Definition

Language development is the process by which children come to understand and communicate language during
early childhood.

Description
From birth up to the age of five, children develop language at a very rapid pace. The stages of language
development are universal among humans. However, the age and the pace at which a child reaches each
milestone of language development vary greatly among children. Thus, language development in an individual
child must be compared with norms rather than with other individual children. In general girls develop language
at a faster rate than boys. More than any other aspect of development, language development reflects the growth
and maturation of the brain. After the age of five it becomes much more difficult for most children to learn
language.
Receptive language development (the ability to comprehend language) usually develops faster than expressive
language (the ability to communicate). Two different styles of language development are recognized. In
referential language development, children first speak single words and then join words together, first into two-
word sentences and then into three-word sentences. In expressive language development, children first speak in
long unintelligible babbles that mimic the cadence and rhythm of adult speech. Most children use a combination
these styles.

Infancy
Language development begins before birth. Towards the end of pregnancy, a fetus begins to hear sounds and
speech coming from outside the mother's body. Infants are acutely attuned to the human voice and prefer it to
other sounds. In particular they prefer the higher pitch characteristic of female voices. They also are very
attentive to the human face, especially when the face is talking. Although crying is a child's primary means of
communication at birth, language immediately begins to develop via repetition and imitation.
Between birth and three months of age, most infants acquire the following abilities:

 seem to recognize their mother's voice

 quiet down or smile when spoken to
 turn toward familiar voices and sounds
 make sounds indicating pleasure
 cry differently to express different needs
  grunt, chuckle, whimper, and gurgle
 begin to coo (repeating the same sounds frequently) in response to voices
 make vowel-like sounds such as "ooh" and "ah"

Between three and six months, most infants can do the following:

 turn their head toward a speaker

 watch a speaker's mouth movements
 respond to changes in a tone of voice
 make louder sounds including screeches
 vocalize excitement, pleasure, and displeasure
 cry differently out of pain or hunger
 laugh, squeal, and sigh
 sputter loudly and blow bubbles
 shape their mouths to change sounds
 vocalize different sounds for different needs
 communicate desires with gestures
 babble for attention
 mimic sounds, inflections, and gestures
 make many new sounds, including "p," "b," and "m," that may sound almost speech-like

The sounds and babblings of this stage of language development are identical in babies throughout the world,
even among those who are profoundly deaf. Therefore, all babies are born with the capacity to learn any
language. Social interaction determines which language they eventually learn.
Six to 12 months is a crucial age for receptive language development. Between six and nine months babies
begin to do the following:

 search for sources of sound

 listen intently to speech and other sounds
 take an active interest in conversation even if it is not directed at them
 recognize "dada," "mama," "bye-bye"
 consistently respond to their names
 respond appropriately to friendly and angry tones
 express their moods by sound and body language
 play with sounds
 make long, more varied sounds
 babble random combinations of consonants and vowels
 babble in singsong with as many as 12 different sounds
 experiment with pitch, intonation, and volume
 use their tongues to change sounds
 repeat syllables
 imitate intonation and speech sounds

Between nine and 12 months babies may begin to do the following:

 listen when spoken to

 recognize words for common objects and names of family members
 respond to simple requests
 understand "no"
  understand gestures
 associate voices and names with people
 know their own names
 babble both short and long groups of sounds and two-to-three-syllable repeated sounds (The babble
begins to have characteristic sounds of their native language.)
 use sounds other than crying to get attention
 use "mama" and "dada" for any person
 shout and scream
 repeat sounds
 use most consonant and vowel sounds
 practice inflections
 engage in much vocal play

Toddlerhood
During the second year of life language development proceeds at very different rates in different children. By
the age of 12 months, most children use "mama/dada" appropriately. They add new words each month and
temporarily lose words. Between 12 and 15 months children begin to do the following:

 recognize names
 understand and follow one-step directions
 laugh appropriately
 use four to six intelligible words, usually those starting with "b," "c," "d," and "g," although less than 20
percent of their language is comprehensible to outsiders
 use partial words
 gesture and speak "no"
 ask for help with gestures and sounds

At 15 to 18 months of age children usually do the following:

 understand "up," "down," "hot," "off"

 use 10 to 20 intelligible words, mostly nouns
 use complete words
 put two short words together to form sentences
 chatter and imitate, use some echolalia (repetitions of words and phrases)
 have 20 to 25 percent of their speech understood by outsiders

At 18 to 24 months of age toddlers come to understand that there are words for everything and their language
development gains momentum. About 50 of a child's first words are universal: names of foods, animals, family
members, toys , vehicles, and clothing. Usually children first learn general nouns, such as "flower" instead of
"dandelion," and they may overgeneralize words, such as calling all toys "balls." Some children learn words for
social situations, greetings, and expressions of love more readily than others. At this age children usually have
20 to 50 intelligible words and can do the following:

 follow two-step directions

 point to parts of the body
 attempt multi-syllable words
  speak three-word sentences
 ask two-word questions
 enjoy challenge words such as "helicopter"
 hum and sing
 express pain verbally
 have 50 to 70 percent of their speech understood by outsiders

After several months of slower development, children often have a "word spurt" (an explosion of new words).
Between the ages of two and 18 years, it is estimated that children add nine new words per day. Between two
and three years of age children acquire:

 a 400-word vocabulary including names

 a word for most everything
 the use of pronouns
 three to five-word sentences
 the ability to describe what they just saw or experienced
 the use of the past tense and plurals
 names for body parts, colors, toys, people, and objects
 the ability to repeat rhymes, songs, and stories
 the ability to answer "what" questions

Children constantly produce sentences that they have not heard before, creating rather than imitating.
This creativity is based on the general principles and rules of language that they have mastered. By the time a
child is three years of age, most of a child's speech can be understood. However, like adults, children vary
greatly in how much they choose to talk.

Preschool
Three to four-year-olds usually can do the following:

 understand most of what they hear

 converse
 have 900 to 1,000-word vocabularies, with verbs starting to predominate
 usually talk without repeating syllables or words
 use pronouns correctly
 use three to six-word sentences
 ask questions
 relate experiences and activities
 tell stories (Occasional stuttering and stammering is normal in preschoolers.)

Language skills usually blossom between four and five years of age. Children of this age can do the following:

 verbalize extensively
 communicate easily with other children and adults
 articulate most English sounds correctly
 know 1,500 to 2,500 words
 use detailed six to eight-word sentences
  can repeat four-syllable words
 use at least four prepositions
 tell stories that stay on topic
 can answer questions about stories

School age
At age five most children can do the following:

 follow three consecutive commands

 talk constantly
 ask innumerable questions
 use descriptive words and compound and complex sentences
 know all the vowels and consonants
 use generally correct grammar

Six-year-olds usually can correct their own grammar and mispronunciations. Most children double their
vocabularies between six and eight years of age and begin reading at about age seven. A major leap in reading
comprehension occurs at about nine. Ten-year-olds begin to understand figurative word meanings.
Adolescents generally speak in an adult manner, gaining language maturity throughout high school.

Common Problems
Language delay is the most common developmental delay in children. There are many causes for language
delay, both environmental and physical. About 60 percent of language delays in children under age three
resolve spontaneously. Early intervention often helps other children to catch up to their age group.
Common circumstances that can result in language delay include:

 concentration on developing skills other than language

 siblings who are very close in age or older siblings who interpret for the younger child
 inadequate language stimulation and one-on-one attention
 bilingualism, in which a child's combined comprehension of two languages usually is equivalent to other
children's comprehension of one language
 psychosocial deprivation

Language delay can result from a variety of physical disorders, including the following:

 mental retardation
 maturation delay (the slower-than-usual development of the speech centers of the brain), a common
cause of late talking
 a hearing impairment
 a learning disability
 cerebral palsy
 autism (a developmental disorder in which, among other things, children do not use language or use it
abnormally)
 congenital blindness, even in the absence of other neurological impairment
  Klinefelter syndrome, a disorder in which males are born with an extra X chromosome

Brain damage or disorders of the central nervous system can cause the following:

 receptive aphasia or receptive language disorder, a deficit in spoken language comprehension or in the
ability to respond to spoken language
 expressive aphasia, an inability to speak or write despite normal language comprehension
 childhood apraxia of speech, in which a sound is substituted for the desired syllable or word

Parental Concerns
Language development is enriched by verbal interactions with other children and adults. Parents and care-givers
can have a significant impact on early language development. Studies have shown that children of talkative
parents have twice the vocabulary as those of quiet parents. A study from the National Institute of Child Health
and Human Development (NICHD) found that children in high-quality childcare environments have larger
vocabularies and more complex language skills than children in lower-quality situations. In addition language-
based interactions appear to increase a child's capacity to learn. Recommendations for encouraging language
development in infants include:

 talking to them as much as possible and giving them opportunities to respond, perhaps with a smile;
short periods of silence help teach the give-and-take of conversation
 talking to infants in a singsong, high-pitched speech, called "parentese" or "motherese" (This is a
universal method for enhancing language development.)
 using one- or two-syllable words and two to three-word sentences
 using proper words rather than baby words
 speaking slowly, drawing-out vowels, and exaggerating main syllables
 avoiding pronouns and articles
 using animated gestures along with words
 addressing the baby by name
 talking about on-going activities
 asking questions
 singing songs
 commenting on sounds in the environment
 encouraging the baby to make vowel-like and consonant-vowel sounds such as "ma," "da," and "ba"
 repeating recognizable syllables and repeating words that contain the syllable

When babies reach six to 12 months-of-age, parents should play word games with them, label objects with
words, and allow the baby to listen and participate in conversations. Parents of toddlers should do the following:

 talk to the child in simple sentences and ask questions

 expand on the toddler's single words
 use gestures that reinforce words
 put words to the child's gestures
 name colors
 count items
 gently repeat correctly any words that the child has mispronounced, rather than criticizing the child
Parents of two to three-year-olds should do the following:

 talk about what the child and parent are doing each day
 encourage the child to use new words
 repeat and expand on what the child says
 ask the child yes-or-no questions and questions that require a simple choice.

(Table by GGS Information Services.)

Language
development

Age Activity

Two months Cries, coos, and grunts.

Four months Begins babbling. Makes most vowel sounds and

about half of consonant sounds.

Six months Vocalizes with intonation. Responds to own name.

Eight months Combines syllables when babbling, such "Ba-ba."

Eleven months Says one word (or fragment of a word) with meaning.

Twelve months Says two or three words with meaning. Practices

inflection, such as raising pitch of voice at the

end of a question.

Eighteen months Has a vocabulary between five and 20 words,

mostly nouns. Repeats word or phrase over and

over. May start to join two words together.

Two years Has a vocabulary of 150–300 words. Uses I, me,

and you. Uses at least two prepositions (in, on,

under). Combines words in short sentences.

About two-thirds of what is spoken is understandable.

Three years Has a vocabulary of 900–1000 words. Uses more

 verbs, some past tenses, and some plural nouns.

Easily handles three-word sentences. Can give

own name, sex, and age. About 90% of speech is understandable

Four years Can use at least four prepositions. Can usually

repeat words of four syllables. Knows some

colors and numbers. Has most vowels and

diphthongs and consonants p, b, m, w, and n

established. Talks a lot and repeats often.

Five years Can count to ten. Speech is completely

understandable, although articulation might not

be perfect. Should have all vowels and

consonants m, p, b, h, w, k, g, t, d, n, ng, y. Can

repeat sentences as long as nine words. Speech

is mostly grammatically correct.

Six years Should have all vowels and consonants listed

above, has added, f, v, sh, zh, th, l. Should be able

to tell a connected story about a picture.

Seven years Should have consonants s–z, r, voiceless th, ch,

wh, and soft g. Should be able to do simple

reading and print many words.

Eight years All speech sounds established. Carries on

conversation at a more adult level. Can tell

complicated stories of past events. Easily uses

complex and compound sentences. Reads simple

 stories with ease and can write simple compositions

How to encourage early language development in children

The best way to encourage your child’s language development is to do a lot of talking together about things that
interest your child. It is all about following your child’s lead as they show you what they’re interested in by waving,
babbling or using words.

Talking with your child

From birth, talk with your child and treat them as a talker. The key is to use many different words in different
contexts. For example, you can talk to your child about an orange ball and about cutting up an orange for lunch. This
helps your child learn what words mean and how words work.

When you finish talking, pause and give your child a turn to respond.

As your child starts coo, gurgle, wave and point, you can respond to your child’s attempts to communicate. For
example, if your baby coos and gurgles, you can coo back to them. Or if your toddler points to a toy, respond as if
your child is saying, ‘Can I have that?’ For example, you could say ‘Do you want the block?’

When your child starts using words, you can repeat and build on what your child says. For example, if your child
says, ‘Apple,’ you can say, ‘You want a red apple?’

And it is the same when your child starts making sentences. You can respond and encourage your child to expand
their sentences. For example, your toddler might say ‘I go shop’. You might respond, ‘And what did you do at the
shop?’

When you pay attention and respond to your child in these ways, it encourages them to keep communicating and
developing their language skills.

Reading with your child

Reading and sharing books about plenty of different topics lets your child hear words used in many different ways.

Linking what is in the book to what is happening in your child’s life is a good way to get your child talking. For
example, you could say, ‘We went to the playground today, just like the boy in this book. What do you like to do at
the playground?’ You can also encourage talking by chatting about interesting pictures in the books you read with
your child.
When you read aloud with your child, you can point to words as you say them. This shows your child the link
between spoken and written words, and helps your child learn that words are distinct parts of language. These are
important concepts for developing literacy.

Your local library or mobile library is a great source of books.

Language Development: the first eight years

Here are just a few of the important things your child might achieve in language development between three months
and eight years.

3-12 months
At three months, your baby will most likely coo, smile and laugh. As they grow, your baby will begin to play with
sounds and communicate with gestures like waving and pointing.

At around 4-6 months, your baby will probably start babbling. Baby will make single-syllable sounds like ‘ba’ first,
before repeating them – ‘ba ba ba’.

Babbling is followed by the ‘jargon phase’ where your child might sound like they’re telling you something, but
their ‘speech’ won’t sound like recognizable words. First words with meaning often start at around 12 months or so.

If your baby isn’t babbling and isn’t using gestures by 12 months, talk to your GP or child and family health nurse.

Weblink: Find out more about language development from 3-12 months.

12-18 months
At this age, children often say their first words with meaning. For example, when your child says ‘Dada’, your child
is actually calling for dad. In the next few months, your child’s vocabulary will grow. Your child can understand
more than they can say. They can also follow simple instructions like ‘Sit down’.

18 months to 2 years
Most children will start to put two words together into short ‘sentences. Your child will understand much of what
you say, and you can understand most of what your child says to you. Unfamiliar people will understand about half
of what your child says.

If your child does not have some words by around 18 months, talk to your GP or child and family health nurse or
another health professional.

Weblink: Find out more about language development from 1-2 years.

2-3 years
Your child most likely speaks in sentences of 3-4 words and is getting better at saying words correctly. Your child
might play and talk at the same time. Strangers can probably understand about three-quarters of what your child says
by the time your child is three.

Weblink: Find out more about language development from 2-3 years.

3-5 years
You can expect longer more complex conversations about your child’s thoughts and feelings. Your child might also
ask about things, people and places that are not in front of them. For example, ‘Is it raining at grandma’s house,
too?’
Your child will probably also want to talk about a wide range of topics, and their vocabulary will keep growing.
Your child might show understanding of basic grammar and start using sentences with words like ‘because’, ‘if’,
‘so’ or ‘when’. And you can look forward to some entertaining stories too.

Weblink: Find out more about language development from 3-4 years and language development from 4-5 years.

5-8 years
During the early school years, your child will learn more words and start to understand how the sounds within
language work together. Your child will also become a better storyteller, as they learn to put words together in
different ways and build different types of sentences. These skills also let your child share ideas and opinions. By
eight years, your child will be able to have adult-like conversations.

Weblink: Find out more about language development from 5-8 years.

Cognitive Development
Definition
Cognitive development is the construction of thought processes, including remembering, problem solving, and
decision-making, from childhood through adolescence to adulthood.

Description
It was once believed that infants lacked the ability to think or form complex ideas and remained without
cognition until they learned language. It is now known that babies are aware of their surroundings and interested
in exploration from the time they are born. From birth, babies begin to actively learn. They gather, sort, and
process information from around them, using the data to develop perception and thinking skills.
Cognitive development refers to how a person perceives, thinks, and gains understanding of his or her world
through the interaction of genetic and learned factors. Among the areas of cognitive development are
information processing, intelligence , reasoning, language development , and memory.
Historically, the cognitive development of children has been studied in a variety of ways. The oldest is through
intelligence tests, such as the widely used Stanford Binet Intelligence Quotient (IQ) test first adopted for use in
the United States by psychologist Lewis Terman (1877–1956) in 1916 from a French model pioneered in 1905.
IQ scoring is based on the concept of "mental age," according to which the scores of a child of average
intelligence match his or her age, while a gifted child's performance is comparable to that of an older child, and
a slow learner's scores are similar to those of a younger child. IQ tests are widely used in the United States, but
they have come under increasing criticism for defining intelligence too narrowly and for being biased with
regard to race and gender.
In contrast to the emphasis placed on a child's native abilities by intelligence testing, learning theory grew out of
work by behaviorist researchers such as John Watson (1878–1958) and B. F. Skinner (1904–1990), who argued
that children are completely malleable. Learning theory focuses on the role of environmental factors in shaping
the intelligence of children, especially on a child's ability to learn by having certain behaviors rewarded and
others discouraged.

Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development

The most well-known and influential theory of cognitive development is that of French psychologist Jean Piaget
(1896–1980). Piaget's theory, first published in 1952, grew out of decades of extensive observation of children,
including his own, in their natural environments as opposed to the laboratory experiments of the behaviorists.
Although Piaget was interested in how children reacted to their environment, he proposed a more active role for
them than that suggested by learning theory. He envisioned a child's knowledge as composed of schemas, basic
units of knowledge used to organize past experiences and serve as a basis for understanding new ones.
Schemas are continually being modified by two complementary processes that Piaget termed assimilation and
accommodation. Assimilation refers to the process of taking in new information by incorporating it into an
existing schema. In other words, people assimilate new experiences by relating them to things they already
know. On the other hand, accommodation is what happens when the schema itself changes to accommodate
new knowledge. According to Piaget, cognitive development involves an ongoing attempt to achieve a balance
between assimilation and accommodation that he termed equilibration.
At the center of Piaget's theory is the principle that cognitive development occurs in a series of four distinct,
universal stages, each characterized by increasingly sophisticated and abstract levels of thought. These stages
always occur in the same order, and each builds on what was learned in the previous stage. They are as follows:

 Sensorimotor stage (infancy): In this period, which has six sub-stages, intelligence is demonstrated
through motor activity without the use of symbols. Knowledge of the world is limited, but developing,
because it is based on physical interactions and experiences. Children acquire object permanence at
about seven months of age (memory). Physical development (mobility) allows the child to begin
developing new intellectual abilities. Some symbolic (language) abilities are developed at the end of this
stage.
 Pre-operational stage (toddlerhood and early childhood): In this period, which has two substages,
intelligence is demonstrated through the use of symbols, language use matures, and memory and
imagination are developed, but thinking is done in a non-logical, non-reversible manner. Egocentric
thinking predominates.
 Concrete operational stage (elementary and early adolescence): In this stage, characterized by seven
types of conservation (number, length, liquid, mass, weight, area, and volume), intelligence is
demonstrated through logical and systematic manipulation of symbols related to concrete objects.
Operational thinking develops (mental actions that are reversible). Egocentric thought diminishes.
 Formal operational stage (adolescence and adulthood): In this stage, intelligence is demonstrated
through the logical use of symbols related to abstract concepts. Early in the period there is a return to
egocentric thought. Only 35 percent of high school graduates in industrialized countries obtain formal
operations; many people do not think formally during adulthood.
The most significant alternative to the work of Piaget has been the information-processing approach, which uses
the computer as a model to provide new insight into how the human mind receives, stores, retrieves, and uses
information. Researchers using information-processing theory to study cognitive development in children have
focused on areas such as the gradual improvements in children's ability to take in information and focus
selectively on certain parts of it and their increasing attention spans and capacity for memory storage. For
example, researchers have found that the superior memory skills of older children are due in part to
memorization strategies, such as repeating items in order to memorize them or dividing them into categories.

Infancy
As soon as they are born, infants begin learning to use their senses to explore the world around them. Most
newborns can focus on and follow moving objects, distinguish the pitch and volume of sound, see all colors and
distinguish their hue and brightness, and start anticipating events, such as sucking at the sight of a nipple. By
three months old, infants can recognize faces; imitate the facial expressions of others, such as smiling and
frowning; and respond to familiar sounds.
At six months of age, babies are just beginning to understand how the world around them works. They imitate
sounds, enjoy hearing their own voice, recognize parents, fear strangers, distinguish between animate and
inanimate objects, and base distance on the size of an object. They also realize that if they drop an object, they
can pick it up again. At four to seven months, babies can recognize their names.
By nine months, infants can imitate gestures and actions, experiment with the physical properties of objects,
understand simple words such as "no," and understand that an object still exists even when they cannot see it.
They also begin to test parental responses to their behavior, such as throwing food on the floor. They remember
the reaction and test the parents again to see if they get the same reaction.
At 12 months of age, babies can follow a fast moving object; can speak two to four words, including "mama"
and "papa"; imitate animal sounds; associate names with objects; develop attachments to objects, such as a toy
or blanket; and experience separation anxiety when away from their parents. By 18 months of age, babies are
able to understand about 10–50 words; identify body parts; feel a sense of ownership by using the word "my"
with certain people or objects; and can follow directions that involve two different tasks, such as picking
up toys and putting them in a box.

Toddlerhood
Between 18 months to three years of age, toddlers have reached the "sensorimotor" stage of Piaget's theory of
cognitive development that involves rudimentary thought. For instance, they understand the permanence of
objects and people, visually follow the displacement of objects, and begin to use instruments and tools.
Toddlers start to strive for more independence, which can present challenges to parents concerned for
their safety . They also understand discipline and what behavior is appropriate and inappropriate, and they
understand the concepts of words like "please" and "thank you."
Two-year-olds should be able to understand 100 to 150 words and start adding about ten new words per day.
Toddlers also have a better understanding of emotions, such as love, trust, and fear. They begin to understand
some of the ordinary aspects of everyday life, such as shopping for food, telling time, and being read to.

Preschool
Preschoolers, ages three to six, should be at the "preoperational" stage of Piaget's cognitive development theory,
meaning they are using their imagery and memory skills. They should be conditioned to learning and
memorizing, and their view of the world is normally very self-centered. Preschoolers usually have also
developed their social interaction skills, such as playing and cooperating with other children their own age. It is
normal for preschoolers to test the limits of their cognitive abilities, and they learn negative concepts and
actions, such as talking back to adults, lying , and bullying. Other cognitive development in preschoolers are
developing an increased attention span, learning to read, and developing structured routines, such as doing
household chores.

School age
Younger school-age children, six to 12 years old, should be at the "concrete operations" stage of Piaget's
cognitive development theory, characterized by the ability to use logical and coherent actions in thinking and
solving problems. They understand the concepts of permanence and conservation by learning that volume,
weight, and numbers may remain constant despite changes in outward appearance. These children should be
able to build on past experiences, using them to explain why some things happen. Their attention span should
increase with age, from being able to focus on a task for about 15 minutes at age six to an hour by age nine.
Adolescents, ages 12 through 18, should be at the "formal operations" stage of Piaget's cognitive development
theory. It is characterized by an increased independence for thinking through problems and situations.
Adolescents should be able to understand pure abstractions, such as philosophy and higher math concepts.
During this age, children should be able to learn and apply general information needed to adapt to specific
situations. They should also be able to learn specific information and skills necessary for an occupation. A
major component of the passage through adolescence is a cognitive transition. Compared to children,
adolescents think in ways that are more advanced, more efficient, and generally more complex. This ability can
be seen in five ways.
First, during adolescence individuals become better able than children to think about what is possible, instead of
limiting their thought to what is real. Whereas children's thinking is oriented to the here and now—that is, to
things and events that they can observe directly—adolescents are able to consider what they observe against a
backdrop of what is possible; they can think hypothetically.
Second, during the passage into adolescence, individuals become better able to think about abstract ideas. For
example, adolescents find it easier than children to comprehend the sorts of higher-order, abstract logic inherent
in puns, proverbs, metaphors, and analogies. The adolescent's greater facility with abstract thinking also permits
the application of advanced reasoning and logical processes to social and ideological matters. This is clearly
seen in the adolescent's increased facility and interest in thinking about interpersonal relationships, politics,
philosophy, religion, and morality.
Third, during adolescence individuals begin thinking more often about the process of thinking itself, or
metacognition. As a result, adolescents may display increased introspection and self-consciousness. Although
improvements in metacognitive abilities provide important intellectual advantages, one potentially negative
byproduct of these advances is the tendency for adolescents to develop a sort of egocentrism, or intense
preoccupation with the self.
A fourth change in cognition is that thinking tends to become multidimensional, rather than limited to a single
issue. Whereas children tend to think about things one aspect at a time, adolescents can see things through more
complicated lenses. Adolescents describe themselves and others in more differentiated and complicated terms
and find it easier to look at problems from multiple perspectives.
(Table by GGS Information Services.)

Cognitive development

Age Activity

SOURCE : Miller-Keane Encyclopedia and Dictionary of Medicine, Nursing, and Allied Health, 5th ed . and
Child Development Institute, http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com.

One month Watches person when spoken to.

Two months Smiles at familiar person talking. Begins to follow moving person with eyes.

Four months Shows interest in bottle, breast, familiar toy, or new surroundings.

Five months Smiles at own image in mirror. Looks for fallen objects.

Six months May stick out tongue in imitation. Laughs at peekaboo game. Vocalizes at mirror image.
May act shy around strangers.

Seven months Responds to own name. Tries to establish contact with a person by cough or other noise.

Eight months Reaches for toys out of reach. Responds to "no."

Nine months Shows likes and dislikes. May try to prevent face-washing or other activity that is disliked.
Shows excitement and interest in foods or toys that are well-liked.

Ten months Starts to understand some words. Waves bye-bye. Holds out arm or leg for dressing.

Eleven months Repeats performance that is laughed at. Likes repetitive play. Shows interest in books.

Twelve months May understand some "where is...?" questions. May kiss on request.

Fifteen months Asks for objects by pointing. Starting to feed self. Negativism begins.

Eighteen Points to familiar objects when asked "where is...?" Mimics familiar adult activities. Know
months some body parts. Obeys two or three simple orders.

Two years Names a few familiar objects. Draws with crayons. Obeys found simple orders. Participates
 Cognitive development

Age Activity

in parallel play.

Two-and-a-half Names several common objects. Begins to take interest in sex organs. Gives full names.
years Helps to put things away. Peak of negativism.

Three years Constantly asks questions. May count to 10. Begins to draw specific objects. Dresses and
undresses doll. Participates in cooperative play. Talks about things that have happened.

Four years May make up silly words and stories. Beginning to draw pictures that represent familiar
things. Pretends to read and write. May recognize a few common words, such as own name.

Five years Can recognize and reproduce many shapes, letters, and numbers. Tells long stories. Begins
to understand the difference between real events and make-believe ones. Asks meaning of
words.

Social situations can have different interpretations depending on one's point of view permits the adolescent to
have far more sophisticated and complicated relationships with other people.
Finally, adolescents are more likely than children to see things as relative, rather than absolute. Children tend to
see things in absolute terms—in black and white. Adolescents, in contrast, tend to see things as relative. They
are more likely to question others' assertions and less likely to accept facts as absolute truths. This increase in
relativism can be particularly exasperating to parents, who may feel that their adolescent children question
everything just for the sake of argument. Difficulties often arise, for example, when adolescents begin seeing
their parents' values as excessively relative.

Common Problems
Cognitive impairment is the general loss or lack of development of cognitive abilities, particularly autism and
learning disabilities. The National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH) describes learning disabilities as a
disorder that affects people's ability to either interpret what they see and hear or to link information from
different parts of the brain. These limitations can show up in many ways, such as specific difficulties with
spoken and written language, coordination, self-control, or attention. Such difficulties extend to schoolwork and
can impede learning to read or write or to do math. A child who has a learning disability may have other
conditions, such as hearing problems or serious emotional disturbance. However, learning disabilities are not
caused by these conditions, nor are they caused by environmental influences such as cultural differences or
inappropriate instruction.

Parental Concerns
As of 2004 it is widely accepted that a child's intellectual ability is determined by a combination of heredity and
environment. Thus, although a child's genetic inheritance is unchangeable, there are definite ways that parents
can enhance their child's intellectual development through environmental factors. They can provide stimulating
learning materials and experiences from an early age, read to and talk with their children, and help children
explore the world around them. As children mature, parents can both challenge and support the child's talents.
Although a supportive environment in early childhood provides a clear advantage for children, it is possible to
make up for early losses in cognitive development if a supportive environment is provided at some later period,
in contrast to early disruptions in physical development, which are often irreversible.

When to call the doctor

If, by age three, a child has problems understanding simple directions or is perplexed when asked to do
something simple, the parents or primary caregiver should consult a physician or pediatrician. The child may
have a delay in cognitive development. Parents should also consult a healthcare professional if, after age three,
their child's cognitive development appears to be significantly slower than their peers.

KEY TERMS
Autism —A developmental disability that appears early in life, in which normal brain development is disrupted
and social and communication skills are retarded, sometimes severely.
Cognition —The act or process of knowing or perceiving.
Egocentric —Limited in outlook to things mainly relating to oneself or confined to one's own affairs or
activities.
Learning disabilities —An impairment of the cognitive processes of understanding and using spoken and
written language that results in difficulties with one or more academic skill sets (e.g., reading, writing,
mathematics).
Metacognition —Awareness of the process of cognition.
Schemas —Fundamental core beliefs or assumptions that are part of the perceptual filter people use to view the
world. Cognitive-behavioral therapy seeks to change maladaptive schemas.

Ways to Encourage Cognitive Development

Fostering your child's cognitive development as soon as he/she is born provides the foundation for success in school
and later in life. Here are ideas to encourage cognitive development through different activities.
0-6 months

 Talk to the baby while making sure he/she can see your face and eyes.
 Read books using different voices and show him/her the pictures.
 Change activities when or before the baby becomes fussy (which is usually when he/she is
bored).
 Place toys within sight but just out of reach of your baby.

1 year old

 Begin naming colours, shapes, and asking your child to point at certain objects.
 Hide toys and encourage your child to find them.
 Provide simple directions, such as “pick up your ball.”

2 years old

 Play simple games of hide and seek within the same room.
 Ask the child to name colours, shapes or animals when you point to them in a book.
 Give the child simple two-step directions, such as “pick up your ball and put it in the
basket.”

3 years old

 Encourage the child to take part in pretend play.

 Play follow the leader with the child.
 Teach the child simple songs like “Itsy Bitsy Spider,” or other cultural childhood rhymes.

4 years old

 Allow the child to help with simple chores, such as wiping the table.
 Begin counting together.
 Ask the child to tell you parts of a story or tell you about his/her day.
 Give the child choices and prompt him/her to make thoughtful decisions.

5 years old

 Help the child develop good language skills by speaking to him/her in complete sentences
and using "grown-up" words. Help the child to use the correct words and phrases.
 Draw people and animals based on real family members and pets.
References (Websites)
Language Development taken from Language Development - baby, stages, meaning, Definition, Description,
Common problems (healthofchildren.com)

Language Development 0-8 yrs taken from Language development: children 0-8 years | Raising Children
Network

Cognitive Development taken from Cognitive Development - stages, meaning, average, Definition, Description,
Common problems (healthofchildren.com)

Fostering Cognitive Development taken from Ways to Encourage Cognitive Development | Help Me Grow MN

Ways to Encourage Cognitive Development Ways to Encourage Cognitive Development | Help Me Grow MN