A Case Study of a Child Age 2

Marlene Macias
EDU 220-1003
 Abstract
Two-Year-Old Girl
• Physical behaviors are average height, very physical, great motor skills, does not
speak much, & not potty trained.
• Emotional behaviors are loves attention from teacher, wants all toys, can not
share yet,& says color yellow.
• Cognitive behaviors are curious, manipulates toys, short attention span & says a
few words.
• Psychosocial behaviors are wants to be independent, likes strangers, advanced
when interacting with adults.
• Moral behaviors are helpful to clean up, says bye to mother easily, does not
respond truthfully in situation.
 Physical Behaviors
• Rides tricycle, runs, kicks, climbs, throws ball, jumps.
• Uses crayons
• Says short sentences
• Facial emotion
• Starts to control bowels
• Can manipulate objects using hands
• Can stack a tower of blocks

University of Washington (1993)

Child Development Institute (2015)
 Typical Physical Development by Snowman
• No gender differences
• Can not tie shoes
• Can not button coat
• Can put toys away
• Can speak softly, control shouting

• Snowman, J. & McCown, R. (2013)

 My 2 Year Old’s Physical Behaviors/Characteristics
• The 2-year-old girl I observed in the Two’s Room fits the typical
pattern of physical development. She is of average height and
is very physical for a little girl. She can put her shoes on but on
the wrong feet. She has great motor skills, but she does not
speak much. However she looks directly in your eyes to listen.
She wears a diaper, and I have not observed her using the
potty. I assume she is not potty trained. Overall she seems to
be developing normal physical characteristics for a child her
age.
 Physical Development Recommendations
• Provide lots of room and many experiences in which child can use his/her arms
and legs (University of Washington, 1993).
• Provide activities that use fingers: clay, blocks, finger-paint, objects for picking up
and stacking, large crayons for scribbling, dressing activities (University of
Washington, 1993).
• Gradually start toilet training (University of Washington, 1993).
 Emotional Behaviors
• Typical Characteristics
• Wants a sense of self
• Wants to do things for themselves
• Tests his/her powers; says “No!” often; shows lots of emotion, laughs, squeals, throws
temper tantrums, cries violently (University of Washington, 1993).
• Scared of loud sounds, fast moves, big animals, & cries when mother leaves
• Develops anger and humor (Child Development Institute, 2015).

University of Washington (1993)

 Typical Emotional Development by Snowman
• Jealous of other students: craves teacher attention
• Still in Piaget’s Pre-operational stage of intellectual development
• Still not using cognitive operations yet
• Begin to indulge in symbolic play and can manipulate symbols

Snowman, J. & McCown, R. (2013)

 My 2 year old’s Emotional Behavior/Characteristics
• The 2-year-old girl I observed fits all the typical emotional characteristics for her
age group. She loves attention from the teacher and wants all the toys for herself.
Does not know how to share yet. Will cry when asked to stop doing something
she should not be doing. Says “No!” and “Mine!” repeatedly. Says “yellow” but
does not know what the color yellow is.
 Emotional Development Recommendations
• Give easy experiences where the child can accomplish things for self. Praise
frequently.
• Be firm in following instructions, but do not punish the child for showing feelings
and showing independence. He/she is not being “bad” on purpose, but cannot
control how they feel until he/she has shown them.
• Do not constrain or mock the child.

• University of Washington (1993)

 Cognitive/Intellectual Behaviors
Typical Cognitive Characters
• Continue to learn through senses: still is very curious
• Short attention span
• 3 or 4 words in a sentence
• Sings easy songs and rhymes

University of Washington (1993)

 Typical Cognitive/Intellectual Development
Piaget Vygotsky
• Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive
• Schemes of infants and toddlers are development is often referred to as a
sensory & motor in nature or habits or sociocultural theory because it
reflexes. maintains that how we think is a
function of both of social and cultural
• Schemes gradually become more forces”. (Snowman, J. & McCown, R.,
mental in nature: during this period, 2013, p.32).
they are called concepts or categories.
(Snowman, J. & McCown, R., 2013, p. • Social interaction is cause of cognitive
25). development
• Early childhood learn spontaneous
concepts
My 2 Year Old’s Cognitive Behaviors/Characteristics
The 2 year old I observed is developmentally appropriate
for her age. She is curious as she plays and manipulates toys in
her hands. She did not focus too long, but this is normal. I did
not hear her sing any songs or rhymes, but she can say a few
words in a sentence.
 Cognitive/Intellectual Development
Recommendations
• Give children sensory activities
• Allow children to play freely and explore
• Do not force child to do anything longer than a few minutes
• Communicate with child
• Play songs and rhymes which are repetitive and in a low tone.

University of Washington (1993)

 Psychosocial/Social Behaviors
• Plays with other children
• Does not like strangers
• Does not listen very well
• Tries to make the rules
• Needs routine

Child Development Institute (2015)

University of Washington (1993)
 Typical Psychosocial/Social Development by Erikson
• Toddlers establish the beginning of their independence
• Encourage them to do what they can on their own at their own pace and in their
own way.
• Do not do too many things for the toddler and do not shame them for
unacceptable behavior; it can lead to self-doubt.

Snowman, J. & McCown, R., (2013)

 My 2 Year Old’s Psychosocial
Behaviors/Characteristics
The-2-year old I observed was very independent. She
was very headstrong and wanted to do everything herself
& her way. Adults in her life clearly give her time to do
things for herself. She likes strangers which is odd for her
age. I feel she is advanced for her age when it comes to
interacting with adults.
Psychosocial/Social Development Recommendations
• Do not force interactions with strangers
• Allow child to do for themselves and explore
• Have child interact with other children yet do not expect to much talking
between the children.

University of Washington (1993)

 Moral/Character Behaviors
• Giving hugs to someone sad
• Responding truthfully when asked about a situation
• Trying a new food, saying goodbye to mom & dad, or trying a new behavior
• Picking up toys & putting dirty laundry in hamper

PBS Parents (2017)

 Typical Moral/Character Development by Kohlberg
• 2-year-old’s are in stage 1, which is called Punishment- Obedience Orientation
• They think, “you might get caught”
• What they do is good or bad

Snowman, J. & McCown, R. (2013)

 My 2 Year Old’s Moral Behaviors/Characteristics

The-2-year old I observed was helpful in cleaning up

toys. She had no problem saying goodbye to her mom.
She did not respond truthfully in a situation instead told
her teacher, “no!”, “mine!”
 Moral/Character Development recommendations
• Teach songs to help with emotional stress
• Encourage to help others
• Teach honesty using a book or media
• Explain the meaning of “tell the truth”
• Child not listening is not deliberate, it’s their way of expressing their
independence.

University of Washington (1993)

PBS Parents (2017)
 References
PBS Parents. (2017). Child development tracker Ages 2-
8. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/parents/child-development/ (Links to an
external site.)Link to an external site.
Snowman, J. & McCown, R. (2013). ED PSYCH. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage
Learning.
University of Washington. (1993). Child development: Using the child development
guide. Retrieved fromhttp://depts.washington.edu/allcwe2/fosterparents/training
/chidev/cd06.htm (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site. (Links to an
external site.)Links to an external site.
Child Development Institute (2015). The ages and stages of child development. Retrieved
from https://childdevelopmentinfo.com/ages-stages/#.WR3Id_QrLrc (Links to an
external site.)