SOCIAL EMOTIONAL OBSERVATION

Part A
1. Emotional
A. Record an objective observation of a display of fear (include exact age of child
and setting).  
Nessa (18 months old)
My observation took place at the College of Southern Nevada Education Lab. The
setting of my observation was outdoors. Nessa (18 months old) was exploring and
then she saw two children trying to slide down from a car that was on a ramp. She
decided to try it herself. She had difficulty getting on the step to get on the car.
After a minute or so, she eventually did it. I noticed that she kept looking around.
At first I thought she wanted a caregiver to see her, but then I realized that she
was scared because her facial expression changed and she made a noise that
sounded like she wanted to cry.
B. How is this handled by the caregiver?  
Mrs. Vicky noticed her and asked, “Do you need help?” Nessa nodded. Mrs.
Vicky walked towards her and assisted her. She was afraid to push herself down
the slide. After getting help from Mrs. Vicky, she decided to try it once again. She
got on the car, looked at Mrs. Vicky and then Mrs. Vicky said, “You can do it,
Nessa.” She smiled and pushed herself down the ramp. She did it a few times
after that, independently.
C. Was the response appropriate or inappropriate?  Why or why not?
I believe Mrs. Vicky handled the situation in an appropriate manner because she
was able to help Nessa feel safe while going down the ramp. Mrs. Vicky gave her
verbal encouragement, which allowed her to believe she could do it by herself,
and she succeeded.
2. Emotional
A. Record an objective observation of a display of anger (include exact age of child
and setting).  
Liam (2 years old)
This observation took place at the College of Southern Nevada Education Lab. I
observed a 2 year old child named Liam. The setting of this observation was
indoors in the play/nap area. Liam was playing with 2 other children, Nathaniel
and Arta. They took turns in rolling a roller toy down a ramp. Liam was the
youngest and I noticed he had hard time controlling his self-regulation skills.
When tt was Liam’s turn to roll the toy down the ramp and it didn’t roll as far as
he expected, he got upset. He ran and grabbed the roll toy, taking Nathaniel’s
 turn, and rolled it again. Nathaniel said, “I was next.” Liams rolled the toy and it
crashed into the furniture. He got very angry, grabbed it, and threw it across the
room.
B. How is this handled by the caregiver?  
As soon as Mrs. Danielle saw that this happened, she got up quickly and
approached Liam. She said to him, “I’m going to hold you and you can’t play this
right now!” Liam kept moving around, trying to go back and play. Mrs. Danielle
told him, “I’m sorry. I know you’re upset, but I need to make sure you and your
friends are safe. Once I know you can keep yourself and friends safe you can go,
okay?” Liam nodded his head. Five minutes later, Liam said, “I want to go play.”
Mrs. Danielle responded, “I see you are calming down. Are you ready to go
back?” Liam replied yes and then Mrs. Danielle said, “Okay, but remember if you
throw it again you will have to play with something else, okay?” Liam replied
okay and then he took off running. Mrs. Danielle made an announcement: “Liam
is ready to go back and keep himself and friends safe.” Two minutes later, he got
upset and threw the roller toy again. Mrs. Danielle approached him and said,
“Okay, I told you if you threw it again you were going to play with something
else.” She sat with him and held him to calm him down. She was talking to him
about making the right choices and keeping himself and his friends safe.
C. Was the response appropriate or inappropriate?  Why or why not?
I believe Mrs. Danielle handled the situation very appropriately because she
warned Liam about what would happen if he did it again. She also gave him the
opportunity to make better choices and play safely. Although he didn’t make the
right choice, he was able to play with something else without a problem.
3. Emotional
A. 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)  (This portion is worth 10 points)
Nessa: 18 months
Setting: Outdoors
1. Activity Level: Nessa was actively exploring new things. She moved
around often, trying new things. She went from playing in the soft climber
to a scooter, and then to the water splash pad. She had a lot of energy.
2. Rhythmicity: Nessa for the most part is on schedule with eating, going to
the bathroom, and eating. However, this can change depending on how she
is feeling.
3. Approach-withdraw: According to Nessa’s caregiver, she likes trying
new things. Since she is the youngest it takes her a little longer to try
them, though.
 4. Adaptability: Nessa can adjust to new things. However, she often needs a
caregiver’s help/guidance because she is still developing her motor skills.
5. Attention Spam: Nessa does not have the ability just yet to be able to do
one activity for a long period of time. She is constantly moving around
and exploring new toys.
6. Intensity of Reaction: Nessa can easily laugh at something she is playing
with and if she gets frustrated she will start crying. She was jumping in the
soft climber and in one of her attempts to get on the climber to jump off,
she got stuck and began to cry.
7. Threshold of Responsiveness: When Nessa was playing with a book,
three children ran by her screaming and she just looked at them and
continued what she doing.
8. Distractibility: According to Nessa’s caregiver her distractibility level
can change depending on how interested she is. There were times where
she just looked at the other children and continued what she was doing and
there were other times when she wanted to do the same thing as the other
children.
9. Quality of Mood: Nessa was in a good and cheerful mood for the most
part. However, when she couldn’t do something she would get frustrated.

B. In which of the 3 temperament categories would you place this child and why?  

I believe Nessa is in the easy temperament category because, for the most part,
she has a good quality mood, has a low to moderate activity level, and low
threshold of responsiveness. However, she may experience some characteristics
of slow to warm temperament because she tends to be shy around new people and
it takes her a little longer to adjust to new experiences.
C. What advice might you give to the caregiver/parent of this child based on your
assessment?
I would advise the caregivers to give Nessa a little more attention; she is the
youngest and while the older children take up a lot of continued observation,
Nessa tends to get left behind.
Part B

1.  Record an objective observation of a child displaying Erikson’s “trust vs. mistrust”
(identify exact age of child and whether positive or negative).
Nessa: 18 months old / Positive
Nessa saw a child on a scooter and once that child left, she walked towards the scooter
and decided to give it a try. However, she wasn’t sure how to use it. She looked at Mrs.
Vicky with an expression that equated to, “Hey, can you help me?” After a few seconds
Mrs. Vicky asked, “Do you need help Nessa?” Nessa nodded. Mrs. Vicky showed her
how to use it a few times and then Nessa tried it. This gave me the impression that Nessa
trusts Mrs. Vicky because she was able to meet her needs.

2.  Record an objective observation of a child displaying Erikson’s “Autonomy vs. shame
and doubt” (identify exact age of child and whether positive or negative).
Nathaniel: 24 months old/ Positive
After Nathaniel was done playing in the splash pad, his caregiver told him, “Nathaniel, its
time to put your shirt on. We are going inside.” The caregiver noticed he didn’t put it on
so she grabbed the shirt and said, “Okay, let me help you.” As she was trying to put the
shirt on him, Nathaniel yelled, “NO!” He then took the shirt and put it on by himself.

3.
A. Record an objective observation of a guidance situation between caregiver and
child (due to individual action).  Give exact age of child.
Nathaniel: 30 months old
Nathaniel was playing in the indoor “kitchen” section. He opened the fridge, got a
bowl, and started feeding his caregiver. She played along with him for a while.
She told Nathaniel she was going to leave and he said no. His caregiver said,
“Okay, I will stay playing with you for five minutes.” Nathaniel agreed.
B. How does the caregiver handle this?  Was the response appropriate or
inappropriate? Why?
I believe his caregiver handled this situation appropriately. She was playing with
him because he wanted her to play with him. She wasn’t pushy or taking over his
playtime. She let Nathaniel take full control of the play as he kept involving her
in.

4.
A. Record an objective observation of a guidance situation between two children
(due to interaction between children).  Give exact age of children, both must be in
appropriate age range for assignment.
Liam: 24 months old
Nathaniel: 30 months old
 Liam and Nathaniel were both at a table, using their fingers to paint. Liam was
moving his body in excitement as he was painting on his side of the table.
Nathaniel saw that he was running out of space and then tapped a different part of
the table and said “here” to Liam.
B. How is this handled by the caregiver? Was the response appropriate or
inappropriate? Why?
After Nathaniel tapped the table, the caregiver told Liam, “I think Nathaniel is
trying to tell you to paint on the other side.” I don’t think the caregiver handled
this appropriately. In my opinion, an appropriate response would be to let Liam
figure it out by himself instead of telling him immediately.