For my child development study I am going to observe how a child shows their physical, emotional, social and intellectual development and skills. I will observe this child over a year and record their improvement of these skills.

Authors Avatar
Introduction

For my child development study I am going to observe how a child shows their physical, emotional, social and intellectual development and skills. I will observe this child over a year and record their improvement of these skills.

Physical Description

I went to the child's house on the 20th of February a 13:00pm, I was there for about 2 and a half hours. Her name Is Hilary and she is 3 years, 3 months and 3 weeks and 2 days. She was born on the 20th of November 2001. Hilary is 3ft 4 inches (101cm) and weighs 2 stone and 3lbs (31 lbs). The average height and weight of a 3 year old is 94cm and 31 lbs, Hilary is a normal size chid because she weighs 3 lbs and is only 6cm taller than the average height. Her face is round and she has chubby cheeks. Light brown freckles dot around her face and around her nose. She has dark brown almond shaped eyes and a small button nose. Hilary has a mixed race complexion and dark brown hair tied back into twists to keep it out of her face. All of her primary teeth have grown, her first tooth was her top front incisor, and her last was her back molar just before her third birthday. Hilary has big feet, she is a small size 4 and has many different shoes. Her fingers are long and she has wide palms.

Personality

Hilary is a very friendly and out going child, when I went into her house for the first time she came up and sat beside me and showed me her 'Noddy' book. By doing this it showed that she isn't really timid or shy of new/unfamiliar people. I asked Hilary what she was scared or frightened of and she told me she was scared of the dark and lions. When she said lions she squatted her legs and shouted raahhhh very loudly. Hilary was very lively, when I asked her what nursery rhymes she new she started to jump around energetically while she sung them. She sang 'Humpty Dumpty', 'Ring of Roses' and another song that her grandmother had taught her from Nigeria. However when I asked her to do a small activity which involved small muscles she became quite and relaxed. From both these activities that I asked her to do, It showed that she has two ways in which she can behave; a calm way when involving fine motor skills and energetic way when involving gross motor skills. Hilary showed her demanding and quiet jealous personality when her younger sister would come over and try to join in with the activity that I was doing with Hilary. Her temperamental side showed when she slouched off with her arms folded, I then had to go and convince her to play another game so she would be happy again. Also after we had been playing for a few hours she became a bit irritable and tired, and started to be bossy and greedy telling me that she 'can do it herself'. that made her become easily bored and distracted as well. By this time it was time for me to go home, I told Hilary that I had to go so she cam and gave me a hug. That showed that even though she was irritable and tired she was still affectionate enough to give me a hug before I went.

Family Background

Hilary is one of two siblings, her younger sister is called Chanella. Hilary is 1 year and 2 weeks older than Chanella. Because there is such a small age gap between the two children they get on very well. Hilary is like a role model to her younger sister. This was showed by Chanella copying things that Hilary would do, I noticed this when Hilary would run around or even pick up a ball Chanella would copy her. I asked Tabara why she had her second baby so soon after Hilary was born. Her reason for this was because she wanted Hilary to have someone to play with so that she wasn't lonely , and she didn't want to have kids that were years apart. Also she said that they may learn quicker if they were near enough the same age and Hilary could set an example for Chanella. I could tell by the way Hilary and Chanella played together that Tabara and her husband, Charles, had made the right decision. Although there is no sibling rivalry there is a bit of jealousy that was shown when Chanella was involved in an activity that Hilary did not want to do. For example, when I threw a ball to Hilary and she didn't catch it, Chanella would pick it up and Hilary would go off with her arms folded in a mood. However, I feel that the girls will encourage each other in many ways regarding their development. Hopefully they will continue to get on well.

Family Group

Hilary's family is a nuclear family. There house hold consists of a mum, dad and two children (including Hilary herself). Tabara, the mother, also has her mother staying with them while she is over on holiday from Nigeria. Both Tabara and her husband, Charles, work full time, but only while Tabaras mother is staying with them. Whilst they are at work, Hilary attends a local pre-school and a Sunday school on Sundays. Here she will be surrounded by children her own age and qualified professionals. Both types of school that she attends will have a positive effect, because Hilary will be encouraged to develop in a positive way. Neither one of the parents are closer to Hilary than the other, this is a good thing because therefore Hilary has equal levels for her parents to be a role model. Hilary's family does spend a lot of time together, they went to Nigeria last summer and are going again in Easter. Every Saturday if it is a nice day then Hilary and her dad will go to the park and spend some quality time. This will have a positive effect because they Hilary will bond with her father and will be improving her skills. Such as; when Hilary would be climbing a slide that would improve her physical skills.

Home and Local Area

Hilary and her family live in a two bedroom detached house In a small area called Enfield, Enfield is a small town with a town centre and a few churches. In the centre of Enfield there is a town, a park and a library. Hilary shares a room with her younger sister, Chanella. There is a lot of room where Hilary can run and play outside; in her back garden there is a 5ft fence to keep Hilary safe and secure, the safety features are a gate at the bottom of the stairs, However at the back door there is a broken window and a old chest of drawers which are not safe for Hilary as she could seriously injure herself. There are loose twigs hanging off of the trees and if Hilary was running she could cut of scratch her self, even her eyes could be damaged. They parents should cut away the loose twigs and put all the unwanted rubbish in the bin away from their children. In the living room it is a bit safer; the rugs are stuck to the floor to prevent Hilary from falling over and hurting herself. She comes from a stable home. Hilary has a lot of educational toys which could be crucial at her age as she attends both pre-school and Sunday school. These toys include counting books, building blocks, musical pianos, abacus's, reading books and jigsaws. Going to a pre-school is a positive effect because she will be learning a lot, improving her physical, social, emotional and intellectual skills and making new friends.

Hilary has a lot of toys, some that she still has from when she was younger. This is partly because she has a younger sister and she uses a lot of them to play with her. These toys include the simple cuddly toys such as teddy bears and other soft toys. She has a alphabet toy which is attached to a number screen and it has wheels on it, this is very good for her learning and development. Hilary has a range of different books, some which are quite babyish and tell a simple story but most of them are ones that include numbers, letters, puzzles and colours. This is good for Hilary and her development as well. She has more educational toys than she does fun toys, but her parents are very persistent in her learning and education. One of her favourite toys that she plays with a lot is a small tricycle which is yellow and red, she rides it when it is a nice day with her dad and her younger sister. She has a small shopping trolley which she plays 'shops' with is also one of her favourite toys.

Physical Development

I referred to the text books I have been provided, to see if Hilary is able to do the milestones at her age of 3 years, 3 months and 3 weeks. These books include ' The development coursework guide for GCSE' By Valerie Hall and Heather Brenand, and a 'Child development comprehensive text for GCSE' also by Heather Brenand and Valerie Hall. Hilary's development on physical skills is at a crucial point because she attends a pre-school.

Physical Development

I referred to the text books I have been provided, to see if Hilary is able to do the milestones at her age of 3 years, 3 months and 3 weeks. These books include 'The development course work guide for GCSE' by Valerie Hall and Heather Brenand , and a 'Child Development Comprehensive text guide for GCSE' also by Heather Brenand and Valerie Hall. Hilary's development on physical skills is at a crucial point because she now attends a pre-school and Sunday school where she will learn a lot about her development. Attending the pre-school and Sunday school will also speed up her learning.
Join now!


Physical development is when a child uses his/her muscles, both gross and fine, to improve the way that they do things. E.g. by learning how to ride a tricycle.

Growth development is the way the child changes in their appearance, e.g. by growing taller.

Gross motor skills

At 3 years and 3 months the child that I am studying should be able to walk and run forwards with out bumping into things, walk on tip toes, kick a ball and throw it over arm. Be able to catch a ball with extended arms, pedal and ...

This is a preview of the whole essay