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EDUC 121-Child and Adolescent Development

MyVirtualChild Report 2

Name_________Maggie Vogt__________

Date_____4-2-15______

MyVirtualChild- Report 2-Early Childhood (Age 3-4)

1. What activities and experiences have you and your child engaged in that might be promoting
healthy behavioral practices and an interest in physical activity? Refer to the book and lecture
where needed. (2 points)

Shortly after my first child Lilliana turned three I had a baby named Charlotte. I think this
affected the activity time given with Lilliana just a little bit. However, Lilliana and I still enjoyed
playing together. A couple things we would do when she was three would be, taking small trips
to childrens museums or parks and also playing catch or soccer. Even though she couldnt
understand the rules I think it helped with her ball handling skills and her fitness. When Lilliana
turned four I introduced her in taking more care of the baby so she got more time spent with me
and the baby. That way she wouldnt be as jealous or unhappy when she didnt get as much time
with me as Charlotte did. Also for Lillianas activities when she was four I did a lot of explaining
situations to her, for example if she misbehaved in a store I would tell her what I expected in
certain situations; giving her praise for good behavior and warnings or time-outs for bad
behavior.

2. Describe the development of your childs language and cognitive skills and discuss how these
might be affecting his or her interactions with you & your responses. Refer to the text or lecture
for descriptions and explanations of each area of skill. (2 points)

Lillianas development of language and cognitive skill differentiate. Her language seems to be
very good she performed above average on the language comprehension and production tests on
the three year old report. Her cognitive skills at age three are somewhat good she performed
above average in copying designs, solving picture puzzles, and building block towers to match
one made by the examiner but her understanding quantitative relationships in counting skills, in

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classifying objects or types of animals, and in solving age-appropriate reasoning tasks was only
in the average range. At age four Lilliana could read a few short words and write her name and
could name most of the letters on sight at the time of testing. She also showed an age appropriate
understanding of phonological awareness. The teacher recommended continuing to enjoy reading
and writing activities. The teacher also said that Lilliana was well prepared for literacy activities
in kindergarten. Lilliana also scored above average on the vocabulary tests and the ability to
retell a story. At age four her cognitive skill is now age appropriate in counting, classifying and
understanding quantitative relationships.

3. How well is your child adapting to social situations in the home and outside the home? Does
your child have any behavior or emotional problems at this point? Why do you think these
problems are occurring and what are you doing about them? Refer to the text or lecture as
needed. (2 points)

At age three Lilliana started to misbehave a little more than usual after the baby arrived. I think
this would be because she was striving for more attention and did not know any other way to
communicate her feelings other than acting more like the baby to get attention. I started to
explain to her not to behave in such ways and gave her time outs but mainly spoke to her calmly
realizing it was normal for a three year old to act that way. I also started having her spend more
time with the baby and me so she did not feel so left out. At age four Lilliana was really well
behaved most of the time; the only problems she had out of both these were fast food restaurants
because she would often crawl under the table or not really focusing on her meal and being quiet
like other kids around her age in the restaurant but by the end of age four Lilliana was able to
behave better. What I did in this situation was order to go and then sit at the table and remind her
what was expected of her but if she misbehaved we packed up and went home and she did not
get a desert or her toy. I believe that helped discipline her into seeing what she was supposed to
do and what she was not supposed to do.

4. How would you characterize your parenting style (e.g., authoritative, authoritarian,
permissive, or variations or combinations of these styles)? Refer to the book or lecture
descriptions to justify your classification. How have your specific parenting techniques changed
since infancy? (2 points)

I think I have different combinations of these because I discipline Lilliana in a way so she tries to
learn from her mistakes not in a way that she is going to be crying and in a fit because of a
spanking. I would rather teach a child than spank them and expect them to learn. Also I would
like to think I am sort of permissive because when she wants to play or do things I think of a way
to incorporate school work such as counting or words she needs to learn into the activity but also

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giving her special permissions to watch TV (educational mainly) instead of playing outside or
working on her words or cognitive abilities all of the time. I do this not as a babysitting material
but as a learning center and watch it with her. It allows her to learn without her really realizing
she is learning at the same time she is enjoying herself and having fun.

5. Describe three specific examples of changes in your childs behavior at age 4 that seem to
stem from growth in cognitive and language ability since the period of infancy (e.g.,
improvements in symbolic thinking, reasoning, knowledge of the world, theory of mind). Refer
to the book or lecture. (4 points)

At age four Lilliana develops a friendship with whom she refers to as her best friend and tells
stories about her best friend to me. Lilliana is also able to understand things more now and talk
about them with me and my partner. She can name specific things such as different colors and
animals. Lilliana also starts to learn that boys do certain activities and play with different toys
than most girls. My partner and I both expose her to all types of activities, regardless of gender
related things, providing she is interested in them, and show her by your own actions that
females can be tough or play sports and fathers can cook or clean. I think her symbolic thinking,
reasoning, knowledge of the world, and theory of mind all improved together but also that she
learned more towards the age of four and the end of age four than previous ages.

6. How would you characterize your childs personality? Would you say that your child is
primarily over controlled, under controlled or resilient? Support your argument. Recall that the
Virtual Childs behavior at age 3 and 4 is designed to resemble one of three personality types.
The personality types combine some of the temperamental traits with which you are already
familiar. The over controlled category refers to a child who is cooperative and follows the rules,
but is shy in social situations and anxious and clingy under pressure. The under controlled
category refers to a child who is uncooperative or even aggressive, does not follow the rules,
may or may not be shy in social situations, and has a tendency to become distracted and overly
emotional, particularly when under stress. The resilient category refers to a child who is
cooperative and follows the rules, is friendly, non-aggressive and outgoing, able to focus on tasks
without being too distracted, has good regulation of his or her emotions, and is adaptable to new
situations. Refer to the course reader and lecture. (2 points)

Overall I think my child Lilliana started out at age three as under controlled because she was
occasionally uncooperative and did not follow the rules but also she seemed shyer in groups of
children she was unfamiliar with. I think she became more resilient and able to adjust to different
situations by the time she turned four. I mainly think she is resilient because her behavior
improved and she started following the rules more as well as becoming friendlier with children
whom she did not know before.

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7. Look for evidence of continuity as well as discontinuity in your childs behavior from infancy
through early childhood. Give an example of an aspect of ability or personality that has remained
fairly stable. Give an example of an aspect of ability or personality that has been unstable. Why
do you think change occurred in one area and not the other? Refer to the book or lecture with
regard to reasons for continuity or discontinuity. (4 points)

I would have to say the steadiness or continuity in my childs behavior from infancy through
early childhood developed at a pretty normal rate. Lilliana did misbehave some but she learned
the right way to behave and also she developed other stages rather quickly such as her verbal
skills and continued developing that more. However the discontinuity or unsteadiness I believe
occurred when she needed to learn how to adjust to a new environment when she was in daycare
and preschool; she would cling to the teacher sometimes for a few minutes after I had left her in
their care. Another discontinuity would be when she was learning counting versus reading. Her
reading was excellent but her counting was not age appropriate at first until my partner and I
focused more on it.

8. Your Virtual child is growing up basically in an average American cultural setting. Based on
what you have learned from the course, how specifically might your childs behavior be different
if she was raised in a different culture? Alternatively, if you are familiar with a different culture
(e.g., you or your parents were raised in a country outside America with a very different culture),
you can describe how your parenting, or your childs behavior might be different within that
cultural setting. As a third option, describe and give examples of how your parenting style, or
any other aspect of your parenting, has been influenced by your cultural background or other
experiences. Describe the rationale for your claim, and the source of your information (book or
lecture, or your own experience growing up at least partially within a particular culture).
(4 points)

I think my childs behavior would be different if she were raised in a different culture maybe in a
sense that she would not be misbehaving at certain ages or maybe she would be misbehaving
more. Also she may not be developed as much in reading or vocab but she may be more
developed in math and science. My parenting style has actually been really influenced by my
own parents. I think this because when I was growing up we got spanked when my little brother
and I were fighting. I did not enjoy getting spanked so I do not really want to spank my children.
However, my brother and I were spanked for severe things like hitting each other or yelling at
our parents. Also I think my parenting style mimics my parents because of the amount of
affection and love we got growing up as well as being slightly disciplined when we misbehaved
or did something we weren't supposed to.