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Running Head: PEPSI SCREENING: MALIYAH SOTO

PEPSI SCREENING: Maliyah Soto

Lizeth I. Reyes

Department of Education, College of Southern Nevada

EDU 220: Principles of Educational Psychology

Dr. Rochelle Hooks

March 22, 2020

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Biography

Maliyah is a ten-year-old girl who is in 5th grade, preparing to go into middle school. She

is my second youngest sibling. She is living with two loving parents, and with five siblings.

When the recession hit years ago, Maliyah was still a toddler. With money being tight, her stay-

at-home father took care of her and raised her while her mom worked. She admires both her

parents, but she grew a strong bond with her father growing up. Although we have the same

mother, Maliyah’s father is not my biological father. Up until recently, Maliyah and her younger

brother Felix, finally understood that I have another father, and that he is in another state. Her

mother works as a Medical Assistant in a clinic, while her father works in construction.

We moved to a new neighborhood last summer and that affected her with her new school,

and new changes. She only knew her life in the old house, which was hard for her to make new

memories and friends in this new house we currently live in. She loves to create new art with

paper and make dance moves in her room. She is close to our mother and would help her with

anything that she can.

She does not bother anybody in the house because she keeps her business to herself. If

she has a problem with something, she will try to fix it on her own, and if she cannot, then she

will ask the older ones for help. Maliyah is growing up to believe her own beliefs, but she tries to

ignore any negative comments her two teenage sisters tell her.

Her style is completely different from any of her sisters’; colorful ponytails, bright color

pants and shirts, and bright pink glasses. Every Sunday, she goes to church with her family and

knows the prayers by heart. She may be the second youngest child in the house, but she still

holds big responsibilities in the house. She oversees a house key and will walk with her younger

brother to the bus stop, and back home.

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Physical Development

Maliyah’s physical development is still in the middle childhood stage. She weighs 77

pounds and her height is 4’9 inches. She may be tall and thin in our family, but she is short

compared to her other classmates. She likes to eat until she is full and will save the rest for later.

She is a healthy child and does not have a record of health problems in the family. She sleeps a

lot, an average of 10 hours a night. Grainger (2018) states in an article that children who are ten

years old should get approximately nine to nine and a half hours of sleep at night.

Maliyah is at a stage where she is always active and hyper about anything. Her parents

will call her from downstairs and she runs down the stairs to respond. She always has energy to

do something new. She jumps and runs with her younger brother around the house. Small and

large muscle coordination are kept balanced throughout her daily activities. In a Michigan State

University article, the author states that children start to “experience a steady increase in large

muscle development, strength, balance and coordination” (Stewart 2018). It is normal for her to

fall if she does, and to get back up like if nothing happened.

She likes to dance a lot when she is not doing anything. She starts snaps her fingers and

starts to lift her legs and stomp while moving her hands up in the air. She is fascinated with

cheerleading, soccer, and volleyball. The sport she loves the most is tetherball. She swings high

and hits the ball hard.

Another physical development growth with Maliyah is that her baby teeth already fell out

and are replaced with adult teeth. According to C.S, Mott Children’s Hospital, children by the

age of ten experience losing their baby teeth (Staff 2018).

Maliyah is starting to grow out her clothes, which may be a sign of puberty. Her arms and

legs are getting longer. In an article for advocates of youth, they state that rapid growth can start
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to happen around her hips, and bones but that the muscles will start to hurt while this is occurring

(2008). Maliyah complains about her stomach pains that pop up occasionally. She got them

recently and experience pain in the lower area of the abdomen.

Emotional Development

Maliyah’s emotional development is right on track. She knows that she is valuable

because she does not care what people say about her. I noticed that she does not get upset right

away when her older sisters tell her something mean, and she tries to brush it off and ignore

them. A comment from the author in the book Psychology applied to teaching states that “self-

esteem or self-worth refers to the overall or global evaluation people make of themselves”

(Snowman 2015). Maliyah knows her values and does not let the comments of her peers or her

sisters get in her way of having a good day.

In an online statement by Kidcentral, they state that children are leading to adolescence

and start to express their emotions out of nowhere, including anger and frustration (“Social and

Emotional Development” 2018). I noticed that Maliyah starts to cry when her older brother tells

her to do her chores and takes the phone away from her. She does not listen to them of the result

of them calling her names. When she does show some type of emotion, they are strong. She

screams while crying and will not stop until her mother comes in between the argument.

I witnessed when she was laughing with her younger brother, and they get along

compared to the older girls. She cares about her parents and her younger brother because they are

the one that respect her and take the time to talk with her.

Her emotions switch up right away with her sisters. If she sees her older sister upset, she

sits next to her and is quiet feeling sad. Her sisters are going through puberty and Maliyah is
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aware that she is going to go through that too. She is starting to ask questions to her sisters and

her mom.

Maliyah has crushes here and there in her classes. She starts to see the boys from a

different perspective. Our mother states that she likes a lot of boys in her school. “She likes three

in her class. Maliyah is a player because she likes a different boy the next week.” She is starting

to be attracted to boys, and she According to an article from “GoodtoKnow,” it is normal for

children in this age group to be interested in their opposite- sex and try to impress them (2017).

She gets happy when the day is Monday, because she will get to see her crushes for five days.

Philosophical Development

I watched Maliyah grow up and become the person who she is. She is independent and

does not rely on others to get something done. In her philosophical development, she knows the

difference of what is wrong and right. Although she knows both concepts, she does not care if

she does good or bad in order to get what she wants. She believes that everything happens for a

reason, and she knows nobody is going to change her beliefs. When it comes to saving herself

from getting grounded or taking her phone away, she tries to throw her siblings under the bus to

get a less extreme punishment. She would lie sometimes, but when she gets caught, she stays

quiet and admits it. In an article, the author explains that children will lie because they want to fit

in with others and will copy others (Hartwell-Walker 2018). Although, if she knows she is

saying the truth, she will stick with it and defend it.

She is at a phase where if she is not participating or invited by her sisters to do things, she

will tell her parents what her siblings are doing if it is unsafe or not allowed. She will snitch on

them right away if they are stealing clothes from me or grabbing Maliyah’s things. According to

Psychology Today, the author states that “8- to 10-year-olds believed that it was appropriate to
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tattle about serious wrong-doing, such as stealing, but not about trivial misbehavior, such as

someone not eating vegetables at lunch” (Kennedy-Moore 2018). She does not care if the sisters

get mad at her, because she believes that if they are mean to her, she will get her parents to do

something about it.

If the parents do not punish her siblings and nothing changes, Maliyah would take it in

her hands to make justice. One observation that I watched was that Maliyah wanted to watch tv

in the living room, and right when she was getting the control, the 14-year-old girl grabbed the

control and said that it is her turn to watch tv. Seeing that her parents were not home, Maliyah

went to her room and planned her revenge. She goes to her sister’s room and rips her cover

sheets. She got in trouble and admitted doing that because she did not care to what happens to

her because she was satisfied with her sister being mad. “Developmental milestones for fourth

and Fifth Graders” states that children in this age range will start to predict the consequences and

will plan to make it work (Morin 2019). Maliyah plans all her revenges well and never regrets it,

even if she gets grounded for it.

Social Development

Maliyah’s social development is on the right path. She can talk to anybody without

struggling and can continue for a good time. She can hold a conversation with both of her parents

and her siblings. Maliyah’s mother knows that Maliyah can do things on her own, and of a result

their conversations have changed. Maliyah likes to talk to her mom and dad about middle school

and what her new dance moves are. An article comments that a ten-year-old girl has a loving

connection towards their family and likes some quiet time in their room for privacy (Alli 2019).

Maliyah usually hides in her room and draws while listening to music. Maliyah considers this as

her “spa time.”

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Maliyah gets home and starts calling her friend and they talk and laugh. She has one best

friend that she trusts and invites to the house. They stay in Maliyah’s room and talk about school

or other interest that they have in common. In a developmental milestone article, the author

states that the child may start to be with their friends rather than with her parents (Loop 2016). It

is normal for a ten-year-old girl to have a best friend and to talk about boys and other things like

dancing, cheerleading or the teacher that had a bad day.

At school, she has a lot of friends from different classes. Maliyah likes to talk to them on

the phone and she stays on top of what is new in their social circle. This also causes some

pressure from her parents because Maliyah asks for new things that are on trend and expensive.

Maliyah asked them for an IPhone 11 pro-max, yet nobody in their house can afford that in such

short notice. Her parents talked to her about it and made her realize that things like that should

not matter. She forgets and asks for other things days later.

She wants to be included with the materials her friends have. An article states that “Your

10-year-old may feel obliged to follow fashion trends. They’ll be more worried about fitting into

certain circles where they think they belong” (Jonson 2018). Maliyah is at a phase where she

thinks she needs to impress her friends constantly to stay in the circle, but she has conversation

with her parents and older sisters explaining that those things do not matter to have friends.

Intellectual Development

Maliyah’s intellectual development is slower than other areas. She can read for a long

period of time, but she cannot seem to understand what she read. She forgets to break the

sentences apart to know what is happing in the story. If she is asked to summarize the story, she

is puzzled and gets frustrated with herself. Maliyah gets tired of reading and not understanding

what is happening, so she gets bored from it and does not try anymore to read. On her report
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card, her grades indicate that she is behind in Reading and in Writing. In the article, “Reading

Skills: What to Expect at Different Ages” the author addresses that children in this age group

should be able to identify and summarize the plot of the story (Morin 2019). Maliyah reading

comprehension is not where it needs to be, but her parents do not know what they can offer

Maliyah to help her.

Maliyah may be struggling with reading, but she has a strength in science, and in math.

She practices a lot her multiplication and division. When she gets money from her parents, she

goes to her room and counts it with her other money to know exactly how much she has. When

her older brother quizzes her with math problems, she answers them quick and they are right all

the time. According to the article “10-Year-Old Child Development Milestones Your child’s

growth and development at age 10” the writer states that the “10-year-old will start to practice

more mental math skills and will be increasingly more able to use logic and abstract thinking to

solve verbal math problems” (Morin 2019).

She likes to research the science behind slime and how to make it. She likes to do hands-

on activities when it is about science. She is a visual and kinesthetic learner. Instead of writing

about the project, she likes to talk about it or demonstrate. Maliyah can also solve puzzles or

create something out of Lego pieces like a ship or a house. She can make something out of

nothing, and it will be her masterpiece. She watches YouTube tutorials to inspire herself into

creating a phone case out of hot glue. According to J’ Anne Ellsworth, she states that “many

youngsters begin to pursue education outside of school for personal satisfaction” (Ellsworth

1999). Maliyah is very creative with her home projects and she makes it clear that she wants to

be in fashion when she grows up. She likes to explore new things and be able to use her sensory

skills to use.
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PEPSI SCREENING: MALIYAH SOTO
Graph

10-year age norm: 60

This chart shows Maliyah’s PEPSI developmental stage.

Physical: Maliyah is below the age norm in this area.

Emotional: She has strong emotions for her age, and is aware of them.

Philosophical: She has an average mean for her philosophical development.

Social: Maliyah is at the age norm in her social development.

Intellectual: Maliyah has poor development level than the age norm.
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Recommendations for parents

Physical Development

 Parents should take Maliyah and her siblings to the park more often

 Limit Maliyah’s use of technology, and encourage her to play outdoors

 Let her join sports, such as cheerleading or dance

Emotional Development

 Maliyah’s parents can create family time to help her and her sisters communicate better

 Parents can talk to Maliyah about what to do when others are disrespectful or unkind.

 Become involved with Maliyah’s interest and goals.

Philosophical Development

 Parents should listen to what Maliyah’s beliefs are and start to understand her

perspective.

 Encourage Maliyah to take her own decisions without being influenced by others.

 Maliyah can be given more responsibilities around the house.

Social Development

 The family can make family game nights to help Maliyah and her sisters’ bond and

interact better.

 Let Maliyah hangout with her good friends and meet their family.

 Talk with Maliyah about how to be respectful towards others and treat them how she

wants to be treated.

Intellectual Development

 Create a calm area where she can read and be relaxed to do her homework, with no

distractions such as TV or electronic devices.

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 Encourage Maliyah to think about skills and she would like to have and about how to

develop them.

 Introduce new books that interest Maliyah and talk to her about her homework.
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References

Alli, R. A. (2019, April 19). Your Daughter at 10: Milestones. Retrieved from

https://www.webmd.com/parenting/guide/daughter-10-milestones

GoodtoKnow January 2. (2020, January 8). Child development stages: Ages 6-12 the mid years.

Retrieved from https://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/family/child-development-stages-ages-6-12-

4735

Ellsworth, J. A. (1999). Retrieved from

http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~jde7/ese504/class/pepsi/PEPSIObserv/year10.html

Grainger, L. (2019, June 25). How much sleep do kids need? Retrieved from

https://www.todaysparent.com/kids/school-age/how-much-sleep-should-your-kids-get/

Growth and Development, Ages Nine to 12-What Parents Need to Know. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://advocatesforyouth.org/resources/health-information/parents-15/

Hartwell-Walker, M. (2018, October 8). When a Child Lies. Retrieved from

https://psychcentral.com/lib/when-a-child-lies/

Jonson, S. (2018, October 8). 10-Year-Old Child Developmental Milestones. Retrieved from

https://www.feedfond.com/10-year-old-developmental-milestones/

Kennedy-Moore, E. (2018, June 30). Why Kids Tattle and What to Do About It. Retrieved from

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/growing-friendships/201806/why-kids-tattle-and-

what-do-about-it

Loop, E. (2016, June 2). Developmental Milestones for 3-11-year olds. Retrieved from

https://www.squaggle.com.au/blog/developmental-milestones-3-11-year-olds/

Morin, A. (2019, October 16). Developmental Milestones for Fourth and Fifth Graders. Retrieved

from https://www.understood.org/en/learning-thinking-differences/signs-
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symptoms/developmental-milestones/developmental-milestones-for-typical-fourth-and-fifth-

graders

Morin, A. (2019, October 16). Reading Skills: What to Expect at Different Ages. Retrieved from

https://www.understood.org/en/learning-thinking-differences/signs-symptoms/age-by-age-

learning-skills/reading-skills-what-to-expect-at-different-ages?

_ul=1*1p4n4rt*domain_userid*YW1wLWxUVl9rRHRLZmZLVTh4SElkUHV2bkE.

Morin, A. (2019, June 26). What to Expect From Your 10-Year-Old. Retrieved from

https://www.verywellfamily.com/10-year-old-developmental-milestones-620710

Snowman, J., & McCown, R. R. (2015). Psychology applied to teaching (14th ed.).

Social and Emotional Development: Ages 8-10. (2018). Retrieved from

https://www.kidcentraltn.com/development/8-10-years/social-and-emotional-development-ages-

8-10.html

Staff, H. (2018, December 12). Milestones for 10-Year-Olds. Retrieved from

https://www.mottchildren.org/health-library/ue5722

Stewart, J., & Michigan State University. (2018, September 20). 9- to 11-year-olds: Ages and stages

of youth development. Retrieved from

https://www.canr.msu.edu/news/9_to_11_year_olds_ages_and_stages_of_youth_development