PICCOLO Assignment

Brigham Young University-Idaho

McKenzie Foster
 In this paper we will be explore two different domains that are used in parenting. When
raising a child, a parent has a big impact on how that child develops. The interactions that a
parent has with their child effects the way that child grows in different areas of their life. The
four domains that are focused on are affection, encouragement, responsiveness, and teaching.
Each parent has different strengths and so the PICCOLO observation has been made to help
evaluate and understand certain strengths and weaknesses in parenting.
 Encouragement
Encouragement is something is important in any relationship. It is defined as the action of
giving someone support, confidence or hope. When we are building a relationship with anyone,
we want them to support us in the things that we are doing in our lives. We want them to be
involved. When we are encouraging the people that we love to be better or try harder we are
encouraging them to grow. This brings two people together by bonding over the moments they
share together encouraging one another.
In a study done they took 124 students ranged from the ages four to eight and they chose
to put them in classrooms that have teachers that are encouraging and trying their best to help
them improve. They compared these children to the children of regular classrooms where
teachers may still have been using encouraging words and gestures but it wasn’t their main
focus. They later gave both groups of students the same test that had math and reading on it, they
compared the tests. The students that were in the classroom with the more encouraging teachers
scored higher on the tests. This shows that when children have a responsive adult that is willing
to take the time to work with them and encourage them in what they are doing they will more
likely excel in their development.
Watching the videos there were many examples of the mother showing encouragement to
her child. At the beginning the child was playing on the floor with some toys. The toy that the
child chose to play with was a toy that had many different shapes and the child was able to put
them in the correct hole. The mother was their sitting on the floor with the child which shows
that she is willing to be on the child’s level, this helps a child feel close to a parent. The next
thing that the mother did that encouraged the child was by using her words. She used phrases like
“yay, good job!” or “you got it” the child was able to hear these words and know that the mother
was giving her the full attention. The last thing that the mother did to encourage the child was by
the way that she presented herself. She child was working on the putting the toys in the right
shapes and the mother was enthusiastic and clapping her hands as the child was getting them in
the right places. She was cheering her on even when she wasn’t using words.
The mother displaying these actions when the child is so young sets the child up for a
successful life. The mother is doing her part in helping the child be motivated to grow and
change. This not only effects the child in the young years but it can affect that child for the rest
of their life. Being in an environment where someone is believing in you and displaying their
encouragement is something that the child will carry with them into their own families someday.
 Teaching
When it comes to raising a child, the caregiver needs to take the time to teach that child
different things. Sometimes parents would just rather do things for children than take the time to
teach them but in the end, you are not helping your child out at all. When a parent takes the time
to teach a child, they are setting them up to be independent in their own life. They are helping
them grow to be their own person. A parent should be explaining things to children and listening
to what the child has to say in return. When you are engaging in play with your child, physically
showing them how to do things, and talk about things a child is doing with them you are taking
the chance to teach them.
In China they did a study on children that had a lot of parent in involvement in their
youth and children that did not. Parents love their children and want them to succeed in life, but a
lot of the time they don’t have the time that they need to teach their children. In the study it
showed that the children that had parents that were responsive and took the time to teach them
had developed more in the cognitive area. The children that did not have the responsiveness and
time taken to teach from their parents were delayed in things like reading and singing.
In the video that we watched there were ways that the mom taught like naming the colors
and shapes of the blocks. She seemed distracted that the people were there filming her. Her child
showed signs that she was not interested in the toy that her mom was encouraging her to play
with but the mother still tried to get her to play with that toy. The mother took time to play the
musical instrument with her and sing this showed that the mother was trying to help her child
better understand. There were good things and not so great things in this film when it came to
teaching but something that the mother could have done was show her the letters as they sang the
alphabet song. This would have helped the child connect the letter to the name of the letter
instead of just memorizing the words to a song.
When children are able to be raised by parents that are willing to take the time to teach
them the things that they are curious about and the things that they are doing in everyday life
they are helping their child grow in different ways. Some think that if a child goes to school, they
are learning everything that they need to but that is not true. Children need to be learning all the
time, they are continuously curious about what is going on in the world around them.

Conclusion
Children are able to molded easily. The way that they are raised and the examples that
they have to follow are important to them in their later years of life. To help a child there are four
main domains that a parent or caregiver needs to make sure they are touching to help their child.
The domains are responsiveness, encouragement, teaching, and affection. When a parent is
meeting all of these domains, they are helping their child to learn and grow in different areas.
Often parents don’t think that they are knowledgeable or that they can teach their child much but
one of the biggest things that helps a child is the time that is spent with them.
 References

Kara, H. G. E., & Çoksoyluer, S. K. (2017). Encouragement of Early Academic Skills at Home
during Early Childhood Period: Validity and Reliability Study of the EASYC Scale. Universal Journal of
Educational Research, 5(12), 2294–2303. Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=eric&AN=EJ1170131&site=eds-live

Yue, A., Shi, Y., Luo, R., Chen, J., Garth, J., Zhang, J., … Rozelle, S. (2017). China’s Invisible
Crisis: Cognitive Delays among Rural Toddlers and the Absence of Modern Parenting. China
Journal, 78(1), 50–80. https://doi-org.byui.idm.oclc.org/10.1086/692290