A Parent Teaches Her 2-Year Old to Count to 5

Multiple Choice

A parent teaches her 2-year old to count to 5 by herself, but the child does not understand the meaning of the numbers when counting. Does this mean the child has a possible developmental delay in understanding number concepts?

A) Yes, children should understand word quantities by this age.
B) Yes, at least initially, understanding how a number word maps to the number of items in a set is learned at the same time as the words themselves.
C) No, children will not learn the meaning of number words (and how they map to the items in a set) until 3.5 or even older.
D) No, counting is rarely seen in toddlers, so this child is very precocious.
E) No, the ability to understand number concepts develops after children learn spatial skills.