What is the age range for pre-operational development in children?

The age range for pre-operational development in children is from 2 to 7 years. This stage, as identified by developmental psychologist Jean Piaget, is characterized by the emergence of language, symbolic thinking, and imaginative play. Children in this stage begin to engage in thinking that is intuitive rather than logical, allowing them to understand and represent the world through symbols, but they still struggle with concepts such as conservation and transformation. This period is critical for cognitive development as children start to formulate ideas about objects and events around them, laying the foundation for more complex thought processes that will develop in later stages.