Cognitive Development of Children Essay

Cognitive development is the way a child sees, thinks and gains understanding of the world through interaction, influence, learned and genetic factors. There are four areas of intelligence and child brain development. They are: biological approaches to intelligence, cognitive succession of stages, knowledge, and intellectual ability.

The first activity that parents can introduce to their children to help promote physical, cognitive, and social development is to give them access to toys that promote mental and physical development as they grow older. A second activity that can help promote physical development is to allow them greater independence as they grow and not stop them from taking minor risks. The third activity that can help promote both their mental and physical development is to make sure that you are communicating with them instead of just taking care of their needs. A fourth activity to help promote your children's cognitive development is to let infants and toddlers solve their own problems if the problem does not include a significant risk of harm to the

3. Describe Piaget’s processes of assimilation and accommodation. Use an example to illustrate the processes. Assimilation is when children deal with new experiences based on

As children grow through early and middle childhood, they are learning and developing many skills and abilities, including conservation, theory of mind, language, autonomy and initiative,

Jean Piaget researched how the environment and personal experience plays a role in cognitive development for children (Case-Smith & O’Brien, 2010). Piaget established four concepts: adaptation, schema, assimilation, and accommodation (Case-Smith & O’Brien, 2010). Adaptation is described as the process of adjusting to one’s surroundings (Case-Smith & O’Brien, 2010). For example, 5-year-old Betty enters a birthday party full of laughing children. Betty may start smiling and clapping along with her peers.

Technological advances in the past decade have allowed scientists to study the brain in ways that have led to new understanding about how young children develop. There is a new understanding of both the capabilities and the vulnerabilities of infants and young children and that understanding is has influenced the work of caregivers and teachers. During pregnancy, the basic architecture of the brain is formed. Although, certain experiences do influence the developing brain during pregnancy, such as maternal health and stress, intake of drugs and/or alcohol, and quality of maternal nutrition.

Advancement made in regard to cognitive neuroscience has enabled a better understanding of the cognitive processes in infants. Studies have indicated that cognitive development in infants starts before they are born. In the eighth week of pregnancy, fetuses have the ability to hear. They become accustomed to their

Cognitive developments allow the child to begin to understand and interact with the environment and see things from the carer’s point of view, adjusting behaviours accordingly and understanding that the carer has goals and plans, therefore, and the relationship is seen as partnership. Cognitive skills are necessary in adapting to the environment. As Hendey and Kloep (2002)

There are many different things that shape the cognitive development of children. To begin with cognitive development is when a child develops how to process, solve problems, and start making decisions. Once they have learned this they take everything they have learned into their adolescence. An example, of what can shape the cognitive development of a child can be an educational game. Educational games can be very useful in shaping a child’s development because they are having fun while learning at the same time and what kid doesn’t like to play games, the fact that it is even educational makes it even better for them. Not only are they having fun but there are many different games that help in different categories of development in

There are multiple factors in a child’s development. Parents have a responsibility, as well as a privilege, to contribute to every milestone. Most parents stress over physical and mental stages so much so that play-time is ignored. By making decisions that sacrifice play parents hinder their social development. Parents must take action and encourage their youth to play more, before childhood is lost forever.

The three adaptive processes for cognitive development are assimilation, accommodation, and equilibrium. These are three agents

Not everything can be assimilated into existing schemas, though, and the process of accommodation must be used. In accommodation, existing schemas are modified or new schemas are created to process new information. According to Piaget, cognitive development involves an ongoing attempt to achieve a balance between assimilation and accommodation that he termed equilibration. He formulated a theory that systematically describes and explains how intellect develops. The basis of his theory is the principle that cognitive development occurs in a series of four distinct stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operations, and formal operations.

During preoperational stage of cognitive development, as defined by Piaget, children begin to assimilate as a way of adaptive behavior. They are at the age now where they can begin to really take in new knowledge and new things. They are able to go back to their previous way of thinking, but with some new information. The formation of stable concepts and beginnings of mental reasoning are characteristics of this stage. The child begins to acquire new information and assimilates this information to reach a level of stability. Children’s thinking during this period is illogical and they lack the ability to make connections between categories. An example of assimilation would be a child being outside during the day and seeing the bright circle of light coming from the sky and being told by their parent that it is the sun. One night the child is outside and sees the bright circle of light coming from the sky and says it is the sun. The child associates any bright circle of light coming from the sky the sun. The child has not yet distinguished between the sun and the moon.

The concept of equilibrium and disequilibrium are important to the four stages of development. Equilibrium is achieved through balance and successful stage transition while disequilibrium is the opposite. In achieving this balance the child “adjust his or her thinking (schema) to resolve conflict” (Powell & Kalina, 2009, p. 241). According to Piaget, assimilation occurs when knowledge matches children’s schemas and accommodation occurs when children change their schemas to fit new knowledge.

In terms of physical characteristics, the average height and weight for a two year old is thirty-four inches tall and twenty –eight pounds. Over time, their head growth will slow, from 3⁄4 inch (2 cm) in their second year alone to 3⁄4 to 1 1⁄4 inches (2–3 cm) over the next ten years. The child’s posture will change as well during the toddler years. These physical changes are due to improved muscle tone, which is cause for a more erect posture, thus giving the child a taller, and more lean appearance (“Physical Appearance,” 2013).