Child-Case Study: Emerick’s Growth

Rochelle Myers

Department of Behavioral Sciences, Mansfield University of Pennsylvania

ELE 1190: Child Development I

Dr. Rebecca Parks

May 2, 2021
 Child-Case Study: Emerick’s Growth

When choosing the child for this assignment, I originally was very limited in my choices. Being

that right now I'm currently living in the Mansfield area the only people that I am familiar with

are my friends and a few psychology professors. I thought that I was going to have a very hard

time figuring out and find it a child or toddler to conduct this case study on. Until I came across

my advisor as being a possible option. I was unsure if I would be able to use her son since right

now my professor has been out for maternity leave. So I preceded and asked her with caution and

let her know that whatever she decided would be perfectly fine and if she felt uncomfortable I

would respect that decision. Going forward after picking a possible candidate, I emailed my

advisor asking her if this would be okay, and attaching what the case study would look like,

based off of the final report guidelines. My professor got back to me very shortly after asking,

and was totally open to the idea and to the project. She told me in thorough detail what each day

of theirs looks like and when he wakes up, has lunch, put down for a nap, and when they get

settled for bed. She allowed me to figure out how my schedule would mold with his in order to

assess him and watch him at different times throughout the day.

We both concluded that Tuesdays early in the morning until he goes down for his nap in the

middle of the day seemed like a good fit. After this conclusion we also figured out that Fridays

later on in the day would be another good fit, and a good time for a visit if needed. Being able to

conduct this case study on Emerick is very convenient for both myself and for Emerick. Not only

is Wellsboro very close to where I live currently in the Mansfield area, but I am also very

familiar and comfortable with his mother, who has been my professor every semester since

attending Mansfield University. Emerick will never have to leave the comfort of his own house,

and I will constantly be able to assess him in a controlled and stable environment. Both of his
 parents will most likely be there, which allows him to feel more comfortable and confident

knowing that he is safe.

Method

History & Background

My professor sent me a list of his health history and some family background. She told

me that when Emerick was born, he weighed in at 7 pounds and six ounces. This is a pretty

healthy and average birth weight for a child. His mother had a very healthy pregnancy overall the

whole time with E. She was supposed to be induced later on in the day that E decided to come

naturally, much earlier in that morning. For his birthing method, both his parents decided it

would be best to get a doula to help guide while still having their baby in the hospital setting.

Once E was born, he was a perfectly healthy baby boy. His mother said that he was breast fed for

the first 8 months of his life, and then they did half and half until he was a year old and then he

transitioned to just formula and eventually regular milk. The child’s parents chose to not have E

vaccinated for their own personal reasons and off of much studied and supported research. This

choice is one they felt most comfortable with as well as keeping the child’s wellbeing and health

as their first priority.

When E was no more than six weeks old, he developed a significantly high fever over

100 degrees, and did not use the restroom for almost a whole day. Ever since this time, E has

mostly had reoccurring ear infections every month that comes on with a fever. When seeking

medical attention they went to many doctors and ultimately ended up in the ER to get more

excessive tests done, being that he was so young at the time. After the ER came back with test

results, they said everything was inconclusive and that he was just administered antibiotics. Still

to this day no diagnostic was ever given for this incident so early on in his life. His mother
mentioned that E’s father used to get pretty significant ear infections when he was a young boy,

so maybe some of it could be caused by genetic factors.

After trying many antibiotics, they stopped and started treating from home because too

many antibiotics can cause ruining of good gut bacteria especially at such a young age. With

each of these ear infections monthly, his fever is between 100 to 104. Being that he is so young

and goes to a daycare that does not allow children who have a fever, oftentimes when these

happen, mom or dad would have to take off to keep Emerick home. Currently Emerick is on

daily vitamin supplements and these seem to have greatly reduced and helped the significance of

his fevers. Right now, E is in the 90th percentile for weight he eats well and is very active and

weighs in at 34 pounds.

Results

Outstanding characteristics

This little boy is very friendly once he knows he can trust you and will become your new

best friend as he wants to make sure you do everything he does with him. He knows how to

maintain a connection and is very attentive when it comes to interacting with others. He has light

blonde hair and has excellent control of his motor functions and has a complete sense that his

body is all connected. He loves to play with toys that make noises and shows advanced

understanding in musical instruments. He also has a keen understanding in how to play nice and

be gentle, especially around his 2 month old brother. Overall E has great people skills and is a

very pleasant young boy that has great interest and exploration in all things around him.

Physical & Motor Growth and Development

For a 2 almost 3 year old, E shows significant excellence when it comes to his motor

development and physical development. After watching him interact with others and how he
handles his toys, it is clear that he definitely has a solid understanding of how his own body is

connected and he is successful at making it move the way he wants it to move. When he plays

with toys, usually trucks, building toys, or musical toys he is very in tune with his hand eye

coordination.

After engaging in play with E, he not only knows how to use certain toys in their correct

form of use, he also does a great job at demonstrating to me, what I need to do in order to play

with the same toys. In Erikson’s second stage of growth, Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt, the

child learns how to balance their assertiveness and compliance in a healthy way (Charlesworth,

2017). In many of Emerick’s play behaviors and interactions with me during play time, he

demonstrates this stage and what the proper assertiveness looks like in a child who is learning

and trying new things. When playing with me, he took the lead and had me follow, and showed

me how. At this time I could’ve chosen to not engage or tell him I wanted to play another way or

do a different activity. I didn’t do this because I wanted him to feel a sense of autonomy and

know that he was safe and secure in making his own decisions and he was free to explore his

own sense of creativity, and I would just follow along for the ride. Encouraging him to lead and

encouraging him to make the rules and what toys to play with, all aid in his sense of autonomy

and help him become confident in himself as well as know that he has his own voice to explore.

In one of our sessions, E showed me his tiny kitchen play set, he explained to me how to turn on

the “oven” and stir the soup pot with a ladle by his actions, then by placing the ladle in my hand

and pointing to the kitchen, he wanted me to do the same. This is another great example of him

asserting himself in play and developing his own sense of creative play. E has also done this

when playing with his toy dump trucks. He had some uncooked beans in a dump truck already,

so that way the trucks could pick things up and dump them somewhere else to serve their
purpose. He showed me how the trucks worked and how they moved with noise expressions and

then he gave me a truck and dumped all of the beans out on the floor. Not only was E engaging

me in playtime with him, he was sharing, and he was using the toys correctly and had a solid

grasp on how these trucks work.

E is very capable of moving around freely on his own with no assistance, he also can run

and is starting to learn how to use his strider bike. E is in the process of learning how to be potty

trained. He can most times efficiently tell either parent he has to go potty, and is learning to

identify his need as either a number 1 (pee) or number 2 (poop). If E makes it in time to actually

do his business on an actual toilet, he is positively rewarded right away with a small malt ball

piece of candy which are his favorite. During another one of our sessions, E was eating his

breakfast before we spent the day playing. During this time, I got to see how Emerick’s fine

motor skills are developing. Instead of being fed still by his parents or by eating only simple

finger food, Emerick did a fantastic job eating with utensils out of a bowl. He was able to easily

maneuver his spoon to grab his yogurt and blueberries and knew how to use it to feed himself.

He did so efficiently, and it showed through his accuracy at picking up his food and placing all

of it in his mouth that he has fully developed control of his more intricate motor skills and his

dexterity in his fingers and hands. So far, his physical growth and motor development seem to be

going well and are successful. Although it is just the beginning, he is excelling entirely well for

his age and for his first time going through many new processes.

Cognitive Growth and Development

This child is a very observant and active little boy. He is always engaged with someone

and either demonstrates his engagement through solid eye contact with the person or multiple

people, or he makes sure that he grabs your hand and directs you to where he wants to focus his
attention next. E is a very smart young boy and knows how to converse with others pretty

successfully, even though his words may be hard to make out sometimes. He will continuously

say a word until he knows you heard him correctly and then he will smile and nod his head as a

way to acknowledge that you both are on the same page. In the text, this kind of language

development is referred to as strong relationals which are “words that are used consistently for

potentially reversible relationships” (Charlesworth, 2017). E is only 2 years old and almost 2 and

a half and knows how to count currently to the number 12, knows all the colors and can point

them out and say what they are, as well as numbers. E is very polite and knows how to ask for

help, by directly looking at you and saying “help, peas” and even how to sign “thank you”. These

remarks that he uses and demands that he makes when he needs something or asks for something

is a term referred to as expressive speaking and which is a more diverse and advanced way for

toddlers to use their speech in an effective manner.

Emerick is cognitively developing enough that he can effectively communicate with his

parents when he needs to go potty now. Not only can he communicate this need, he can also

identify it as well as understand what is being asked of him now when he needs to perform this

task. In the textbook, when talking about toileting with toddlers, it states that “children need not

only muscular maturation and desire, but also cognitive maturity; they need to be able to

understand and follow instructions and retain the information between eliminations”

(Charlesworth, 2017). According to cognitive development in toddlers, this is a huge and

monumental step for a child to take and shows excellent growth in this domain. Cognitively, E is

advancing right along where he should be and some may say he is slightly ahead being that he

has not yet reached the age of 3, which is when most children start the process of converting to

potty training and staying dry during the day-time.

 Memory is another key indicator that a child is cognitively progressing and growing.

Emerick has shown me through different scenarios, that his memory and his application to those

memories show where he is at in the cognitive domain. He has played many puzzle games with

me and matching games and has retained where certain pictures were, in order to match it with

another one. He is very insightful and can play this game effectively with others and doesn’t get

confused by their interactions. He picks up on things quickly and if he can make you laugh, he

will continue to do the same behavior because he knows you find it funny. Emerick has also

remembered my name and knew who I was each time I came to visit, which shows, that even

though I may not be a part of his immediate circle of friends and family, he still has established a

sense of who I am and knows that I am safe and not a stranger.

Discussion

Reflection through Observations

From my first time meeting Emerick, to where he is today, he has grown so much and has

opened up to me so I could see all of his potential and strengths. Emerick is most developed I

would say cognitively and in his motor skills. He shows great excellence when it comes to

understanding everything that is said to him and in musical instruments. He has many different

types of instruments to play and experiment with from the drums, to a child size guitar and

ukulele. When asked to play, he can be a little shy at first, but he soon warms up and shows you

how he plays. His motor skills seem proficient especially when it comes to how he can handle

these different instruments when he plays. While playing or even eating, Emerick tends to use

his right hand slightly more than his left. For him being at the toddler stage and soon entering the

preschool age, Emerick is either right where he needs to be or advanced in the different domains

when it comes to his growth and development. His speech and language is coming along and
although he may still from time to time only say a simple word or make a gesture with a sound, I

do not think he is at all slower than the average 2 almost 3 year old in this area.

If I were assigned as Emerick’s teacher I would be sure to plan a lot of interactive play and

incorporate more instruments and music in my lesson plans with him, being that he seems to

enjoy as well as thrive in this area. It would make learning other lessons fun and a personalized

enjoyable experience for him. I would continue to let Emerick make feel like he is making his

own choices even when it comes to his learning and comprehension. I would allow him to pick

and let him lead once he has shown me that he understands the directions on the task I have

given him. This is important and crucial for him to feel as though he still has a say when it comes

down to even how he learns because he will be more interested in whatever the lesson is, if he

feels as though he chose it. Emerick’s parents have done a wonderful job of keeping E engaged

and excited about learning and even when it comes to learning new things. The family

environment has made it easy for him to thrive and grow in all aspects of development. They talk

to Emerick in full sentences and use positive reinforcement and encouragement very often. When

talking to him I have noticed how his mother especially will ask Emerick before she does

something, such as dressing his baby brother, moving his cup, or choosing what music to listen

to, in order to make him feel as though she cares about making him apart of these little decisions

as well as encouraging him to voice his own opinion and communicate openly. These small

behaviors that I have noticed, may go unnoticed to some, but to me I see the importance and the

purpose behind these choices that challenge and push Emerick to excel. That being said, I think

that his parents are doing just what they need to in order to instill the foundations of knowledge

and fostering a fruitful path for positive growth in school and in social and emotional stability.
 References

Charlesworth, R. (2017). Understanding child development (10th ed.). Cengage Learning.