After a short time it appeared that John became bored of playing with the figures, and asked his mother if he could put on a DVD. His mother asked him what he would like to watch and gave him a few suggestions. John asked for the turtle DVD as these were the figures that he had just been playing with, and he appeared happy at this. He got out the DVD himself and proceeded to put the disc in the machine, John grasped the box with both hands and prised open the box with both his thumbs until it opened, he then pressed play and sat on the floor next to the TV. As he waited for it to start he looked up at me and gave me a smile, one of satisfaction and contentedness. He managed to carry out the process of playing a DVD therefore he was happy with what he had done and I think was looking at me for some kind of acknowledgement. For the duration of his time watching the DVD I observed John copying what was happening on the TV. Johns mother then brought his figures over to him where he began to follow what was happening with the figures. John continued this until he appeared to no longer engage in the DVD or by his play, instead he got up and started to run, jump and hop. His short spurts of speed were met by his sudden stops, and the ease in which he managed to run round corners to get to where he wanted to go.
John, after doing so much in a short space of time told his mother that he needed the toilet. His mother told him to go up stairs to the bathroom, but John wanted her to go with him. John's mother said to him that he was a big boy and could do it himself, but John was having none of that and began to shout for his mother to go with him. As a compromise she said she would stay at the bottom of the stairs and wait for him. John accepted this and proceeded to go upstairs.
When John returned to the living room he asked his mother if he could have an apple as he was hungry, and asked to have the skin taken off. He walked about the room eating his apple holding it in his right hand occasionally putting it down to pick up a toy. I asked John if I could have an apple, but he simply went to his mother and started to eat his apple there. John's mother asked him if he would like to show me his room and everything that was in it. John ran out of the living room and up the stairs. His mother and I followed him upstairs. John climbed the stairs like a little adult one foot per step, without any help from anyone, only to hold onto the wall or bannister. Johns room was full of toys, books, teddy bears, posters and objects hanging from the ceiling. The room was big as John had to share this room with his older brother. The two beds were at either end of the room with enough space in between for them both to play. At this point John picked up a book a brought it over to me and asked me to read it. I asked John if he wanted to read it with me and he came over to me and sat on the edge of the bed, by raising one leg on to the bed and pulling with his arms to get up. The book was about a zoo and the animals that lived there. Each page had a story and a hidden door which revealed one of the animals. I would pull open the door and ask John what the animal was, and could he count how many animals were on the page he was right every time naming the animal, and he even made some of the noises a particular animal made, before counting them pointing at each one as he did so. I said to him very good and that he was a clever boy, and he responded by smiling to his mother and going to her for a hug.
A short time after, John decided to go back to the living room and watch the rest of the DVD which had been left on. He made himself comfortable on the floor and asked his mother to sit with him. His mother looked at me and said he is starting to get tired and no sooner did she say that, John was lying on her lap and I could see him rubbing his eyes and yawning. At this point I could see that John was close to sleeping, so I decided to end my observation and give John's mother time to get him settled and organised for John's father returning from work. I thanked John and his mother for their time and left the family home. As I went out the door I heard John's mother saying to him to say goodbye to me which he did.
PART 2
OBSERVATIONAL ANALYSIS
Within this part of my observation I will look at some examples of behaviour shown by John, including his physical development, use of language and his attachment behaviour. I will also use child development theories to help identify certain stages of John's development, while considering how his race, class and gender may affect his development.
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
With regard to Johns physical development, observing him running around and climbing the stairs with one foot on each step, and hopping, indicates that he is at the correct stage of development for his age. Vera Fahlberg's gross motor skills further indicate this as the correct stage of development for a four year old to be at where “many can hop on one foot” (V Fahlberg, 1991,P. 87). What was also evident while observing John was that he had the capability to climb the stairs and descend them with little assistance further indication of his development. In her book Mary Sheridan says of four year olds “walks or runs alone up and down stairs, one foot to a step in adult fashion” (Mary D. Sheridan 1997, P. 35)
This level of activity indicated to me that John was given ample opportunities to fine tune his gross motor skills under the watchful eye of his mother, and also had the opportunity to develop his physical development through play in his back garden. In the same way John was developing through eating and drinking regularly and correctly. His fine motor skills were also evident when he opened the DVD box to get access to the DVD.
Further evidence was at hand for me to, in the form of John's health record booklet which his mother still had. I was able to see that John throughout his four years was progressing along at the correct pace in terms of height and weight. Both the height and weight percentile charts showed John was developing well, weight and height were the average for four year old boys.
USE OF LANGUAGE
During this observation, John was very vocal when he was speaking to his mother and during play. For instance he was becoming angry with his mother because the play was not going as he wished, and according to Mary Sheridan, she indicates that children at the age of four are “inclined to verbal impertinence with adults and quarrelling with playmates when wishes crossed” (Mary D. Sheridan 1997, P. 37). And yet as John was in his room I was able to initiate conversation with him when he wanted to engage with myself, by reading his book. I asked him how many animals were on the page, and he managed to count them all with his finger pointing and touching each one. This is in line with Fahlberg and Sheridan who both mention that four year olds are able to count objects correctly, and begin to count objects by word and touch. (Fahlberg, 1991,P.89) and (Mary D. Sheridan 1997, P. 36)
within this family John looks up to his older brother were he learns things that his brother has learned to do, and say, and from his parents, his primary carers. Although there have been different approaches to language development, B F. Skinner in (1957) argued that his Operant Conditioning approach where “.... speech-like sounds that babies babble will be reinforced and become learned words” (Skinner in G. C. Davenport, P. 246). It was evident that John was living in an environment where his learning was being guided by his parents and his older brother, scaffolding as Vygotsky called it, a range of tasks that can be to hard for a child to achieve alone can be achieved with help and guidance. He called this the zone of proximal development ( Vygotsky in Helen Bee, P . 37).
ATTACHMENT BEHAVIOUR
Attachment is a strong affectionate and emotional bond, and in this case between mother and child. In his report for the World Health Organisation in (1951) John Bowlby suggested that the lack of or non existence of attachment could lead to physical, social and intellectual retardation (Bowlby 1951), he further indicated that “the mother-infant relationship was extremely important to development”. (Bowlby in G. C Human Development and Behaviour).
During my observation with John, he at times only interacted with his mother, wanting her to play with him and accompany him to the bathroom. When at one stage I asked John if I could have an apple he simply went over to his mother for a cuddle and eat his apple. He had a preference for his mother at this stage and not me, I was a stranger to him only meeting him on a few occasions. This could be related to Ainsworth et al (1969, 1971) where she stated that “the child usually goes closer to the mother in the presence of a stranger, and views the stranger from a safe distance”. However when John was asked to show me his room by his mother his attitude towards me changed slightly. John asked me to read his book and this is where our interaction really began, he was more responsive this time even more at ease with me but he seemed more responsive because his mother was still there as she had been throughout my time with them both. Similarly when I Praised John for counting all the animals in the book , his orientation was to look towards his mother and smile before going over for a hug. John had to know that his mother was there, even knowing the she was there when he visited the bathroom. Freud's view was, that children of preschool age showed more affection to the opposite sex parent, ( Freud Psychoanalytic Theory of Gender in Child Development, p . 399) and this could be the case in the observation although the father was never present during my time spent with John and his mother. I could see that this was a strong attachment between John and his mother, however I did not get the opportunity to see how John would react if his mother was out of the room for a short time. Non the less seeing him wanting his mother throughout this observation only led me to assume that if the circumstance arose John would seek out his mother or call on her to again establish the security that he undoubtedly has.
RACE, CLASS AND GENDER
Culturally, John and his family live in a culture mostly white and Scottish, however his extended family are of Italian origin and by talking to John's mother the issue of colour and religion is spoken about without confusion to which John understands. He knows that his grandparents tend to talk slightly differently and he understands why. John has been introduced to a different culture at a very young age and shows no reaction or confusion to it. If racism is a learned experience through family and lack of knowledge or understanding, then John's family are a far cry from being racist, they have a sound foundation from which John can learn and the family are happy for him to experience new cultures through DVD, books, television and family interactions.
From my observation, and discussion with John's mother it would appear that the family are financially comfortable, owning their own home and two cars. They see themselves as working middle class and part of a working economy, and according to Roberts et al (1972), his studies of middle class found that the image of middle class society “...made up the bulk of the working class” (Haralambos, 1995 ,P . 69). both parents provide John with a warm stable environment that meets his needs in so many ways. In the same way, John already shows an understanding of the classification of the gender roles his mother and father play in his life. Feeding, playing, clothing and educationally, are all shared with both parents. During the observation it was clear to me that John had an understanding of gender identity and this was evident whilst he was at play, having age appropriate toys for a boy of his age.
PART 3
CONCLUSION
It was evident throughout this observation that children need that certain attachment from their primary carers, in most cases their parents. There are many elements that can change the development of a child, such as family structures and indeed socio-economic factors. To get through life a child must go through eight life-span stages according to Erikson's Psychosocial Theory, 1956, and each stage must be faced, in order for them to develop to the next. At age four, John was faced with the third stage of his life-span, Initiative versus Guilt. At this stage John is being challenged more now than ever and is beginning to develop his own knowledge of responsibility and worth. ( Erickson in Child Development, P.41)
The many theories used in this observation is to provide an understanding and show the significance of why they have been applied in this study. These theories are there to help a worker relate differences that may occur between well developed children and children who are falling short of their individual developmental mile stone. Theses theories show the need for attachment and for protection, and makes a worker aware of children with attachment loss, emotional behavioural problems and trust, the tools to be an empathic and caring worker. Observation and knowledge of a child's developmental stage is only one important aspect within the social care practice. While many children follow the common path of development, at times differences arise in children which can cause concern especially to parents who are normally first to notice such things.
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REFERENCES
Fahlberg, V. (1991) A Child's Journey Through Placement. (UK Edition) London: British Agency for Adoption and Fostering.
Sheridan, Mary. D.(1997) From Birth to Five Years, Children's Development Progress. London: Routledge.
Skinner,B. F. (1957) In Davenport, G. C. (1994) An Introduction to Child Development (Second Edition) London: Collins Educational.
Vygotsky, Lev. (1978) In Bee, Helen. L. (1998) Life Span Development (Second Edition) United States: Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers Ltd.
Bowlby, J. (1951) In Glenrothes College Health and Social Care Section Unit D05312.
Ainsworth et al, (1969,1971) In Glenrothes College Health and Social Care Section Unit D05312.
Freud, S. (1920) In Sandrock, John. W. (2007) Child Development (Eleventh Edition) New York: McGraw-Hill.
Roberts et al, (1972) In Haralambos, (1995) Sociology Themes and Perspectives (Fourth Edition) London: Collins Educational.
Erickson, E (1950,1968) In Sandrock, John. W. (2007) Child Development (Eleventh Edition) New York: McGraw-Hill.