Case Study of a Child

Age 5
DAISY ALFARO
EDU 220 - 1001
 Summary:
Physical Development
- Tons of movement
- - Small tasks
- - Recuperation time
Psychosocial/Social
Development
- - Creating friendships
- - Involved in Play
- - Understanding gender roles
Emotional Development
- - Very expressive
- - Start to understand feelings
Moral/Character
-
Development
- Right versus Wrong
- Consequences for
Cognitive/Intellectual
behaviors
Development
- - Make sense of thoughts
- - Need for social interactions
 - Children in this age are constantly
Physical participating in some type of physical activity
They are dressing themselves
Development
-

- Can use the restroom on their own

Characteristics - Muscle growth is at a fast pace

(University Washington, 1993)

- Have greater control when it comes to small
motor skills
- A lot of climbing and jumping up and down

(Child Development Institute, 2015)

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed

under CC BY-SA
Physical Development According
to Snowman:
- Children at this age need a lot of rest time, this is due to
the vast amount of energy used during their physical
activity.
- Children at this age, “…may be quite clumsy…”
(Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2015, pg. 77) in terms of
motor skills, since large muscles are being developed
- They will need help with certain tasks that require the use
of their smaller muscles because of this
- Sight is not fully developed at this age, big font and
simple programs are best

(Snowman & McCown, 2015)

Observation:
Physical Development
I observed this 5-year-old girl named Merari,
and she was very active and especially loved
to dance and run. This did not change with the
environment either. Whether she was inside or
outside, she was still going at it. When dancing
she would twirl and jump up and down. These
kinds of movements are common in children
this age (Child Development Institute, 2015).
She was quite aware of her surroundings, did
not slip or fall easily. She was also able to use
the restroom on her own when necessary.
Occasionally some small breaks were taken
from her activity by playing in a more relaxed
way or even to watch a show. After some time
of her relaxed pace, she would go back to her
normal excessive use of physical activity.
Physical Development
Recommendations:
- “Provide plenty of opportunities for children to run, climb,
and jump. Arrange these activities, as much as possible, so
that they are under your control.” (Snowman, J. &
McCown, R., 2015, pg. 77)
- Ensure a well nourished diet, to help sustain muscle
growth (University of Washington, 1993).

- Allow your child to pick toys they prefer

- - Toys should be suitable for age
- (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017)
 - Children at this age are very expressive and
share their emotions constantly. These emotions
can come in all shapes and sizes.
Emotional - They are at a stage that requires a need to
determine these feelings
Development (Snowman & McCown, 2015)
Characteristics
- “Often is bossy, belligerent; goes to extremes,
bossy then shy; frequently whines, cries, and
complains.” (University of Washington, 1993,
Emotional Development: Five to Six years)
- Children at this age are starting to develop self -
esteem – dealing with insecurities
(University of Washington, 1993)
Emotional Development According
Snowman:
- “…tend to express their emotions freely and openly. Anger
outbursts are frequent.” (Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2015,
pg.80)
- Most outbursts are said to happen under certain
circumstances such as fatigue and hunger (Snowman &
McCown, 2015).
- Children at this age should be helped in distinguishing the
motives behind their emotions, leading to an easier time
welcoming those emotions (Snowman & McCown, 2015).
- “…kindergarten children have much affection for the teacher
and actively seek approval…” (Snowman, J. & McCown, R.,
2015, pg. 81), this is one of the many way’s jealousy is portrayed
at this age.
Observation:
Emotional Development
Merari was usually very happy and very open
about her emotions. I noticed that she would get very
jealous to the point of an increase in anger at times.
This occurred when people were having
conversations, and she could not take any one’s
attention on herself after some time. This kind of anger
and jealousy showed itself the most when the
conversations were between family members. I
assumed it was because they are the people she
looked up to the most. The people she runs to for
attention and personal needs. I also noticed that a
couple nights in the week before bed time when she
would fight sleep. She would cry repeatedly out of
frustration before resting. Merari has a lot of self-
esteem, and views herself in a positive way. She loves
posing for pictures and being the center of attention.
Recommendations for Emotional
Development:

 - Guide child in processing their emotions

 - Give child recognition for helpful behavior, this will lead to better
behavior and relieve child of insecurities
 - Children appreciate constant recognition from parents
 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2017)

 - Give children at this age the chance to engage in conversation

that is meaningful to them
 - Recognize their ability to do things on their own, this also helps
relieve insecurities
 (University of Washington, 1993)
 - Scaffolding can be used to help children at this
age learn effectively (Snowman & McCown,
2015)
- “Tries only what he/she can accomplish; will
Cognitive/ follow instructions and accept supervision.”
Intellectual (University of Washington, 1993, Intellectual
Development: Five to Six years)
Development - Developing a use of language, may have
Characteristics trouble with certain words (University of
Washington, 1993)
- Makes do with a lot of words, without
understanding them (Child Development Institute,
2015)

- Can classify specific concepts; “Knows colors

numbers, colors, etc…” (University of Washington,
1993, Intellectual Development: Five to Six years)
Cognitive/Intellectual
Development According to Piaget:
- Children between ages two to seven, are in the
Preoperational stage, meaning they must, “…overcome
perceptual centration, irreversibility, and egocentrism.”
(Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2015, pg. 41)
- They cannot understand other people’s perceptions of
things, can not easily switch processes, and focus too
much on one thing at a time (Snowman J. & McCown,
R., 2015, pg. 42)
- Previous encounters that children this age go through,
can help contribute to their cognitive development.
(Snowman & McCown, 2015)
Cognitive/Intellectual
Development According to
Vygotsky:
- Vygotsky believed that social interactions should be used to progress
cognitive development in young children.
- A need for obtaining psychological tools, “…cognitive devices and
procedures with which we communicate and explore the world
around us.” (Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2015, pg.51)
- Children need those around them to succeed, “…a child’s potential
level of mental development can be brought about only by
introducing the more advanced thought processes of another
person.” (Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2015, pg. 53)
Observation: Cognitive/
Intellectual

During my observation, I noticed that Merari did

align heavily with Piaget’s terms, egocentrism and
centration. This was made especially clear when she
would either get disciplined, or when she did not get
something that she wanted due to one or two small
details. For example, one time during the observation
we decided to eat together. I got chicken and Merari
insisted on getting the same thing. Yet, because my
chicken looked maybe a little bit more grilled than her
piece of chicken, she threw a huge fit and said that
they were not the same thing. This was her inability to
take her focus off one detail of the food we were
going to consume.
Observation Cont.

This one detail did not allow her to see that despite the
extra grilling my piece of chicken received, they were still
the same meals. In terms of her egocentrism, she could
never understand why she received discipline for actions
that in her eyes seemed excusable. Merari also gave a
great example of using her social interactions towards her
learning, she looked to myself and other adults for
questions she had about anything that sparked her
curiosity. She also presented her manners and use of
language well, which according to Vygotsky is a great
example of using psychological tools (Snowman &
McCown, 2015).
Recommendations for
Cognitive/Intellectual Development:

- “Any activities that give them the opportunity to use creativity and
imagination are good since they help your child develop the cognitive skills,
they will need to solve problems and understand new concepts.” (Child
Development Institute, 2015, paragraph 4)
- “Help your child develop good language skills by speaking to him in
complete sentences and using “grown up” words. Help him to use the correct
words and phrases.” (Centers for Disease Control and Protection, 2017,
paragraph 2)
- “Establish firm and consistent limits regarding unacceptable behavior, explain
the reasons for these as soon as the child is able to understand, listen to
complaints of child…” (Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2015, pg.82)
- Embrace children’s abilities, ensure that their actions are acknowledged
(Snowman & McCown, 2015).
 Psychosocial/
- Takes part in play time and friendliness
Social with mostly everyone
Development - Chooses to play with those of the
same gender more often than not
Characteristics - Enjoy copying adults around them
(University of Washington, 1993)

- Develop close friendships, but these

can change rapidly (PBS Parents, 2017)
Psychosocial/Social Development
According to Erikson:
- The stage in Erikson’s theory for the age of 5 is known as Initiative vs
Guilt.
- ““…the quality of undertaking, planning, and ‘attacking’ a task for
the sake of being active and on the move.”” (Snowman, J. &
McCown, R., 2015, pg.29)
- The guilt comes in to place when children are not given the chance
to take part in their need to initiate, “…if children of this age are
restricted and made to feel that their activities and have no point or
are a nuisance to adults and older siblings, they will feel guilty about
acting on their own.” (Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2015, pg.29)
- Require plenty of chances to engage in adventures that boosts the
need to initiate (Snowman & McCown, 2015).
 Observation:
Psychosocial/Social
Development
During my observation, I participated in
vast amounts of play time with Merari and
watched how she would take her experiences
from her day, or just anything that came to
her mind and use those things to have fun. As
mentioned in one of the earlier slides, children
who participate in play will mimic adults and
the people around them. Merari would do this
when playing and would even use the
experiences that she was not a huge fan of
that had happened to her earlier in the day.
During her play time, rather than being the
one in trouble or being at the weak end of
what happened, she was the one in charge
of the situation.
Observation Cont.

For example, we were playing with a toy ball and she

told me to throw it far. As I did this, she then told me, “No,
Daisy. You are not supposed to throw the ball that far.” I
wondered where this came from, and it was later revealed
by her mother that she got in trouble at school in the day
for an action like the one she had me recreate. While it did
make me laugh, it was very interesting to see how her play
time allowed her to address the harsh and interesting
experiences in her every day life. This was just one out of
many situations where she utilized her siblings and I in play
time that included actions such as this.
Recommendations for
Psychosocial/Social Development

- - “Encourage your child to play with other children. This helps

him to learn the value of sharing and friendship.” (Center for
Disease Control and Prevention, 2017, paragraph )

- - Help create specific areas for their play time

- - Ensure opportunities with appropriate play props/sets
- (Child Development Institute, 2015)

- - Establish play dates with other children, helps your child in

the friendship making process. (PBS Parents, 2017)
 - Children at this age are concerned with what is
acceptable/appropriate, learn from those around

Moral/Character them
- Are prone to doing anything necessary to do what
is acceptable
Development - Need a lot of care when mistakes are made

Characteristics (University of Washington, 1993)

- “Children want to be viewed as helpers…” (PBS

Parents, 2017, paragraph 3)
- “…age-appropriate tasks that contribute to the
well-being of their family.” (PBS Parents, 2017,
paragraph 1) help children at this age learn how to
be responsible for their actions.
Moral/Character Development
According to Kohlberg:
- The level that children are at in Kohlberg’s stages of Moral reasoning,
is the Preconventional Morality level
- At this level there are stages involving discipline and rewards –
Punishment-obedience orientation and Instrumental relativist
orientation. Children learn what is right and what is wrong through
these two things when they behave in certain ways. What will gain
them a reward, or what will cause them to get disciplined.
(Snowman & McCown, 2015)

- “Punishment-obedience orientation. The physical consequences of

an action determine goodness or badness.” (Snowman, J. & McCown,
R., 2015, pg.61)
- “Obeying rules should bring some sort of benefit in return.” (Snowman,
J. & McCown, R., 2015, pg.61)
Observation:
Moral/ Character
Development
Merari was pretty good at determining
which of her actions were good and which
were wrong. Yet even though this was the case,
there were a couple of times that I witnessed
her misbehave on purpose. Even though she
knew that some of her actions were not going
to receive any rewards in return, she would still
go on ahead and do them. This made trying to
understand the reasoning behind her actions
difficult at times, and I could tell that it was
quite frustrating for her parents.
Observation cont.

Although it was not always okay when she did this,

there were other times that I found her doing these actions
as to find a way to be funny to her family or friends.
Sometimes she would even ask me to join her before she
acted out, and she would whisper what she wanted to do
because she knew she had to be sneaky. I figured that the
whispering and sneakiness revealed that she was aware,
but that in the end if there was any laughter from the
actions, then that was what she took as her reward.
 Recommendations for
Moral/Character Development:
- Children may lie
- guide them on owning this and other kinds of behaviors with care and love
- Try not to be too harsh if they misbehave constantly
- (University of Washington, 1993)

- Set boundaries so that they may learn to manage behaviors or actions on

their own
- Come to terms as parents on what is to be expected of your child, this will
keep expectations steady and direct
- (Child Development Institute, 2015)

- “Help them see honesty as an act of courage and responsibility — something

worth striving for.” (PBS Parents, 2017, paragraph 3)
References:

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017). Child development. Retrieved
from https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/childdevelopment/facts.html
Child Development Institute (2015). The ages and stages of child development. Retrieved
from https://childdevelopmentinfo.com/ages-stages/#.WR3Id_QrLrc
PBS Parents. (2017). Child development tracker Ages 2- 8. Retrieved
from http://www.pbs.org/parents/child-development/
Snowman, J. & McCown, R. (2015). Psychology Applied to Teaching, 14th ed. Stamford, CT:
Cengage Learning.
University of Washington. (1993). Child development: Using the child development
guide. Retrieved from
http://depts.washington.edu/allcwe2/fosterparents/trainingg/chidev/cd06.htm