Approximate reading time: 4 minutes

Story Part 1 – Children’s So Called ‘Errors’ and Dr J’s Perspective

In this opening comic story, an adult wants to connect with a child who has shown great skill in a spelling bee. The adult asks: “What is the biggest word you know?” But what the adult really means is, “What is the longest word you know?” The child interprets the adult’s question as, “What is the biggest thing you know?” This story reveals that the child is in a concrete operational stage of cognition and is not yet ready to imagine the actual question the adult meant to ask. This child responds to the adult’s literal meaning of the question. Guessing what the adult meant to ask would require the cognitive skill of formal operational thinking.

When Jean Piaget observed these apparent ‘mistakes’ or ‘misunderstandings’ that children make, he saw their responses as reflections of the child’s stage of thinking. That is, the child’s responses were not so much “errors” but more like sneak peeks into the workings of the child’s mind at that given point in time and in their development.

Each person in this story reveals the limits of their imagination and the style of their thinking. The adult is clearly surprised by the child’s answer, as they were expecting something different. When we are surprised by another person’s unexpected answer, we have the opportunity to learn just as much about our own minds as theirs.

My take on this story. When we are surprised when ‘children say the cutest things,’ we also learn just as much about our own thinking, the limitations in our imagination, and the shortcomings in our ability to ask precise questions. When we are surprised by what someone says, it is likely that we have our own expectations — or biases — about how the question should be answered. Every time we are surprised by someone’s response, we have an opportunity to think about our own cognitive processes and our preconceived ideas.

In a way, it is a form of “adultism” — or hubris — for us to label the child’s answer as an ‘error’ or ‘misunderstanding’ and not at the same time question our own assumptions, failing to account for lived experiences and individual biases. Personally, I have learned that the greatest joy and biggest reward of being curious and asking many questions is that I can experience wonderful moments of surprise, confusion, and/or hilarity that reveal just as much about the limits or ‘errors’ of my mind as of the person I am in conversation with.

In this story, I find the child’s answer, “sky”, to be mystical and wise. Brilliant! A true ‘mic drop’ answer. I am grateful that I was given permission to share this story with you. Now, it is your turn to look at lifespan development with a fresh perspective and marvel at the many ways we change — and stay the same — as we journey through life.