Class/Secti

on:
Your
Name:
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t:

FHS 1500-004
Erika Lighthall
Observation 1

Background Information
Childs age:
Fictitious
name:
Location:
Brief
Description:

24 months
Jamie
Private day care center in West Jordan.
There were six children (one to three years old) and one
adult. Margaret used to be a stay at home mother, her
children are grown, and she missed the interaction. So she
opened a day care center.

Physical Development
Jamie seems to be the average size of a 2-year-old. She was about 2
and a half feet tall, which is about half the height of her full grown size
(Berger p92). Jamie was born with a cleft lip and has to undergo many
surgeries. Being born with a cleft lip is caused by a teratogen, which is
anythingdrugs, viruses, pollutants, malnutrition, stress, and morethat
increases the risk of prenatal abnormalities (Berger p72). My son was also
born with a cleft, which is why I think I chose this girl to do my paper on. I
was told by the day care provider that Jamie was also born preterm. She only
weighed about 3 pounds at birth. The World Health Organization states a
child born at that size is grouped into the very low birth weight category
(Berger p78). This child had a hard first few months of her life, not to
mention the hard time she will continue to have and it astonishes me how
amazingly resilient little ones can be.

Cognitive Development
This child is 24 months old so I would expect her to be walking very
well, talking, and interacting with her peers. She did all that and so much
more. I feel she is advanced for her age,
She talked much more than the other kids and understood more than the
other kids. The timing of language acquisitions varies; the most advanced
10 percent of 2-year-olds speak more than 550 words, and the least

advanced 10 percent speak fewer than 100 words (Berger p120). Her
grammar was impeccable for a 2-year-old. Most 2-year-olds can put 2 to 3
words together in the proper word order (Berger p123). Jamie however could
speak in entire sentences, putting anywhere from 3 to 10 words together.
Jamie and 2 of the other girls (16 months and 2 and a half) where in the
backyard playing in the mud, they were making mud pies. I remember
making mud pies as a child and I was so please to see kids still do that. As
Berger states on page 116, Stage-six kids pretend. Their imaginations are
incredible and they finally have the ability to think of metal combinations.

Social/Emotional Development
Jamie seemed to be louder than most the other kids. She was the one
that needed to be center of attention. She seems to understand why she
wasnt allowed to do thing more than the other children too, but reacted
more intensely than the others when things didnt go her way. As Berger
states anger and fear become more focused and targeted and also louder.
Jamie was however was louder than even the 3-year-olds (Berger p134).
Jamie is not yet potty trained and from what the care giver says she is
against it completely. Her mother wanted her to be out of diapers so bad that
she tried to force her starting right after her first birth. Doing so, she had
become resistant to it. If toilet training is overly strict or if it begins before
the infant is mature enough, parents and toddlers can become locked in a
conflict (Berger p150). Jamie didnt seem to have any separation anxiety
when her mother dropped her off. Separation anxiety usually subsides by
age 2 (Berger p133) so that wasnt much of a surprise, however the 2 and a
half year old girl has major separation anxiety anytime the care giver was
out of sight.
Reference List
Berger, K. S. (2014). Invitation to the life span (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Worth
Publishers