Nursery World - Learning & Development: Estimating: Part 1

Children's ability to estimate is more important to their
mathematical development than counting, explains Jo Van Herwegen.

Most people associate mathematical skills with the ability to count or solve complex equations. Counting is an ability that is culturally dependent as it relies on language abilities and thus, the development of counting can only start once some basic linguistic milestones have been reached, generally around the age of 18 to 24 months. Yet we know that pre-verbal infants can discriminate between different amounts, even if they do not have language.

They are able to do this because humans possess two number estimation systems: one is precise and works only for small quantities (called 'subitising'); the other, meanwhile, is imprecise and works for larger quantities (called the approximate number sense).

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