Cody McEachern

3/26/2017

Person Paper 1

PSY 1100

Corben was to be the greatest football star to walk the planet or so dad thought

as the news of his wifes pregnancy first came to him. He wanted a boy to carry on the

family name and to protect his baby girls who were sure to follow. All these amazing

hopes and dreams of his sons life came to him in a flash. Mom wanted a boy as well for

some of the same reasons dad did. He would be Big Brother for the rest of their kids.

Stacy and Jon were going to have a baby! They had been married just a few months

and Jon was working his way from his Associate's degree onward to his Bachelors in

business. Stacy had just finished her associates and was planning on staying home with

the newborn baby and try to find work from home.

They were poor college students trying to make it day to day and week to week.

Stacy was just two years younger than Jon but she was mature and understanding of

the hardships of life. Jon was experienced in the world of work and was quite handy

which made saving money on the repairs to their little home they had decided to buy

together a little easier. Stacy was from rural Utah and Jon was a Northwesterner and

adventure lover. They complimented each others weaknesses with each others

strengths. They will make great parents!

Jon and Stacy are extremely excited for their new baby and are hyper-actively

looking for answers to all their questions. At 18 weeks Jon and Stacy get an ultrasound
to confirm the gender of the baby. To the elation of both Jon and Stacy they will have a

baby boy indeed. They go both took PSY 1100 at SLCC from a great professor so they

have a pretty good understanding of the whole process of conception and birth but still

look deeper to prepare in the best way they can for Corben. Stacy and Jon decide

together to have their baby naturally and not have a C-section. As Stacy comes to full

term with baby Corben at 38 weeks, her doctors come to her with bad news. Corben is

not in proper position to be delivered naturally in a safe way for both her and Corben.

(Berger, 60 & 61) Jon is faced with this scary prospect of losing his new beloved wife

and baby in one fell swoop of fate, or trust the doctors and any God he believes in to

bring his son and wife through this trial alive and well. Jon and Stacy take the C-Section

option and both Stacy and Corben make it safely home without complication.

With a scary beginning to life Corben is strong and healthy. Jon and Stacy know

that learning starts right from the very first moments of life and were careful in their

planning to provide diverse types of stimulation for Corben. Doing all of this because

they know that if there is a great lack in stimulation it can stunt brain development.

(Berger 96)

Knowing the three basic theories of infant learning being; teaching, social

interaction, and self teaching, Jon and Stacy feel that a conglomerate approach is most

accurate (Berger 123). They balance Corbens social interaction with teaching him

themselves while giving him opportunity to learn things on his own. As Corben reaches

18 months he is starting to grasp words and meaning of symbols and gestures. He is

also getting to the point where Mom doesnt always have to be around. Corben is

becoming more confident in himself and his ability to be alone. (Berger 151)
 Now into Corbens 3rd year and he is talking up a storm. He communicates at an

extremely high level for his age. Through the balanced early development that his

parents provided he is excelling in his learning. Corben also has a great feeling for the

soul of all things.(Berger 168) This pre-operational intelligence stage that Corben is in

gives him great imagination and feeling that can turn from gentle care of others to self

centered pretty quickly. This behavior continues until about age 6.

Through these early years of development for Corben he was able to interact

with his peers at a preschool. Corben had a wonderful teacher and was able to make

friends quickly. There was a time that he hit another child because the other child was

being mean to him and stole his hot wheels. He had an experience with reactive

aggression and was not happy that day. (Berger 220) Corben learned a valuable lesson

on sharing that day.

As Corben is starting elementary school Jon and Stacy decide to put him through

public school to give him the opportunity to be around many of his peers and have a

diverse social experience. They both know that this is a crucial point of development

and do their best to monitor and be involved in Corbens learning and development both

socially and academically. One thing that concerns Stacy and Jon is the lack of exercise

that Corben is getting in school. He loves to play and be outside but the time that is

given to him to play outside is being limited greatly by a school board. She sets out to

make a change. Through her efforts and many others she is able to provide her son with

more adequate exercise. The school board sees improvement in academics as they

make more frequent recess a priority for their kids. (Berger 242)
 As Corben goes through 5th and 6th grade his teachers to bring it to Jon and

Stacys attention that Corben gets very restless in class and is sometimes distracting to

the other kids. It is accurately diagnosed over a few months as a mild case of ADHD.

(Berger 271) He struggles to focus in class but seems to excel in making friends and

being the guy that will stand up to the bullies and be able to defuse problems before

they happen. One day Corben comes home with a bloody nose and Jon and Stacy are

a little worried as Corben tells them about the kid he stood up for walking home from

school. The bully got the first punch in but Corben got the last. His dad had taught him

that you never start anything, but you dang well better finish things.

As Corben moves into middle school and high school he becomes a great athlete

and the little guys hero. He stands up for the little guys and does his best to make

friends with everybody. At home his family is strong and stable, this creates an

environment that fosters these values as they are taught. (Berger 290)

It is almost time now for Corben to leave the house. He is in his senior year and

has plans to play basketball at a local college on scholarship and make a name for

himself. All the things that have been taught to him over his first 18 years of life are

about to be tested in every way imaginable. Will he stick to his guns and be who he truly

believes himself to be in this very moment? Only time will tell

Berger, Kathleen Stassen. Invitation to the Life Span: Second Edition. Second ed.

N.p.: Worth; 3 Edition, 2014. Print.