3/30/23, 5:49 PM 3-Year-Old Child Observation Report Sample: Physical And Cognitive Development: [Essay Example], 1726 words

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3-year-old Child Observation Report Sample: Physical and

Cognitive Development

Table of contents

Introduction
Physical and cognitive development of a 3-year-old male named Christian has been
evaluated by the completion of several exercises, which were video recorded. A
therapist directed these activities, which also included his six-year-old sister, Clara.
Christian spends two days a week at kindergarten and the rest at home with his
parents and sister, when she is not at school. He is more interested in active play such
as riding a balance bike (no pedals) and skateboard of which he has reasonable
command, rather than performing sedentary activities like drawing. This assignment
focuses on gross motor, fine motor, language and communication, cognitive and
psychosocial area milestones and whether or not Christian has achieved them.
Christian is observed in a classroom where multiple activities are offered such as
drawing, playing with toys and various physical events like hopping and catching a
ball. Information is also sourced from his parents. His development will be compared
to what is expected of a three-year-old (Queensland Health Child Development
Milestones) to establish whether the appropriate standards have been reached.
Theories of lifespan development including Piaget’s and Erikson’s will be linked to
Christian’s performance.

In-Depth Analysis (Gross Motor)

Movement is a sequence of patterns of both gross and fine motor skills along with
fundamental movement skills. Christian undergoes various activities which involve
controlling larger muscle groups; for example, walking, throwing, or jumping. These
abilities aid development and coordination of the arms, legs, hands, feet, head, neck
and torso. Important characteristics of gross skills include postural control (both static
stability and dynamic control), body awareness and muscularity. These are essential
skills for life, and supporting the growth of a child’s gross motor development
enhances their short and long-term physical outcomes.

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3/30/23, 5:49 PM 3-Year-Old Child Observation Report Sample: Physical And Cognitive Development: [Essay Example], 1726 words GradesFi…

Catching and Throwing

On assessment of catching and throwing, Christian displayed a lot of excitement and
energy. It is complicated to measure catching ability in depth as it is dependent on
various factors such as size, shape and speed of the ball. At the beginning of the
activity, Clara threw the ball from a reasonable distance and at high speed. As a result,
Christian showed inefficient catching techniques by having his arms stretched too
wide and performing reflexes at too late a stage, allowing the ball to rebound off of
his chest in an attempt to catch it. When the therapist started to throw the ball, she
was closer to Christian and threw it slower. He started having his arms outstretched,
with palms panned inwards in preparation. He encircled the ball with his arms using
a hugging action to bring it towards his chest, absorbing the ball’s force, displaying
more proficiency. Christian’s throwing and catching was reasonably weak and lacked
coordination. This is normal for a three-year-old 6 and Christian’s unexceptional ability
in this area is not a huge concern at this point.

Running
Christian met the criteria of a capable runner for the age of three including the heel-
to-toe technique. However, on some strides he was landing relatively flat-footed.
Upon landing, the foot should hit the ground lightly, landing between the heel and
mid-foot, then rolling forward quickly. It was observed that Christian did not obtain
much flight between strides, as his knees were not fully flexing to a right angle on his
recovery swing. Additionally, Christian’s arms swung forward in an opposing pattern
flinging out to the side and/or across his chest, in an oblique plane to the level of
movement. Furthermore, he was running in a relatively straight line and was pleased
with his capability in this area, especially after the therapist complimented him.
Overall, Christian has achieved the three-year-old running milestone, performing this
activity well on flat ground, avoiding weighty and awkward running.

Skipping and jumping

The last set of activities which assessed Christian’s gross motor skills included
jumping and skipping. To become a skilful mover as an adult, an individual should
develop both of these skills during childhood. These presented as more of a challenge
to Christian most likely due to his poor static postural stability. When asked to jump,
Christian was able to move in somewhat of a straight line, and in a manner that
allowed both feet to leave the ground and land at almost the same time.
Demonstrating the ability to jump in the air with both feet at irregular intervals
determines that he has reached the three-year-old milestone.

By the age of three, greater myelination of the cerebellum should have been reached
to allow for competent coordination and increased balance. Similarly, movement of
centre of gravity from the upper body to lower trunk as a result of the changing
proportions of the body should assist in balance. Skipping is a combination of a long
step and a hop (step-hop), first on one foot and then on the other, and has an uneven

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3/30/23, 5:49 PM 3-Year-Old Child Observation Report Sample: Physical And Cognitive Development: [Essay Example], 1726 words GradesFi…

rhythm. It involves shifting weight from one foot to the other with a narrow base of
support. Therefore, arms should be extended to maintain balance. When Clara was
asked to skip, Christian quickly intervened and attempted to demonstrate how she
‘skips.’ On evaluation of his own skipping abilities, it was clear that he was incapable
of coordinating a step-hop and of landing on his forefoot. Rather, Christian was
landing flat-footed and heavy with inconsistent heights and distances of hops and
steps. His arms were not synchronised in opposition with his legs and he displayed
poor balance. The ability to skip confidently usually develops around the age of six or
seven. As Christian is already starting to construct the idea of this skill and by
mimicking his sister with use of Albert Bandura’s behaviourist learning theories of
classical and operant condition, he is considered on track for this particular milestone
of development.

Overall, Christian’s gross motor skills appear to be in line with the milestones. Factors
such as environmental influences, learning theories and physical development have
affected his aptitude. When reviewing Erikson’s psychosocial theory, Christian fits into
the stage three – Initiative vs. Guilt where he is building upon the virtue of purpose.
He showed a sense of confidence by attempting his sister’s skipping challenge and
overcoming the guilt of not being perfect at this particular skill. Furthermore, looking
at Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory, it is evident Christian has a
microsystem comprising his family at home and his friends and teachers at day-care.
His relationship between day-care and home encompass the mesosystem, which
further influences Christian’s development. Skinner’s theory of operant conditioning
and the importance of positive reinforcement in strengthening response and
acquiring autonomy to increase the chance of behaviour recurring was evident from
the therapist’s verbal positive reinforcements.

Summary of Development Fine Motor

From the recording, it is clear that Christian’s fine motor performance is in line with
the milestones, with the exception of cutting. When asked by the therapist to cut a
square out, he cut lines into the periphery of the A4 page. He also did not hold the
scissors correctly, despite having just seen his sister complete the task correctly.
Christian’s thumb was facing upwards in the wrong side, with his middle finger in the
‘thumb’ hole. He attempted to stabilise the piece of paper with his other hand but
was holding it too far off the table to stop it shaking due to it being his non-dominant
hand. By the age of three, a child should be able to manage a proficient scissors grip
and as a result Christian is behind in this area of fine motor skills.

When drawing, Christian’s grasp alternated between precision when colouring in

(static tripod grasp) and power when drawing (Palmer grasp). This is justified by the
proximodistal principle. At three years of age, Christian should be using the Palmer
grasp when drawing/colouring in and by the time he reaches three and a half or four,
he should have moved into using the static tripod grasp. These observations revealed
that Christian’s fine motor skills were proficient with some underdeveloped (cutting)

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3/30/23, 5:49 PM 3-Year-Old Child Observation Report Sample: Physical And Cognitive Development: [Essay Example], 1726 words GradesFi…

and advanced (pencil grasp). Exposure at kindergarten allows him to refine these
skills. As Christian’s microsystem at kindergarten impacts his level of accomplishment
in these areas, Bronfenbrenner’s’ theory of ecological system is exercised.

Cognitive Skills
With reference to Jean Piaget, Christian is in the preoperational stage (2-7 years) of
his cognitive development. Christian demonstrated that he was able to differentiate
between sizes of blocks, leggo and beads he was playing with while naming colours
and shapes. These are intellectual milestones for a three-year-old. Christian struggled
with memorizing the alphabet. Furthermore, he demonstrated egocentric behaviour
when Clara received attention from the therapist over himself. To gain attention
when praise was given to his sister, Christian refocused his actions, using a more
unconventional manner. He verbally expressed this using statements such as “Look,
look,” “Can I have some too” and “I can do that as well, watch.” This is typical for
children of this age and does not indicate selfish behaviour.

Language and Communication

Language and communication are closely related to the development of cognitive
skills. Christian’s development in this sector involved reactions of receptive and
expressive language. His vocabulary and grammar were quite limited making him
difficult to understand. Being three years old, and not having an acceptable
vocabulary puts Christian behind when compared to his expected milestones. When
wanting a specific coloured crayon, he pointed at it and made noises rather than
using words. Nonetheless, his receptive language was adequate, letting him follow 2-
3 step instructions and understand what Clara was saying. Receptive language
usually develops at a higher rate than expressive, which explains his expressive lag.

Psychosocial
Christian demonstrated psychosocial skills appropriate for a three-year-old. Upon
request he was able to give his first name and provide his age. When separated from
his mother, Christian did not cry and continued playing happily with his sister. The
provided background mentioned that he needs support with washing, dressing and
brushing his teeth. Most of these factors meet the expected milestones for this age.
From the video footage, Christian’s mother appeared to express authoritative
parenting providing care but also control consistent to his age, which justifies
Christian’s mostly self-reliant behaviour.

Conclusion
After observing Christian, it is evident that Christian has accomplished a large portion
of milestones in regards to development. There were some limitations such as
skipping, cutting with scissors and understandable conversation, however when
compared to the number of milestones successfully acknowledged, Christian’s life
development shows a continual successful pattern of skilfulness and growth.
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