Cognitive development of children, according to psychologist Jean Piaget, goes through four distinct stages. The first (sensorimotor stage) occurs in infancy and entails motor development and is based on a child's experiences and physical interactions. At the end of this stage, children are just beginning to develop symbolic thinking, as evidenced by their emerging language skills. The next stage (pre-operational) happens during toddlerhood and early childhood. During this stage children's language develops further, imagination skills begin and memory is developed. Thinking is egocentric and non-logical at this point. The third stage (concrete operational) occurs during elementary school age and early adolescence. At this point, children can think symbolically about concrete objects, and can reverse their thinking. Also, the egocentric thinking diminishes somewhat. The fourth stage (formal operational) encompasses adolescence into adulthood. Now the young person's intelligence is shown through logically using symbols to represent abstract concepts. Egocentric thinking reappears in the early part of this stage. Not all adults reach the formal operational stage.
Intelligence testing for children is a thorny issue. First, intelligence encompasses a wide variety of abilities and most tests cannot adequately measure all the elements of a person's intelligence. Additionally, a common concern regarding intelligence testing is that there are biases in the tests against socioeconomic levels, gender and race. However, if the test is regarded as only one tool for assessing a child's potential or a snapshot of a child's intelligence, it can be helpful. Typical tests used to measure a child's intelligence quotient are the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Third Edition (WISC-III) and the Stanford Binet Intelligence Test - Fourth Edition (SB-IV). The Stanford Binet is given to children ages 2 1/2 to young adult, and the WISC-III is given to children 6 to 16. According to the National Association of Gifted Children, an average score is between 90 and 110, with about 50 percent of the population scoring in that range. Around 2 to 3 percent will score above 130, and only 0.1 percent of the time will a score be at 145.
While a person's intelligence may be at least partially determined by heredity, certain things may improve a child's cognitive development. Make certain your child has a healthy diet, gets plenty of rest each night and gets plenty of exercise. A nurturing yet stimulating environment is always helpful in boosting a child's intellectual capabilities. Affection is important, so make sure your child gets plenty of hugs and kisses and hears positive and encouraging words from you. Learning a musical instrument and playing strategic games like chess are also beneficial. Read to your child every day, and limit television viewing.
Researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health and McGill University in Montreal used magnetic resonance imaging to study the brains of 307 children beginning at age 5 until the age of 19. They focused on the prefrontal cortex, where language, reason, consciousness, memory, attention, language, reason and perception originate. According to their findings, average children, or those with IQs at 83 to 108, experienced the peak growth of the cortex at age 8. Those with high intelligence, or an IQ of 109 to 120, had peak growth at age 9. Those with the highest IQs, from 121 to 145, reached the height of brain growth at 11 or 12 years of age.
It's important to keep in mind that intelligence has many facets and is demonstrated in lots of different ways. IQ scores focus on a particular type of intelligence, specifically verbal and logical thinking. This is considered general intellectual ability, but that is only one aspect of intelligence. It's also important to remember that a high IQ score reveals an aspect of a child's intellectual potential, but does not guarantee that the child will reach that potential.