Child Development in Practice - Assignment Example

no. Child development in practice: my virtual child Assignment 2: 19 months Describe examples of changes in your child’s exploratory or problem solving behavior from 8 through 18 months and categorize them according to Piagetian and information processing theories. Note that 8 months is included, so you’ll need to use the time-line to look back at 8 months for examples. At 8 months, Maksim is at the sensori motor stage whereby likes the hiding game where I hide objects in the same place and he will try to find them, although he often gets confused or forget about the object if I change the hiding place. At 12 months, Maksim is able to find hidden objects even if the hiding place is changed, in accordance with the information processing theory which states that children improve their cognitive abilities such as memory as they grow older (Feldman 225).At 15 months, Maksim is dropping objects into water at certain depths and observing how they float back up, just as explained in the Piagetian theory in terms of attaining object permanence. 2. Analyze your baby’s temperament in more detail at 19 months than you did at 8 months. How would you describe your baby in terms of the five aspects of temperament utilized by the Virtual Child program (activity, sociability, emotionality, aggressiveness vs. cooperativeness, and self control)? Has your child’s temperament been stable over the first 18 months? A blurb defining and providing examples of the five aspects of temperament is provided at 12 months, but you should seek out further explanations of temperament from your textbook. Explain how the concept of goodness of fit (also discussed in the blurb on infant temperament) applies to your interactions with your child. From 8 months, Maksim would readily accept to be held by strangers and by 19 months old he was very social, as exhibited in his interaction with a specialist where he made good eye contact. In terms of activity, Maksim is able to model the specialist’s block tower, solve picture puzzles, and color within lines. Although Maksim does not exhibit much aggression except when another child tried snatching his toys away from him, he is a bit emotional and becomes irritable and impatient when things do not go his way during the play session. Generally, Maksim is an easy baby in terms of temperament as he has a generally positive attitude, is always curious, and has moderate emotions (Feldman 186). As such, , in response to the goodness-of-fit approach, we as the parents need to try and engage Maksim in interesting activities for longer in order to prepare him for pre-school activities. 3. Were you surprised by anything in the developmental assessment at 19 months? That is, does your perception of your child’s physical, cognitive, language and emotional development differ from that of the developmental examiner? Give specific examples. If you were not surprised, write instead about some aspects of your child’s behavior that need the most work. After listening to the examiner’s assessment of Maksim at 19 months, I was not really surprised as I had observed most of the aspects mentioned by the examiner. If anything, I realized that I need to start communicating with Maksim using more complex phrases to improve his vocabulary. Assignment 3: 30 months (2 1⁄2 years) 1. Have there been any environmental events in your child’s first 2 1/2 years that you think might have influenced his or her behavior? On what do you base your hypotheses? Maksim had become very used to riding his tricycle until he got involved in a scary accident and started avoiding the tricycle. Maksim also frequented the neighbor’s house until he got scratched by their cat and henceforth started avoiding visiting the neighbor. Children tend to form mental representations of objects as causing bad events; hence the tendency to avoid such objects (Feldman 147). 2. How is your child progressing on typical toddler issues, such as learning household rules, learning to follow routines, listening to you, developing self-control and learning to get along with other children? At 2 years, Maksim is exhibiting a sense of self-awareness by, for example, being embarrassed of a potty accident. Maksim is also learning new words and speaking in telegraphic sentences. Maksim’s relationship with other children is good and he seems to enjoy their company. At home, Maksim does not seem to mind the house rules and sometimes refuses to give up his activities for mealtimes. 3. Analyze your own parenting philosophy and practices. What principles from social learning theory, Bowlby, Ainsworth, Piaget, Vygotsky, information processing theory, developmental neuroscience and other theories do you appear to have relied on in making your parenting choices or interpreting your child’s behavior? Include three principles/theorists from the above list in your answer. My parenting style so far has involved what Bowlby refers to as security and safety whereby children tend to seek their parents’ guidance on new situations (166). At this stage, Maksim is more independent in carrying out activities but still seeks our guidance. The symbolic function according to Piaget allows children to form mental representations objects; some which might not be physically present (Feldman 220).Maksim enjoys playing with his two-story doll house and set up the rooms to look like those in our house. Vygotsky was of the opinion that cognitive development in children could be enhanced via guided social interactions (Feldman 228). For example, Maksim can remember and describe in simple terms, a trip to the zoo. Consequently, I usually ask him questions related to the event he is describing so as to improve his cognitive skills. Assignment 4: 3 years, 11 months 1. What activities and experiences you and your child have engaged in might be promoting healthy behavioral practices and an interest in physical activity? Maksim has become very interested in physical activities such as bike riding, basketball, soccer, and playing catch. On several occasions I have engaged Maksim in playing catch games in order to improve his ball handling skills and improve on his fitness. 2. Describe the development of your child’s language and cognitive skills and discuss how these might be affecting his or her interactions with you & your responses At this age, Maksim had good language comprehension ability where he was able to understand what adults were saying and makes almost complete sentences with a few grammatical errors. On the contrary, Maksim’s cognitive ability was exceptionally high, for example, solving picture puzzles and building blocks. As a result, I ask Maksim open-ended questions in order to improve on his language skills and also introduce him to more complex puzzle games. 3. How well is your child adapting to social situations in the home and outside the home? Does your child have any behavior or emotional problems at this point? Why do you think these problems are occurring and what are you doing about them? When Maksim enrolled at a new preschool, at first, he did not have any problem socializing with the other children and even engaged in group playing sessions. However, after sometime, Maksim became reluctant to participate in group activities and was not making any friends at school. I recognized that Maksim was having problems adapting to the new setting, thus identified one child at school who seemed to like Maksim and invited him for a play date to help Maksim feel at ease. Assignment 5: 4 years, 10 months 1. How would you characterize your parenting style? How has your specific parenting techniques changed since infancy? In what ways do you think your parenting style, or any other aspect of your parenting, has been influenced by your cultural background or other experiences? My parenting style has always been authoritative in such a way that I let Maksim know that I make the rules and he should follow them. However, this means that I also encourage Maksim to openly communicate his feelings and then we can sit and discuss he negatives and positives (Feldman 258). I always make sure that Maksim knows that his opinions and feelings are valued so that he does not grow up feeling neglected like I did because my parents were uninvolved type who simply did not care. 2. Describe three specific examples of changes in your child’s behavior at age 4 that seem to stem from growth in cognitive and language ability since the period of infancy (e.g., improvements in symbolic thinking, reasoning, knowledge of the world, theory of mind). Maksim was getting very inquisitive and every question was being followed by another “why?” which shows great improvements in his knowledge of the world. Maksim showed advanced cognitive growth by, for example, engaging in complex games disintegrating a train set and rebuild it again, thus showing improvements in reasoning. 3. How would you characterize your child’s personality? Would you say that your child is primarily overcontrolled, undercontrolled or resilient? Support your argument. The program stated at the beginning of age three that the Virtual Child’s behavior at age 3 and 4 is designed to resemble one of three personality types. The personality types combine some of the temperamental traits with which you are already familiar. The overcontrolled category refers to a child who is cooperative and follows the rules, but is shy in social situations and anxious and clingy under pressure. The undercontrolled category refers to a child who is uncooperative or even aggressive, does not follow the rules, is not particularly shy in social situations, and has a tendency to become distracted and overly emotional, particularly when under stress. The resilient category refers to a child who is cooperative and follows the rules, is friendly, non-aggressive and outgoing, able to focus on tasks without being too distracted, has good regulation of his or her emotions, and is adaptable to new situations. In terms of personality, Maksim was the under-controlled kind of child who insisted on getting all the attention and having things done their way and getting irritable and aggressive if this does not happen. For example, Maksim’s teacher reported that he did not follow rules, and distracting other children. In addition, Maksim was jealous of his sister and threw tantrums when he felt ignored. When Maksim was upset, he showed signs of aggression and it became almost impossible to calm him down (Feldman 265). Assignment 6: Age 6 years, 11 months 1. How well is your child adapting to social situations in the home and outside the home? Does your child have any behavior or emotional problems at this point? Why do you think these problems are occurring and what are you doing about them? At 6 years, Maksim is doing well socially gets invited to other children’s parties. However, the problem with non-compliance to school rules and disruption of classes persists. Clearly, Maksim has a problem and I am forced to take him for an ADHD check-up (Feldman 289). 2. Do you notice any improvements in cognitive and language skills since age 4? Give specific examples. Does your child have any special needs with regard to cognitive or language development at this point and what do you plan to do? In terms of cognitive development and language comprehension, Maksim has greatly improved as compared to when he was 4 years old. For example, he can read rhyming books easily and can even read second grade books. Also, Maksim is able to compare my parenting style with that practiced by his friends’ parents, saying that I am nicer and stricter. 3. Which aspects of your child’s behavior and personality reflect continuities from earlier behavior (e.g., at ages 3-4 years) and which seem to be novel for this age level? Maksim’s personality seems to be improving such that he is becoming more resilient. Maksim’s aggression and irritability have significantly reduced, especially at home and he generally follows the rules. Assignment 7: age 8 years, 11 months 1.How smart is your child, and in what areas? Think back to the blurb on multiple intelligences that appeared at age 6. Find specific evidence regarding your childs verbal, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical and bodily-kinesthetic intelligence from your observations of your own child as well as the psychologists report at age 8 years, 11 months. At8 years, Maksim’s mathematical, kinesthetic intelligence, linguistic, and spatial intelligence are above average(Feldman 312). However, his major interest remains to be science, although he also enjoys music, building hand models, and drawing different designs. According to the psychologist’s report Maksim scores above average on the verbal test, as well as in visual-spatial ability, and way above average in math computation. 2. Describe some examples of your childs behavior or thinking that you think are due to typical American gender role socialization and explain why you think so. Several examples can be found at ages 6 and 8. How closely does your attitude toward gender roles correspond to typical American attitudes, and if there is a discrepancy, to what do you attribute this (e.g., cultural background, attitudes of your own parents, etc.)? Unlike most of the boys his age, Maksim does not seem to have a problem interacting with girls, although he still prefers playing with boys. When he is playing with his sister Stacy, all the games involve predominantly masculine activities like building. I think the contemporary American culture showcases the male gender as superior thus making young boys unappreciative of girls (Feldman 337). 3. How might your childs development have been different if s/he was raised by people with a different socioeconomic, ethnic or cultural background? If Maksim was raised in a different socio-economic background, I think he would have turned out quite different from who he is now. For example, if Maksim was raised by Chinese parents, I think he could have become very rebellious. According to Feldman, Chinese prefer the authoritarian method of parenting where children are put under a lot of pressure to perform, in addition to following strict rules (260). Considering that Maksim had exhibited problems with following rules, then the insistence on following rules would have made him very rebellious. Assignment 8: 10 years, 11 months 1. Describe changes in your child’s academic skills between ages 6 and 10 and assess how well these skills are developing. The 5th grade report card will be useful for this but you should also incorporate your own observations. What are you doing to help your child? Academically, Maksim is excelling especially in math, although his interest still lies in science. Considering Maksim’s interest in science, I organize with his teacher to get Maksim involved in a science fair. His vocabulary has also improved greatly and he is able to tell stories way better as compared to how he when he was 6 years old, meaning that his memory had improved (Feldman 299). 2. How well is your child adapting to social situations in the home and outside the home? Does your child have any behavior or emotional problems at this point? Why do you think these problems are occurring and what are you doing about them? Maksim’s behavior and socialization skills have improved greatly and he seems to socialize most people, even the popular kids. Maksim now follow classroom rules and the class disruptions and distraction of other students is gradually reducing and I figure that with time Maksim will be in full control of his behavior. 3. Has your parenting changed since the preschool period and if so, why do you think it has changed and what effect might this have on your child? When Maksim was in pre-school, I was a lot more lenient on bad behavior than I am now. Considering that Maksim is 10 years old, I figure that he should be held accountable for his mistakes and punished accordingly. According to Feldman such a change is usually occasioned by changes in the behavior of a child as they become more stubborn and demanding with age(259). Assignment 9: 12 years, 11 months 1. Describe any physical or behavioral signs of incipient puberty. One of the signs that Maksim is entering puberty is attraction to the opposite sex. Particularly, he wants to get a video game in which the women are in racy clothes and are being mistreated by men. Physically, Maksim is growing bigger, probably because of the junk food that is often eating (Feldman 358). 2. How would you characterize your child at this point in terms of the under-controlled, over-controlled or resilient categories? Have there been any changes since the preschool period and why might they have occurred? Regardless of the fact that Maksim is nearing adolescence; he still maintains a resilient personality and does not cause a lot of trouble at home or at school. The under-controlled behavior has almost disappeared and it seems as if Maksim is taking on a sense of responsibility for his actions. 3. Using the 7th grade report card and your own observations, summarize your child’s academic skills at this point. What specific activities might promote some of these skills? Maksim’s grade 7 report card shows that he is a gifted child in almost all academic areas, as he got As in all subjects. The only problem is that Maksim continues to show signs of ADHD, such as occasionally disrupting the class. At this point I am considering getting some medication from his psychologist for this condition. Assignment 10: Age 15 years, 0 months 1. What activities and experiences at ages 12 and 14 has your teen been involved in that might promote healthy behavioral practices, physical fitness and skill in sports? Before Maksim turned 14, we went on a hike carrying a microscope to help us study a bit of biology on the way. I figured the hike was good for his health and the microscope would get him ready for high school biology. In high school, Maksim has been chosen for the baseball team and is very excited about it. 2. Have there been any changes in your teen’s behavior toward you or your partner? Why are these occurring and how are you responding? Lately, Maksim has been arguing with my partner and I a lot, mainly about everyday issues such as household chores and curfews. However, we do not make much of these arguments as we understand that Maksim is undergoing a lot of changes associated with adolescence in terms of asserting his autonomy (Feldman 416-418). 3. Do you see any examples of how cognitive and physical changes in early adolescence (ages 12-14) relate to your teens social or emotional behavior? Maksim has started growing some facial hair in relation to puberty and he has even told his dad that he wants to start shaving. Cognitively, Maksim had been very adventurous and is trying out new things every day. For example, he recently went on a camping trip and learnt how to use the compass to navigate in the woods. This shows that Maksim’s socialization skills have greatly improved. Assignment 11: Age 16 years, 11 months 1. Think about your teen’s cognitive strengths and weaknesses and how they are reflected in his or her school grades and activities from 14-16 years of age. What careers or courses of study might be best suited to your teen’s abilities and interests? Maksim seems to be doing very well academically and passed his PSATs very well. In addition, after just 50 hours of practice, Maksim obtained a driver’s license with very good recommendations. Considering that Maksim scored straight As in almost all subjects, Maksim would be enrolled for many course at college but since his interest is in science, I encouraged him to apply for applied science courses. According to Feldman, Ginzberg explains this period in life as the tentative phase in which a person makes a logical choice about a career (396). 2. How important have your teen’s relationships with peers been to his/her social development, emotional well-being and school achievement from 14-16 years of age? Maksim has already started dating and he claims to be in love. He even ran off with his girlfriend and they got matching tattoos. We explained to him issues related to relationships including sex and urged him to take his time. Off late, Maksim is frequently hanging out with his friends and going to parties but still observes the curfew times. 3. How has your teen adjusted at 14-16 years of age to typical adolescent issues such as risk-taking, drugs, alcohol, and sexual interests, and how have you responded to your teen? In relation to teenage risk behaviors, such as drugs and alcohol, Maksim has handled the situation quite well (Feldman 367-368). For example, one time he came home smelling of marijuana but when I asked about it he said that he is an athlete who would not want to affect his performance. I somehow believed him but reminded him that our family has a no drug policy, although at a later date, he did try alcohol mainly as a result of peer pressure. Assignment 12: Age 18 years, 1 month – Final Reflections 1. As the program ends, what pathways does your child appear to be on in terms of physical, cognitive, social, emotional and moral development? To what extent could you have predicted these pathways based on what you knew of your childs earlier development? Currently, Maksim is exhibiting great ambition considering that he has just being promoted at his part-time job at the grocery store, which reflects how ambitious Maksim will be in his career. Physically, Maksim has grown well especially because of his involvement in sporting activities that help keep him fit. Maksim’s sociability is very good and he has even been elected as a student leader, meaning that his moral and emotional statuses are stable an acceptable to the society. Honestly, I knew Maksim would turn out well and follow the correct pathways as I raised him well and he has always been a good strong-willed child. 2. Describe some specific ways in which you think your parenting mattered for your child’s development, based on evidence from the course regarding the contributions of parents to child development. The authoritative method of parenting is seen as the best parenting style in as far as allowing children to pursue their interests while still recognizing the role of parents is concerned (Feldman 257). As such, I believe that my parenting style contributed a lot in making Maksim a responsible, high-achieving, and self-driven child. 3. Describe some specific ways in which your child developed that appeared to be influenced by factors outside your control, such as genes, random environmental events or the general influence of contemporary middle-class American culture. Despite my best efforts at ensuring that Maksim grew up following most of the rules set in the family, at time I lost to the influences of American culture. For example, Maksim took alcohol at the age of 16 despite knowing that underage drinking is wrong and that our family is against the vice. However, the American culture especially popular media has made it seem very fashionable and fun to take alcohol. Assignment 13: Reflective Piece 1. Are there any issues you had with your parents, school work, friends, or romantic involvements in the last two years of high school that continued to be issues for you in college? Growing up, I had serious issues with the parenting methods of my parents. The uninvolved approach by my parents meant that I could do anything without being questioned. As a result, I experimented with drugs and alcohol before finding out on my own that the practice was wrong. 2. Reflect on your own personality, interests and cognitive abilities at the time you graduated high school.How have these personality characteristics and abilities continued to manifest themselves in subsequent years? How have they changed since your high school days, if at all? I was very aggressive in high school as I rationalized that I had to take care of myself because my parents were not concerned. I frequently got into confrontations with other people who seemed to cross my path. However in college I started managing my temperament and at present I am not as aggressive as I was in high school. Work Cited Feldman, Robert. Child Development.New Jersey: Pearson. 2012. Print. Read More