Person One Paper

Emma Lundgren

Psych1100

Professor Lemons
Anna and James met when they were both teenagers working at a movie theater. Ten years

after meeting they got married. They started trying to get pregnant quickly after they married.

Due to health issues in James’ past, they knew it might take a little longer than normal. These

issues are what John W. Santrock calls “nonnormative life events” which are defined as

“unusual occurrences that have a major impact on the individual’s life,” (Santrock, 2020).

Two years after they married, they were announcing a pregnancy with the help of some

fertility treatments and a sperm donor. Anna and James had different reasons for choosing

the sperm donor; Anna focused more on the health and similar look factors, while James

focused more on similar personality traits and talents.

Anna had severe morning sickness throughout her pregnancy. Around 10 weeks Anna

experienced a miscarriage scare with some bleeding. At about 20 weeks pregnant Anna had

an ultrasound that had some suspicions arise for spina bifida in the fetus. “Many aspects of

the developing prenatal brain can be detected by ultrasound in the first trimester and that

about 50 percent of spina bifida cases can be identified at this time,” (Santrock, 2020). When

offered an amniocentesis to either confirm or deny these suspicions. Anna declined the

further testing due to risk to the fetus. At 36 and a half weeks Anna had a hang nail that

developed an infection. On top of that she began having high blood pressure, with that they

decided to induce to deliver the baby girl at 37 weeks gestation using Pitocin. “Oxytocin is a

hormone that promotes uterine contractions; a synthetic form called Pitocin is widely used to

decrease the duration of the first stage of labor,” (Santrock, 2020).

Amelia, who they decided to call Millie, was born at five pounds four ounces. Even with

her lower birth weight Millie thrived. At about a week old Millie was admitted to the local

children’s hospital due to a struggle to regulate her body temperature. After about 2 days she
was released from the hospital. After that Millie’s life was fairly typical for a few months;

Anna and James were working opposite shifts so someone could always be home with Millie.

When Millie was about four months old Anna discovered James unresponsive because he

had consumed so much alcohol. This was the beginning of a long downhill slope for Anna

and James’ marriage. Despite these challenges Millie continued to develop normally and

spent more time with her extended family to be babysat. Anna struggled with breastfeeding

Millie around six months old because of the stress of her marriage falling apart and Anna’s

grandmother dying. With this stress and lack of milk, Millie gained weight a little more

slowly. Anna struggled emotionally with this. She felt that her body was letting her and her

baby down. Though these feelings are common, they are unnecessary because, “there are

few, if any, long term physical and psychological differences between breast-fed and bottle-

fed infants,” (Santrock, 2020).

Millie’s motor skills developed as they should, rolling over by three months, sitting by

six months, standing by twelve months, and walking by fifteen months. All of these are

examples of gross motor skills which is defined as “skills that involve large-muscle activities,

such as moving one’s arms and walking,” (Santrock, 2020). By six months her fine motor

skills had developed some, such as grabbing at toys, and pinching utensils. Fine motor skills

are defined as “motor skills that involve more finely tuned movements, such as finger

dexterity,” (Santrock, 2020).

Millie’s language developed as it should for a while. “Long before babies say their first

words they have been communicating with their parents often by gesturing and using their

own special sounds,” (Santrock, 2020). She babbled for longer than the average baby which

could be attributed to a few different things, her being spoiled, or her doctor says it could be
the inconsistency in her home life. Millie first called a bottle a “buhle buhle” which would be

considered babbling because although Anna understood her, not everyone would. She spoke

her first word around eighteen months.

Millie’s temperament and personality have developed from the time she was born. She

was very much a girly girl. She had her preferences on Disney movies and princesses and by

about a year she was not afraid to make them known, Anna and Elsa were always a clear

favorite.

Millie was a very independent and feisty two-year-old. “Not only does the infant develop

a sense of self in the second year but independence also becomes a more central theme in the

infant’s life,” (Santrock, 2020). Millie went on vacation with Anna, Anna’s sister, and

parents. Millie insisted on “doing self” to wash hands. Unfortunately, in this endeavor Millie

fell off the toilet and hit her head. This would be an example of Erikson’s stage of

development autonomy versus shame and doubt.

Millie’s motor skills increased significantly by the time she was three. This is an example

of development in the brain and sometimes more specifically the prefrontal cortex. Millie

loved running around in circles and riding her bike. Her fine motor skills had increased leaps

and bounds; she loved putting pieces together, though she often tried to force pieces together.

Millie often tells stories of events that happened as she puts it “long days ago”.

Oftentimes these memories are stories that revolve around her and being with friends.

“Autobiographical memory involves memory of significant events and experiences in one’s

life,” (Santrock, 2020). What would seem to be a daily occurrence in my life takes more

importance in Millie’s; she will often talk about her friends, times she has seen them, new
movies she has seen, and simple day to day things to you and me but these things can be

monumental to a three-year-old.

As you may remember Millie’s mom and dad divorced when she was about two years

old. Long before that though Anna tried everything, she could to save the marriage to James

for Millie’s behalf. “If the stresses and disruptions in family relationships associated with an

unhappy marriage that erode the well-being of children are reduced by the move to a

divorced, single-parent family, divorce can be advantageous,” (Santrock, 2020). When James

threw a pan at Anna while she was feeding Millie Anna realized then that she needed to get a

divorce.

Millie is a very social little girl. She loves spending time with her friends. Millie’s friends

are highly influenced by Anna or Anna’s sister and their friends. “Social play includes varied

interchanges such as turn taking, conversations about numerous topics, social games and

routines, and physical play,” (Santrock, 2020). Millie started playing with friends at about

fifteen months old when her aunt’s friend moved closer and had a little girl similar in age.

Her friendships have taken off from there. She likes to be in charge but negotiates when

others wanted to be in charge.

Millie’s emotional development grew by leaps and bounds by the time she was around

three. “Preschoolers become more adept at talking about their own and others’ emotions.

They also show a growing awareness of the need to control and manage their emotions to

meet social standards,” (Santrock, 2020). Millie loved the show Daniel Tiger’s

Neighborhood, in this show they have songs about tough emotions and how to handle them.

Another thing that was used to help her learn that everything is okay even on the tough days

is the book Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses.

 As she entered school, teachers helped her write stories and draw a picture about

weekends and days off that she had from school. This helped connect descriptions to stories.

“They also learn to use language in a more connected way, producing connected discourse,”

(Santrock, 2020). She drew a dog representing when she got her puppy. She described her

puppy’s color and the way the puppy followed her around.

Though Millie came from a family with divorced parents she seemed fairly well adjusted.

“However, it is important to recognize that a majority of children in stepfamilies do not have

adjustment problems,” (Santrock, 2020). Millie’s mom Anna was remarried when Millie was

seven, however Millie’s dad James stopped taking visits with her around the time she was

eight.

Millie’s mom really helped guide her through major choices in her adolescent years.

Millie began struggling with some self-esteem issues since her dad stopped taking visits.

Anna guided her with safe sex, warning her on her dad’s issues with alcoholism, and watched

for any warning signs of eating disorders. Anna helped her find a sport she loved playing

softball. “Adolescents’ exercise levels are increasingly being found to be associated with

parenting, peer relationships, and screen-based activity,” (Santrock, 2020).

When Millie entered high school she really struggled with a sense of self and finding who

she was. This is often called a crisis which John Santrock defines as, “a period of identity

development during which the individual is exploring alternatives,” (Santrock, 2020). Anna

made a safe space for Millie to come talk to her if needed so she did not ever experiment

with drugs or alcohol, and when she had sex, she did it safely.
 When Millie was a toddler, she loved making friends everywhere she went as she grew

into being an adolescent she was less interested in lots of friends and more interested in

having a few close friends. “If adolescents fail to forge such close friendships, they

experience loneliness and a reduced sense of self-worth,” (Santrock, 2020). Her friends were

very important especially on days when she struggled with feelings of abandonment and

struggles of self-worth from her dad leaving.

Millie’s main group of friends were from her softball team. They had similar interests

and spent a lot of time together; this is what would be called a clique. “Cliques are small

groups that range from two to twelve individuals and average about five or six individuals,”

(Santrock, 2020).

One of Millie’s bigger struggles while being an adolescent would become anxiety and

depression. Females are more likely to develop depression than their male peers. “Among the

reasons for this gender difference are that females tend to ruminate in their depressed mood

and amplify it; females’ self-images, especially their body images, are more negative than

males’; females face more discrimination than males do; and puberty occurs earlier for girls

than for boys,” (Santrock, 2020). As are listed there, there are many reasons as to why Millie

may have been experiencing these mental illnesses, but neither are uncommon with females.

Millie developed normally throughout all of the stages we discussed. She had her own

challenges with her upbringing, but overall, with the help of her mom, Anna, it was all

handled as well as it could be, she experienced no substance abuse which was her mom’s

biggest fear and practiced safe sex. The only struggle she had overall was the mental illness

during her adolescent years.

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