Infant Toddler Learning & Development Foundations

COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
70
Problem Solving
Behaviors leading up to the
foundation (4 to 7 months)
During this period, the child
may:
• Explore toys with hands and
mouth. (3–6 mos.; Parks 2004,
10)
• Reach for a second toy when
already holding on to one toy.
(5–6.5 mos.; Parks 2004, 49)
• Hold a toy up to look at it
while exploring it with the
hands. (Scaled score of 9 for
5:16–6:15 mos.; Bayley 2006,
55)
Behaviors leading up to the
foundation (9 to 17 months)
During this period, the child may:
• Crawl over a pile of soft blocks
to get to the big red ball. (8–11
mos.; Parks 2004)
• Figure out how toys work by
repeating the same actions
over and over again. (9–12
mos.; Lerner and Ciervo 2003)
• Pull the blanket in order to
obtain the toy that is lying out
of reach on top of the blanket.
(8–10 mos.; Parks 2004)
• Crawl around the legs of a
chair to get to the ball that
rolled behind it. (9–12 mos.;
Parks 2004, 50; 18 mos.; Lally
and others 1995, 78–79)
• Keep turning an object around
to find the side that makes it
work, such as the reflective
side of a mirror or the open
side of a nesting cup. (9–12
mos.; Parks 2004, 65)
• Try to hold on to two toys with
one hand while reaching for a
third desired toy, even if not
successful. (Scaled score of 9
for 10:16–11:15 mos.; Bayley
2006, 58)
• Unscrew the lid of a plastic jar
to get items out of it. (Scaled
score of 10 for 14:16–15:15
mos.; Bayley 2006, 62)
Behaviors leading up to the
foundation (19 to 35 months)
During this period, the child may:
• Use a stick to dig in the sandbox
when unable to find a shovel.
(17–24 mos.; Parks 2004)
• Use a tool to solve a problem,
such as using the toy broom
to get a car out from under the
couch, using a wooden puzzle
base as a tray to carry all the
puzzle pieces to another place,
or using the toy shopping cart to
pick up the wooden blocks and
move them to the shelf to be put
away. (17–24 mos.; Parks 2004,
52)
• Move to the door and try to turn
the knob after a parent leaves for
work in the morning. (21–23 mos.;
Parks 2004, 53)
• Imitate a problem-solving method
that the child has observed
someone else do before. (Scaled
score of 10 for 20:16–21:15 mos.;
Bayley 2006, 66)
• Tug on shoelaces in order to untie
them.
• Complete a puzzle with three
separate cut-out pieces, such
as a circle, square, and triangle,
even though the child may try to
put the triangle into the square
hole before fitting it in the triangle
opening. (Scaled score of 10 for
19:16–20:15 mos.; Bayley 2006,
66)