Fun with Fragments (18-24 months)

The 2009 study From Fragments to Geometric Shape by Linda B. Smith sets out to find a more depth reasoning behind how toddler aged children learn Object Recognition. In doing so, she and her colleagues discovered that there are multiple contributing factors to this type of recognition. One developmental aspect they found that could possibly aid in object recognition is vocabulary development. A child with a more extensive vocabulary seemed to have a better understanding of "object-name" learning. This has been proven in throughout the study to be beneficial in recognition of a more broad, caricature-like object. Smith then discusses another possible aid in object recognition, a sort of fragmented learning where younger children appear to have an easier time distinguishing an object by its "category-specific" features such as a tail of a toy dog or the ice cream portion of a toy ice cream cone. But as the age of the child increased, they noticed that the older children recognized objects better by their overall shape and not so much by their features. Why such a shift? Why do we become more dependent on shape rather than specific characteristics? Well, this study believes it has a lot to do with function. According to the study, a child's ability to touch and move an object in a certain manner tells us a lot about how they view that object. Exploratory movements with objects become more "correct" in terms of function as age increases, for example, a younger child might bang a toy camera because he/she is unable to recognize the object's real-life function. Unlike the older child, who would probably pretend to take pictures of you or the room they are in. All of these developmental aspects seems to play a role in object recognition and the gradual change we see as children get older.


I know you're probably thinking WOW, that was a lot to take in... And you'd be right.

Now what this article meant to me and what I hope you can take away from it. As toddlers, children see the world around them as parts of a whole. Like how we recognize someone simply by their eyes or their voice that's ultimately how a child starts off learning, piece by piece. Makes sense? Then, once the child becomes a little older and has gained more experience with objects and how they are used they start to view the world in a more generalized sense in that they learn that an object, like a chair, can take many forms, and they aren't looking for a specific feature to determine what a chair is.

So let them touch and play with objects around the house, repetition is great, exposure is great. Tell them what things are, even if they cannot repeat the words back to you and you think they have no idea what you're saying, trust me it is al a part of the learning process! Experience is key!

#TODDLERTIP... Playing with your child for as little as 15-20 minutes a day can help stimulate the object recognition learning process! a shape sorter is a great tool to get their little minds going!!


































References

Smith, L. B. From Fragments to Geometric Shape.

https://uwsparentingsupport.com/2016/06/08/daily-playtime-with-your-kids/

https://www.montessori-official.com/products/shape-sorter