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 Cognitive Development
The first five years of any child's life are full of exploration, both mentally and
physically. In this exploration period, a child learns how to blend in with the surroundings and
solve common problems independently. Children learn how to use their sensory organs,
compare, analyze, evaluate, comprehend, and know the effect caused. Some of these skills are
naturally adopted, while others require much learning (Meltzer 2018). 
According to Peng and Fuchs (2017), cognitive development training is equally
beneficial to adults as it is to children. It helps train the child's information memory as many
children have a problem in remembering. While others could have difficulties paying attention,
significantly while changing topics or subjects, cognitive development training helps transition
and move to different activities in an engaging way while having fun. Children also learn how to
retain information. This problem is mostly noticed after school closes for a long time. It takes a
long time to bring the child up to speed. Cognitive training is suitable and very appropriate
during school breaks, and parents are advised to let their children learn and have fun with others
(Peng & Fuchs 2017).
As per Piaget's theory, the mental growth of a child is natural and has four stages. They
tend to adapt to the environment they are brought up in by observing. Unlike it is assumed that
children are small adults, Piaget argues that children's thinking is influenced by what they
interact with added to the stored experience that builds to existing knowledge. He refers to
children as small scientists who discover and try discoveries. From his report, he pointed out that
children were not less intelligent than adults but think differently. His opinion is that cognitive
development is about changes in the cognitive process and liabilities (Kholiq 2020). Early
cognitive development activities are a step towards later progress hence improved mental
operations.
Piaget's theory
According to Kholiq (2020), in Piaget's theory, Piaget would ask for patience in handling
children as they go through four cognitive development stages at an early age. From birth to two
years is the first stage. Being the earliest stage in one's life, children experience the world around
them by movements and sensations, necessary activities like looking, grasping, and listening.
They also get to know that they are separate beings from the surrounding objects or people. From
the little movements, they can make them learn that their actions can trigger other activities.
The preoperational stage follows during the age between two and seven years, where
children make an effort to think like others. In this age bracket, they think symbolically and can
use words and images to represent things. Having acquired the listening skill from the previous
stage, children now can have a language to express themselves. Despite the much development
and pretense play, they still struggle with constancy and tend to pay attention to other people's
points of view (Kholiq 2020).
The concrete operational stage comes between age seven and eleven years. Children
begin to think in an organized and logical manner but still concrete. They have the art of arguing
their points from a well-thought logic. They can also apply constancy in basic situations like
milk in a wide short can equal to another in a long slim glass. They will have dropped
egocentrism, logically think, and evaluate situations from other people's perspectives (Kholiq
2020). 
The formal operational stage begins from age twelve and upwards. Children have
matured into adolescents and can think about more significant issues like politics, philosophy,
social, or even moral. They are now young adults who can think conceptually and solve
theoretical problems. This stage is marked by high logic, inferential reasoning in abstract ideas.
The idea of Piaget's theory is that cognitive development should happen systematically without
being rushed or pushed. The schema in the theories' content has both a category of knowledge
and its channels (Kholiq 2020). 
Information processing theorist
According to Lachman et al., (2015), information processing theorist believes that a
human brain is similar to a computer. It can receive information, store, and retrieve it as needed.
The theorist believes that a person cannot question what they do not know, and neither can they
learn the unknown. Therefore, this argument is that just like a computer with its functionalities, a
human being's brain has much information as it develops progressively. It is that information that
replays through listening. According to the theorist, information is then processed in three stages.
Lachman et al., (2015) explains that first, there has to be attendance. Somebody has to
say something to a person and the person being told has to be present. At this stage, the recipient
is focused and willing to receive it. Secondly, the recipient has to encode. After paying attention,
a listener has to put weight in what is being said; otherwise, it does not qualify for the next stage
and gets forgotten if it is not of importance to them. If important, the information goes to the
final stage, which is storage. The brain stores the information, and just like a computer, it can
retrieve for future use or just as a reminder.
The larger part of information processing is defined by memory, which can be either
sensory, a short term best referred to as working memory, or long-term memory. Sensory
memory is when something in the surroundings attracts us to gather information. In this case, a
person tends to remember information every time it happens, like a child will remember her
mother's face once she hears her voice. Short term memory is the arrangements made before
receiving information like specifying the date and time of a meeting or making a visit. This kind
of memory is not stored in the brain for long. After the scheduled time lapses, they are no longer
of use (Colman 2020).
Finally, long-term memory is what was very important and was stored for future use. A
good example is anticipations in future careers. When taking exams, people remind themselves
how seriously they must pass to fulfill career desires. They are not necessarily aware of their
long term memories, but they are availed by the brain every time it is triggered. It can positively
or negatively affect a person considering the possibilities manifested by the current performance
(Colman 2020).
To help our children grow their brains, we train them to receive information, use it, and
store it. We also train them to shift between activities and still remember the earlier ones without
so many struggles. They finally use lessons from the experiences we give them to solve the
problems they encounter in the future, whether they relate to the experiences directly or
indirectly. Piaget's theory advocates for natural learning and allows children to compile
knowledge at their own pace. An information processing theorist also sees the brain as a
computer that already has information at birth and only needs an active environment for it to
process what to store or not. These facts bring to the conclusion that cognitive development
training is possible and very practical.
 Reference
Colman, A. M. (Ed.). (2019). Companion Encyclopedia of Psychology: Volume Two. Routledge.
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9781315542072
Kholiq, A. (2020). How is Piaget's Theory Used to Test The Cognitive Readiness of Early
Childhood in School?. Indonesian Journal of Early Childhood Education Studies, 9(1).
https://journal.unnes.ac.id/sju/index.php/ijeces/article/view/37675
Lachman, R., Lachman, J. L., & Butterfield, E. C. (2015). Cognitive psychology and information
processing: An introduction. Psychology Press. https://books.google.co.ke/books?
id=OCVACwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover
Meltzer, D., Bremner, J., Hoxter, S., Weddell, D., & Wittenberg, I. (2018). Explorations in
autism: A psychoanalytical study. Harris Meltzer Trust. https://books.google.co.ke/books?
id=n_PUDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover
Peng, P., & Fuchs, D. (2017). A randomized control trial of working memory training with and
without strategy instruction: Effects on young children's working memory and
comprehension. Journal of learning disabilities, 50(1), 62-80.
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0022219415594609