Children at this stage use words and symbols such as pictures and objects to communicate and develop their own ideas. They can form mental images of their desires. For instance, they picture the cookie they are craving-what it looks and tastes like-then use their words to demand, "Cookie!" They enjoy make-believe play, such as using a spoon to "feed" a stuffed bear. They organize objects into meaningful patterns. Blocks that previously were simply for stacking now can be arranged to become a house for their toy animals.
Symbolic thinking is the key to true intelligence. It allows children to form their own ideas and use their imaginations. Whereas previously they needed to have a concrete object such as a ball in front of them to show that they wanted to play ball, now they can imagine the ball and use a symbol-such as the word "ball"-to describe their desire. This kind of symbolic thinking not only builds strong communication and language skills, it also allows children to explore and make sense of all kinds of feelings and ideas. This is essential to their social, emotional, and intellectual growth. They might work out ideas about good and bad by playing a "superhero" game, or learn to cope with separations by pretending to be mum or daddy going to work.
