Question

The mother tells the nurse that her older children have been trading money with her 3-year-old. The older children offer the toddler their pennies for her dimes. The nurse recognizes that the toddler has not developed: A. Egocentrism B. Conservation C. Object permanence D. Cognitive dysfunction

Short answer

The toddler has not developed B. Conservation.

Step-by-step solution

Understand the Concept of Conservation

Conservation refers to the understanding that certain properties of objects remain the same despite changes in their form or arrangement in space. In the context of the exercise, the concept refers to knowing that the value of money is constant regardless of the number or size of the coins.

Recognize the Developmental Milestone

The mother's description that the older children are trading pennies for the toddler's dimes suggests that the toddler does not understand the concept of conservation - that is, the toddler does not realize that a dime holds more value than a penny, despite its smaller size or the fact that she might receive more pennies in exchange for one dime.

Rule Out the Other Options

Egocentrism is the inability to differentiate between one's own perspective and someone else's perspective. Object permanence is the understanding that objects continue to exist even when they cannot be observed. Cognitive dysfunction is a broad term that implies a disruption in cognitive function which is not typically a stage of normal development. None of these terms accurately describe the lack of understanding of the value of different coins.

Identify the Correct Answer

Based on the information given, the correct answer is B. Conservation, because the toddler does not realize the consistent value of money and accepts trades of lesser value.

Key concepts

Conservation

Understanding conservation is a fundamental aspect of child development psychology. Conservation refers to the concept that certain properties of objects—such as number, volume, mass, or length—remain the same despite changes in the form or arrangement of the objects. For example, if you pour water from a short, wide cup into a tall, thin glass, the amount of water remains the same even though its appearance has changed.

Children typically begin to grasp this concept around the age of seven or eight, which is considered a developmental milestone in cognitive development. Before reaching this stage, children may judge the quantity of something based on its appearance, which can be misleading. In the provided exercise, the toddler's difficulty with conservation is evident as she trades dimes for pennies, mistakenly believing that more coins, regardless of their denomination, mean more value.

Improving understanding of conservation can be accomplished through simple activities that demonstrate the property remains consistent even when the object's form changes. For example, playing with coins of different sizes and comparing their values, or using clay to show that its mass stays the same even when its shape is altered, can be very illustrative for young children.

Developmental Milestone

Child development is marked by developmental milestones, which are skills or behaviors that most children can do by a certain age. These milestones are divided into categories: physical, cognitive, social/emotional, and communication. Cognitive milestones reflect a child's intellectual development, such as problem-solving, memory, and understanding of the world around them.

In the context of our exercise, understanding the value of different denominations of coins is a cognitive milestone that the toddler has not yet achieved. Recognizing this milestone is important for parents and educators because it allows them to set appropriate expectations and challenges for the child's development. Supporting a child in reaching these milestones involves providing them with opportunities for exploration and learning that are suitable for their developmental stage.

To facilitate achievement of cognitive milestones like conservation, it's essential to engage children in age-appropriate activities that encourage critical thinking and reasoning, such as sorting objects by size or color, or using play money in simple math games.

Cognitive Development

Cognitive development encompasses the progression of a child's ability to think and reason. This area of psychology focuses on how children acquire, process, and store information. Jean Piaget, a key figure in this field, outlined stages of cognitive development that children go through as they grow. These stages cover how children understand the world, which evolves as they experience and interact with their environment.

The exercise hints at the toddler being in the preoperational stage of Piaget's theory, where symbolic thinking is developed but logical reasoning is not yet present. At this stage, children might struggle with understanding conservation because they can be easily influenced by the visual appearance of objects rather than their underlying properties. Enhancing cognitive development in children involves activities that challenge their thinking, asking open-ended questions that encourage exploration, and responding with patience and positive reinforcement as they learn to understand more complex concepts like conservation.