In two separate issues of “Time” magazine, the intellectual development of infants and preschoolers was analyzed with contrasting viewpoints regarding the development of their brains and the views regarding how best to encourage the cognitive abilities of these young children. In the earlier issue, dated February 3, 1997, the special report consisting of two articles titled “Fertile Minds” and “The Day-Care Dilemma” the theories of Jean Piaget’s cognitive-development are supported. In the latter issue, dated October 19, 1998, the special report titled “How to Make a Better Student” focused on refuting the theories supported in the earlier issue of this magazine. Understanding the influence of Piaget’s and other’s views on intellectual development of young children on the contrasting views of this topic and how it reflects contemporary opinions on how young children should be raised is the focus of this paper. Hopefully, these contrasting articles will provide a more holistic understanding of Piagetian theory and its application to real-life situations.
             I. Children's Intellectual Development: Preoperations
             By the age of 3 and 4 years old, children have attained what Piaget called functions or "preoperations" that enable young children to perform a number of feats far beyond the capabilities of infants (Piaget, 1950). Infants concentrate on constructing a world of permanent objects. Once constructed, these objects will be known to exist even when they are no longer present to the infant's senses. Preschool children, in contrast, are constructing a world of qualities and properties that different objects share in common. They are beginning to identify and name colors, shapes, textures, density, and so on. At this stage, children are beginning to understand same and different as these terms refer to properties.
             At the same time, it is necessary to recogniz...