Stage 3 Concrete Operational Stage

In this post you will learn how your child begins to solve problems in the real world.

This stage of development starts around 7 years of age. In order to understand this process so you can help your child, you need to remember it will harder for you to fool them at this stage, because they can use logic and thinking skills rather than intuition to figure things out.

To illustrate this as an adult you know the value of money and you can order the denominations of money from smallest to largest and make know how much money you should receive back if you split up the total amount you started with, in other words how much change you get back from £1 if you spend say 25p.

At this stage of development they are refining and better developing their cognitive abilities, so as their parents it is vital you understand what is going on their mind and help develop it, and the result for your child and you will be exponential if you get it right.

Before we continue with the specific task you can do to help them develop, it is vital that you get clear in your own mind the words you will use to describe what exactly you want them to do. Because they are still developing the language and concepts be clear as to what you want them to do.

Firstly get them to categorise (group) objects according to number of sides or colour or size, also get them to estimate size and distance.

secondly get them understand things can remain the same even if the shape changes, to get them to visualise this you can two identical bottles of water, then pour one of the bottles into a glass and ask them if the amount has changed, and work with them to establish that they are the same amount.

lastly get them to understand that things can be reversed, for example using playdough to build up a shape and then flatten it and then build it up again to make the same shape, to get them to understand that things can go back to the original.

In conclusion, the Concrete Operational Stage is an important stage in a child’s cognitive development, representing a significant shift in their ability to think logically and solve problems. It is essential to understand this stage and support your child’s development during this critical period. As parents, we can also benefit from studying this stage and identifying ways to continue our growth and development throughout our lives.

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