CASE STUDY OF A CHILD - AGE

5
DRIANNA GORDON
EDU 220 – 1003 - 1004
OVERVIEW OF A 5-YEAR-OLD
OBSERVATION
 Typical Physical Behavior – Learning new ways to channel their
behavior
 Typical Emotional Behavior – Finding new relationships other than
those in their household
 Typical Cognitive Behavior – Knowing the difference between right
and wrong
 Typical Psychosocial Behavior – Beginning to use their new
imagination
 Typical Moral Behavior – Noticing behaviors other than their own
 TYPICAL PHYSICAL BEHAVIOR
o Finding impulse control
(VeryWell Family, 2020)
o Minor aggression
(VeryWell Family, 2020)
o Shorter temper tantrums
(VeryWell Family, 2020)
o Interest in physical activities
(VeryWell Family, 2020)
TYPICAL PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT ACCORDING
TO SNOWMAN

o Increase in playtime
o Higher development of motor skills
o Learning the use of fingers
o A need for multiple breaks
o Difficulty focusing their eyes
o Soft bones

(Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2015)

COMPARISON OF A 5-YEAR-OLD BEHAVIOR – SNOWMAN VS MY
OBSERVATION
o The 5-year-old boy I observed was my nephew, Jaxon.
o It takes a great deal of concentration, but he is beginning to learn
the use of his fingers to button his pants.
o When doing any activity, Jaxon has to take breaks quite a bit.
o Jaxon has an increase in playtime, he can sit for hours with anything
and make playtime with it.
 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PHYSICAL
DEVELOPMENT

o 60 minutes of physical play, typically sports with lose rules

(Caring For Kids, 2018)
o They should sleep 10 – 13 hours every night
(American Academy of Pediatrics, 2016)
o Play games that allow for physical development, such as Simon says
(Family Fun, 2019)
TYPICAL EMOTIONAL BEHAVIOR
o Able
to go away from their guardians, without excessive emotional
meltdowns
(VeryWell Family, 2019)
o Plays with both genders, begins to share toys
(VeryWell Family, 2019)
o Able to focus on tasks for a short amount of time
(VeryWell Family, 2019)
TYPICAL EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACCORDING TO
SNOWMAN
o No filter with emotions – Anger tantrums are
expected
o Finding a new sense of jealously – Seeking
attention

(Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2015)

COMPARISON OF EMOTIONAL BEHAVIOR – SNOWMAN VS MY
OBSERVATION
o Observing my 5-year-old nephew, Jaxon.
oNo filter of emotions? 100 % true, never have to guess how he is
feeling or his opinion on any matter.
o Jaxon has temper tantrums still quite frequently, one small thing
will set him over the edge.
o Jaxon has an older brother, Ace, who he is fighting with for
attention constantly. I am not sure if that is typical emotional
behavior, or just brothers wanting attention from their parents.
EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
RECOMMENDATION
o Begin to introduce, clear rules and restrictions.
(Educatall, 2019)
o Let them make their own decisions
(Educatall, 2019)
o Allow them to talk about their feelings, sharing how they feel about
everything around them
(Educatall, 2019)
TYPICAL COGNITIVE BEHAVIOR
oExpressing what they want using their words
(VeryWell Family, 2020)
o Taking a higher interest in singing, acting and dancing
(VeryWell Family, 2020)
o Using their vocabulary
(VeryWell Family, 2020)
TYPICAL COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT ACCORDING TO PIAGET AND
VYGOTSKY

o Development of “theory of mind”

o Beginning to talk a lot, especially in front of groups
o High sense of competence, even if they do not have the
competence they think they do
o More interactions, which results in better competence

(Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2015)

COMPARISON OF COGNITIVE BEHAVIOR – PIAGET AND VYGOTSKY VS
MY OBSERVATION
o Observing my 5-year-old nephew, Jaxon.
o I do not find the “beginning to talk a lot” applying to Jaxon. He is
extremely nervous talking to multiple people, even if it is family.
o Jaxon swears that he knows to complete tasks, such as pouring
milk, when in reality he can not do it on his own.
o Jaxon does not have a lot of interactions with other kids his age,
aside from school. Which I can see is beginning to take a toll on his
cognitive development.
COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT
RECOMMENDATION
o Separate different objects in categories
(About Kids Health, 2011)
o Teach how to construct full sentences
(About Kids Health, 2011)
o Teach concepts such as days of the week
(About Kids Health, 2011)
TYPICAL PSYCHOSOCIAL
BEHAVIOR
o Finds independency
(Scholastic, 2020)
o Has a great imagination, knows how to play in a fantasy land
(Scholastic, 2020)
o Learning to play with others
(Scholastic, 2020)
TYPICAL PSYCHOSOCIAL BEHAVIOR – ACCORDING TO ERIKSON
AND MACIA
o Learning to explore tasks
o Using language to help with tasks
o Excited to be active

(Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2015)

COMPARISON OF PSYCHOSOCIAL BEHAVIOR – ERIKSON AND MACIA VS
MY OBSERVATION
o Observing my five-year-old, Jaxon
o Jaxon recently started karate, which has allowed him to be excited
about an activity.
o He has also learned how to ask questions to help himself. When
faced with a task instead of an immediate “help me” he asks
questions so he can solve it himself.
o Jaxon loves to try new activities and to be creative. While visiting,
he started a new project with fuzzy pipe cleaners, making as many
different “creatures” he can.
PYSCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
RECOMMENDATION
o Teach a child praise when they do something right
(MentalUp, 2019)
o Talk to them about role models – what a role model is
(MentalUp, 2019)
o Let them finish tasks themselves, do not correct them constantly
(MentalUp, 2019)
TYPICAL MORAL BEHAVIOR
o Learning the difference between right and wrong
(VeryWell, 2020)
o Noticing how other people are feeling
(VeryWell, 2020)
o Developing a sense of what is fair/unfair
(VeryWell, 2020)
TYPICAL MORAL BEHAVIOR – ACCORDING TO
KOHLBERG
o Understanding of right and wrong
o Thinks all rules are set in stone
o Believes in other people deserve punishments as well
o Understands how guilty to feel based on how bad they have been
o Believe that every wrong deserve some sort of punishment

(Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2015)

 COMPARISON OF MORAL CHARACTER – KOHLBERG VS MY OBSERVATION
o Observing my five-year-old nephew, Jaxon
o Jaxon completely understands the difference between right and wrong.
He points out when someone else does something wrong. For example, if
an adult curses, he will ask “That a bad word, right? You can not say that,
right?”
o Once I told Jaxon that he did not need shoes just for a car ride, and he
could not believe me. Every time he leaves the house, you put on shoes. He
could not believe that we could break that he learned.
o When someone else does something wrong, Jaxon asks “They are a bad
girl/boy right?”
MORAL DEVELOPMENT
RECOMMENDATION
o Have a clear line of right and wrong
(VeryWell Family, 2020)
o Teach them the difference between guilt and shame
(VeryWell Family, 2020)
o Let them look at how others are feeling, let them develop empathy
(VeryWell Family, 2020)
REFERENCES
Anthony, M. (2020). Social Development in 3-5 Year-Olds. Scholastic. Retrieved from
https://www.scholastic.com/parents/family-life/social-emotional-learning/development-milestones/social- development-3-
5-year-olds.html

Cole, L. (2019). What is the Theory of Psychosocial Development and What Are the Stages of It? MentalUp. Retrieved from
https://www.mentalup.co/blog/what-is-the-theory-of-psychosocial-development-and-what-are-the-stages-of-it

Dube, M. (2019). The Emotional Development of Five-Year-Olds. Educatall. Retrieved from

https://www.educatall.com/page/1227/The-emotional-development-of-five-year-olds.html

Morin, A. (2019). 5-Year-Old Child Development Milestones. VeryWell Family. Retrieved from
https://www.verywellfamily.com/5-year-old-developmental-milestones-620713

SickKids Staff. (2011). Cognitive Development in School-Age Children. AboutKidsHealth. Retrieved from
https://www.aboutkidshealth.ca/Article?contentid=711&language=English

Snowman, J. & McCown, R. (2015). Psychology applied to teaching, 14 th ed. Stamford, CT: Cengage and Learning.