Observation On Child Development

Christina J. Groark, Stephanie K. McCarthy, Afton R. Kirk. (2014). Early Child Development: From Theory to Practice. Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

I got an appointment for observation on July 13 at De-Anza Child Development Center. I chose room No. 26 for observation. I observed one child from 3:26 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. There are total 10 children present in room no.26 at the time of my observation. Out of 10 there are 4 girls and 6 boys. They range from 3 to 5 years of age. There are three adults in the room, all are female. One adult for every 3 children- 1:3. When I entered kids are doing free play. I settled myself and started to observe a kid named Aaron. He is around 3 and half years of age.

Our Life-span Development class observed a child in class for his social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development on October 2nd, 2017. The child observed for this report was almost seven months old at the time of the observation. His name is Maddox and he seems to be a very happy baby and developing at a normal rate. He was observed in classroom 1143 on Dordt College’s campus. His mother gave consent for this observation and both his mother and grandmother were present for the observation and answered questions about his behavior and development outside of what was observed in the classroom.

"Ever since I was a child, I have had this instinctive urge for expansion and growth. To me, the function and duty of a quality human being is the sincere and honest development of one 's potential"(Bruce Lee). I think this quote pertains greatly to how children grow up. The Assignment purpose was to observe a child between the ages of 2 and 16. Human Development is important because it shows what you can identify. For example, if there is anything wrong with your child or if your child is more developed than others. Plus, there is so much that you can learn from observing the child from how they react in their environment and around people. If you know what to look for in human develop it greatly helps in knowing what to do with a child when you least expect it.

Meggitt, C., 2006. Child Development : an illustrated guide. 2nd Ed. Oxford: Heinemann Educational Publishers. Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/dundeecollege-ebooks/detail.action?docID=3384832

The developmental theories can not be more evident than during the out of class assignment at the daycare facility. During this independent assignment, I was able to observe and interact with pre-school children in an environment that is both encouraging and facilitating to a child’s developmental growth. So, just as Piaget in his developmental theory believed that children takes an active role in the learning process, acting much like little scientists as they perform experiments, make observations, and learn about the world; the pre-school teachers allowed them to do just that. Indeed, the teachers at the day care provided room for the child to learn and explore while at the same time adhering to a structure that set boundaries and limitations. Thus, the pre-school children, begrudgingly, learns to follow a meticulous schedule of activities and rest.

For this research project, I chose to interview my very own daughter (Alaina). She is a 7-year-old first grader who lives with her mother full-time. She has one older sister who lives in another state. Alaina is an active and inquisitive young lady. She attends year-round schooling and in her free time, she participates in Tae Kwon Do and basketball.

routines is a great way to assess children. This will allow the teacher to get the most accurate information of the child’s progress.

what city he lives in, and his telephone number. The child was able to tell me his first name, last name, age, and that he is a boy. The child had reported living in the United States as the city he lives in. The child stated “why should I know that”. The child was able to tell me his telephone number. The fourth task I instructed the child to put on his coat and zip it up. The child struggled at first but was successful at zipping his coat up alone. The fifth task I had to ask the mother if her child uses the toilet by himself. The mother responded, “He can use the restroom by himself when he knows he has to go”. The final task I asked the mother is her child share toys with others. The mother responded, “He share toys that he does not like”. The mother also reported that her child does hear well.

In an early childhood setting, being observant gives professionals and family members a helpful portrait of the children in their care, and as future professionals it helps us see how intellectual, emotional, social, and physical development occurs in children. Observing, documenting, and assessing young children shows how they progress from one stage to the next or when there is a delay in progression. The reason we observe young children is that “there is so much that demands attention and response; at the same time, by building in systematic observation, teachers can improve their teaching, construct theory, assess children, assist families, and solve problems” (Gordon and Browne, p.180). It gives dynamic information about each child’s learning styles, interests, abilities, and needs. Observation helps teachers improve teaching by making them become more objective and self-aware of biases they may have. It encourages us to remember that early childhood development is highly individualized, so customizing activities to benefit each child will help them utilize their abilities to their fullest potentials, and through this we will be able to recognize what behaviors are typical of various age groups. The reason we document our observations is so that we can keep records and show proper evidence of each child’s individual growth and participation in classroom activities. With good documentation, family members will able to see the progression made by their child.

Observer visited a play place of a restaurant in New Jersey, Hackensack. Why I have chosen the place is easy to observe every part of child development such as cognitive, social emotional, language as well as physical at the same time. Observer performed the observation on April 28 from 1 pm to 3pm. The child was an Asian boy. He has strait short black hair with dark brown eyes and thin black eye brows. His height looked around 37 inches that he may be a little smaller than other early childhood children. He looks thin and has a full set of teeth inside his mouth, full cheeks, and a small button nose.

In this assignment I am going to describe a child observation that I have done in a nursery for twenty minutes in a play setting. I will explain the strengths and weaknesses of naturalistic observation through the key developmental milestones based in Mary Sheridan (2005) check-list and provide a theoretical explanation to support the naturalistic observation.

1. Observation: A 53-year male who has spent frequent amount of time working in a warehouse which requires a lot of lifting of heavy objects and seems to have strained his lower back and is having weakness in his right leg. In addition, the patient has a weak patellar reflex in his right leg and a normal patellar reflex in his left leg. However, his calcaneal reflex response for both legs was normal.

The child I observed was a seven-year-old girl in Year 2 who sat on the second highest ability table in a mixed class. While not in school, she lived a substantial distance away meaning she travelled to and from school by car and was often the first child to arrive in the morning and the last to leave in the afternoon. I will focus on the social and emotional development of this child who, from now onwards, will be referred to as C.

Compare and contrast a child from younger age group with a child from an older age group.