Discusses children's play in conjunction with intellectual development, language, and social benefits. Suggests that play develops personality, encourages personal relations, stimulates creativity, adds to happiness, and advances learning. Encourages parents and teachers to provide children with richly varied play experiences to promote cognition,…

The article reviews the literature on two questions: what is the normal course of creative development, and do peak periods exist during which people are most open to efforts to foster creative abilities. Six specific periods are identified as peak periods of creative growth. (DB)

Mental test data cited by H. T. Epstein as supporting his theory that new concepts should be taught during periodic spurts in childhood intellectual development (at 3-10 months; and 2-4, 6-8, 10-12 or 13, and 14-16 or 17 years) are reanalyzed. It is found that the data do not substantiate Epstein's conclusions. (TJH)

Comments on the blending by Dean, in her article in this issue, of Loewald's instinctual-affective component with the developmental models of Piaget and Vygotsky, with internalization as the pivotal concept. Suggests that Dean's synthesis mirrors development itself, as it first differentiates and then integrates the work of the three theorists.…

Examined the relationship between maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy and children's intellectual functioning through age four. Found that children whose mothers smoked 10 or more cigarettes per day during pregnancy had Stanford-Binet scores 4 points lower than those whose mothers did not smoke during pregnancy. (HTH)

The general European discourse of childhood presents children as innocent and vulnerable, but within this discourse different images of "the perfect child" exist. In this article ideals for upbringing are studied as they are represented in French, German and Dutch printed advertisements for children's products. The sample consists of 290…

This paper examines the theories of Herman T. Epstein, who has suggested that there may be a correlation between Piaget's stages of intellectual development and the brain growth stages. Epstein's research has indicated that the human brain grows in spurts rather than in simple linear increments across time. Of special significance to educators is…

Despite breathless ads that claim "educational" toys will make Junior's I. Q. soar, no one has yet proved these playthings have the slightest effect on brainpower. (Editor)

"More" and "less" were analyzed into two meaning dimensions, "occurence" and "quantity", which were hypothesized to be developmentally related to acts of addition and subtraction. (SBT)

This booklet contains a speech on the value of discovery learning in building a sound knowledge base. The author contends that systematic concepts (such as spatial relations) should be fully explored by experimentation and discussion in the classroom. The cognitive processes involved in solving problems are examined and examples are given of…

The first section of this paper deals with the question of whether Piaget is a developmental or a learning theorist; the second section relates Piaget's research findings and developmental theory to a sequence of curriculum units in mathematics. It is suggested that Piaget makes no distinction between learning and development of cognitive…

The development of children's humor is described, focusing on the cognitive aspect of what is funny and how this relates to children's intellectual growth. Cognitive elements that facilitate children's humor are identified as: (1) the ability to grasp incongruities, (2) the presence of an intellectual challenge, (3) timing, (4) novelty, and (5) a…

Games through which parents, family day-care centers, and large day-care centers can provide learning opportunities for children are presented. The primary aim of these activities is to encourage intellectual and language development. The sections of the book, which are not arranged by age, are as follows: Sorting and Matching Games, Building an…

Summarizes recent research which attempted to discover what children of different ages know about the appearance-reality distinction and related phenomena. Findings show that what helps children grasp the distinction is an increased cognizance of the fact that people are sentient subjects who have mental representations of objects and events. (PS)

Parents, policymakers, business leaders, and the general public increasingly recognize the importance of the first few years in the life of a child for promoting healthy physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development. Yet many children face deficiencies in the years leading up to school entry in terms of emotional support, intellectual…