Children Natural Observation - Research Paper Example

? s and reflections The child observed was a male and approximately two and half years old. The place was at home and there were three other people present. There was the child’s mother, sister and Cindy Turing. The time the observation began was 10.54 Am and ended on 11.23 am. The boy was playing with a toy bell by himself when the observation began. I was fascinated by Mathew’s behavior as he went innocently about his life thus motivating my natural observation on his behavior (Stipek, Gralinski and kopp 1990). Children have the capability to recognize themselves visually according to Rosen and Cicchetti (1991). The capability to recognized oneself materializes during the second year of life. This is considered one of the initial precursors in the ontogenetic series of self-awareness in both primates and human infants. This was proven when Mathew was in front of the mirror. When he saw his likeness in the mirror, at first, he was shocked and flabbergasted. He kept scratching his eyebrows and when Cindy asked him what was wrong he did not say anything. He distantly stared at the picture without uttering anything. Although he persisted in saying, nothing he was pointing to the reflection with one finger touching the glass. By moving away from the mirror, he wanted to see if the reflection moved with him thus making him smile. This shows that he was able to identify himself in the mirror thus, the many exercises he was doing. He kept doing different things such as raising his hands and touching his nose to see if the reflection did the same. He also touched the TV screen, to see if it had a refection such as the one in the mirror, and when it was not clear, he moved back to the original mirror. According to Stipek, Gralinski and Kopp (1990) toddlers who have not attained understanding of themselves as entities with diverse distinctiveness that can be evaluated may not recognize themselves as the object of their caregiver disapproval. Consequently, they will not experience unconstructive emotions directed at self. They do not feel self-remorse, guilt and embarrassment. In addition, they may not show the beginnings of self-regulation. This concurs with the supposition that a theory of self as a unique physical entity is necessary for self-evaluative emotions are similar. As exhibited by Mathew, ho is kid capable of understanding himself. When his mother yelled at him, he reacted as a kid capable of recognizing disapproval. He showed emotions of disappointment when he was yelled upon and when he was stopped from picking some candy from the bowl. He was also able to recognize whenever he did something incorrect. For instance, when he had dropped the pictures, and his mother disapproved he retrieved it from the floor. His grumpiness depicted that he was capable of feeling emotions. When his mother ate a piece of candy and refused to offer him one he was irritated and kept on bothering Cindy as reported his disappointment. As he played with his toy, he was able to demonstrate that he capable of performing difficult exercise such as making the doll spin something that immensely pleased him. The researcher observed that Mathew was aiming to make the toy perform difficult tasks other than just rolling it along the ground, as it should be done usually. He was a well mannered but playful kid. Most of the time the researcher spent with him, he was playing with his toys and other facilities in the house. Normalization is one of the earliest virtues that are instilled in child. It helps a child to grow up to become a significant contributing affiliate of the society. It involves the work of hands done with real things. It involves mental concentration to differentiate different situations or times by the child. Mathew showed signs of normalization for the short while that the researcher was around. He was able to pick up pictures, that he had dropped on the ground, and put them where they belonged, as well as engage his mind actively. He was able to recognize faces in the picture frames and say their names aloud. He was also capable of identifying each of his possession to the researcher and those in the room. This was an impressive thing for a kid who was barely old enough to talk. It was also critical to the researcher to observe the way the kid was handled while he was undergoing false fatigue- that is a point when he was exceedingly restless. This happened when he was denied a piece of candy and was disturbing Cindy until his mother stopped him. The mother recognized that there was no need to for anyone to come to his rescue, but instead one should calmly give the child time to settle back and start afresh on a new activity or resume previous activity with a deep level of concentration. If a kid is able to achieve this, then, he is considered to be normalized. In the case of Mathew, the same conclusion can be derived, as he was capable to calm down, and resume his playing his playing with a maximum concentration. After a minute, the researcher observed that Mathew was capable of going back to his play and was happy to play with his toy trying to make it spin as before. From the observation, it was exhibited that the boy was less destructive while he was focused on playing with his toy. In my observation, this is true at one point but all times. As exhibited by the boy when he was playing for time he did not disturb anyone. However when he did something he felt was extraordinary he sought attention from those present in the room. He was persistent for their approval that until he got a response he raised the same issue or question repeatedly. The boy was concentrating on the toy and was playing with normally without anything extraordinary happening he was less distractible but it was not because of the play activity but the interest in performing something that exhibited amazing feeling like when it was spinning (Capozzoli and Ruff, 2003). The boy was constantly distracted by the candy bowl. The boy’s head made around two turns towards the table that had the candy bowl. The candy bowl was the only thing that greatly distracted the boy from his plat. This was a psychological distracter as the boy only paid attention to the candy bowl when he remembered the candies. As psychologists argue, a child’s concentration is often lowly affected when the child is playing. This is true as when the boy was playing more of his concentration was on what he was doing and hardly paid attention to what the others in the house were doing unless when he sought their attention (Capozzoli and Ruff, 2003). The boy was comfortable playing by himself although he constantly sought others around him to observe what he was doing. The boy proved that toddlers are transmitting in to a preoperational level of cognitive development. His attention was expanding and enjoyed playing. He paid attention to what the people around him wanted, and obeyed what he was told although it would sometimes disappointed him. For instance, when his mother asked him to move away from the candy bowl and denied to give him apiece he obeyed her although this caused him to sulk. The boy was also was highly sociable as he kept on involving others in his play. Although he was playing on his own, he involved others by seeking their approval or engaging them in what he was doing (Stipek, Gralinski and Kopp 1990). The boy also displayed the traits of a toddler on his language. He used brief sentences to communicate with others. He also displayed all the traits that toddlers use to express themselves. Toddlers use gestures acting out to communicate in order to fulfill their desires. They cry, stamp their feet, or lie down and kick their feet. Mathew demonstrates these characteristics as while he was playing he jumped up and down. For instance, when he denied a piece of candy and used his hand to slap against his leg to express disappointment. At the beginning of this observation, he demonstrates using his hand as he raises them up and down. He also expresses joy by jumping around to show how he is immensely happy. He also sulks when he is disappointed especially when his mother yells at him and refuses to give him candy. He also expresses his liking of his sister’s picture, as he analyzes it to those around him; he shows them pictures in frames and identifies the people in them (Capozzoli and Ruff, 2003). Matthew also shows that toddlers are very independent. Although, he is almost three years-old, he changes his clothes on his own. This is witnessed when his mother asks him to drop his shirts. He also goes through his possessions and shows then to those in the house. He cleverly identifies his shirts, pants, pampers, powder and shoes. When he is playing, he chose what to play with personally. It is notable that his mother only commands to go and play but does not specify with what, whom or where. He chose the toys, shirts and pictures that he was used for playing. Mathew also expressed that he was capable of self-regulation from wrongdoing. When he was stopped from eating the candy from the bowl, he obeyed his mother. This depicts that although Mathew is toddler he consents to his mothers command. He does not defy her. He consistently shows his respect to his mother whenever she asks him to stop doing anything he follows. When he is shouting lou8dly and his mother asks him to lower his voice he does as commanded. This indicates that he is capable of restricting himself from doing wrong and unacceptable as guided. This is exhibited when he keeps on staring at the candy jay but does not go to pick the candies because his mother stopped him earlier (Rosen and Cicchetti 1991). The observations indicated that Mathew and his mother had a close connection. Their attachment toward each other is a strong ground for Mathew to develop and become more autonomous as he develops a sense of self earlier in his life. Their closeness is indicated when Mathew tries to take a candy from his mother’s mouth. This shows that mother and son are close or else he could not have attempted what he did. A parent and child relationship is critical for the upright development of the kid. This is vital because the parents are accountable for instilling earlier behavior morals in a child. For instance, his mother teaches Mathew early in his life that when she disapproves of something he should avoid it. This is seen when she does not want him to eat any candy and lower his voice. This helps him to differentiate wrong and right even at an early life (Capozzoli and Ruff, 2003). It is also notable that Mathew is a responsible kid from the observation. Although he is untidy with his clothes as plays with them disorganizing their arrangement he does not damage anything. This is exhibited when he plays with the frames of pictures and his mother is not worried. He does not break anything for the whole period of observation. This shows that he is a responsible kid regardless of his age. If he was a clumsy kid, he could have broken a few of his toys or even the glass frame of the pictures but since he is a smart and careful kid, this does not happen (Rosen and Cicchetti 1991). Conclusion The natural observation exercise was insightful to me as I managed to reflect on how child behaves in his playing environment at home. Although the experience was over a short period, it was an inspiring reflection and motivational one. This exercise was critical as it entails one to make keen attention to small details or else everything will be uninteresting and ordinary to the observer. This was an impressing and engaging exercise that I might consider redoing. References Capozzoli, M. & Ruff, H. (2003) Development of attention and distractibility in the first 4 years of life. Developmental Psychology, 39 (5), 877-890. Rosen S. K. And Cicchetti, D. (1991). Early self-knowledge and emotional development: Visaual self-recognition and affective reactrions to mirror self-images in maltreated and non-maltreated toddlers. Boston: American psychological Association Inc. Vol.27. No 3,471-478. Stipek J. D, Gralinski H. and Kopp B. (1990). Self-concept development in the Toddler years. developmental psychology. L.A: American psychological Associan inc. vol 26. No. 6, 972-977. Read More