Sensorimotor Stage: Birth to 2 years
The earliest stage in child growth chart is called Sensorimotor, because during this stage babies and young children explore their world by using their senses and their motor skills.Initially, all inborn behaviors called reflexes. Touch a newborn's lips, and the baby will begin to suck; place your finger in the palm of an infant's hand, and the infant will grasp it.
Preoperational stage: Ages 2 to 7
Whereas infants can learn about and understand the world only by physically manipulating objects, preschoolers have greater ability to think about things and can use symbols to mentally represent objects. The second stage in child growth chart is called preoperational stage. During this stage, children's language and concepts develop at an incredible rate. Yet much of their thinking remains surprisingly primitive. One of most important discoveries was that young children lacked an understanding of the principle of conservation. For example, if you pour milk from a tall, narrow container into a shallow, wide one in the presence of a preoperational child, the child will firmly believe that the tall glass has more milk. The child focuses on only one aspect (the height of the milk), ignoring all others, and cannot be convinced that the amount of milk is the same.
And also preoperational children are egocentric in their thinking. Children at this stage believe that everyone sees the world exactly as they do. Infants soon learn to use these reflexes to produce more interesting and intentional patterns. This learning occurs initially through accident and then then through more intentional trial-and-error efforts. By the end of sensorimotor stage, children have progressed from their earlier trial-and-error approach to a more planned approach to problem solving. For the first time they can mentally present objects and events. What most of us would call "thinking" appears now.
Concrete operational: Ages 7 to 11
Although the differences between the mental abilities of preoperational preschoolers and concrete operational elementary school students are dramatic, concrete operational children still do not think like adults. They are very much rooted in the world as it is and have difficulty with abstract thought. The child at this stage can form concepts, see relationships, and solve problems, but only as long as they involve objects and situations that are familiar.One important task that children learn during the concrete operational stage is seriation, or arrange things in a logical progression.
Formal operational Stage: Ages 11 years to adulthood
Sometimes around the onset of puberty, children's thinking begins to develop into the form that is characteristic of adults. The preadolescent begins to be able to think abstractly and to see possibilities beyond the here and now. These abilities continue to develop into adulthood. With the formal operational stage comes the ability to deal with potential or hypothetical situations; the form is now separate from the content.
The earliest stage in child growth chart is called Sensorimotor, because during this stage babies and young children explore their world by using their senses and their motor skills.Initially, all inborn behaviors called reflexes. Touch a newborn's lips, and the baby will begin to suck; place your finger in the palm of an infant's hand, and the infant will grasp it.
Preoperational stage: Ages 2 to 7
Whereas infants can learn about and understand the world only by physically manipulating objects, preschoolers have greater ability to think about things and can use symbols to mentally represent objects. The second stage in child growth chart is called preoperational stage. During this stage, children's language and concepts develop at an incredible rate. Yet much of their thinking remains surprisingly primitive. One of most important discoveries was that young children lacked an understanding of the principle of conservation. For example, if you pour milk from a tall, narrow container into a shallow, wide one in the presence of a preoperational child, the child will firmly believe that the tall glass has more milk. The child focuses on only one aspect (the height of the milk), ignoring all others, and cannot be convinced that the amount of milk is the same.
And also preoperational children are egocentric in their thinking. Children at this stage believe that everyone sees the world exactly as they do. Infants soon learn to use these reflexes to produce more interesting and intentional patterns. This learning occurs initially through accident and then then through more intentional trial-and-error efforts. By the end of sensorimotor stage, children have progressed from their earlier trial-and-error approach to a more planned approach to problem solving. For the first time they can mentally present objects and events. What most of us would call "thinking" appears now.
Concrete operational: Ages 7 to 11
Although the differences between the mental abilities of preoperational preschoolers and concrete operational elementary school students are dramatic, concrete operational children still do not think like adults. They are very much rooted in the world as it is and have difficulty with abstract thought. The child at this stage can form concepts, see relationships, and solve problems, but only as long as they involve objects and situations that are familiar.One important task that children learn during the concrete operational stage is seriation, or arrange things in a logical progression.
Formal operational Stage: Ages 11 years to adulthood
Sometimes around the onset of puberty, children's thinking begins to develop into the form that is characteristic of adults. The preadolescent begins to be able to think abstractly and to see possibilities beyond the here and now. These abilities continue to develop into adulthood. With the formal operational stage comes the ability to deal with potential or hypothetical situations; the form is now separate from the content.
