Awareness of toddlers' initial cognitive experiences with virtual reality

In this study Virtual Reality technology was used to simulate a toddler's f irst few days' experiences in daycare and improve the caregiver's understan ding of their state of mind. The virtual worlds were developed in accordanc e with toddlers' way of thinking and from their cognitive and visual viewpo int. The aim of the research was to investigate whether the caregiver's awa reness to the cognitive experiences that toddlers undergo in their first da ys in kindergarten improves through a VR simulation of toddlers' worlds. Si x cognitive elements of toddlers were simulated: object constancy; trial an d error; perspective of height; perspective of things; egocentricity and im agination. The participants in this study were 40 (female) caregivers who w ork with infants aged 6 months to 4 years in private daycare. The findings indicate that experiencing a virtual world that reflects the real world of children improves the caregiver's awareness to the cognitive experiences th at toddlers undergo in their first days in a kindergarten or daycare.