Family and Human Studies (FHS) 1500: Lifespan Human Development

Observation Report

Background Information

Person’s age: Toddler, 18-24 months

Fictitious Name: I will call the person “Johnny.” (The name has been changed for privacy

purposes.)

Location: online video from childcare facility

Brief Description: Videos of a child interacting with objects and other people at a childcare facility

Biological Development

In my observation, I noticed that Johnny has strong gross motor skills. Gross motor skills are actions that
involve large movements and multiple muscle groups (Berger, 2019, pg. 94). He can run and walk very
well. He is also able to climb up and down stairs, however he was less stable with his movements when
doing this. When he was standing at the bottom of the slide and another child knocked him over, he had
trouble getting up at first, but he was able to figure it out. Johnny also used fine motor skills when taking
toys out of the box and playing at the water table. He picks up different objects and manipulates them.

Johnny’s fine motor skills are shown when he is taking toys out of the box. He can pick up and
manipulate each object. Fine motor skills are actions involving small movements, such as with the
hands, fingers, tongue and jaw (Berger, 2019, pg. 95). This is seen when he is playing at the water table,
picking up cups and pouring the water. In addition to being able to manipulate objects, Johnny often
puts things in his mouth. When picking up the ball, the first thing he does is put it in his mouth. He does
this with bottles at the water station and with his fingers, another example of his fine motor skills.

Cognitive Development

While playing with the ball, Johnny drops it, looks for it, and finds it. He is also prompted to look for one
of his classmates, who he then searches for. This shows he has somewhat grasped the concept of object
permanence. Additionally, Johnny doesn’t speak much. When he does speak, he uses holophrases, such
as saying “ball” when he finds the ball he was looking for. A holophrase is, “a single word that is used to
express a complete, meaningful thought” (Berger, 2019, pg. 106). Johnny would have been excited to
find the ball, however he does not know exactly how to express this other than with holophrases at this
stage in his development.

Johnny shows an understanding of object permanence, “the realization that objects still exist when they
cannot be seen, touched or heard” (Berger, 2019, pg...). This is seen when Johnny drops the ball behind
him and then looks for it; he knows the ball is still there. It is also shown when Johnny is trying to find
another classmate. He knows that even though he cannot see or hear the classmate, they are around
somewhere. Additionally, Johnny is not able to express fully the extent of his emotion when he finds the
ball. “Early words become holophrase[s]” (Berger, 2019, pg. 106). Saying “ball” meant much more to
Johnny that it would to anyone else. It is meant to express his excitement and how proud he is of
himself for finding it.

Psychosocial Development

Johnny is seen exploring and playing by himself. He does not have a problem entertaining himself and
finding things to play with and interact with. He finds the ball and starts playing with it, then goes over
to the water table and plays there. He also climbs the stairs and goes down the slide, and when he is
done with that, he finds toys at another part of the room to start playing with. Again, he puts the ball
and the bottles of water in his mouth, showing a fascination with his mouth and putting things in his
mouth. When Johnny and another child are at the bottom of the slide and another child crashes into
them, Johnny kneels to the child he was pushed into due to this action and seems to check in with him
to see if he’s okay. It is unclear if Johnny says anything to the child or not.

You can see that Johnny is in Erickson’s second stage of psychosocial development, Autonomy vs. Shame
and doubt. This stage is described as when, “children become either self-sufficient in many activities... or
they doubt their own abilities” (Berger, 2019, pg. 22). In Johnny’s case, he is seen to be very self-
sufficient. He takes the initiative to explore on his own and finds toys to play with and ways to entertain
himself. According to Freud, Johnny seems to be in the “oral stage” of development due to his
fascination with putting the ball in his mouth. Freud explains that in the oral stage, the child has a
fascination with their mouth, lips and tongue and finds pleasure in sucking on and chewing objects
(Berger, 2019, pg. 22).

Reference

Berger, K. S. (2019). Invitation to the life span (4th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.