Observation and Analysis of the Behavior of a Seven Year Old Child - Essay Example

Observation of a Child in Middle Childhood Michael is a 7 year old boy with chestnut hair and adorable freckles on his face. He is medium built and is very agile in his movements. He was observed while playing in the playground. He seems to be a friendly fellow who has a ready smile for anyone. In the sand box, he started molding a “volcano” with his palms and while doing it, he kept talking about how hot the volcano is and what could be inside it. He poked his finger at the tip of the cone to make a hole and with a smile, said, “There, it’s done and it’s bubbling inside!” When his friend, Alvin arrived, he hurriedly ran to him and said, “Heyyyy!!!! You’re here!!!” then he signalled to Alvin to climb the monkey bars with him. Very expertly, he and Alvin who is 6 years old advanced to the monkey bars and climbed to the top and perched there for some minutes, swinging their legs while holding on to the bars. From afar, it was observed that he and Alvin were animatedly talking and laughing and pointing at some of their friends whom they called to join them. No one joined them, so he and Alvin climbed down and started running around. Alvin got the last tricycle available and Michael told him he will have his turn on it after Alvin has had his rounds. Meanwhile, Michael stopped at the easel boards and watched Patty painting. He was overheard saying, “Wow! Nice colors! Are there any more brushes and paper?” Patty said something to make Michael run to the adult nearby handing out materials. He got what he needed and took the easel behind Patty’s. For some minutes, Michael was quiet, engaged deeply in his painting. First, he drew a red truck with his paint brush and a yellow sun on top of it. He filled the outline with paint and when he was done, put his brush down to admire his work. Alvin came around and told him it was Michael’s turn but Michael said “Nah… you go one more round if you want… I’m going there!” pointing to the slide. He ran to the group of children at the foot of the slide and joined them in their discussion for a while. After a few minutes, he left them and climbed up the slide, calling out to the children below before he slid gleefully down. He went about climbing up and sliding for about 4 times before calling Alvin who was still on the tricycle. When Alvin looked at him, he accidentally bumped into a rock and his tricycle toppled down. Michael ran to him and helped him up. He was seen brushing off some dirt from Alvin’s arm and asked if he was ok. Like a fine young gentleman, he assisted Alvin in walking although Alvin did not seem hurt at all. The bell rang. Michael and Alvin went straight to the door back to their classroom. Analysis: Michael’s play in the playground revealed much about his development. For a seven-year old boy, he seemed to exhibit skills appropriate for his developmental level. He is very agile as he moved from one spot to another, displaying his good gross motor skills, balance and body coordination. His limbs are proportional to his size as his legs swiftly carry him to where he wants to go. His fine motor skills were also observed in his sand play and painting activities, as he uses his fingers to form sand into a shape he has designed in his head and as he holds the paint brush with a tripod grip and direct it to the direction he wants in order to produce the picture he wants which was a fire truck. Intent on his work, he displays good focus and eye-hand coordination. At the time of observation, he seemed to be a healthy little boy with no sign of illness or disease. His skin was clear and he was very well-groomed in his clean clothes. Michael also shows cognitive competencies. He is able to translate the ideas in his mind into concrete creations such as the volcano made out of sand and his fire truck painting. He also communicates clearly to his peers and is able to join in discussions without difficulty. He expresses himself well with his adept use of language, speaking clearly by enunciating words well and using the appropriate intonation in conveying his ideas, expressions and questions. He has shown that he was knowledgeable on some things by talking about them, such as his talk about volcanoes while he worked on creating one out of sand. He knew that there were hot and “bubbling” substances within the volcano and shared these while playing with the sand. He knows how to use language not only to express his thoughts but also to get what he wants. This was shown when he asked for art materials he needed for his painting. He also uses language to show affection and concern as shown in his greetings to Alvin when he arrived, expressing his joy at seeing him, and when he tried to comfort him when he fell from the tricycle. From the short observation period, it was seen that Michael possesses a bright and positive disposition as he smiled to his peers and happily related to them. He was confident enough to walk around either on his own, with another friend or with a group. He is very flexible and shows good socialization skills. He moves from one place to another without causing any trouble to anyone. Michael shows kindness to everyone. He praised Patty’s picture. He was also kind enough to help Alvin up from his fall and even assist him in walking even if he did not seem to be hurt. Michael’s Development in terms of Child Development Theories In Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development, Michael borders in between the stages of Preoperational Period and Concrete Operational Period. In the Pre-operational stage, children become able to represent objects and knowledge through imitation, symbolic play, drawing, mental images and spoken language, as Michael was able to do in his sand play and art. The ages of seven to eleven or twelve years fall under the Concrete Operational Period. Primary school children at this age begin to think more operationally. Piaget and Inhelder (1969) described the operational thinker as one who employs “identity or reversibility by inversion or reciprocity” (99) in solving problems. They have moved on from being egocentric and consider that others may come to conclusions that differ from theirs. In terms of his psychosocial development, Michael has developed a positive personality characterized by confidence and independence. Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages propose than in each stage of a person’s life, he encounters various conflicts that pertain to their developmental stage. Michael falls under Erikson’s Industry vs. Inferiority stage. Children at this stage. They have gained enough skills that make them perform well in school. They become industrious to make their families and friends proud of their achievements, but if they fail, they may develop a sense of insecurity and inferiority (Brewer: 75). Children’s emotional development is also linked to their moral development. A man named Kohlberg (32) even came up with a theory of moral development based on a hypothetical moral situation calling on children’s decision-making skills, and his theories attracted much attention from moral philosophers. It was theorized that young children conceptualize morality in terms of obedience to adults’ rules and regulations. They know that it makes them good children. This is so because they think in concrete, physical, egocentric ways and their social worlds are dominated by adults. On the other hand, older children think of morality in terms of cooperation with peers because they are cognitively able to comprehend the views of others and already understand concepts such as reciprocity and cooperation because their social worlds consist mainly of interactions with peers. Kohlberg based his work on this theory of cognitive development and emphasized reasoning as the key to moral development. Growth and development is much more complicated than it seems, if one is to analyze all the factors that affect it. Developmental researchers have unearthed a wealth of information on how human beings go through the life span in terms of various developmental aspects, and such research pursuits are currently being used to the advantage of parents, educators and psychologists to understand the process of development of humans and what they may expect in certain stages of growth. References Brewer, J., A., Introduction to Early Childhood Education, Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2001 Kohlberg, L., Essays in moral development: Vol. 2. The psychology of moral development. New York: Harper & Row, 1984. Piaget, J. & Inhelder, B., The Psychology of the Child. New York: Basic Books, 1969 Read More