Cognitive Development of Infants and Young Children

This document discusses the cognitive development of infants and young children. It covers topics such as the importance of play, curriculum planning, and inclusive daycare. It also provides tips for promoting good health and safety in childcare.

Running head: Cognitive Development of Infants and Young Children
Cognitive Development of Infants and Young Children
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF INFANTS AND YOUNG CHILDREN
Session 7
1. Children learn through playing. As a child, I played in my garden and in the playgrounds of
my school. I played with my friends but under the supervision of a teacher. We played,
hopscotch, badminton etc. I learnt to give and take, learnt to take turns, to cooperate and share. I
also learnt to communicate with others. My play experiences differed from play of today in terms
of the fact that earlier children were more likely to play outside while children today are more
likely to play indoors with phones, gadgets and indoor games.
2. Phonics should be taught early to children between the ages of three and five.
3. Preschool children should not be introduced to computers so early because they are still very
young and they should indulge in reading and other developmental and playful activities.
4. Good curriculum planning should meet the needs and requirements of a child. It should arouse
the interest of a child. It should also be developmentally appropriate. It should also be adaptable
in nature. A good curriculum needs to accommodate a plethora of different learning styles of
children. For example, a child who is a tactile or a physical learner requires movement and
activity. A child who is a visual learner learns through science experiments or watching activities
and events, while a child who is an auditory learner learns best when they hear it. An expert on
children should develop a good curriculum. A good curriculum ought to use the environment and
should encourage learning outdoors.
5. Children do not delve or think about these issues at such an early age and hence these factors
should not be taken into account while planning a Xmas activity for activity.
6.

2COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF INFANTS AND YOUNG CHILDREN
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday
Playing Indoors Playing Outdoors Movement
exercises
Mathematical
Development –
using ideas to
learn about shapes,
quantity, numbers
and space
Dancing
Nature Walks Dancing Storytelling Nature Walks Learning how to
share
Reading
Storybooks
Building Blocks Enacting their
favourite
characters from
their storybooks
Dancing Storytelling
Creative
Development –
finding ways to
communicate
using sound,
texture, colour,
stories, movement
and texture
Drawing Playing with
puppets
Watering a tree Singing
Coloring Playing with
puppets
Playing Indoors Physical
Development
Recitation
Singing Reading
Storybooks
Nature Walks Reading
storybooks
Playing with
puppets
7. One should base large parts of the curriculum on play because playing helps children to
reason, concentrate and organize their thoughts and thinking process and in doing this, children
learn to solve problems. Children also learn to give and take, to share, cooperate, and learn to
take turns. A child reveals his strengths and weaknesses and displays his personality through
play. Play also aids a child to develop a positive self-image and provides an outlet for him to
express his emotions. Play also helps to relieve tension and express himself through movement.
It helps a child to exercise his muscles and develop a healthy and a strong body. Children learn
to communicate with others and share their ideas through play.

3COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF INFANTS AND YOUNG CHILDREN
8. Some of the criteria for selecting safe toys include sturdiness. The toy should not easily break
off. The toy should not have sharp edges and it should not have any lead paint on it. The toy
should also help the child to use his imagination while the child plays with it. A toy should be
large and be easily manipulated. A toy should also be within the developmental level of the
child.
9. The activities that can be carried out outdoors include, Chalk obstacle course, Hula hoop race
and catch, Treasure hunt, Obstacle course made of toys, Blowing bubbles, Building of towers
with rocks, Balloon Volleyball, Paper Boat Race, Stargazing, Nature Walks, Plant a Garden etc.
10. A parent can be told about the plethora of advantages of playing. Apart from having a
positive impact on the intellectual, social, emotional and physical faculties of a child, playing
also helps in the development of language in a child. Through play, children learn to share their
ideas with others and communicate with others. Playing aids to develop the learning skills for
children as playing helps children to practice skills and helps them to master them. Playing
which entails stacking blocks, leads to the development of language, and helps in the
development of perceptual, spatial and mathematical concepts. In addition, a parent should also
be told that Fantasy play gives a child the opportunity to exercise his imagination in a creative
way. It helps a child to explore problems and act out solutions. A parent can be told how playing
helps a child’s fitness levels by exercising and helps a child develop a strong and a healthy body.
It also helps get rid of excess energy and aids in language development. Through playing, a child
learns to communicate with others and share his ideas, learns intellectual and cognitive skills,
helps children reason and to organize their thinking and helps them to concentrate. Playing aids
children in future problem solving skills, helps the child to develop a positive self-image, teaches

4COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF INFANTS AND YOUNG CHILDREN
a child to take turns, share and cooperate and provides a way to express his emotions and relieve
tension.
11. Music helps to develop listening skills, concentration and memory. Singing songs aids a
child to learn the various speech patterns. Singing also helps to develop the vocabulary of a
child, and if one incorporates dance or movement into it, a child through the movements is able
to recall the words. Music further stimulates connections and neural pathways in the brain of a
child, which speeds up the learning process. Music furthers enhances the curiosity and creativity
in children. Movement tends to stimulate the development of brain in children. It helps to form
neural connections across the two hemispheres. Movement also plays an integral role in the
development of language since early communication depends upon expressions and gestures and
is completely physical in nature. Sensory Play is beneficial because according to research,
sensory play helps to build nerve connection in the pathways of the brain, which leads a child to
complete learning tasks that are more complex in nature. Sensory play also aids in language
development of a child, helps in cognitive growth, enhances gross and fine motor skills, and
improves social interaction and the problem solving skills in children. It also helps in developing
memory and improving memory. Sensory plays also helps to calm an anxious child and it further
aids children to learn about sensory attributes. Books ignite the imagination of a child and
stimulate the curiosity of children, helps in the development of a child’s brain, communication
skills and social skills. It also helps a child to be aware of words, language, sounds and helps to
enhance literacy skills in the growing years. Puzzles help to build the physical skills, cognitive
skills and emotions skills in children. It improves hand-eye coordination, gross motor skills, fine
motor skills, helps in understanding the surrounding world, shapes recognition, improves
memory, and improves the problem solving abilities of children. It also helps a child to set goals

5COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF INFANTS AND YOUNG CHILDREN
and develop patience. By picking up toys, a child learns to be responsible. Children also learn a
plethora of life skills that are good like tidying, organizing and sorting.
Session 8
6. Inclusion refers to the practice wherein children with disabilities are included in a child-care
setting with developing children of the same age or similar ages. A typical program can be
modified for inclusion by creating a physical and an emotional environment wherein everybody
is invited to take part in various activities and everybody is treated with kindness and respect.
Educators should encourage an open dialogue about disabilities, helping children to be
comfortable with one another and help develop friendships among children based on shared
interests. Teachers should also help to facilitate play and interactions between differently able
children and create a feeling of community in the classroom wherein every child is valued and
where everybody cares for each other.
7. In an inclusive daycare, children are given the sense of freedom, which makes them to explore
their ideas regarding disabilities through conversation and play. Studies have shown that in an
inclusive daycare, children develop a sense of understanding and acceptance that is usually not
present in children who have not had the exposure to inclusive daycare.
8. Families are in a continual state of change as a result of social issues and changing times.
Families have changed in the 20th century in terms of the fact that there are now more nuclear
families than joint families. Usually both men and women share the responsibility of being

6COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF INFANTS AND YOUNG CHILDREN
breadwinners of the families, unlike in previous decades where men were the sole breadwinners
of a family. Divorce rates have also unfortunately increased.
Session 9
1. Parasites and Bacteria require a living host
2. In order to promote good health in one’s childcare, one should employ effective hand washing
techniques, proper diapering, disinfecting and cleaning, sanitizing bathrooms, proper handling of
toilet training equipments, safe food handling and preparation, teaching children good hygienic
habits.
3. I would treat the child for chicken pox.
4. All medicines, including antibiotics should be kept in a locked box. It should also be kept out
of reach of children.
5. When a child gets his finger stuck in a slammed door, I would first hurriedly open the door so
that the child can take out his finger. The next step would be to keep an ice pack on the fingers to
alleviate the pain and keep the swelling down. The third step is to elevate the finger that is
injured. If it is a minor injury, but is, still causing pain and discomfort one can take pain
relievers.
6a. Musical instruments can pose safety risks, particularly drums, and one should look out for
splinters and small holes where the fingers of children can get stuck, loose screws, nails and
tightening nuts that can be swallowed by young children. One should also ensure that very young

7COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF INFANTS AND YOUNG CHILDREN
children does not climb inside a drum and get stuck. A risk with small beaters is also the heads
that are loose in nature, can come off, and be swallowed by young children. One should also
manage the lid of pianos because young children may tend to pull it down on their own fingers.
One should also discourage children from banging bars in bar instruments.
6b. Falls, Drowning, Choking etc are some of the safety concerns that can occur due to
movement.
6c. A few of the safety concerns related to Art include an exposure to carcinogenic and toxic
materials that can be inhaled, ingested or absorbed through the skin of children and students not
washing their hands properly after finishing their artwork.
6d. Safety concerns related to physical activity include falls, cuts, bruises etc on a child
7. No, I would not follow through on this request.
8. Flu can be prevented in a child-care centre by giving flu vaccines to children and teaching
children the right way to wash their hands.
9. Children need proper and adequate nutrition to grow and therefore it is essential to provide
children adequate nutrition in a day centre.
10. Seesaws, swings and other play equipments with detachable or moving parts should be
located in a separate area away from the playground. One should ensure there are no open spaces
that may trap a child’s arms, head or any other parts of a body. All openings on play equipments,
for example the rungs on a children’s ladder ought to measure less than three and a half inches or
they ought to be wider than nine inches. Playground equipments like merry-go-rounds and

8COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF INFANTS AND YOUNG CHILDREN
seesaws ought to be checked to ensure that there are no pinch points that could crush or pinch the
finger or hands of a child.
11. One can support children in keeping themselves safe by teaching children to never push each
other children on jungle gyms, slides, swings, seesaws etc. One should also teach children to use
play equipments properly, to wear a helmet always while riding a bike, to avoid using play
equipment when it is wet as moisture makes the surfaces slippery, to leave backpacks, bags,
bikes etc away from the play area and play equipment so that nobody trips and falls over them.
Session 10
1. The story I would choose is ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ by Eric Carle. Healthy eating and
life cycles are the two main themes of the story. I would add a visual aid board to improve the
process of storytelling and help the children follow the plot of the story by using the cut out
caterpillar as he eats the food. I would also include small finger puppets in the sack so that the
children can speak about how the caterpillar evolved into a butterfly.
2. It is important to read stories children have already heard because children love to hear the
same story told to them repeatedly. They will notice the little variations in the story and these
variations are important as they make retelling an enjoyable an interesting process and they show
children that there is a plethora of possibilities and there are no bad or wrong ideas. This enables
children to participate and become storytellers.

9COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF INFANTS AND YOUNG CHILDREN
3. An example of an open-ended discussion question in the story entitled, ‘The Three Little
Pigs’, include, “Was this a true story? Could it really have happened?”
4. Infants learn most of their language and communication skills through listening to a story. A
child gains knowledge about the world by listening to stories. Infants also gain a social
connection from hearing a story. This social connection between the infant and the caregiver is
extremely important as it reinforces bonds and stimulates the development of brain in an infant.
Session 11
1. Block building supports development of motor skills among children because children develop
motor control from carrying and lifting blocks, stretching to place a block up high and they
develop fine motor skills by turning around the block to fit one on top of the other. Block
building teaches children coordination, spatial orientation, balance, body awareness and helps to
develop sensory exploration and visual perception in children.
2. The math concepts that preschoolers can explore through block building include Counting,
Area and Space, Addition, Subtraction, Graphs. By ordering blocks by size, children develop the
language of comparison, smallest and biggest. It also teaches children how to estimate and
predict. Mastering the bridge concept by learning how to build bridges through blocks, children
develop the ability to solve complex math problems with spatial relationships. For example, how
far apart do two support blocks have to be in order to support the third.

10COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF INFANTS AND YOUNG CHILDREN
3. In order to make the block centre of children more complex, teachers could encourage
children by offering to teach them to build their stacks of blocks taller and straighter. As children
grow older, teachers can help to create structures that are more elaborate and have elaborate
designs as well as symmetrical patterns.
4. The architecture and engineering concepts that children use when building includes the fact
that children apply the principles of architecture and engineering when building tall and complex
structures in order to ensure that they do not fall down. The bases of the structure have to be
stable to support the rest. They learn to balance, as too many blocks in one place will make it fall
and make the stricture collapse. Children learn to make sure that any columns they build should
support the arches and the roof. The children also learn to build tunnels properly lest they
collapse. Children also learn about Counting, Area and Space, Addition, Subtraction, Graphs.
By ordering blocks by size, children develop the language of comparison, smallest and biggest. It
also teaches children how to estimate and predict.
5. Block building encourages language skills in children by encouraging group conversations
among children regarding what they are building. It also improves the vocabulary as they listen
to instructions. They learn to listen to instructions and follow plans. The educator of a child
should explain the process of construction to children as to what works and what does not work.
One should also describe their work and the work of their others. A teacher should also extend
their vocabulary associated with construction, for example, build, design, model, in front of, on
top of, next to, wood, plastic, duplo, blocks etc. The educator should also take care to explain the
cause and effect. The educator should also put up signs notifying whether the block area is
opened or closed, or a sign, which places a limit on the number of children that can play at one
time. The educator should also make road sign, safety signs and building signs.

11COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF INFANTS AND YOUNG CHILDREN