Intellectual Development of the Toddler

Chapter 12

What will we learn?In previous chapters we’ve read

about babies. Now we’ll take a look at Toddler Cognitive/Intellectual development. All development is linked.

Toddlers are eager to learn. They’re curious about everything!

How and What do Toddlers Learn?Piaget has described how

children’s thinking changes as they mature. The 1st stage is the sensorimotor stage. (birth-2 years old). Children learn through their senses and motor actions.

Between 12-18 months, children learn new was of solving problems. Piaget believes that the beginning of thought occurs from 18-24 months.

Discovering New Ways to Solve ProblemsFrom 12-18 months, children are busy

exploring. Toddlers are active explorers and experimenters. Piaget called them “little scientists”. They get into everything: discovering new ways they can use objects, want to know how to use it, etc. They also enjoy repeating their actions.

Repeating actions helps them verify their observations in much the same way that scientific findings are verified through additional research.

Handout Toddlers are ScientistsDiscussion: Why is it an

advantage for a toddler to repeat his or her actions?

Working Toward a GoalIn this stage children’s actions involve

reaching a goal. The goal may be obvious to an adult.

Children play with objects to see how they work, they want to know what happens to objects when they are rolled, shaken thrown or moved in other ways. Children are looking for the best ways to reach their goals. This is why they repeat actions many times with slight variations.

Solving ProblemsToddlers can begin to solve common

problems themselves. As they learn more about objects their thinking skills improve. Toddlers learn how to feed and dress themselves. They discover how to open doors and put objects in containers. They find ways to grab out of reach objects. They solve their problems the best way the know how but don’t think about consequences.

Discussion: Do you think a caregiver should do everything for a toddler, such as dressing him or her because it saves time? Why? Why not?

Beginning of ThoughtAround 18-24 months most

children can think about what they do before they do it. When you see toddlers pause in mid-action, they’re probably thinking.

Although these older toddlers think, their thinking is not yet mature.

What examples of toddlers pause in mid-action have you seen?

Thinking and ImitationChildren can also show they can

think by imitating someone else. The ability to recall an observed behavior and later imitate it is called deferred imitation.

Thinking and goalsThinking also shows in the child’s

way of reaching goals. A child may want to reach a toy high on a shelf. He or she may have used a stepstool in the bathroom but not in the playroom before. The child thinks about the stool and how it works in the bathroom. Then the child gets the stool to reach the object. The child has thought through how to reach the goal.

Thinking and Hiding GamesThinking is evident in hiding

games too. Children will search for objects they have not seen adults hide. To find hidden objects, the child must also think in terms of spatial concepts. (where is large enough to hide this toy…)

Thinking and Shape, Size, Color and Texture

Toddlers continue to use their senses to learn about their world. T hey are learning about the attributes of objects, such as their shape, size, color and texture. Noting these differences is a thinking skill because it requires comparison. This perceptual and thinking skill is needed for the identification of objects. Children must be able to mentally compare differences before they can use terms such as ducks and geese or red and pink.

Thinking and Object ExplorationToddlers learn more about what will

happen as they handle objects. They learn by throwing, rolling, shaking, or moving objects. They learn that round objects roll and flat ones slide. They learn that hard objects will make a loud noise when hit together but soft ones do not.

Based on prior knowledge, toddlers knows the attributes of objects. She uses this knowledge in play.

Thinking and LanguageFinally, the way children think is observed

through language. Language is a symbol system in which words are used as labels for people, objects and ideas. Unlike other symbol systems, however, words do not sound or look like the people and objects they represent.

In order to learn language, children must use 2 thinking skills: ◦ 1. they must associate the word with the person

or object it refers. ◦ 2. children must recall the word and its meaning

when they hear the words or want to say it.

Language AbilitiesBabies begin to learn language as infants.

Newborns will turn toward the sound of human speech just minutes after delivery.

Language is important for children’s mental and social development.

Research emphasizes the importance of parents as the first language teachers. Parents speak in a high pitched style known as parentese. ◦ Faces are closer to children◦ Use shorter sentences◦ Speak in a singsong fashion as a way to help

toddlers learn the meanings of words.

Learning Spoken Language Spoken language develops at a faster rate between 1-3

years old than any other time. Learning to talk, however, takes time and effort. This is

because speaking involves articulation (making the sounds of language) and learning the meanings of words.

Babies can make all sounds of any language. Learning to control the tongue, lips, and vocal chords to form words takes practice. Children who cannot make one sound will substitute it for another.

Toddlers may also change the sound order of a word. A few children articulate correctly from the beginnings.

Most children make substitutions. Adults should pronounce words correctly, even if the toddler’s way of saying words sounds cute. Children need good examples to follow.

Learning Meanings: A major brain development activityMany studies show that wiring for language is

very active in the toddler years. Studies show that there is a window of opportunity for learning. How many words a child understands or speaks is related to how much parents and other caregivers talk to him or her. The most important thing for word growth is the number of times a child hears given words. Toddlers of chatty mothers knew more words at age 20 months than children of less talkative ones.

By 2 years old, the gap had more than doubled.

The same results for grammar.

Journal Reflection:Have you observed a child who said

many words you did not understand? How can you help the child learn to say the words correctly? Should you expect the child to catch on quickly when you help?

List substitutions you’ve heard toddlers make.

Why should parents avoid speaking baby talk to toddlers?

Let’s Watch a Video Clip:Youtube video: Language for

Learning: Infants and Toddlers- uncaptioned http://youtu.be/97B__Cwk7vY

Learning the meanings of wordsTo do so, the child must link certain

features with a name. This is hard because many objects with different names share common features. Ex)dogs and ponies run outside and have 4 legs. Sometimes they confuse the meanings of words they hear.

These meanings give the child 2 new tools-communication and a new way to think

CommunicationIs the skill needed to understand others and

be understood by them. Toddlers can understand many words and sentences. They use these words to achieve goals.

Language is part of the thinking process. People learn to think in words. As the child learns to talk, words go with actions. Ex) toddler waves while saying “bye”

Young children develop both vocabulary and grammar. As children learn language, they attach meanings to words and to the order of words. This process is gradual.

VocabularyAt around 18 months-2 years old,

toddlers’ vocabulary grows fast. The fastest growth occurs around 30 months.

Toddlers will vary in the # of vocabularies at different ages.

Children may use words for a while, drop them and pick them up again moths later. The size of the vocabulary can be measured most easily in children 3 and up.

GrammarGrammar is the study of the preferred word usage

and order in a given language. Each language has grammar rules. Children begin to learn these rules as toddlers. This learning begins with single word “sentences” and will progress to simple sentences during the toddler years.

Combining words together is an advanced skill because word order affects the meanings of sentences.

By listening to adults and having them read to them, toddlers learn the basic rules for the language they hear and apply those rules to their own phrases and sentences.

Single WordsFrom 12-18 months old, toddlers use sentences of

only one word. This is often used by the toddler to mean different things at different times.

To understand these meanings, the caregiver must note how the child says the words, what gestures he/she makes, and what is happening at the time.

First words are usually nouns and simple action words like mama, daddy, kitty, hi, bye bye, run, etc.

Next, the toddler learns descriptive words: big, hot, pretty, loud, fast, etc. Young children learn words for affection too, like hug.

2 or more wordsAfter 19 months, many children

begin combining 2 or more words to form sentences. Toddlers use only the most necessary words at first. By 2- 21/2, they begin using 3 or more words in their sentences. When the child begins to use these multi-word sentences, the words that are added fill in the gaps. All gone milk becomes milk is all gone.

Different Rates of Learning to talkThe rate of learning to talk varies by

several months. Many adults worry about a slow talker, but usually children catch up quickly.

A number of factors can affect language development:◦Hearing◦ Interest◦Mental abilities◦Gender◦Need for speech◦Interesting environment

Worksheet: Common vocabulary Problems