anecdote paper

Running head: ANECDOTE CHILD STUDY 1

Anecdote Child Study

Student CCC

Rochester University

2 ANECDOTE CHILD STUDY

As an Aunt of both an infant and a toddler, I took advantage of the quality time that I

spend with my nieces as an opportunity to perform the following focus child study. For this

particular study I chose to observe my niece Kaidence who is a 9 month-old female infant.

Kaidence and her parents along with her 2-year-old sister came over to my house to visit my

parents and I for the weekend. The following anecdotes entail observations of Kaidence over a

two day period.

Anecdote #1- This anecdote consist of physical development milestones of infancy in

which sitting alone, crawling, pulling to stand, and learning to walk is involved. The reason why

I chose this anecdote is because Kaidence shows an important amount of motor achievement.

These four motor skills are significant to Kaidence exhibiting her ability to perform complex

systems of action. Kaidence sitting alone shows that she has an appropriate amount of control of

her head and upper chest allowing her to sit alone. As a result of her own support, Kaidence

spent majority of her evening crawling. The environment of the home provided a broader

physical environment to influence her motor skills due to stairs being in the home. Kaidence has

mastered crawling up the stairs. As the evening continued Kaidence displayed her ability to pull

herself up into a standing position and went as far as taking one to two steps when holding onto

things and tottering around them. Furthermore, Kaidence fell multiple times when attempting to

take steps without holding onto any objects. After falling on her bottom numerous times she

always returned to motion within a few seconds. This shows that she is in the process of learning

the amount of strength that is needed to balance her body vertically over two moving feet.

In order to support her physical development an activity that I would do to help Kaidence

learn how to walk would be for me to provide more balance and stability for her by holding her

3 ANECDOTE CHILD STUDY hands after she pulls herself up. This will help Kaidence gain the confidence that she needs to

take her first steps.

Kaide ce h ica de e e ca be c ec ed Piage e i age with

he bab e f he e e a d e e e e he d (Be , & Me e , 19).

Piage idea f ci c a eac i i e i fa h b e ac e e e ie ce ca ed b

hei e ac i i . Acc di g Piage he eac i i ci c a beca e, a he

infant tries to repeat the event again and again, a sensorimotor response that originally occurred

b cha ce e g he i a e che e (Be , & Me e , 203). I e a i Kaide ce, he

repeated events of holding onto things and tottering around them will strengthen her chances of

developing the new scheme of learning how to walk. On the contrary, according to

B fe b e e ec l gical he a child develops within a complex system (Berk, & Meyers,

26). This theory in relation to Kaidence would interpret that her activities and interaction patterns

within her immediate surroundings stem from the innermost level of the environment, also

known as the microsystem. Whereas Piaget believes that a child develops throughout stages

rather than a systematic approach.

Anecdote #2- This anecdote consist of cognitive development milestones of infancy in

which intentional or goal-directed, behavior coordinating schemes are used to solve simple

problems. The reason why I chose this anecdote is because Kaidence displayed her ability to

successfully problem solve simple tasks. This is significant to Kaidence because she shows a

more complex action sequence through being able to retrieve hidden objects. When Kaidence

spotted an attractive toy she was motivated to crawl towards the toy in order to play with it. Due

to the toy being her older sisters it was not an appropriate toy for an infant to play with. As a

result, the toy was hidden under a cover in the process of Kaidence crawling towards it. When

4 ANECDOTE CHILD STUDY Kaidence made it over to where she first saw the toy she pushed aside the cover in order to

e ie e he hidde . Thi h ha Kaide ce abi i e ie e hidde b ec e ea he

mastery of object permanence through her understanding that objects continue to exist although

it may be out of sight.

In order to support her cognitive development something I would do is to help complete

her awareness of object permanence. I would do this by letting Kaidence visibly see that a

hidden toy can be moved from one hiding place to another. For example, Kaidence would make

the A-not-B search error of searching for a hidden toy in the first hiding place even after being

shown that it was moved to a second hiding place. I would practice hiding an object in its first

hiding place (A), next I would have her see me move the object to a second hiding place (B).

Currently, Kaidence would try to find the hidden object where she first saw it (A). However, I

would help Kaidence understand to go to the place where she last saw the toy hidden. This would

help her develop a clear image of the object as persisting even when hidden from view (Berk, &

Meyers, 204).

Kaide ce c g i i e de e e ca be c ec ed Piage c g i i e-developmental

theory. Piage he f c g i i e de e e i he be ief ha chi d e ac i e

c c edge a he a i a e a d e e he d (Be , & Me e , 19). Thi

relates to Kaidence learning through experience that an object hidden from view continues to

exist. This theory suggests tha chi d e de a di g i diffe e f ad . O he he

hand, Vygotsky believed that adults and more expert peers help children master culturally

meaningful activities (Berk, & Meyers, 25). While Piaget says a child tends to receive

knowledge through experience, Vygotsky appears to lean more towards the idea that a child

5 ANECDOTE CHILD STUDY ecei e edge h gh he he f ad a d ee a a chi d a a e ea i gf

activities.

Anecdote #3- This anecdote consist of language development milestones of infancy in

which cooing and babbling is apparent. The reason why I chose this anecdote is because

Kaidence is consistently making speech like sounds. This is significant to Kaidence because she

is cooing and babbling as a way to communicate. While Kaidence was playing with her two-

year- d i e he ed c i g a d babb i g a a a f c e a i a beha i . Kaide ce

sound patterns were those of adult like speech. This shows that Kaidence is reflecting speech

patterns of what appears to possibly transfer into to her first words in the near future.

A ac i i I d d Kaide ce a g age de e e i a e e

time to sit down and talk to her. I would also incorporate gestures when speaking to her so that

she may be able to integrate words with gestures. For example, although Kaidence is neither deaf

nor hard of hearing I would use sign language as a way to expand her vocabulary so that over

time the gestures will symbolize words.

Kaide ce a g age de e e ca be c ec ed to V g k ci c l al he .

V g he be ie e ha chi d e de g ce ai age i e cha ge he e hei abi i

participate in dialogue with others progresses while cultural values are built up (Berk, &

Meyers, 25-26). Although Vygotskey agreed with Piaget that children are active and constructive

bei g , Piage ch e e ha i e chi d e i de e de eff a e e e f hei d,

(Berk, & Meyers, 25) which Kaidence appears to be doing through the use of cooing and

babbling.

Anecdote #4- This anecdote consist of social development milestones of infancy in

which social smiling is contributed. The reason why I chose this anecdote is because Kaidence

6 ANECDOTE CHILD STUDY e ea a b ad g i a he igh f he a e . Thi i ig ifica Kaidence because she

expresses a social smile when encountering a face-to-face interaction with her mother and father.

Kaidence was in the middle of playing with her sister and she heard the sound of footsteps

coming towards her. Kaidence stopped what she was doing and turned to see who it was that was

approaching her. When she realized that it was her father she begin to smile with an open mouth

a he c ed a d ed he a a d eg e ci i g . Thi h ha Kaide ce e f a cia

smile in response to seeing a parent reflects a warm and affectionate relationship that is healthy

f he chi d cia de e e .

A ac i i I d d Kaide ce cia de e e i a a ga e f

peek-a-boo. This may generate a social smile when making funny faces or noises. Secondly, I

would promote active social engagement to encourage laughter. Moreover, I would practice

e di g Kaide ce i e a d cia c e i a i d a e i a e affec i .

Kaide ce cia de e e ca be connected to E ik ch cial age, ba ic

trust versus mistrust. In this psychosocial stage infants gain a sense of trust that the world is good

d e a a d e i e ca e ha he a e e e ie ci g. Thi e a e Kaide ce cia

response at the sight of her father. Kaidence displayed a social smile to a person that gives her

warm and responsive care. Erikson may interpret this as Kaidence having a sense of trust that the

d i g d (Be , & Me e , 16). O he he ha d, F e d ch analytic perspective

would stress the influence of early parent-child relationship on development (Berk, & Meyers,

15). This would relate to the parent-child relationship that Kaidence has with her father. As a

result of that positive relationship with a parent she is socially responding in a healthy way.

Anecdote #5- This anecdote consist of emotional development milestones of infancy in

which clear-cut attachment and separation anxiety is experienced. The reason why I chose this

7 ANECDOTE CHILD STUDY anecdote is because Kaidence has a strong and affectionate bond with her mother. This is

significant to Kaidence because she displays separation anxiety when her mother leaves the

. Af e a g i g Kaide ce he a h di g he i he he a ca ed a

different room. When Kaidence was given to me I sat her in my lap momentarily until her

he a ab e c e bac . Whe Kaide ce he a dde i ie he di a ed

a sense of fear and anxiety becoming upset and crying. Although I tried to soothe her by rocking

her tightly in my arms she did not calm down until her mother was visible to her again. This

shows that Kaidence experiences separation anxiety due to not understanding that the caregiver

continues to exist even when not in view (Berk, & Meyers, 262).

A ac i i I d d Kaide ce e i a de e e i b ac ici g

separation between her and her mother. When spending time with Kaidence I would plan out

personal time without her mother being in the room for brief periods of time so that she may

become more use to separation. Every so often I would plan to gradually have the mother leave

for longer periods of time until Kaidence became more comfortable in understanding that her

mother continues to exist even when not in view. Although Kaidence may be too young to

understand I would try my best to reassure and communicate to her that her mother will return.

Kaide ce e i a de e e ca be c ec ed B lb e h l gical he f

attachment. Thi ch a a ic idea f attachment to the caregiver has profound implications

f he chi d fee i g f ec i a d ca aci f i g e a i hi (Be , & Me e ,

261). B b d b e e Kaide ce e i a a e a i clea -c a ach e ha e

where at ach e i e ide he ca egi e . Acc di g B b he i i be ie ed ha

the use of a familiar caregiver is used as a secure base (Berk, & Meyers, 262). Similarly, Freud

gge ed ha he i fa e i a ie he he i he f da ion for all later relationships

8 ANECDOTE CHILD STUDY (Be , & Me e , 261). F e d d i e e Kaide ce e a a i a ie a a hea h ca e

for later relationships due to a positive parent-child relationship that Kaidence has in early

childhood.

Summary

Teachers have the wonderful opportunity to spend time with children who experience

physical, cognitive, verbal, social, and emotional growth on a day-to-day basis. I believe that it is

extremely important for teachers to observe infants and toddlers for healthy and successful

development. If teachers lack in observation of infants and toddlers developmental millstones

can easily be overlooked. Moreover, if teachers fail to keep track of whether a child is

appropriately developing that is then putting the child at risk for receiving the help that he or she

needs, if any at all.. It is also important for teachers to be aware of what healthy development

entails. If a teacher does not know what to look for developmentally then they may not be aware

of whether the infant and toddler is meeting their milestones. As a result of these reasons, I

believe that it is crucial for teachers to know their infants and toddlers so that they are able to

plan for their development accordingly.

This assignment was extremely beneficial to expanding my knowledge in regards to

infancy and toddler development. It has also provided me the opportunity to become more hands

on in the process of learning a lot about the specific infant that I observed. Personally, the best

part of this assignment was bei g ab e e a f he chi d de e e af e

observing their physical, cognitive, language, social, and emotional growth. I believe that it is

extremely important for all infants and toddlers to be observed for the reason that childhood

de e e ca ha e a i di id a ad ife.

9 ANECDOTE CHILD STUDY

References

Berk, L. E. & Meyers, A. B. (2015). Infants and children: Prenatal through middle childhood

(8th ed.). Boston, MA: Perason.