Child Observation

For this assignment, you will either:

1) Choose a YouTube video of you choice with a child you can observe for several minutes. The child should be between the ages of 2-5

OR

2) Choose a child from a book, television show, or movie. The character should be between the ages of 2-5.

For option 1, complete the following steps:

Find a video of a child interacting with other children, if possible. Otherwise, the child needs to be interacting with at least one other person.

Try to find a video that is at least 7-10 minutes long

For option 2:

Pretend like you observed the character

Describe the setting and circumstances in which you "observed" the character

For all options, record (or pretend that you recorded) any data related to the following domains:

Physical development

Estimate weight/height

Gross motor skills

Fine motor skills

Other physical characteristics or activities

Cognitive Development

Language use

Creativity

Decision making

Judgment

Social Emotional Development

Emotions (positive/negative and how handled)

Psychosocial stage (you must include this for full credit in this area)

Social interactions

Self-Concept

Temperament

Cultural Influences

Parenting practices

Multiple languages

Gender roles

Write a narrative report of what you observed of the child. Use complete sentences and paragraphs. In your report:

Introduction with child’s demographic information (age, gender, family arrangement - if known, and/or identify primary caregivers)

State that you received permission to complete the observation, if applicable

Discuss observations and divide into sections based on

Physical domains

Cognitive domains

Social/emotional domains

Cultural influences

Be sure to use formal, clinical, development language in your report. You must incorporate vocabulary from the textbook into your report.

Again, if you did not observe some of the areas above, please discuss what you expected to see.

The paper should be about 2 pages and it will be double-spaced. You do not need in-text citations for this assignment, as you will be writing about your observation and simply including vocabulary from the book.

Book available online via https://pressbooks.nscc.ca/lumenlife/ - Chapter 6:

Middle childhood

30 mins for video and chapter reading