ECE252-2001 Social Emotional Observation

Part A: Emotional
1a. Record an objective observation of a display of fear (include exact age of child and
setting). This observation took place in a licensed in home child care. The child observed is a 26
month old boy. Ollie was sitting on the floor stacking the nesting cups one on top of the other.
Then he would turn the cups over and stack them inside of each other. Out of nowhere there was
a loud repeated thumping nose and Ollie jumped up, screaming-crying running to the provider
who then quickly picked him up and started saying that was really loud! That nose scared me?
Did it scare you too? I’m sorry the nose scared you. It was the washing machine making that
really loud nose.” After about a minute the provider asked, “Do you want to get down and go
play with the stacking cups?” And Ollie nodded his head up and down saying “ye”. The provider
put him down on the floor and he walked back to the stacking cups he left on the floor.
1b. How is this handled by the caregiver? The provider picked him, acknowledged his fears.
And let him know what the sound was even though he may not know what it was.
1c. Was the response appropriate or inappropriate? Why or why not? I feel that the
response was appropriate because she held and comforted him. She was talking to him in a
soothing voice, letting him know that she two was scared by the loud nose.
2a. Record an objective observation of a display of anger (include exact age of child and
setting). This observation took place in a licensed in home child care. The child observed is a 20
month old girl. 20 month old Kathy is standing at the light table stacking the translucent blocks
on top of each other. Another child comes over and grabs a block from the container and starts to
stack blocks too. Kathy reaches for the block the child has and he moves his hand back and says
“No”. Kathy squeals at him and tries to go for the block again. He says to her “No Kathy” and at
that moment Kathy squeals at him and grabs his arm. The provider immediately says to Kathy
“What’s wrong Kathy? Why are you trying to take the block from him?” Kathy points at the
block the boy is holding and makes a sound. The provider says to her, “He has the block and
wants to stack too. It isn’t polite to try and take the block out of his hand. Do you want a block
like the one he has?” Kathy nods her head, making a sound. “Okay, I will help you get a red
square block like his. Here it is Kathy! See! Just like his! Now you can stack it. She takes the
block from the provider and the provider says “Thank you”.
2b. How is this handled by the caregiver? By asking Kathy questions even though she is non
verbal and asking her do she want a block like his.
2c. Was the response appropriate or inappropriate? Why or why not? I feel that it was
appropriate. Because she acknowledged that Kathy was upset but at the same time let her know
that it wasn’t okay to grab his arm and try to take the block away. The provider also helped her
find a block like the one the boy had.
3a. Using the nine temperament traits, observe and give examples of EACH in ONE child
(you may need to interview the caregiver/parent to answer some). (Include exact age of
child and setting).
Ollie age: 26 months in a licensed in-home child care.
Activity level: Ollie sits on the floor and stacks the rings on the board. He then takes
them off and puts them in a stacking cup. He gets up and goes over to the play kitchen
and puts the stacking cups in the cupboard. He grabs the plates and put them on a table
nearby. Walks to the block area and grabs a soft block, walks back to the play kitchen
ECE252-2001 Social Emotional Observation

opens the cupboard and grabs the stacking cups with the stacking rings inside and put
them on the table. He sits down at the table and pours the rings onto the table.
Rhythmicity: Ollie arrives at care around 6:15am every morning. He goes down to nap
at day care around 12:15pm and is usually sleep within 2 minutes of laying down. He
usually sleeps a solid 2 ½ hours. Upon speaking with his mom, Ollies bedtime is at
7:00pm. But lately he has not been going to sleep at that time rather reading his books
and playing with his teddy bears before drifting asleep which has been around 7:30pm.
Approach-withdrawal: In day care he approaches new activities with excitement and is
very welcoming of adult strangers into the setting. With his mom, she says he is the
same. Anyone that looks like his dad, he says “hi daddy” to them.
Adaptability: Recently Ollie has been going to physical and speech therapy. According
to mom day one he was a little resistant in the beginning but quickly got into the
activities his therapist had him do.
Attention span: Depending on the object, Ollie can play happily, un-interrupted for a
good 20 minutes at a time.
Intensity of reaction: Ollie laughs and cries really loud and hard. I observed him crying
really hard and loud at pick-up. He wanted his mom to put his jacket on but she just held
it. He immediately started crying loudly.
Threshold of responsiveness: Ollie doesn’t seem to be bothered by touch or light nor
sound. He sleeps right through a door bell ring. And if he’s still tired by turning on the
light and making noses does not wake him
Quality of mood: At drop-off early in the morning he’s always smiling and giving the
provider a hug. He seems to wake up in a very good mood from nap.
3b. In which of the 3 temperament categories would you place this child and why? Placing
this child into 1 of the 3 categories is a little challenging because for the most part he is a slow to
warm toddler in day care but with mom, he can have a temperament of a feisty, spirited, difficult
child.
3c. What advice might you give to the caregiver/parent of this child based on your
assessment? For the caregiver: With the slow to warm temperament give him time to adapt and
draw him in slowly to new situations. Allow independence to unfold. For the mom: Be flexible,
try to prepare him ahead of time for change and provide for active play. Patiently guide him and
build positive interactions.

Part B: Social
1. Record an objective observation of a child displaying Erikson’s “trust vs. mistrust”
(identify whether positive or negative). Jaredd (13 months old) cried when his mom dropped
him off at daycare. The caregiver held and soothed him letting him know that his mom would be
back to get him and that she knows he’s sad. After a few moments he stopped crying. The
caregiver went to put him down on the floor with toys but he would not let go of her. So the
provider sat on the floor with him in her lap.
I feel that this was positive in the fact that the caregiver acknowledged his feelings and was
reassuring. She also sat with him on the floor because he wasn’t ready to let her go.
ECE252-2001 Social Emotional Observation

2. Record an objective observation of a child displaying Erikson’s “Autonomy vs. shame

and doubt” (identify whether positive or negative). Ollie (26 months old) goes to the
bathroom grabs the step stool and pulls it to the front of the sink. He then walks up the two steps
holding on to the sink turns on the water and wets his hands. The provider helps him pump the
soap into his hands and he begins to sing his ABC’s loudly and smiling. The provider helps him
rinse his hands and he uses the paper towel to turn off the water with no assistance. He smilingly
gets down, put his paper towel in the trash and waits for the other children to wash their hands.
I would say this was a positive experience because he was able to wash his hands with minimum
assistance. This is a self-help skill that will follow him throughout pre-school and grade school.
3a. Record an objective observation of a guidance situation between caregiver and child
(due to individual action). Kathy (20 months old) sits on the floor and starts to play with the
leggos. Then one by one she throw the leggos on the floor. The caregiver goes over to her and
says to her “Kathy, The leggos are not a ball and we build with the legos not throw them on the
floor. The provider says to Kathy “Please pick up the leggos and put them back in the bin, I will
help you.”
3b. How is this handled by the caregiver? Was the response appropriate or inappropriate?
Why? The caregiver wasn’t yelling or angry but in a calming voice let Kathy know that the
leggos are used for building and not throwing.
4a. Record an objective observation of a guidance situation between two children (due to
interaction between children). Kathy (20 months) and Ollie (26 months) were outside during
outdoor time. Kathy gets into the red riding car and starts driving. After a minute goes by she
gets out and grabs the chalk on the ground. During this time Ollie runs to the red car and gets
inside and starts driving. Kathy drops her chalk in her hand runs to the car and tries to open the
door to get in. Ollie tries to push her arm and Kathy begins to scream. The provider comes over
and says to Kathy “What happened Kathy?” And she points to Ollie. The provider says “Oh do
you want to ride in the car?” She nods her head. And the provider says “The other red car is by
the basketball goal.” The provider points to the car and says “Come on let go get it”. They both
walk to the car, Kathy gets inside and drives off.
4b. How is this handled by the caregiver? Was the response appropriate or
inappropriate? Why? In a calming voice the caregiver is very concerned in the fact that Kathy
was not happy.
I feel that it was appropriate because she used positive words and redirected her to another car
that was the same as the one she wanted.