1. How would you characterize your parenting style? How have your specific parenting techniques changed since infancy? In what ways do you think your parenting style, or any other aspect of your parenting, has been influenced by your cultural background or other experiences?
My parenting style is staying consistent with her. I try and choose to do things that match the stage that she’s in. I realized that her moods, needs, and actions vary with every stage that she’s going through. I’m not very easy on her, I believe that if you’re easy on a child, especially at the age, then they will try and test you and see how far they will be able to test their limits with you. I have never liked it when parents would caudal their children when they would make a big fuss about something or if they were really attached to the parent and crying. I think that if you explain to them that you will be coming back in a couple of hours and if they behave during that time then you can go and do something fun like to go to park. I think at that particular age it’s a good learning tool to have a reward or doing something fun like going to the park. I don’t really want to spoil my kid with toys, candy, or electronics or anything like that. I want to raise my kids to play outside whenever they have a chance and to play with cardboard boxes and make the best out of things. My parenting styles really reflect how my parents parented my brother and me. Not to be conceded or anything, but for the most part my brother and I have turned out pretty good. We are willing to change when we need to, we both are hard working, neither one of us is very spoiled, we are both responsible, and we have always had good morals and values. The only real reason my brother and I got in trouble was because we were goofing around. I really take after how my parents raised my brother and me.
2. Describe two specific examples of changes in your child’s behavior at age 4 that seem to stem from growth in cognitive and language ability since the period of infancy (e.g., improvements in symbolic thinking, reasoning, knowledge of the world, theory of mind).
I would have to say that the biggest change I have seen in Peyton is that she is able to socialize with people and I’m able to let her go on her own. She’s much more independent and likes making friends. In the beginning she was very shy and didn’t want to go to anyone but me or my partner. She’s very comfortable in her preschool that she is attending right now; she’s made a couple of friends and is able to talk really well for her age. Speaking of which that’s another thing that she has really approved with; she has really built up her vocabulary and is even above average on her speaking skills. Before she didn’t even want to really speak and she was below average. It’s amazing how much she has changed in just 4 short years.
3. How would you characterize your child’s personality? Would you say that your child is primarily overcontrolled, undercontrolled or resilient? Support your argument.
Peyton is actually laid back for the most part. When I had my second child she responded really well to that, with the occasional feeling ignored and acting out once in a while, but other than that has been adjusting to it very well. She cooperates very well with us when we discipline her or tell her not to do something. She responds very well to others and does really well in preschool and does really well with direction. She’s very independent and likes to learn on her own, I think that’s how she learns best. I guess I would say that Peyton is resilient because she can bounce back really quickly if she’s get out of alignment for a second. For example, when she started getting jealous of the new baby and having little tantrums to get some attention, but my partner and I decided that we would try and spend more time with her and include her in taking care of the baby she went back to acting like her old self when the baby first arrived. It’s very nice to have that in a kid.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
3 years old - 3 years 10 months
1. What activities and experiences that you and your child engage in might be promoting healthy behavioral practices and an interest in physical activity?
I make sure that I play and interact with Peyton as much as possible. When she is trying to solve a problem and gets frustrated, I sit down and ask her questions that could help her figure it out on her own on how to solve it. With her last evaluation and all her other ones she has been below average on her motor skills. She needs to be kicking a ball around or playing catch; I need to change that with how I interact with her on that and make sure she gets out more. I try and make all of her experiences rewarding and educational in some way. She seems to learn a lot when I have her do things that I know will help her develop in other areas, but she doesn’t know it; she just enjoys doing it.
2. Describe development of your child’s language and cognitive skills and discuss how these might be affecting his or her interactions with you & your responses.
Peyton is doing extremely well in this particular area because I make sure she gets out and that we do things that interest her and makes her want to learn. She knows how to have a conversation with someone, well for a three year old. She likes to talk and I make sure I ask her lots of questions and always having her explain things to me so then she can build up her vocabulary. It can be somewhat frustrating because now she understanding things better and asks questions that I’m not sure exactly what to tell her or how to answer her. I love talking with her and asking her about everything that she sees and experiences and I think it really helps her develop her cognitive skills.
3. How well is your child adapting to social situations in the home and outside the home? Does your child have any behavior or emotional problems at this point? Why do you think these problems are occurring and what are you doing about them?
Fortunately, Peyton has grown out of her “shy” stage and is now able to interact with kids at her preschool. She can sometimes become the leader of activities that she plays with other kids, but so far that hasn’t become a problem. According to my friend that evaluated Peyton she has a likable personality. She used to have more emotional problems when I would leave her at daycare and now she loves going to preschool and I haven’t had any problems for a while. The way that I took care of that problem is I would explain where I had to go and that I would back in a little bit to pick her up and take her home. I wouldn’t caudal her too much when she would cry so I think that really help her understand where I was. At the moment, I’m not having too many problems with her. She’s being really good lately. According to my friend that evaluated Peyton, also gave me a questionnaire about how I’m well I’m disciplining her and how well I’m helping her develop and on both of those I got that I’m doing about average, so I’m thinking I’m doing something right.
I make sure that I play and interact with Peyton as much as possible. When she is trying to solve a problem and gets frustrated, I sit down and ask her questions that could help her figure it out on her own on how to solve it. With her last evaluation and all her other ones she has been below average on her motor skills. She needs to be kicking a ball around or playing catch; I need to change that with how I interact with her on that and make sure she gets out more. I try and make all of her experiences rewarding and educational in some way. She seems to learn a lot when I have her do things that I know will help her develop in other areas, but she doesn’t know it; she just enjoys doing it.
2. Describe development of your child’s language and cognitive skills and discuss how these might be affecting his or her interactions with you & your responses.
Peyton is doing extremely well in this particular area because I make sure she gets out and that we do things that interest her and makes her want to learn. She knows how to have a conversation with someone, well for a three year old. She likes to talk and I make sure I ask her lots of questions and always having her explain things to me so then she can build up her vocabulary. It can be somewhat frustrating because now she understanding things better and asks questions that I’m not sure exactly what to tell her or how to answer her. I love talking with her and asking her about everything that she sees and experiences and I think it really helps her develop her cognitive skills.
3. How well is your child adapting to social situations in the home and outside the home? Does your child have any behavior or emotional problems at this point? Why do you think these problems are occurring and what are you doing about them?
Fortunately, Peyton has grown out of her “shy” stage and is now able to interact with kids at her preschool. She can sometimes become the leader of activities that she plays with other kids, but so far that hasn’t become a problem. According to my friend that evaluated Peyton she has a likable personality. She used to have more emotional problems when I would leave her at daycare and now she loves going to preschool and I haven’t had any problems for a while. The way that I took care of that problem is I would explain where I had to go and that I would back in a little bit to pick her up and take her home. I wouldn’t caudal her too much when she would cry so I think that really help her understand where I was. At the moment, I’m not having too many problems with her. She’s being really good lately. According to my friend that evaluated Peyton, also gave me a questionnaire about how I’m well I’m disciplining her and how well I’m helping her develop and on both of those I got that I’m doing about average, so I’m thinking I’m doing something right.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
19 to 30 Months...
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?
There haven’t been that many events in Peyton’s life. I think being consistent with how we discipline, talk, interact, and play with her is what helps with her behavior. She has a good daycare that she is going to and is interacting just fine with all the other kids. We did have some financial issues, but it didn’t really affect Peyton that much because we tried not to stress out around her. Right now her behavior seems to have stabilized.
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?
Peyton seems to be learning very well for her age. She is above average when it comes to her talking and expressing herself. She loves helping around the house and she knows the routine of what she can do to help me out. When it comes to solving problems she’s about average, but to help her out I should probably start talking through how to solve problems to help her learn better. Her motor skills are doing so well, she’s a little below average and can’t climb, throw, or catch very well and I should play more of these types of games with her to help her improve them. The specialist said that she is doing well enough in all of her learning that she is definitely ready for preschool.
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
I can see that Peyton has the tendency to do more of what the Social Learning theory is about, for example when we play hide an go seek after she sees where I went to hide when it’s her turn to hide she picks the same spot that I did when it was my turn to hide. In some ways I like to use that theory because she mimics my behaviors when it’s time to clean up her room or take care of some chores that need to get done and Peyton likes to follow my lead. I think I like to use the ecological system theory because for the most part she is in a good environment for most of the time; I like to use the daycare to expand her social skills. I don’t caudle her or anything when she starts crying and wants me to stay around; she eventually gets over it and then is really good with the other kids around. She use to be very shy, but because of this it really has helped her step out of her comfort zone and explore new things. I’m learning how to use the information process because I think that’s important to use to help her develop problem solving skills. She’s actually doing pretty well now when it comes to problem solving; however, she tends to do repeated behavior and gets frustrated when she’s trying to figure it out. I think the information process will help her not get so frustrated. Those are the closest theories that I could come up that are similar to my philosophies that I have been using on Peyton. I’ve kind of been doing my own thing when it comes to raising her by seeing how she is reacting and if she’s changing and so far I think I’m doing a good job and things are working out pretty well.
There haven’t been that many events in Peyton’s life. I think being consistent with how we discipline, talk, interact, and play with her is what helps with her behavior. She has a good daycare that she is going to and is interacting just fine with all the other kids. We did have some financial issues, but it didn’t really affect Peyton that much because we tried not to stress out around her. Right now her behavior seems to have stabilized.
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?
Peyton seems to be learning very well for her age. She is above average when it comes to her talking and expressing herself. She loves helping around the house and she knows the routine of what she can do to help me out. When it comes to solving problems she’s about average, but to help her out I should probably start talking through how to solve problems to help her learn better. Her motor skills are doing so well, she’s a little below average and can’t climb, throw, or catch very well and I should play more of these types of games with her to help her improve them. The specialist said that she is doing well enough in all of her learning that she is definitely ready for preschool.
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
I can see that Peyton has the tendency to do more of what the Social Learning theory is about, for example when we play hide an go seek after she sees where I went to hide when it’s her turn to hide she picks the same spot that I did when it was my turn to hide. In some ways I like to use that theory because she mimics my behaviors when it’s time to clean up her room or take care of some chores that need to get done and Peyton likes to follow my lead. I think I like to use the ecological system theory because for the most part she is in a good environment for most of the time; I like to use the daycare to expand her social skills. I don’t caudle her or anything when she starts crying and wants me to stay around; she eventually gets over it and then is really good with the other kids around. She use to be very shy, but because of this it really has helped her step out of her comfort zone and explore new things. I’m learning how to use the information process because I think that’s important to use to help her develop problem solving skills. She’s actually doing pretty well now when it comes to problem solving; however, she tends to do repeated behavior and gets frustrated when she’s trying to figure it out. I think the information process will help her not get so frustrated. Those are the closest theories that I could come up that are similar to my philosophies that I have been using on Peyton. I’ve kind of been doing my own thing when it comes to raising her by seeing how she is reacting and if she’s changing and so far I think I’m doing a good job and things are working out pretty well.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
12 Months to 19 Months Old...
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.
In this particular area Peyton seems to be a slow learner. She likes to repeat the same things and doesn’t seem to get bored very quickly. She did this when we would play hide-n-go-seek with things. She would look in the same places because she thought that’s where they would be located because that’s where she found them another time. It takes her a little bit to change and go on to something new, I think in this area she is a little lagging in where she should be at. Every where else in her learning and development seems to be relatively normal.
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 Peyton'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.
Peyton likes to have a lot of activity; however, she is having some trouble interacting with other kids and adults that she is not familiar with. For the most part she is emotionally stable, but can get frustrated after a while. This has been pretty consistent and I’m not sure exactly how to get her out of this funk. She doesn’t get aggressive or anything, she just gets temperamental at times, especially when she’s frustrated. She will cooperate just fine for both me and my husband (I don’t know who that is...he’s virtual too...haha) and strange adults. She has pretty good self-control and plays well when she is by herself. It takes her a little bit more time to warm up to other kids, but it seems like she will play with them just fine when she does. I’m going to have to work with her a little bit with not being so attached me. Hopefully I’ll make some good decisions throughout the next couple of months to help with that.
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 tried to make better choices on what to do to help her and get her out of some of the bad habits that she got use to. The choices that I made to try and help didn’t seem to get it better. I’m not really surprised because even though this is a virtual child, these are some of the behaviors that I actually went through when I was little. My mom told me these things and I was really shy when I was young. I would really like to work on her social skills and getting to be more interactive with other kids and adults. I think this could be improved if I give her a little bit of a push to get to know more people and get use to it.
In this particular area Peyton seems to be a slow learner. She likes to repeat the same things and doesn’t seem to get bored very quickly. She did this when we would play hide-n-go-seek with things. She would look in the same places because she thought that’s where they would be located because that’s where she found them another time. It takes her a little bit to change and go on to something new, I think in this area she is a little lagging in where she should be at. Every where else in her learning and development seems to be relatively normal.
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 Peyton'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.
Peyton likes to have a lot of activity; however, she is having some trouble interacting with other kids and adults that she is not familiar with. For the most part she is emotionally stable, but can get frustrated after a while. This has been pretty consistent and I’m not sure exactly how to get her out of this funk. She doesn’t get aggressive or anything, she just gets temperamental at times, especially when she’s frustrated. She will cooperate just fine for both me and my husband (I don’t know who that is...he’s virtual too...haha) and strange adults. She has pretty good self-control and plays well when she is by herself. It takes her a little bit more time to warm up to other kids, but it seems like she will play with them just fine when she does. I’m going to have to work with her a little bit with not being so attached me. Hopefully I’ll make some good decisions throughout the next couple of months to help with that.
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 tried to make better choices on what to do to help her and get her out of some of the bad habits that she got use to. The choices that I made to try and help didn’t seem to get it better. I’m not really surprised because even though this is a virtual child, these are some of the behaviors that I actually went through when I was little. My mom told me these things and I was really shy when I was young. I would really like to work on her social skills and getting to be more interactive with other kids and adults. I think this could be improved if I give her a little bit of a push to get to know more people and get use to it.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
How Peyton is doing...Birth to 9 Months
Well, I would have to say that Peyton is a little behind on that. I may have coddled her a little too much. She’s healthy and seems to be sleeping well, but she’s a little slow on the developing side. She’s not saying too much and isn’t exploring too many different objects; hopefully she’ll grow out of this stage.
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?
Peyton is a little “slow-to-warm-up to” she’s use to being around me apparently. Which actually I would like to get her to not be so attached because I want her to be more outgoing and not so shy. But sometimes you can’t help that fact so much, it’s just in their personality.She’s not really a big fan of new things and adventures, but I think I want to try and make her grow out of that.
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?
Peyton is really attached to me at the moment. I think what I’m going to have her do is spend more time with her daddy, and then have her spend sometime with the grandparents and people like that so then she can get use to being around other people other than me. I think it’s very important for her to be around me as well, but I think it’s just as important to get to know other people at this stage in her life so she doesn’t become anti-social with everyone else in her surroundings. Kids like that don’t know what’s really around them when that happens to them.
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