*2.4.1 Typical*

Infant/toddler cognitive development changes very quickly. Between 0 and 6 months, an infant can recognize faces, which is a cause for cheering among caregivers. At 6 months, they start to enjoy playing games like pat-a-cake and pop-up toys. Around 8 months, fear and separation anxiety may begin [3]. As the 12-month mark approaches, babies can imitate gestures and facial expressions, which is great fun. Babies will also begin to show affection and enjoy picture books around age 1 [3]. Between 1 and 2 years of age, the child will begin to understand words and commands and may even respond to them, imitate adults' actions and words, begin to want to do things independently, and will start to respond with words when requested to complete a task. They can also understand that an object hidden under a blanket is still there even though they cannot see it. This is called object permanence [14]. Between the ages of 2 and 3, the child learns to do several things: name some objects in a book, group objects by category, stack rings in order of size, put together simple puzzles, tell others what he/she is doing, count to three, and play pretend. All of the different skills children acquire each year are amazing!
