A father tells the nurse that his child is "filling up the house with collections" like seashells, bottle caps, baseball cards, and pennies. What should the nurse recognize the child is developing?

A) Object permanence
B) Preoperational thinking
C) Concrete operational thinking
D) Ability to use abstract symbols

During concrete operations, children develop logical thought processes. They are able to classify, sort, order, and otherwise organize facts about the world. This ability fosters the child's ability to create collections. Object permanence is the realization that items that leave the visual field still exist. This is a task of infancy and does not contribute to collections. Preoperational thinking is concrete and tangible. Children in this age group cannot reason beyond the observable, and they lack the ability to make deductions or generalizations. Collections are not typical for this developmental level. The ability to use abstract symbols is a characteristic of formal operations, which develops during adolescence. These children can develop and test hypotheses.