A nurse is teaching a class about Piaget's stages of cognitive development. The nurse should instruct that object permanence develops during which of the following stages?

A. Preoperational: During the preoperational stage (ages 2 to 7), children develop symbolic thinking and engage in imaginative play, but object permanence has already been established before this stage begins. B. Concrete operational: This stage (ages 7 to 11) involves logical thinking about concrete events and understanding concepts like conservation, but object permanence develops much earlier in infancy. C. Formal operational: The formal operational stage (ages 11 and up) is marked by abstract reasoning and hypothetical thinking. Object permanence is fully developed long before this stage. D. Sensorimotor: Object permanence begins to emerge during the sensorimotor stage (birth to 2 years), as infants learn that objects continue to exist even when they are not visible—typically around 8 to 12 months of age.