Child Development Observation Paper Examples

Introduction

To understand a child's social growth and development, an observation is conducted to the child. It involves conducting tests on the child. This paper will review a brief study on a group of four children who belong to different age sets. Each of the two children belongs to the same age set but of different gender. The main focus of the study is to observe the cognitive development of the children in each segment. It will also outline social and emotional development of children (Grantham-McGregor et al, 2007).

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Cognitive Development Tests for Children

The first test given to the children was the conservation test based on liquids. Initially, each child was presented with two jars half way filled with water. Each child was required to state the quantity of the water. They were also asked if the two liquids were equal in quantity. Next, the jars were refilled and this time one of the jars was three quarters full. The kids were expected to describe the quantity level of the water and whether they measured the same. In addition, the children were asked to describe themselves. Also they were given some questions among them included: what is the sun made of?

Additionally, other tests were conducted to understand the socio-emotional development in children. An observation was made on things that triggered the emotions of the four kids.

Observing Children

Keidy

The first child in our study is Keidy. She is a female aged five years old. She is at the junior level second stage. She was born on twenty-fourth October 2011. She is in a family of four children, where she is the lastborn of the four children. The five children are catered for by their mother, who is a single mother. In our first test, where she was required to determine the quantity of the liquids presented to her, Keidy could not differentiate the both levels of the liquid. She indicated that the liquids were equal even after the refill. Keidy described herself as a mom's baby. She also described the sun as something viewed up in the sky.

Keidy issues such as lack of attention to her made her cry. However, she was calmed down by promises and incentives. Her kind of anger is expressed through crying. She is afraid to be left alone in a place. She is close to her family members.

Jayden

Secondly, our study reviews baby Jayden, a male aged four years old. He was born on twelve December, 2012. He is in kindergarten stage two. He is the only child in their family. They reside with both the father and the mother. Similar results were yielded from Keidys result. Jayden could not differentiate the level of the liquids. He described them as of similar quality even after the jars were refilled. Jayden too described himself as a baby who belonged to his parents. He could not clearly say what the sun was. Jayden throws tantrums in realization of the absence of the mother. He cries down, and only small rewards given to him will calm him down. His relationship with the mother is close.

Joy

Thirdly, is Joy, a young girl aged nine years. She was born on the first of May, 2006. Joy is in fifth grade. She is the first born in their family. Their family is made up of four, her father, mother and her younger brother who is a toddler. Joy was able to recognize that the first two jars the liquids were equally filled. After a refill was done, she was able to note that one of the liquid was more than the other. Joy gave a more clear description about herself and her grade level. She was also able to identify the sun and give more characteristics. However, joy gets angry when her toys do not match that of her friends. She would cry or go silent. She will only be calmed down by a promise to have a similar doll.

Allan

Fourthly, is Allan, a twelves year boy who was born on the sixth of June, 2014. He is in seventh grade. He is the only child in their family. He lives with both parents. Allan too differentiated the level of the liquids. He noted that the first two liquids weighed the same and they were half filled while after the refill one liquid was more than the other. He gave a clear description about himself, his family, school and friends. He also clearly defined the sun and distinguished the sunrise and the sunset.

In the case of Allan, he cries. The only time he does is while playing with his friends. He can either cry or be annoyed and go silent on people. To calm him down a negotiation must be done, and a consignment is reached.

Conservation helps to understand the state of the quantity of matter. It develops with the age of the child. A seven-year-old is able to conserve liquids. In our study joy and Allan were able to differentiate the level of the liquids and the changes after the refill. For the sense of self-children below five years those in kindergarten, tend to act and think like the people around them. Children above five years old understand more and describe themselves according to what they know.

Conclusion

Socio emotions develop with age and the capacity of help given to the infants by the people surrounding them. This assistance helps the children to understand the emotions of others and can develop a sense of predictable responsiveness to the environment. All the children in the study record a normal growth rate.

Works cited

Grantham-McGregor, Sally, et al. "Developmental potential in the first 5 years for children in developing countries." The Lancet 369.9555 (2007): 60-70.

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Early Child Care Research Network. "The relation of child care to cognitive and language development." Child Development (2000): 960-980.

Santrock, John W. Life-span development. Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill, 2009.