Running head: CHILD STUDY INVESTIGATION 1

Child Study Investigation

Lexi Mazur

Ivy Tech Community College

CHILD STUDY INVESTIGATION 2

General Background Information

The subject that I observed is six years old as of January 12, 2011. The subject has an

older sister who is eight years old. The sister is in second grade and the subject is in

kindergarten. They both attend a public school setting in the west side of Indianapolis. The

subject was born to a couple who had their children in their late twenties. The subjects mother is

thirty-four and the subjects father is thirty-five.

After the mother gave birth to the child, she stayed at home with him for about six weeks.

When the child was six weeks of age, the subject stayed at their neighbors house. The neighbor

ran a home daycare. The neighbor had a total of three kids who attended the daycare. The subject

was the youngest, and the oldest kid was three years of age. The neighbor was also a very close

friend of the subjects mother, so she felt very comfortable letting the neighbor watch him all

day. The mother said that the subject never had any trouble while he was at the daycare. She said

that he was a very happy baby and hardly ever cried. The subject stayed at the neighbors house

from the time he was six weeks old, all the way up until he was in kindergarten. He stayed at the

daycare Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

The subject is now in kindergarten at a public school on the west side of Indianapolis.

The school begins at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 3:15 p.m. A typical day in the life of the subject is as

follows: Awake at 7:15 a.m. and gets dressed. The subject is allowed to choose from two outfits

that his mother has put out for him. He is also able to get dressed all by himself. After that, the

subject then goes downstairs to eat breakfast. As soon as he is done with breakfast, he brushes

his teeth while being supervised. The subjects mother then drives him to school each day since

she works nearby. The commute is about ten minutes from their house. During the commute, the
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subject, his mother, and his sister talk about how the day will go and listen to music. The

subjects family loves to listen to country music, so the subject has learned to catch on and love it

too.

Once the subject arrives at school, he walks in the hallway to his classroom with his

sister. She walks him to his class every day. The subjects mother said that his sister loves to be

his mother hen. His mother said that sometimes he likes it and other times it is annoying to

him because he wants to look like a big kid and do it himself. Once he is in the classroom, he

gets to talk to a few of his friends before the bell rings for class to begin. His best friend is in his

class and also lives in the same neighborhood as him. They have been friends for a very long

time.

When the bell rings for class to begin, the subject and all the other students report to their

assigned seats. Their seating arrangements are grouped into four desks. He sits in a group with

two females and one other male. The subjects mother said that he usually gets along very well

with other students and is not typically shy. The mother is very shocked by this because she is a

shy person and so is his sister. The mother said that he must get this trait from his dad because he

is not shy either.

After the bell rings, the teacher then begins to start in with their daily math lesson. The

mother claims that the subject is very good in math, but does not do as well in reading. She says

that he likes it when others read to him, but does not like to look at books on his own. She says

that his sister is the complete opposite. Usually during their daily math lesson, they get to do a

worksheet and communicate with their peers while they do it. I feel like this is very good for

their social development. It is very important for children at this age to get chances to
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communicate with their peers because they will learn a lot from each other. Sometimes the child

might be too shy to ask the teacher a question, so it might be easier for them to ask their peer

instead. The child will not feel as embarrassed or as shy because their peer is their own age and

they are sitting right next to them. As they get older, they will get more and more comfortable

with this.

After they have math, they then have reading/ language arts time. During this time, they

usually have three different stations that they go to. The kids are grouped by their academic

ability. The children do not know that, but the teachers do. She does this because she wants them

to be all or near very near the same level. From what I observed, it seemed like it worked out

very well. The subject was in the lowest group. The mother told me this ahead of time, so I was

not surprised. It seemed like the subject worked very well in small groups and loved talking to

his peers.

When reading was over, it was time for lunch. When they go in the cafeteria, the kids get

to choose where they want to sit. The kindergarteners eat with the first graders. A lot of the kids

like to mix it up and eat with the other grade level. I feel like this is great for both grades. It is

great for the kindergarteners because they can use the first graders as role models and learn from

them. It is great for the first graders because they can learn how to be role models because they

know that the kindergarteners are looking up to them.

When lunch is over, both grade levels get to go to recess. They get a total of twenty

minutes outside. When I observed the subject outside, I noticed that he played with just boys. He

seemed to favor the kid that lives in his neighborhood and two other boys from the other

kindergarten class. He did not seem to have any interest in playing with anyone else. While they
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were outside, it looked like they played a few games of tag and then after that, they played

basketball. The subjects mother said that he is very interested in sports and that basketball was

his favorite.

After recess, they came inside and got to watch a short five minute video clip of a show

they like to watch. They are only allowed to watch a video clip if they walk quietly in the

hallway on the way back from recess. I feel like this is a very good method to use because it

motivates the kids to want to be quiet while walking in the hallway. I really like how the teacher

found something that all the kids like and use it as a reward for them. This reward system could

vary from class to class depending on what motivates each group of children. Even though it

worked very well for the subjects class, it does not mean that it will work for every class.

When the video clip is over, they have science and then writing. They do not spend too

much time in these subject areas in this grade. By the time those two subjects are over, it is time

to pack up and then go home. The subject and his sister get picked up from school every day by

either their mother or their father. The subject always looks forward to this time of the day

because he gets to see his parents again after a long day of school. Sometimes after the mother or

father pick up the kids from school, they run some errands. This could consist of: the grocery

store, post office, car wash, etc. They usually get home between 4:15 and 4:30 p.m.

When they finally arrive at home, the subject and his sister are allowed to do what they

want to do. This usually consists of: watching T.V, playing with toys, playing on iPad, etc. His

mother says that he usually chooses to play with his toys because he has been away from them

all day. Sometimes his sister chooses to play with him as well. While they are playing, the

mother and father work on making dinner. The family usually sits down to eat dinner between
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5:30 and 6:00 p.m. The mother said that the subject is not a picky eater and usually does a nice

job eating all of his food. She is very grateful that both of her kids are this way.

When dinner is over, the subject and his sister both know to scrape any remaining food

into the trash can and then put their plates in the sink. When they are done completing those

tasks, then they are allowed to do what they want again while the mother and father continue to

clean the kitchen. Once the clock hits 8:45, the mother sends the kids upstairs for bath time. The

mother says that the subject prefers to take a bath rather than a shower. She said that the loud

noise that the shower makes scares him sometimes. After baths are taken, the mother and father

read both children a story and then tuck them into bed. The subject and his sister take turns on

whose room they get to hear the story in. This is easy for them because the sisters room is right

across from the subjects room. The parents room is right down the hall. The mother said that

both children sleep very well through the night and only usually request to sleep in the parents

room when it is storming outside.

The subject does not have any medical conditions nor takes any medications. The child

appears to be in good physical health and emotional health. I observed the subject on two

separate occasions. One occasion was at his school for the whole day and then the other occasion

was at his house for one hour. I interviewed the subjects mother the day before I observed him at

school all day.

Physical and Motor Development

The subjects mother told me that the subject weighed forty-two pounds and was forty

inches tall the last time that he went to the doctors office. This took place about three months

before I observed him and interviewed his mother. The subject appears to be healthy by just
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looking at him. The subject is right-handed in the activities that he does. The subjects mother,

father, and sister are all right-handed, so this appears to be a dominate trait in their family.

According to the subjects mother, the subject participated in soccer this past summer and really

seemed to enjoy it. The subject has no issues with physical movement. This could relate to him

participating in soccer over the summer. When asked, the subject could write his whole name

(first, middle, and last) on paper using a pencil. He also had no issues creating circles, squares,

rectangles, etc. The only shape he had some trouble making was an octagon. After I showed and

helped him a few times he eventually got the hang of it. This appears to be very developmentally

appropriate for a child in this age group.

Cognitive Development

The subject appears to be developmentally appropriate when it comes to verbalization and

language skills. The subject speaks in full sentences and is very clear when he talks. He is also

very easy to understand while some kids are not at this age. He also engages in proper social

dialogue as well as self-talk.

The subject was then tested with one conservation task to determine the appropriate

Piagetian stage. In the task, the subject was presented with two cylinders of water. They were

both filled with the same amount of water. When I asked the subject what he thought, he said that

they had the same amount of water as well. After that, I took a tall and skinny cylinder and set it

on the table. The subject watched me fill the tall and skinny cylinder with water with one of the

original cylinders. I then asked the subject which one has the most water in it. The subject replied

with the answer of the tall and skinny one having the most water in it. He said that even though

he watched me take the water from one of the original cylinders and dump it in the tall and
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skinny cylinder. When I asked him how this could be, he told me that it is this way because the

skinny cylinder is taller, so it can hold more water. The subject has not yet developed the ability

to conserve. Although the subject was not able to conserve, he was able to sort his colorful

blocks by color and shape. The groups he chose to do were: blue cubes, red cubes, yellow cubes,

blue pyramids, red pyramids, and yellow pyramids. There were about ten to fifteen blocks in

each group. I believe that by the subject being in kindergarten, he is able to learn about shapes

and he is also able to learn a lot from playing with his friends. While I was testing the subject, he

seemed to have no problem with listening to what I had to say. I tested him on a Saturday where

he had the whole rest of the day to do whatever he wanted. I feel like this is why he did not have

a problem with giving me his attention. If I were to do this after he had been at school all day, I

would have probably had some different answers and him not wanting to pay attention. Kids

brains can only handle so much at a time without a mental break.

Social and Emotional Development

In my opinion, I think that the subject that I observed is in the autonomy vs. shame and

doubt stage of Eriksons theory of psychosocial development. The subject tries to the best of his

ability to do and try things on his own. These tasks include: bathing, zipping his jacket, buttoning

his pants, etc. The subject wants to do these things on his own because he wants to gain

independence and be a big boy. When he figures out he cannot do certain things on his own, he

then will ask his mother or father for assistance. The mother claims that sometimes he gets

frustrated when he cannot do things on his own. She tells him that he will keep getting better and

better as long as he continues to practice.

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The mother said that the subject is at a very loving stage in his life right now. His goal

is to please his mother and father and to make them proud. He does not like to see them upset or

mad because it upsets him as well. The mother said that sometimes he will just randomly come

sit by her on the couch and rub her arm or play with her hair. She said she asked him why he

does this and he told her because he loves her so much. She also said that another time she was

tired from work so she was in a bad mood. The subject could tell and she said that he acted sad

the whole evening. She said she asked him why he was said and he said because she was sad and

he does not like to see her sad. I feel like this is very common with kids this age because they

rely on their parents so much for everything; sometimes even their own happiness (SDB, 2017).

The only example of gender typing that I observed with the subject was when I observed

him at his school during recess. While he was out at recess, I noticed that he only played with

boys. He did not seem to have any interest in playing with the girls. While they were out there,

they seemed to play very boy-like things, such as tag and basketball. I feel like this has a lot to

do with how he is taught at home. In his playroom, it is very clear to see that his sister has the

girly toys and he has the boy toys. His boy toys include things like: cars, trucks, tools, super

heroes, etc. His sister has things like: Barbies, dolls, dress-up clothes, a kitchen set, etc. I also

feel like his family has a lot to do with how well the subject communicates with others and is not

typically shy. I think this because they socialize with him quite often and always encourage him

to be friendly to others.

Your Reactions, Recommendations, and Application

There can sometimes be some issues with evaluating and assessing young children.

Sometimes a childs attention span tends to vary depending on the environment that they are in,
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the time, and the things going on around the child. It is very obvious that developmental charts

are just guidelines and that each childs development is very unique to each of them. No child

is exactly the same; even if they are siblings. To me, it appears that the subject is average in the

physical development category. This could very well be because he participates in sports and

likes to play outside with his friends and family. His family also strongly encourages him to be in

sports and to love the outdoors.

Even though the subject is good at math and not so good in reading, I feel like the more

and more exposer he gets in reading, the better he will get at it. He could get extra help at school

and his parents could help him at home as well. Something that I would recommend would be

that he should not get so frustrated when he cannot do something on his own. I feel like his

parents should try and talk to him about that and that might help him remain calm and just ask

for help. Another thing that I would recommend is that the parents help him more at home with

his reading since he struggles with it. Maybe try to read books that are more his level and read it

to him one-on-one. Maybe even work on some sight words that would get his brain thinking and

wanting to learn new things.

I feel like each of my observations gave me all the information that I needed to

understand him as a child and to complete this assignment. I felt like the hour session was plenty

of time and I also thought observing him at school helped out too. I thought it helped because I

got to see him socialize with others and I also got to see him during academic time. I feel like I

will use some of these techniques with my future students. This will help me professionally and

personally when it comes to dealing with children in this age range. Overall, I feel like this was a

great assignment and I really enjoyed doing it. I also found some great websites to use that show

major milestones for children. I feel like I can use these in the future.
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Reference Page

Social development and behaviour. (n.d.). Retrieved March 01, 2017, from

http://www.kidsmatter.edu.au/early-childhood/resources-support-childrens-mental-

health/social-development

Websites

http://www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/devmile.htm

https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/milestones/