Introduction
This research paper lays emphasis on parent interviews and play years of observation. The parent interview seeks to establish the progress of the baby in terms of physical, socio-emotional, and cognitive development. The information gathered from the parent interview shall indicate whether the child’s development pattern is age-appropriate. On the other hand, the play observation exercise will identify the baby’s developmental regime based on characteristic behavior.
Parent Interview
What age is your child?
My child is six years old.
How is your baby progressing physically?
The baby has a steady and satisfactory progression in physical aspects. The baby has a significant increase in body weight and body mass. The physical aspects of growth are consistent with expected standards. The body exhibits signs of growth and progression that reflect health and proper growth. The pulse rate is consistent with expectations. The heart rate is close to levels recorded in adults. The baby has normal dental development. Permanent teeth have replaced baby teeth. The dental formula indicates normal growth and development. The baby has normal eyesight. There are no complications in terms of visual development. The absence of myopia or shortsightedness is a sure sign of normal development.
How often does your child engage in physical activity?
The child is very active and consistent in play. He regularly joins other children in physical activities. The child enjoys cycling and playing recreational games such as football. Generally, he enjoys most childhood games that involve physical activity. Outdoor games keep him active throughout the day.
Is your child an adventurous eater?
The child enjoys eating. Unlike his earlier days, the child constantly demands food at regular intervals. The regular desire for food is due to increased physical activity through play and other outdoor activities. The child is an adventurous eater. He experiments with new foods regularly. However, he avoids foodstuffs that do not appeal to him. Whenever he insists on taking one type of food, I convince him to try other types of food. I achieve this by promising him rewards if he agrees to sample a different food item. This method has been successful in ensuring that he feeds on a variety of nutritious food.
Does your child ever act impulsively?
When he was younger, the child was keen to bite and kick whenever he had an objection to some situations. Such behavior was a sign of discomfort. However, the child has outgrown such behavior. Impulsive behavior has been replaced by verbal expressions.
How does your child react to stress?
The child experiences regular and momentary bouts of stress. Such instances occur when his demands are not met. Whenever he has a stressful encounter, he throws tantrums and behaves inappropriately. Such behavior is meant to attract the attention of people close to him. However, the child is increasingly gaining control over his temperament. The temperamental fits have become rare and shorter.
Describe the motor development of your child
The child has impressive and consistent motor development. He has control over motor capabilities. He is good at running, skipping, jumping, and climbing. The child is constantly in motion and cannot stay still for long periods. He always seems to have something to do. His levels of concentration are high and consistent. However, there are moments when he experiences short attention spans. This is normal for children of his age. He has developed a clear sense of time. For instance, he clearly understands the dynamics of the past, present, and future. He understands different seasons and specific activities that are associated with each season. This is a sign of normal and consistent motor development. The child is capable of solving puzzles and other relevant activities such as stacking and solving mazes. He is able to identify and name pictures of items that are familiar. The child reads and attempts to produce verbal sounds of certain words. The child has difficulty in differentiating letters of the alphabet. The child enjoys folding and cutting paper into different shapes. This denotes creativity and proper development of motor skills. The child ties his shoelaces without assistance.
Describe the lingual progression of your child
At the age of two, the child enjoyed active participation by listening to adults reading passages to him. At this age, he had known the relevance of language in achieving appropriate responses. His involvement with words increased tremendously through increased awareness. At this age, he experienced instances of stammering and other related lingual dysfunctions. At the age of three, the child had knowledge of most letters in the alphabet. He could recognize certain words that had special meaning and relevance. At this age, the child engaged in wordplay, often creating peculiar and personalized lingual vocabulary. At the age of four, the child had knowledge of prepositions such as ”on”, and ”under”. He had developed an impressive prowess in sentence structures. His speech was comprehensive and logical. He could understand simple questions and had the ability to respond to simple verbal cues. At his current age, the child has developed impressive and consistent lingual skills. He enjoys sharing jokes and intelligent tales. His sense of humor is direct and well contemplated. He learns new words and consistently improves on his vocabulary. He understands the correct use of verbs and constructs correct sentences. The child has a tendency to talk a lot.
What kind of pre-school does your child attend?
My child attends kindergarten. The program is child-centered. Through this program, the child has improved his developmental progression owing to exposure and interaction.
How do you teach your child empathy?
Empathy is an important virtue in children at an early age. I instill empathy in my child through verbal instruction. I explain to him the importance of being sympathetic to others. I ensure that he accompanies me whenever I engage in any form of helping behavior. This helps him to learn through imitation.
Does your child have an imaginary friend?
My child has an imaginary friend. He calls her Fiffy. Whenever he is upset, he retreats to solitude and converses with his imaginary friend. He has had an imaginary friend since the age of five.
How do you punish your child?
Whenever he does something wrong, I sanction him by withholding favors. This effectively demonstrates that his actions are not acceptable. The method is successful in instilling good behavior.
Play years Observation
The observation exercise lasted for 45 minutes. The exercise was observational and interactive. The exercise focused on the child’s physical, socio-emotional, and cognitive development. During the exercise, I engaged the child in reasoning activities. For instance, I told him a story and asked him to complete it for me. His responses were witty and intelligent. He exhibited signs of normal development. His reasoning and interpretation of situations were consistent with his age. He tried not to fail in the explanation. After completing the story, he insisted on knowing whether his answer was correct. He did not want to risk failure. This is a positive sign of healthy socio-emotional development. He was anxious to please me. He was keen to get my approval and positive rating. He actively sought assurance and praise for his efforts.
During the exercise, I watched him play with other children. He was dominant over other children. He was keen to lead other children in the group. The child was active in seeking attention and approval. He showed fear of dark, unfamiliar noises, and domestic animals and pets. As part of the exercise, I informed the child that I had a small gift for him in a bag. Afterward, I left the room for 2 minutes. On returning, I found the child attempting to open the bag. This means that the child has poor self-regulation. This is normal because children at this age are usually anxious and inquisitive. I also performed an exercise to determine his gender awareness level.
The child was aware that he was a boy. He distinguished his gender from that of girls. I also realized that he was aware of various gender roles. He also told me that he wanted to become a medical doctor. This awareness indicates normal development according to expectations. The child displayed empathy in responding to my questions. He was positive that he would help people in trouble. The child was keen to help children in uncomfortable situations. Through the observation exercise, I concluded that the child has a normal developmental progression. His physical, socio-emotional, and cognitive development is impressive and age-appropriate. The social skills of the child are normal and age-appropriate.