builds rapidly.

At one year of age, most children can say two or three recognisable words and
by the time they are three years old, they start talking using two or three
sentences. Between the ages of one and two years, children acquire new words
on a regular basis. Initially, they can combine two to three words and then move
on to make complete sentences. Between the ages of two and three years, most
toddlers learn about 300 words.Toddlers start to understand simple questions
and are able to follow simple commands.

114 EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION