There are very few three-year-olds who do not recognise the yellow 'M' symbol outside McDonald's restaurants as they anticipate the goodies within. Their growing knowledge about how to translate symbols into meaning is central to their ability to understand the world around them and begin to have some control over it. This ability is known as symbolic thought.
WHAT IS SYMBOLIC THOUGHT?
We all use symbols every day. Whether we are going shopping, planning our next holiday or reading a book, our ability to interpret symbols is key to our ability to undertake these activities. Symbols can be in the form of diagrams, as in road signs, pictures, as in holiday brochures, words or objects, but in every case they represent, or mean, something else.
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