Toddler Learning

Toddlers encounter information that is new to them every day. They are constantly hearing words they’ve never heard before, seeing things they’ve never seen before, and learning the implicit social rules of society. This sort of information overload might overwhelm adults, but toddlers are incredibly systematic about how they learn—they categorize and sort this information into frameworks of understanding that Jean Piaget termed “schemas”. A young toddler might learn that a furry, four-legged creature is called a “dog”, but because toddlers have the tendency to over generalize categories, that same toddler might assume that all four-legged furry creatures are called “dogs”. Later, as she encounters different kinds of animals—squirrels are the ones with bushy tails that climb trees, and cats are the ones with pointy ears that chase mice—her definition of what a dog is will adapt and change to accommodate her learning. Parents can encourage toddler learning by labeling and narrating what you see and do.

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