Fhs Obs1

FHS 1500-405 Jayne Schiess Observation 1 Background Information Child's age: ​( 18 months -2 years ) Fictitious name: ​Tim ( Name Change for privacy) Location: ​YouTube clips Brief Description: ​This is a video of a toddler in what looks like a daycare center with a bunch of other kids and supervisors and his reaction to his environment and people around him. Biological Development During my observation of Tim, I noticed that he was a very active kid and moved around a lot and into different settings to interact with stuff. He was able to walk and run however, when he would do so, it was very bouncy and his arms were out as if he was balancing himself. He fell a couple times showing that it is still a developing gross motor skill. A gross motor skill is the ability to produce large movements and is first formed by kids. (Berger, 2016, p.101) He was also able to go up stairs although most of the time he was on his hands and knees walking up the stairs so that he wouldn’t fall. It seemed as if Tim liked playing with toys that had moveable parts or would move around, for example a car with wheels and a ball. At the beginning of the observation he had a red ball that he would lick a lot and bite on. He would often times hand over the ball to an adult and just say the word “ball”.With that single word expressing all his thoughts since he is not yet to form sentences, also known as a holophrase (Berger, 2016, p.121). Aside from that it seemed as if his fine motor skills were pretty well developed as he was able to grab little and big objects with ease and had control over what he would do with them. He seemed as if he was about the same age as the rest of the kids and about average height and weight. This indicates that he has been receiving good nutrition to keep him healthy. Throughout the observation I couldn’t help but notice that with every thing he was doing he was combining his senses and skills to experience things. Cognitive Developments In the observation, Tim tried out new things and ran around the whole day care center looking and interacting with many different things. This suggests that he is actively learning, trying out new things to better understand his surroundings. (Berger, 2016, p112) . One way he is doing so is by watching the other kids and how they interact with the objects and then he does the same. For example he watched a little boy put a ball on top of a little twisty slide so he decided to do the same. He saw the little kids run around the playground having fun so naturally he joined in and started running with them. Not only that be he saw how the kids were

communicating with others. There was a kid who grunted because he didn’t like the way something went so Tim grunted back. Tim was very quiet throughout the observation but eventually would yell and giggle with a few words here and there. “Vocabulary begins to build very slowly until the infant knows approximately 50 words.” (Berger, 2016, pg 121) But he was able to understand words when he was told instructions from the caregivers. Tim was showing many different stages of sensorimotor intelligence. Specifically the tertiary circular reactions, which is when he starts to develop new experimentations to see the reaction the caregiver would have or the other kids as well as thinking before doing something. (Berger, 2016, p.116) Later he was by a water bucket with a bunch of different bottles in it. At first he tried to drink it and was told “no”. The next time he grabbed the bottle he started raising it up to his mouth but stopped and dipped his hands in the water then licked his hands to see the reaction of the caregiver. Psychosocial Development In the day care it seemed as if there were a lot of caregivers there to attend to the kids so none of the kids seemed as if they lacked attention. They played with the kids on the playground and with toy blocks, being interactive and fun with them but stern when needed. “... caregiver behavior is especially influential in the first two years.” (Berger, 2016, pg 158) Tim looked as if he was in a comfortable setting that allowed him to explore. This relates to Erikson's theory about trust and autonomy (Berger, 2016, p.151). At this stage kids start learning about their surroundings and if this place can be trusted to support them. They experiences things and want to do it one their own. This is an example of self rule. (Berger, 2016, pg 151) Tim looked happy in his setting interacting with many things and people. He seemed very independent during this time, never asked for help from the adults and he would often be by himself and play with toys and try different things he saw and didn’t need attention from others. “Social learning begins in infancy.” (Berger, 2016, pg 150) With Tim being able to interact with many different kids as well as adults he is learning to get along with others and create good habits for when he is older. Learning these social skills while he is young will help him in many aspects when he is older like his job for example or school. “A person’s ideas about life, originating in infancy, can change with later experiences.” (Berger, 2016, pg 158) Tim is growing up in a good environment and if he keeps these lasting impressions of how good it makes him feel he is likely to keep good friend groups and with them acquire good experiences through life and development. Reference List ​Berger, K. S. (2016). ​Invitation to the life span​ (3rd ed.) [with Salt Lake Community College supplement]. New York, NY: Worth Publishers.