Jean Piaget: He was a Swiss psychologist who contributed significantly to the understanding of children’s cognitive development.

Piaget argued that children’s cognitive development occurs in 4 stages:

Sensorimotor Stage (0-2 Years)

It is the first phase of children’s cognitive development. During this stage children primarily learn about their environment through their reflexes, senses, and motor activities.

Preoperational Stage (2-7 Years)

Where their ability to use mental representations, develop language, and begin to use symbols to represent objects.

Concrete Operational Stage (7-11 Years)

Which begins around the age of seven. During this stage children are more capable of thinking logically about concrete problems.

Formal Operational Stage (11 Years +)

At the age of 11, children can think about abstract concepts and can think hypothetically and deductively.