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Essay / Toddler Observation Reflection Report
Ryan is a twelve-month-old white toddler with brown hair and brown eyes. He is Caucasian with almond-shaped eyes. I met him at a friend's suburban residence on February 10, 2020, where he and she live. I was there between 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. at her place. I found Ryan sitting on the living room floor. The house and the neighborhood appeared safe and well-maintained. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Bethany Rutkowski is a 28-year-old white female and works as a nurse at Harris Hospital. She is a single parent and lives in a suburban residence. She said she was unlikely to have support from her father during her pregnancy. The family was more than supportive, but helped her find housing. Stressors at home include finances, child care, and sleep habits (due to work schedules). Ryan stays with his grandparents or friends while Bethany is at work. Bethany said Ryan was up to date on his vaccinations and his delivery was easy. Bethany said Ryan is a good kid and so far has not had any serious illnesses or injuries. Ryan has little to no difficulty sitting up. Ryan seemed very confident in his ability to balance. He sits with his feet directly in front of him, legs spread wide. Ryan is able to bend forward until his stomach reaches the floor, it seems to require a lot of effort to straighten up. When Ryan crawls, his hands tend to be flat and spread out on the ground, with Ryan's fingers spread and feet pointed directly behind him. When moving from a crawling position to a sitting position, Ryan first lifts his left leg while he places his right foot down before placing his butt on the ground. When transitioning from crawling to standing, Ryan walks over to the couch and uses it for support with his right hand. He tilts his head back, steadying himself with his feet and placing his other hand on the couch before getting up. This took some effort on Ryan's part. Ryan seems tall compared to others his age and heavy. He hasn't started walking yet without needing some support. (He can walk on the couch while using it for support). It's his size that seems to prevent him from walking alone. Ryan is robust, healthy and exhibits normal coordination. All of the above actions are considered equivalent by Piaget, for a one-year-old child. Ryan was sitting on the floor surrounded by some of his toys. Next to him is Bethany, to whom he begins to give his toys. Ryan showed interest in Bethany's response to the blocks he gave her. He leans forward to pick up the blocks that he seems to enjoy passing to her. He looks at her face, his mouth open as he waits for her to respond. Betahny keeps telling Ryan that you're playing with the blocks. Ryan goes from block to block and continues to hand them to Bethany. When Ryan is done with the blocks. Ryan crawls to get his toy car and drives around in it for a few minutes. Ryan then looks towards Bethyany to see what she is doing, Ryan moving the toy towards her gaze and laughing. Bethany returns the laugh, asking if he's having fun with his car? Ryan smiles and laughs – he seems genuinely interested in how Bethany reacts to him. Seemingly unconcerned about whether he's close or moving for a toy, Bethany continually checks on him to make sure Ryan is okay. Ryan looks back from time to time to see if Betahnys is focusing on him or not; When Bethany starts picking up toys from the floor and trying totidying up the place, Ryan heads over to Bethany because Ryan seems to be interested in what his mother is doing. He seems to be very dependent on his mood. If Bethany smiles, so does Ryan. When Betahny is distracted, he desires the attention to be on him again. Ryan appears to read and respond to Bethany's facial expressions. Overall, the mother-child relationship appears very positive, the first being very attentive to the second. Ryan portrays a good sense of balance, learning best through touch or self-execution of tasks. From the start, babies actively construct individual understandings based on their personal experiences. Their sociocultural context mediates and relates to such understandings. Children demonstrate active learning through observation and participation with peers, educators, parents, and other adults. Given his age, I was not able to adequately observe the child's linguistic and cognitive development. Ryan is able to push, pull and carry objects. As mentioned earlier, he dragged his toy car across the ground. Crawling towards her, the boy placed his right hand on top of the car with fingers inserted through the opening in the front window. At first he pushed him towards his mother's seat, stopped, stopped pushing before sitting down and finally pushed him back and forth, all the while making noise. He started drooling at one point; his mother had to wipe her mouth. The boy exhibits normal behavior for a 12-month-old child. His gross and fine motor skills are appropriate for his age. He can grab objects that fit in his hand while sitting, standing, or crawling. Ryan shows a particular interest in people's facial expressions, to which he reacts. If his mother smiles, he also smiles by opening and closing his hands. Sometimes he simultaneously begins to wiggle his toes. If he finds that his mother is not smiling or focused on him, Ryan observes her for a while before buying her a toy. I believe he evaluates her feelings and takes comfort in her presence. He looks at me too, it seems like he's trying to understand my emotions. I wanted to observe it without participating; however, every time he focused on me, I responded. When he was taking my notes, he would occasionally crawl over to me, sit nearby with one of his toys, and look at me from time to time. When I smiled or talked about the toy, he would start playing again, satisfied. In my opinion, he behaves normally for a one year old. Ryan is a fairly social child, who enjoys playing independently and interacting with other people for short periods of time. Early childhood education and care initiatives can appropriately and actively support development. A positive and effective caregiver-parent relationship is a key component of supporting and promoting children's development (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2010). Through play, children are able to better understand their world, socialize with other people, convey and control their feelings, and cultivate personal symbolic skills. Play allows adults to understand child development and ways to support the development of new strategies. Development in one particular sphere can help or hinder development in another. A toddler who crawls or walks, for example, is able to better explore the surroundings; this mobility successively impacts cognitive growth. Likewise, language abilities impact children's ability to form social connections with peers and adults, in the same way that their social interaction skills facilitate or hinder.