At what age does the average child begin to comprehend such abstract concepts as "cities" or "countries"?

I would guess around 6, but the trick of distinguishing one from the other, or the capacity to define any of them is almost certainly not as common a talent as you might suppose in a class of high school sophomores.

My guess is closer to four, if we’re talking about basic concepts. My mum teaches English to children as young as three. At that age, they have no understanding of other places, but they start talking about “the British” or “the Americans” quickly, comparing food, funny words, and customs.

Right, but they have no spatial concept of England, or America, or their place on the Earth at that age, do they?

Hm. Well, I can say that the young kids in my family (5–7) definitely understand the different cities around us, and what their names represent. They would not be able to say which of these towns is North of us, if that’s what you mean. Then again, I would not be able to do that either, for the most part.

Neither could I! I am so freaking directionally dysfunctional, I should be classified as disabled and the gubment should send me money every month!

Me too. I need a compass just to find the bathroom at night.

My grandson, age 4.

It varies a lot, so “average” is difficult to really determine. I know plenty of adults who can’t really grasp that concept though, so the average rises dramatically higher than you might think.

Personally, I understood that quite well by age 3, but I don’t think that it’s normal/average to grow up in a small town in a small state and travel extensively to visit friends/family in places ranging from tiny villages to the metropolis of Boston, and I knew distances and directions better than many adults. Many people spend practically their entire lives in one place. And many I’ve talked to who were South and/or West of Pennsylvania don’t even know where Vermont is on the map. Seriously, if I had a nickel for every time I’ve gave up and said, “About 100 miles from Boston.”, I’d be filthy rich!

As it’s a matter of broadmindedness rather than age, I’d also say that the average is even higher in the US than in many other countries. Other places treat education as something to improve one’s quality of life; we Americans see it as either something that drags us away from Facebook for a few hours a day or as a luxury item that allows the children of the rich to get a piece of paper that will allow them to get a high-paying job of the type that is off-limits to those that can’t afford to plop down $50–200k. It doesn’t help that many here see education as a threat since educated people capable of critical thinking are less gullible and thus will ask uncomfortable questions.

That attitude towards formal education also affects culture. Those who don’t bother to expand their minds through academic means are also less likely to open themselves up to new experiences. Why bother grasping the concept of other countries when no other country on Earth matters? Why learn about different cultures when we are the best culture in the universe and everyone should be like us? Regardless of how book-smart one is, one’s cultural upbringing will have a profound effect on what concepts one can/does grasp.

I’m thinking around four. My daughter’s pre-K class “travelled around the world” for their class.

Each week they would set up the class like an airplane, stamp their “passports” and visit a different country.

They had tea and crumpets when they visited England. And had their own holi color festival in India. They did this for several weeks. It was super cute.

I imagine it’s mostly exposure. If a kid’s family travels abroad, I’m sure they can grasp it at an earlier age.

As for the spatial understanding…I don’t think they understand how large the earth is. But a two or three-year-old can understand that it takes longer to go somewhere farther. We make the trip down to Southern California (from the Bay Area) pretty often. So that’s usually her point of reference. (ie going to Japan is 10 trips down to see Grandma)

I think it can vary a lot. My boss’ kids do at ages 7 and 9, I’m not sure about the 5 year old, but it wouldn’t surprise me. But, their maternal grandparents are Chinese-Peruvian. The family still visits Peru, and family from there visit here.

When I was in first grade (age 5 and 6) I understood my friends families were from many different countries, but I didn’t understand that you couldn’t just drive there until my parents explained it to me.

A child in middle America in a small town might understand later than a child in Europe who can drive three hours in 5 different directions and be in 5 different countries.

At five or six weeks, my nephew started to look around. At about 15 or 16 months he got really curious. But I’m guessing at four he doesn’t know what other countries are.

Pre School about 4 or 5.

I knew the directions when I was three so well I could be dropped in a strange area and point each direction accurately. Anywhere we went was a drive. I could guess where we were headed by the direction we were taking. I felt frustrated when I was wrong and there was someplace new.
I had lots of relatives around, and a few who lived so far away they didn’t visit very often. I knew the names of the states they lived in.
I knew that when my uncle fought in the war he went so far away they spoke another language, wore different clothes, and ate different foods. He brought me a sweet shiny, pillowy skirt with great embroidery on it when he came back, and a jacket like that for my brother. It had a super dragon embroidered on the back of it.
I used to categorize for myself how far away someplace was by whether it was a nap trip.
I told my kids when they were little how long a ride would be by television. The trip would be cartoon long, show long, movie long, or if it was very far, how many meals long. If we started right after breakfast, I would say to them we’d eat lunch in the car, but we’d be there before time for dinner.
I think kids can grasp the concept only according to the information they have, and experiences they’ve had. Some kids don’t get any of that. I suppose for some north is this train and busses, west is another. Given the winding paths public transportation follows, I would think direction would be difficult for those kids.

Americans don’t learn about countries at any age.

Bullshit. Ask me about any country.

The first time a child takes something that someone else is using, then shrieks “MINE!” and bursts into tears, that child has completely understood the concept of nations, countries, and States.

@Adirondackwannabe Where is purto Rico ?

@talljasperman Oh come on. Give me something tough. That’s a commonwealth of the US to our south. Oh and its Puerto Rico.