Melissa Saipale

PEPSI Screening

EDU 220-1003

College of Southern Nevada

 PEPSI Screening

Biography

The child I chose to observe for the PEPSI screening is my 7 year old daughter named

Mila. She was born here in Las Vegas and attends elementary school in Henderson. The area is a

nice and safe community.

Mila resides in two different households, her father and I divorced when she was 4 years

old. The extreme changes in her living environment have had an effect on her quite a bit but she

stays happy and loving in both households. The divorce has been mostly amicable and Mila sees

both of her parents interacting in a positive and friendly manner. Mila is constantly surrounded

by family and has a very sweet disposition.

Physical Development

Mila is currently 7 years old and above average height for her age and gender. According

to the CDC Mila is in the 75th percentile for weight. She looks older than her fellow friends and

classmates of the same age because she is a lot taller. Her father is of Samoan descent and is

about 6’4, Mila physically resembles him the most. Mila is very active and loves to play and run

around in small spurts. Her energy level can be extremely high, especially after eating sweets.

Mila has a few nervous habits such as pushing her hair behind her ears repeatedly and

also covering her ears. Biehler (1971) explains,

“Primary grade children are still extremely active. Because they are frequently required

to participate in sedentary pursuits, energy is often released in the form of nervous habits—for

example, pencil chewing, fingernail biting, and general fidgeting.” pg 84.

 Emotional Development

As stated previously, Mila resides in two households, her father and I have joint custody

of her. We are on good terms and get along really well even after a divorce. This has caused her

some confusion in the past because she thought we would be getting back together and living in

the same house again. According to Amy Morin, LCSW (2021),

“Intense conflict between parents has been shown to increase children’s distress. Overt

hostility, such as screaming and threatening one another has been linked to behavior problems in

children.”

Mila’s father and I both agree that after putting her through huge changes with the

divorce we must do our best to maintain a good friendship and make sure Mila still sees us as a

team. With many conversations and patience we have talked her through it and continue to check

in on her often.

This last year has put Mila through many life changes. She gained a step dad and two

stepsisters that are teenagers. Mila has been raised as an only child for the first 6 years of her life

and it shows in how she interacts with her new siblings and also her new baby nephew. The

family has to remind her to be self aware and more generous with her space and also time. She

acts out when she isn’t the “center of attention” and feels left out quite easily. The biggest thing

Mila is being taught is to always talk about her feelings and let us know when she is upset.

Philosophical Development

Mila has been taught the difference between right and wrong and why it is important to

tell the truth. As of this year she has been caught multiple times lying. She lied about being on

her tablet when being told to put it away and was caught red handed. Her reaction upon being
caught was to lie to her parents face and hide her tablet where she thought it wasn’t seen. When

asked why she lied she stated, “I didn’t know you would figure it out”. Since she believes she

isn’t harming anyone by being on her tablet she did not think it was bad.

“Most parents think children lie to get something they want, avoid a consequence or get

out of something they don’t want to do.” Beth Arkey (2021).

Mila doesn't tell lies to be mean or to gain attention, she simply lies to get something she

wants but knows is against the rules. We have talked to her about the importance of honesty

many times and fortunately it has been working. Her toys had to be used as leverage to keep up

honest behavior.

Social Development

Mila has no problems making friends and is very talkative. She often will start

conversations with strangers such as cashiers, people next to her in line and neighbors. This has

been a source of worry for her dad and I and we try to explain to her the importance of stranger

danger and that not everyone is a friend.

Her confidence is very strong, she loves posing and getting her photo taken, she enjoys

getting dressed up and going roller skating at the rink. She gets a lot of praise for her skating

skills and her looks. Not only does she have an incredible amount of love for herself, she likes to

build people up around her. She often tells me how pretty I look when I don’t have makeup or

that I look extra cute. I believe this stems from her hearing me complain about how tired I look

without makeup and she wants me to be more confident like her. I do my best to always tell Mila

how incredible she is and how cute her little face is.
 “Confident kids are not born that way. Their confidence is a result of someone repeatedly

telling them that their efforts are paying off and they are doing things right.” India Parenting

(2021)

Intellectual Development

According to the textbook,

“Between kindergarten and sixth grade, most children are eager to demonstrate that they

can learn new skills and successfully accomplish assigned tasks.” pg 30.

This applies to Mila somewhat, if the task is interesting to her she will take a lot of pride

in finishing the task. If it is boring to her she will need multiple prompts and reminders to get to

work. Her reading skills are very well developed and her handwriting is legible. She does

struggle with spelling and often has to sound words out.

She has only participated in distance learning for first grade since the schools shut down

last year and it has been detrimental to her attention span and motivation to learn. Being out of

the schools has upset her a lot and she is very excited to go back to an actual class. I have

observed Mila in the classroom setting because I volunteered often. She was a leader in the class

and followed the rules at all times.

 Recommendations

For Mila’s physical development I plan to get her on a more nutritious diet, less sugar and

no more soda. She does not conduct herself well after consuming a lot of sugary drinks or food.

It is hard to plan because Vegas is so hot but I plan to have more physical activity planned for her

like going out to the park instead of lounging at home

We will continue to talk Mila through her feelings even when they aren’t negative. Mila

has been known to bottle things up, especially when the family was going through the separation.

The more of a habit it is for Mila to express her feelings and acknowledge why she is feeling that

way the better it will be for her in the long run.

I believe that stricter consequences for Mila when she lies is going to be the way to go. I

feel like her philosophy of “getting away with it” as far as lying is because her father and I are

not as strict with the punishments.

 We will continue to talk to Mila about not trusting everyone she meets and being wary of

strangers. I also think that Mila should learn to share more, not just her toys but her space and

time. That will be done by repetition and reminding her to take turns talking or sharing what she

has to say.

I know that Mila’s intellectual ability will become stronger once she is in a school setting.

I will continue to work on her handwriting and make sure she knows how important it is to work

hard in her studies.

I may be biased because she is my daughter but I truly believe Mila to be a caring, smart

and wonderful person. Her last few years of life have been a rollercoaster of changes but I think

she is doing great and remains positive. She is extremely kind and knows right from wrong. With

the right guidance and communication she will continue to become a great student and addition

to society.
 References:

https://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/clinical_charts.htm

Morin, Amy (2021)

https://www.verywellfamily.com/psychological-effects-of-divorce-on-kids-4140170#:~:text=Beh

avior%20Problems,with%20peers%20after%20a%20divorce.

Arky, Beth (2021)

https://childmind.org/article/why-kids-lie/#:~:text=Most%20parents%20think%20children%20li

e,at%20least%20the%20whole%20truth.

https://www.indiaparenting.com/9-personality-traits-of-extremely-confident-kids.html

McCown, Snowman (2012-2015) Psychology Applied to Teaching

Jack Snowman; Rick McCo