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Observation Of Observing Children

Decent Essays

Observation Taking a step back to observe a child’s physical, emotional, cognitive, social, and moral development gives great insight into the mind of a child. I observed nine year old, soon to be ten, Abigail. Abigail has three sisters and two brothers. Two of her siblings have already grown into adulthood. Abigail has a sixteen year old sister, thirteen year old brother, and an eight year old sister. Abigail’s parents have been married for twenty-five years and reside in the home with Abigail and four of her aforementioned siblings. Abigail’s parents own their own home and work outside of the home. Among strangers, Abigail is quiet and reserved, yet among friends and family she is friendly and demonstrative. When I set out to observe …show more content…

I did not see any signs of behavior problems during my observation of Abigail. However, by all intents and purposes, she appeared to be a “very independent, dependable, and trustworthy” (University of Washington, 1993) girl. Abigail had home chores, which she completed with no parental assistance and is also a peacemaker when it comes to her younger sister. She was indeed dependable as she assisted her sister with chores or gave into her sister’s desires in order to keep the peace. In conjunction, CDC emotional development criterion for this age include an emotional need for same sex friendships and a self awareness of their bodies. Abigail has a female, best friend she seems to hold of great value. Speaking of attending her best friend’s birthday party, Abigail mentioned that she “spoiled” her with gifts. According to Abigail’s mother, Abigail has become more self-confident since forming a bond with her “bestie.” Abigail is also self-aware of her body. She appreciates her slender build and understands that her diet has something to do with it—if not exactly how. When referring to her McDonald’s Happy Meal, she said she chooses apples and apple juice because she likes to eat …show more content…

I observed her engaging in play with boys differently than she did with girls. Abigail became more physical and involved with rough-and-tumble imaginative play with the boys. Whereas, she became involved in creative and dramatic play with the girls. In either case, Abigail enjoyed cooperative play and adapted her play to whichever gender she was playing with. I saw her play “zombie” with a five year old boy and “school” with the girls of her own age. On the other hand, playtime with her sister consisted of both rough-and-tumble at times and dramatic play. I watched as they morphed from playing “house,” to a pretend, no contact kickboxing match in the living room. My observation of Abigail’s play is consistent the University of Washington's Child Development Guide regarding social development for her age range, including noticeable gender differences and interest in group and cooperative play. Further, the CDC social developmental milestones for children nine to eleven include the formation of “stronger, more complex friendships” (CDC, 2017) and additional peer pressure. Here again, Abigail’s strong bond with her best friend exemplifies this developmental milestone. However, I was unable to ascertain how strong of a role peer pressure played in her life. As previously mentioned, Abigail often takes on the peacemaker role, yet when she really did not want to play or do something her playmate wanted to do, she

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