The Preschooler and Family : Cognitive Development
Cognitive Development
Piaget’s stage of preoperational thought continues throughout the preschool period to age 7.
Magical thinking
Thoughts are all powerful and can cause events to occur
Preschoolers believe whatever they think is real and will happen
Animism
Preschoolers believe that inanimate object are sentient and are able to think and act
Ascribing lifelike qualities to inanimate objects
Centration
Preschoolers understand terms very literally
Preschoolers’ fears are often unrelated to reality
Time
Preschoolers begin to understand the sequence of daily events
Time is best explained to them in relation to an event
By the end of the preschool years, children have a better comprehension of time-oriented words
Cognitive parent education
Parents of preschoolers should continue to reinforce learning and language
Preschoolers begin to learn about reality by pretending to perform behaviors that they see their parents perform. To assist with that learning, parents can provide children with imaginary play material
Parents of preschoolers should be advised that their children may make some unusual requests or may act in unusual ways
The vocabulary of preschoolers increases to more than 2,100 words by the end of the fifth year
Preschoolers speak in sentences of three to four words at the age of 4 to 5 years
This age group enjoys talking, and language becomes their primary method of communication
Coping with concerns
Preschool and kindergarten
Assess readiness for school
Sex education
Start asking why and where babies are from
Answer their questions honestly
Fears
Preschoolers have a lot of fear- actively involve them in practical methods to deal with the frightening experience
Stress
Be aware of signs of stress of the preschooler
Identify sources of stress- birth of siblings, marital separation, illness etc.
Aggression
Frustration: disapproval, humiliation, or insults can lead children to act out against others
Modeling: children may be modeling the behavior of their parents at home
Reinforcement: needing attention and knowing attention will be given if they hit or need punishment