Does logical thinking or counting develop first in children? During the course of normal brain development, what comes first:


logical thinking or
counting?
Counting, easily.  It's a matter of rote and repetition, dominated by procedural learning.  Critical thinking requires more advanced circuitry and learning.  There is a lot of really rapid neural development still occurring in the first couple years and children are learning from society and parents and experience in the meantime.  During this time, they can easily count and say the alphabet.

Logical thinking isn't apparent until around 3 or 4, though I suppose a robust discussion would require a formal definition of what constitutes logic.