Cognitive Milestones of a Preschooler
Cognitive Milestones of a Preschooler
Cognitive (Learning, Thinking, Problem-Solving) Milestones
Children start learning right from birth, and as time passes, they learn about the people around them. Their interactions with people and the overall environment teach them to think independently, ask questions, give simple solutions to a problem, and show more self-control. Your preschooler may irritate you by asking many ‘why’ questions; for example, ‘Why are you wearing a blue dress?’, ‘Why is milk white?’, ‘Why do birds fly and why can’t I fly?’, etc.
Here are some of the milestones a child should reach by the age of five. It is worth remembering that these are not hard and fast rules because learning pace may slightly vary from child to child, but parents need to pay attention to whether there is a clear difference in their child’s cognitive development as compared to other children of the same age.
Your preschooler (three to four years of age)
- understands the concept of counting.
- can create her own imaginative world.
- can join five to six pieces of interlocking puzzle.
- can draw circles and an awkward picture, too.
- can tell you her own name, the names of her siblings, and her parents’ names.
- likes to hear and tell stories.
- can identify a part from the whole—the handle of a door, for instance.
- has a clear sense of time.
- likes to imitate her elders in doing different tasks.
- can name most of the parts of her body.
- understands the concept of same and different.
- understands the concept of numbers, i.e., can distinguish between one or more.
- can name at least four shapes and colours.
Your preschooler (four to five years of age)
- can recognize patterns in his routine like breakfast in the morning, lunch in the afternoon, etc.
- understands the difference between reality and fantasy.
- understands the past and future tenses and uses the words ‘yesterday’ and ‘tomorrow’.
- understands the meaning of traffic lights.
- likes to play make-believe games.
- identifies himself with cartoon characters.
- has a growing attention span and can focus on one activity for 10–15 minutes.
- starts to grasp a pattern in things; for example, soft things, hard things, round things, etc.
- recognizes his written name.
- can identify a few letters and numbers.
- can draw a picture with details; for example, a picture of a person with eyes, ear, nose, etc. (at least 6 body parts).
- can express his likes and dislikes very strongly.
- can tell/imagine what will happen next in a story.
- can be taught to memorize his address and phone number.
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