Toddler Observation List - Essay Example

 Toddler Observation Introduction This observation was conducted on a toddler who is 28 months old named Marco of Hispanic background. Marco has a bronze skinned complexion with hazel colored eyes. He was chosen as the subject of this observation because he interests me with his many exciting activities. Although, he cannot speak English, he can understand simple words in English. He uses Spanish language to communicate with his group and to others. Since he is a new arrival in the school, he was not provided with a riding car yet. The data collection was gathered inside the classroom during circle time. The observation lasted for about 15 minutes which included the child’s emotional and social development. Body On observation, Marco was seated in one corner of the classroom reading a book and singing with his teacher. However, when one of his friends tried to get his book, he hit him with an attempt to protest. It seems that at this stage, Marco starts to recognize his own power by demonstrating “no” attitude. When his teacher handed him his book and told him to return to his chair, he was observed to be cooperative. He also followed the spider story very well together with the singing and actions of some words from the song. Marco appears to easily follow instructions very well as they started counting 1 to 10 however he was able to count from 1 to 5 only. The above observation indicates that Marco is demonstrating independence and is showing he is successfully entering the stage of autonomy vs shame and doubt of Erik Erikson. With him coming back and forth to show me his awesome puzzle shows he trust strangers other than his parents. This observation indicates he successfully surpassed the first stage of Erikson’s stage trust vs mistrust by being comfortable with strangers like me. When it was cleaning time, Marco was also seen cleaning his puzzle and just like any other kids, he gave his fixed puzzle to his teacher. Although, he does not exactly know the meaning of clean up time since he is not yet accustomed with the schedule of his class, he emulated what other children his age is doing. This observation suggests that he demonstrate Bandura’s idea. His actions of putting back and removing the pieces of the puzzle game and giving it to me to do the same shoes he learns from observing others and imitating their actions, also a concept of Bandura of social learning ( Santrock & Yussen, 47). Soon after he finished fixing his puzzle, he gave it to his teacher and came to me with a smiling face and start jumping up and down. This characteristic demonstrates his pride and pleasure in accomplishing something which is another milestone of a toddler. When it was time to change diaper, Marco seemed confused what to do but his teacher told him he needs to wait for his turn as others are still using the bathroom. As he finished his turn, he went back to his seat and waited again for some minutes for his teacher to spread antibacterial jell on his palm. On this situation, it seems Marco does not know the use of antibacterial jell as he is observed trying to put it on one of his classmate’s face. As he was pushed, he came to realize the antibacterial jell was not meant for the face but for the hands. This behavior demonstrates Vygotsky’s concept of guided participation which the teacher seemed to have guided Marco through. As the children started their counting and singing again, Marco keeps on looking at me as if he wanted me to stay with him while he does his thing inside the classroom. This behavior demonstrates the attachment theory of Bowlby where the child wishes to be close to the person he trusts. Such concept of Bowlby was still demonstrated when Marco got hold of a coloring paper and crayon and seem to say “look I am coloring”. Although it was obvious he was not happy with only two crayons in his hands since he wants more, his behavior of trying to always check if I am with him goes with the idea of attachment theory. When he was shown a picture of a shark, he was afraid to touch the teeth. This perception of Marco shows he is developing a sense of his own perspective demonstrated in Piaget’s preoperational stage. Marco was also observed to be happy and excited when they were brought to the playing room. However, he was disappointed and cried because he was the only child not assigned a riding car yet because he was new. Marco seems not to understand this yet however he managed to get over his feelings. Conclusion The observation reveals that Marco is advanced in his emotional development with his happy disposition even with the absence of the significant others like her mother. Likewise, his cognitive development is also advanced as observed in his well done activities despite his limitation with the English language. However, he is average in his social development as reflected in his acting out when others tried to hold his book. Although, he seems to have the self esteem and intelligence of a toddler, he still needs to be guided in the aspect of his social development to enhance it further. It would also be helpful to establish provide the child with a wider range of socialization for him to develop a sense of positive sense of self. Works Cited Santrock, John, & Yussen, Steven., (1984). Children and adolescents: A developmental perspective. Brown publishers. Dubuque. Iowa. Read More