The Invisible Effort : Although the development of children is a process, what is noticed and given recognition to is the end-product. We usually speak of children having achieved the ability to subtract, multiply or divide, that is, of having reached a certain stage of development. The long and arduous process that the child goes through in arriving there is not usually noticed. For example, have you ever thought about the processes that a child goes through while learning how to count? The following activity may give you some idea.