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?
Cillian was scratched by a cat at a neighbor’s house and subsequently did not want to visit them anymore, and became unusually clingy and whiny, but this seemed to go away after a while. Cillian also took some time to adjust when he was moved from one daycare center to another when he was two. As for the environment that I provide him, he has many people with whom he can interact, is given a variety of nutritious foods, is encouraged to be independent, and seems to be very healthy overall. I encourage him when he seems interested, or excited, and don’t push him too hard when he is uncomfortable with a situation. Overall he is, in my opinion, very well adjusted because of the environment that he has been provided. I base that opinion on the fact that he seems to be progressing very normally in his development (faster in some areas, slower in others, but at least average overall) and appears very well-adjusted. I would also note that, as a child, Cillian was very slow-to-warm-up, borderline difficult child at times, but due to his environment seemed to grow out of this, becoming much more friendly and adventurous.
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?
I have not had any problems with Cillian at home as far as having him follow our family’s rules or any other sort of disciplinary issues. Sometimes at daycare he loses his temper, or shows aggressive tendencies (for example, when other children attempt to take his favorite toy from him) but he relaxes when one of the care providers intervenes. He has been a little slow to pick up on his bedtime routines, but we’re working with him on this. He also sometimes has difficulty focusing on the task at hand, or staying on-topic during prolonged conversations.
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.
Different theories have useful applications, in certain situations. For example, with potty training, we used B.F. Skinner’s example of operant conditioning, providing Cillian with positive reinforcement (attention, verbal encouragement, stickers) when he used the toilet. In developing his fine motor skills I employed a sort of modeling (as described by Albert Bandura) by providing him with examples when he was stuck on a problem he was attempting to solve, be it building block towers or anything of that sort. I also used modeling in a more general sense by always treating him kindly, attempting to be “in-tune” with his emotions and frequently engaging him in conversation. In a sociocultural sense, I attempted to give him plenty of opportunities to develop by introducing him to a broad variety of people, encouraging him to build meaningful relationships with family members, neighbors, other adults, and plenty of kids his own age.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Sunday, September 14, 2008
8-19 Months
1. Describe and give 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.
Cillian was a very active crawler at 8 months, at home (although not so much during his 9 month development assessment.) I attempted to encourage this by allowing him free roam of the entire “baby-proofed” household.
Cillian was able to discover hidden items (object permanence) at 8 months, although he could be distracted, and would get confused when the item was hidden in a different place from the one he was accustomed to.
Cillian seemed to be formulating simple two-part schemes at 8 months.
Cillian was able to imitate new words and actions at 12 months.
Cillian had improved at the object permanence test by 12 months, was not confused when the hiding spot was moved, and was not as easily distracted. He seemed to enjoy this game very thoroughly.
At 15 months Cillian was performing experiments on objects in his environment (tertiary circular reaction, 12-18 months.)
At 18 months, Cillian was fascinated by blocks and puzzles and would spend much time playing with and studying their properties.
At 18 months, Cillian would sometimes take on problems too complicated for him and get frustrated. I attempted to encourage him by getting involved in the activity, showing him how to solve part of the puzzle and explaining it as I did.
Cillian demonstrated deferred imitation at 19 months (mental representation stage, 18 months-2 years.)
At the 19 month assessment, Cillian was above age-norms in building block towers to mimic a design and other spatial skills. However, he was slightly behind in terms of gross motor skills. He also seemed to have trouble concentrating on any one activity for more than a few minutes.
Overall, I think Cillian has shown an aptitude for problem-solving, ahead of his age-group, and have tried to encourage this.
2. Analyze your baby’s temperament in more detail at 18 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 Cillian'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.
Activity- Cillian was highly active. He would stay up late, often into the early morning, and had a tremendous drive to use his motor skills. This was fairly consistent with his temperament when he was younger, at least during situations when he was secure. He was rather shy during his assessment, but at home was a very active crawler, and grew up to be a very active toddler as well.
Sociability- Cillian was more introverted than extroverted. There were only a handful of adults that he was comfortable with, and would become easily upset by new situations. He was typically very shy in new situations and around new people.
Emotionality- Cillian’s emotionality seemed to decrease from 9 months to 18. When he was younger he would have massive mood swings with very little provocation, but this tendency seems to have lessened a great deal as he has become more confident. At his 19 month assessment, the examiner noted that he did become irritable or lose his temper with other children at times, so he definitely still has emotional tendencies.
Aggressiveness v. Cooperativeness- Cillian was generally not aggressive at the assessment, unless another child tried to steal a toy from him in which case he resisted. He was fairly cooperative with the examiner. I have not noticed any particularly aggressive behavior from him at home.
Self Control- I did not notice any particular instances of Cillian having serious issues with self-control. He has issues with emotionality and sociability, but I have no examples of him exhibiting a lack of control at home that I can think of.
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 social 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 development that need the most work.
I had thought that Cillian was progressing fairly well with his motor skills, but then was told at the assessment that while he was advanced in his fine motor skills and problem solving abilities (building specified towers from blocks, for example) he was rather behind in gross motor skills. Furthermore, I thought I had been taking appropriate actions to better condition him to social situations, and had hoped he might not exhibit those same tendencies after another year. Perhaps he just needs more time around others.
Cillian was a very active crawler at 8 months, at home (although not so much during his 9 month development assessment.) I attempted to encourage this by allowing him free roam of the entire “baby-proofed” household.
Cillian was able to discover hidden items (object permanence) at 8 months, although he could be distracted, and would get confused when the item was hidden in a different place from the one he was accustomed to.
Cillian seemed to be formulating simple two-part schemes at 8 months.
Cillian was able to imitate new words and actions at 12 months.
Cillian had improved at the object permanence test by 12 months, was not confused when the hiding spot was moved, and was not as easily distracted. He seemed to enjoy this game very thoroughly.
At 15 months Cillian was performing experiments on objects in his environment (tertiary circular reaction, 12-18 months.)
At 18 months, Cillian was fascinated by blocks and puzzles and would spend much time playing with and studying their properties.
At 18 months, Cillian would sometimes take on problems too complicated for him and get frustrated. I attempted to encourage him by getting involved in the activity, showing him how to solve part of the puzzle and explaining it as I did.
Cillian demonstrated deferred imitation at 19 months (mental representation stage, 18 months-2 years.)
At the 19 month assessment, Cillian was above age-norms in building block towers to mimic a design and other spatial skills. However, he was slightly behind in terms of gross motor skills. He also seemed to have trouble concentrating on any one activity for more than a few minutes.
Overall, I think Cillian has shown an aptitude for problem-solving, ahead of his age-group, and have tried to encourage this.
2. Analyze your baby’s temperament in more detail at 18 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 Cillian'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.
Activity- Cillian was highly active. He would stay up late, often into the early morning, and had a tremendous drive to use his motor skills. This was fairly consistent with his temperament when he was younger, at least during situations when he was secure. He was rather shy during his assessment, but at home was a very active crawler, and grew up to be a very active toddler as well.
Sociability- Cillian was more introverted than extroverted. There were only a handful of adults that he was comfortable with, and would become easily upset by new situations. He was typically very shy in new situations and around new people.
Emotionality- Cillian’s emotionality seemed to decrease from 9 months to 18. When he was younger he would have massive mood swings with very little provocation, but this tendency seems to have lessened a great deal as he has become more confident. At his 19 month assessment, the examiner noted that he did become irritable or lose his temper with other children at times, so he definitely still has emotional tendencies.
Aggressiveness v. Cooperativeness- Cillian was generally not aggressive at the assessment, unless another child tried to steal a toy from him in which case he resisted. He was fairly cooperative with the examiner. I have not noticed any particularly aggressive behavior from him at home.
Self Control- I did not notice any particular instances of Cillian having serious issues with self-control. He has issues with emotionality and sociability, but I have no examples of him exhibiting a lack of control at home that I can think of.
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 social 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 development that need the most work.
I had thought that Cillian was progressing fairly well with his motor skills, but then was told at the assessment that while he was advanced in his fine motor skills and problem solving abilities (building specified towers from blocks, for example) he was rather behind in gross motor skills. Furthermore, I thought I had been taking appropriate actions to better condition him to social situations, and had hoped he might not exhibit those same tendencies after another year. Perhaps he just needs more time around others.
Monday, September 8, 2008
3-8 Months Questions
1. How does your baby’s eating, sleeping and motor development compare to the typical developmental patterns?
Cillian’s eating and sleeping development are progressing fairly normally. He does seem to be awake more than most babies, and has a great amount of energy when he is awake, but he doesn’t seem to be having any trouble sleeping when he wants to. He was breastfed up to age six, at which time solid foods were introduced into his diet. He has not had any unusual difficulties with sleeping. His motor development is slightly behind for his age.
2. At 8 months of age was your child an “easy”, “slow-to-warm-up”, or “difficult” baby in terms of Thomas and Chess’s classic temperamental categories? On what do you base this judgement?
Cillian showed a mix of characteristics, but in most social aspects he would be classified as a difficult child. He has intense reactions and is difficult to soothe when he has become upset. In other terms he is “slow-to-warm-up”, because he is cautious and shy in new situations, although this may have been exacerbated by an insufficient amount of some types of physical stimulation. With more focus on gross and fine motor skills at least part of this issue may be remedied.
3. How is your child’s attachment to you and your partner developing? What is happening at the 3-month and 8-month periods that might affect attachment security according to Bowlby and Ainsworth, and various research studies?
Cillian has shown a preference for his mother, although he has developed an attachment to me as well. He has been breastfed, which probably contributed to his attachment to his mother, but both parents have been involved in his care and he seems to be progressing fairly naturally. Another factor that may have contributed to his attachment- I lost my job when he was about seven months, and this caused a certain amount of strife in our household. Arguments over finance would put myself and my partner in foul moods, and as a result we weren’t spending as much time with Cillian for a while.
Cillian’s eating and sleeping development are progressing fairly normally. He does seem to be awake more than most babies, and has a great amount of energy when he is awake, but he doesn’t seem to be having any trouble sleeping when he wants to. He was breastfed up to age six, at which time solid foods were introduced into his diet. He has not had any unusual difficulties with sleeping. His motor development is slightly behind for his age.
2. At 8 months of age was your child an “easy”, “slow-to-warm-up”, or “difficult” baby in terms of Thomas and Chess’s classic temperamental categories? On what do you base this judgement?
Cillian showed a mix of characteristics, but in most social aspects he would be classified as a difficult child. He has intense reactions and is difficult to soothe when he has become upset. In other terms he is “slow-to-warm-up”, because he is cautious and shy in new situations, although this may have been exacerbated by an insufficient amount of some types of physical stimulation. With more focus on gross and fine motor skills at least part of this issue may be remedied.
3. How is your child’s attachment to you and your partner developing? What is happening at the 3-month and 8-month periods that might affect attachment security according to Bowlby and Ainsworth, and various research studies?
Cillian has shown a preference for his mother, although he has developed an attachment to me as well. He has been breastfed, which probably contributed to his attachment to his mother, but both parents have been involved in his care and he seems to be progressing fairly naturally. Another factor that may have contributed to his attachment- I lost my job when he was about seven months, and this caused a certain amount of strife in our household. Arguments over finance would put myself and my partner in foul moods, and as a result we weren’t spending as much time with Cillian for a while.
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