At what age are children able to categorize objects by both shape and color?

Children typically develop the ability to categorize objects by both shape and color around the age of 4 years. At this stage, their cognitive skills are sufficiently advanced to understand the properties of objects and how these properties can define different categories.

By the age of 4, children are also improving their language skills, which allows them to verbalize their thoughts about categories more effectively. They begin to experiment with sorting and grouping based on two or more attributes, demonstrating an understanding of complex categorization. This capability is indicative of their developing cognitive abilities, including memory, attention, and problem-solving skills.

In contrast, younger children, such as those around 2 years old, may only manage to categorize objects by a single attribute, primarily focusing on one discernible characteristic, either shape or color. As for older children at the age of 7 and 12, they have far surpassed the ability to categorize by dual attributes, engaging in more complex cognitive tasks and abstract thinking. Thus, the age of 4 perfectly marks the developmental milestone when children begin to categorize objects by both shape and color.