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short-answer questions

My Virtual Child Reflection 4: 18 year old

1.) Looking back, how did being an early, on-time or late-bloomer influence your
virtual teens social development, emotional well-being, and risk-taking
behaviors? Give one example for social development, one for emotional wellbeing, and one for risk-taking behaviors. How might your development have
been different if your pubertal timing was altered?
Because my teen was a late bloomer, he had problems with developing social
skills. He did not develop many social skills until he was a teenager around
the age of 16. Also, his emotional well-being was hindered because he would
get upset if his peers would ignore him in anyway. However, he did have a
long term relationship and was mostly a happy person. He did take on some
risk behaviors including drinking at parties, smoking marijuana, and getting
in occasional car accidents. He would always discuss these choices with us
and he knew the difference between right and wrong. He was following what
his peers had asked him to do. I think that being a late bloomer affected the
way that he wanted to be perceived by his peers.
2.) To what extent has your identity, or the things you spend the most time on
and that are most important to you, changed from high school to college?
Give two examples. Do you consider yourself an adult? Why or why not? How
do your answers compare to the characteristics of emerging adulthood?
When I was in high school, I was very involved in music and not involved in
learning or studying. I also never worked out or did any physical activity
because of my asthma. Now that I am in college, I am constantly singing and
listening to music, but I do not play instruments anymore. Also, I will work out
and go for runs as long as my asthma allows me too. I also am very
interested in learning now. I want to do well in all of my classes, and normally
complete assignments before they are due to ensure that they all get done. I
do not consider myself an adult at this point. Even though I am completely
financially independent from my parents, I still rely on my mom for a lot of
things. I still need her when making decisions, and I still look for their
approval in the decisions that I make. Most emerging adults at my age do not
feel that they are adults at this point in their lives. Most of them, like me, feel
that they still rely on their parents for a variety of things. Many emerging
adults feel that they will be fully an adult when they are out of college,
financially independent, and have a family.
3.) What are two limitations of Piagets theory that were discussed in lecture?
Did your virtual teen ever reach Formal Operations? Why or why not? Connect
your response to the limitations discussed in lecture if you did not reach
Formal Operations. What does either reaching or not reaching Formal
Operations do for the level of credibility you give Piagets Cognitive
Developmental Theory overall?
The two limitiations of Piagets theory is that there are individual differences
in the attainment of formal operations and there is a cultural bases of
adolescent cognitive development. I think that my teen did reach Formal

Name:
short-answer questions

My Virtual Child Reflection 4: 18 year old

Operations. He was able to think scientifically and was able to do

experiments mentally. He did very well in his math and science classes which
proved that he could do those things. The limitations did not affect my teen
because he reached Formal Operations when he was supposed to according
to Piagets theory. I think that because my teen reached formal operations
when he was supposed to, that gives Piaget more credit in my eyes. I think
that there is a difference in some people and there is a difference in relation
to cultural differences, but I think that the majority of children math Piagets
theory.
4.) Using Baumrinds Parenting Typology characterize your parents as
authoritative, authoritarian, permissive-indulgent or permissive-neglectful.
Give an example to support your characterization. To what extent has their
parenting style prepared you to be successful in a college setting? To what
extent has their parenting style presented challenges for you to be successful
in a college setting?
I would say that my parents were authoritative parents. They set strict rules
that we needed to follow, but they are very involved in what I am doing. They
are high in demandingness and responsiveness. They always explained the
rules and why there were there. If I broke the rules, they would talk to me
about it and try to understand my decisions. My parents were always my
friends. I think that this has really helped me in college. My parents always
told me why it was important to stay away from drugs and alcohol and they
would explain it to me and answer any questions. Because of this, I
understand why drinking is bad and genuinely have no desire to do it. Also,
my parents always supported me in whatever I wanted to do. Therefore, they
are really supportive of my career choice and what I am involved in on
campus. I talk to them all the time and they are very involved in my life. It
has been challenging because I am very close to my mom. I talk to her every
day and that is sometimes hard for me. I feel like I cannot make a good
decision unless I call her and talk about it with her. I feel like I am very
dependent on her approval and acceptance of my decisions.
5.) What did you find most helpful about MyVirtualTeen? What did you find most
helpful about the reflections? What did you find most challenging about
MyvirtualTeen? What did you find most challenging about the associated
reflections? Overall, would you recommend using MyVirtualTeen in the future?
I found that you could make your own decisions most helpful. I felt like the
decisions that I was making truly had an impact on the way that my teen was
being raised. I thought the reflections were helpful to regroup and think about
the things that my teen might have been lacking in. I noticed things about
him that might have been skipped over if I did not fill out the reflections. This
helped me to make different decisions based on what I noticed in the
reflections. I found that making decisions early on was very challenging. I did

Name:
short-answer questions

My Virtual Child Reflection 4: 18 year old

not know how much I should have helped him and when he needed his
freedom and space. As he got older, I only helped when he needed me to. I
think that it was harder when I made so many of the decisions for him as a
child. I think that the most challenging part about the reflections was
remembering everything that had happened over several years. I thought
that is was challenging to think critically about why I had made the decisions
that I did. I would recommend using MyVirtualTeen because it really helps to
reinforce what is being taught in the classroom. It shows you how the
theories would actually be used which helped me to remember them more.