At what age do children typically start to use logic in concrete situations?

Children typically start to use logic in concrete situations between the ages of 7 to 11 years old, which corresponds to what developmental psychologist Jean Piaget termed the concrete operational stage of cognitive development. During this stage, children develop logical thinking and are able to perform operations mentally rather than solely through physical manipulation of objects. They can understand concepts such as conservation, classification, and seriation, which indicates a growing ability to think logically about tangible objects and situations.

Prior to this stage, younger children often struggle to engage in logical reasoning in concrete scenarios, as their thinking is more intuitive and egocentric. They may apply logic in limited or simple ways, but they do not yet have the capacity to handle multiple variables or think systematically about the outcomes of different actions. Children older than 11 enter the formal operational stage, characterized by abstract thinking and more complex reasoning skills, but the concrete operational stage marks the critical period for beginning to use logic in practical, real-world contexts.