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Running head: CHILD OBSERVATION Child Observation March 25, 2009 Child Observation Background The child observed was a five-year old girl that I will refer to as Catherine. Catherine is a highly gifted child. Her physical development completely corresponds to that of the average. The girls head size approximately equals to an adults head size. The body is also approximately that of an adults. Catherine has lost few deciduous baby teeth, and her binocular vision and visual tracking are developed well, as it can be observed from her reactions and responses to different events and objects.
Catherines parents are divorced. The girl lives with her mother, who has recently remarried. Catherines father has contact with her; he often visits her and spends relatively much time with her. Her parents come from a middle class background. Catherine is the only child in the family.
The girl was observed in the waiting room for approximately two hours, while waiting for her mother to come. There were many books and toys for all age ranges in the room, as well as many games and magazines. There were many bright and colorful posters and pictures, a sofa and few chairs. Observation During two hours the girl spent in the waiting room, she was actively engaged in playing. There were another three children in the room and Catherine easily got acquainted with them. The girls behavior was social and friendly.
She was attentive to her playmates and encouraged them to participate in her games. The first half an hour could be characterized as a parallel play, as Catherine played independently and was observing other childrens behavior. Despite playing independently, the girl, was quite attentive to others and tended to play with the ball and dolls that were similar to those that other children in the waiting room near her were playing with. Catherine unwillingly copied their behavior and played beside other children, without any intention to play with them.
However, in approximately half an hour Catherine adopted to the new environment and started to express interest to other children. She smiled to them and finally offered them a group play. Soon Catherine and other children were engaged in group play with a ball and dolls, following one another in a functional activity. During the observation it became obvious that Catherines motor activity was well developed compared to her playmates of the similar age. The girls movements were deliberate and precise, although sometimes some awkwardness and clumsiness was observed. Catherine liked jumping, running and throwing a ball.
It was quite difficult for her to stay motionless. She also had difficulties with concentrating on one thing for a long period of time and changed her activity and toys relatively quickly; however, this type of behavior is peculiar to all children of her age (Goodman, 1981). The girl preferred games involving counting activities, and games where she had to throw something or to move fast. Catherines cognitive skills were also well developed. During the observation it was obvious that the girl has good memory skills. She was able to recognize numbers from one to ten, understood the concepts of more and less (for example, which ball is bigger, and which one is smaller).
Catherine was also able to sort different toys on the basis of dimensions (for example, shape, size or form). She liked playing games with rules and was eager to learn new things. Catherines attachment capacities were also well developed. During the observation the girl obviously was getting pleasure from interacting with other children. When the girls mother finally came back, Catherine was very happy to see her, showing that the girl has positive relationships with her mother and feels a lot of pleasure from the mothers approving words and smile.
Catherines verbal and conversation skills were also well developed compared to the playmates of her age. She was able to define simple words by their functions (for example, a doll is to play with, a chair is to sit on, and so on. The girl easily named and identified simple colors, was able to recognize humor during conversation with her playmates and made up her own simple jokes. She produced short sentences with six or seven words on average, which is also typical to this age range (Brain & Mukherji, 2005; Healy, 2004). The girl also was able to use tenses appropriately. Her temperament was friendly, and it was obvious that her peers and parents positively influenced on her, as Catherine behaved well and had a positive self-image.
Similar to the girls of her age, Catherine preferred playing dolls and other toys, which are stereotyped for gender roles. In conclusion it can be said that Catherine appeared to be a normal, well developed five year old girl. Her verbal and conversation skills, attachment capacities, cognitive skills and motor activity were well developed compared to the children of her age. Although her parent were divorced, it seems that it didnt affected her in a negative way, as her father manages to maintain tender relationships with her and takes active part in Catherines development and life. References Brain, C. , & Mukherji, P. (2005).
Understanding Child Psychology. Nelson Thornes. Goodman, S. (1981). The Integration of verbal and motor behavior in preschool children. Child Development, 52 (1), 280 - 289.
Healy, J. (2004). Your Child's Growing Mind: Brain Development and Learning From Birth to Adolescence. Broadway.
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